Evam’s Urban Turban
Posted by Sabarinath C in Personal on January 18th, 2010
Dakshin Chitra
Posted by Sabarinath C in Blogs, Travel on January 11th, 2010
This New Year I did something different - went with wife and a close friend to Dakshin Chitra, an art gallery on the East Coast Road, a few kilometres south of Chennai. I am not the usual ‘arty’ type, and had made the visit of the recommendation of the accompanying friend. Unfortunately we had gone to Mahabs first and dropped in at DC on our way back, reaching at around 4 pm.
Getting to know people
Posted by Sabarinath C in Blogs on November 9th, 2009
It mostly takes a long trip together to get to know a colleague up close ' may be it is because during the long journeys there is nothing much to do other than talk to your companion.
The discussions during these trips that last for a few days would bring up facets of the companion which you otherwise would never have found out. Recently I had a trip with my CTO which gave me a lot of insights ' I have never spoken for this long with an IITian before, and found out that there is more to them than what Chetan Bhagat writes to earn money.
Another trip with another colleague was equally interesting, and brought in a much closer understanding that would never have come from our professional interactions otherwise. In these kinds of conversations, (if you connect well, that is) you can find out a lot about different points of view, and more about the factors that influence each person's value system.
On a public holiday…
Posted by Sabarinath C in Blogs on October 3rd, 2009
… stay at home and sleep! At least that’s what I learnt on the birth anniversary of the father of our nation. After having “wasted” the last 2 or 3 public holidays by lazing at home, I & wifey decided to venture outside and watch a movie. Since we had not planned in advance for the movie, most of the cinemas were sold out, and we therefore tried our luck at Mayajaal.
At Mayajaal though we reached at 1:30 pm, we could get tickets for only a 5 o’clock show. We decided to make most of the available time by going to Mahabalipuram. As soon as one enters mahabalipuram panchayat, they collect Rs 20 as entry fees. Driving further towards the beach the traffic was very heavy with frequent jams, as everyone seemed to have come out for the holiday. We had to turn back as there was absolutely no space to even stop the car, let alone park. Thus we came back to Mayajaal having donated Rs 20 to Mahabalipuram panchayat and without seeing anything.
At Mayajaal also the crowd was huge, and the atmosphere was just like any Rs 20 ticket theatre. The only consolation was the goodness of the movie “Unnai Pol Oruvan” though I liked its Hindi original “A Wednesday”. But then that’s for another post
Kahan se kahan tak
Posted by Sabarinath C in Blogs on September 16th, 2009
At school amongst my friends I spoke the worst Hindi. Add to that the fear of being teased by friends whenever I made a mistake, and I seldom attempted to speak in Hindi. At Kendriya Vidyalaya we had to learn Hindi Course A till class 10, which is originally designed for native Hindi speakers. As I went into 11th standard, I thought of Hindi and Biology as good riddance.
Later when I made trips to other parts of the country I did realize the language’s importance and advantage over English in many parts of the country. In many occasions, out of compulsion I became more and more confident of speaking in Hindi.
The culmination of all this happened recently when I was in Maharashtra which uses a common script with Hindi and uses Devnagari digits instead of the international numerals. Since I had no choice, I re-learnt what I had chosen not to study in my school days. Finally, at a function I made a full fledged presentation speaking in Hindi. My hindi teacher would have been proud!
Tweet Tweet…
Posted by Sabarinath C in Blogs on July 23rd, 2009
After remaining sceptical about twitter for this long, I’ve also joined the bandwagon (http://twitter.com/sabarinathc). For a change I was inspired by a Union Minister into joining twitter (Shahi Tharoor - http://twitter.com/ShashiTharoor). He is the MP from my very own Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency, and I find it refreshing to see that an MP and also a minister is accessible to public through twitter. Though twitter is limited to only those who are net savvy, at least he answers questions from public - a good beginning in terms of transparency.
The Taming of a Wild Elephant
Posted by Sabarinath C in Blogs on June 9th, 2009
The temple elephant who had recently tasted wilderness has been tamed. It was after I finished an assignment for a client, who was earlier the president of a company I had worked for earlier that he’d asked me whether I would like to join full time.
The role was into marketing of Indian made ATMs for the semi urban and rural markets - giving me a profile I was wanting to do for a long time. The very reason I had done an MBA was that I wanted to get out of IT, and this role would finally take me into a non IT technology marketing. Thus, the ten percent driving factor has also been taken care of 
The icing on the cake is that I get to travel to many places in India.
The Temple Elephant and the Wild Elephant
Posted by Sabarinath C in Business on April 3rd, 2009
One of my friends told me the analogy: that a regular employee is a Temple Elephant, whereas a freelance consultant is a wild elephant.
The temple elephant gets enough food at regular intervals, but is a slave to the temple authorities; whereas the wild elephant has to find food on his own from the forest, but he is his own master.
I can endorse this analogy 100% as I too became a wild elephant.
The Ten Percent Driving Factor
Posted by Sabarinath C in Blogs on March 18th, 2009
I’ve recently discovered that I am bored 90% of the time. It is the other 10% of the time when I get excited that keeps me going.
This 10% has come from different things at different times. The key is in having something to make up the ten percent, which drives the 90% boredom out.
Games Indians Play - Book Review
Posted by Sabarinath C in Books on December 12th, 2008
Though the first few pages may make one think that this is yet another Indiabashing book by yet another Indian, Games Indians Play Why we are the way we are is a book which goes beyond an attempt to understand the sorry state of affairs in our motherland. The author V Raghunathan uses Prisoners Dilemma, Game theory and Behavioural Economics to explain behaviours that are characteristically Indian.
The book is an interesting read, with the right mix of anecdotes and theory. In the words of the author, the aim of the book is to make the reader understand how and why our behavioural traits need to change if we wish to be counted among the more civilized people of the world. Though the author acknowledges that we as a nation have much strength, the focus of this book is that in this century we need to make certain amends to make the country achieve its true potential and not merely live off a glorious past. The author even links the game theory to The Gita and exhorts his compatriots to do their bit instead of blaming it on the ’system’.
Wedding - The ‘comeback’ post
Posted by Sabarinath C in Personal on December 10th, 2008
Wedding Sari blues
Posted by Sabarinath C in Personal on April 10th, 2008
“There are only four types of saris. The cream ones, the blue ones, the green ones, and the maroon ones.” said my friend Sethu, circa 2002. I’m in total agreement with him. I am still clueless when my mom gets confused over buying one from two saris, both of which look the same to me!
With the wedding preparations getting into the groove, I am being bombarded with questions about the sari for the bride. One conversation with my cousin (sister) went on like this: -
Chechi [elder sister]: Have you bought the sari?
Me: Yes, mom said she bought it in Trivandrum
Chechi: What’s the colour?
Me: athu onnum ennikku arinjooda chechi, ammede aduthu chodikkanam [I dont know all that, must ask mom]
Chechi: So you didn’t get to see the sari?
Me: No, it was bought after I left Trivandrum last. Anyway, as far as men are concerned, all saris are the same
Chechi: That’s not true. If you see a beautiful lady in sari, wouldn’t you turn your head?
Me: That has got nothing to do with the colour of the sari.
Chechi: It has.
Me: No, it is just what’s inside the saris that make us turn our heads!
Chechi: njan ariyathe paranjatha, ini avarthikkilla [I asked unknowingly, please forgive me, I wouldn't repeat this!]
Poor Chechi. Her impression about me as the studious quiet guy would have been shattered. There was more fun due for me. The same evening I chatted with one of my female friends. It also went on similar lines: -
Friend: Amma said ur mom said saree edukan povukayanennu, edutho? [my mom said your mom is going to buy wedding saris, did you guys buy?]
Me: eduthu. [Yes, bought]
Friend: what colour
Me: what color? how dare u ask me such a question?
me: u definitely are bringing shame to our years old friedship
Friend: poda, tell me…
me: i dont know!!
Friend: don’t tell me u didnt ask
me: amma bought sari yesterday. Her family bought a violet one, so this one is probably not violet
Friend: :)), poda, u didn’t ask alle[right]? koranaga [monkey]
Me: how come it took u so long to realize?
I’m waiting for more bakaras to come and ask me this question. And by the way, I still really don’t know the colour of the sari my mom bought for my bride!
Gurudakshina
Posted by Sabarinath C in Nostalgia on April 10th, 2008
Since I have met one of my school teachers and spoken over phone to another two in the last three days, it is time now for another nostalgic post.
The teacher I met taught me maths at Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV). I and my friends were ‘outstanding’ students in more than one way - in the same period, we would get praised for quickly solving a tough maths problem (outstanding), and soon be sent out of the class as punishment for talking in the class (standing out).
One of the other teachers I spoke to today was our class teacher in tenth standard. She is one of the most sportive teachers I have ever met. Once one of my artistically gifted classmates had drawn a picture of devil on the blackboard. He couldn’t erase the picture before this teacher came to class. When she sat down on her chair, the picture was directly behind her and the whole class started laughing. She turned at look at the picture and asked, “Is that me?” “Yes ma’am”, the whole class replied, though the artist never meant it that way. “Good drawing skills” was her remark, without any anger. In contrast, out physics sir would have given a sound thrashing to the poor chap, and the whole class would have to listen to a lecture on ’showing respect to teachers’. How ironical that by her reaction she more than won our respect.
Looking back, I realise that this same teacher was also one who practised management principles in school (we didn’t realise it then - performance based incentives, mentoring, 360 degree performance appraisal, etc were unknown terms to us then). Our seating arrangement in the class was decided by her as the class teacher - anyone who scored full marks in maths uni test (the subject she taught) could have a seat of his/her own choice till the next unit test - performance incentive. She arranged students in such a way that a bright student was seated next to a no-so-bright student, so that the brighter students could mentor the others. At any point in time during her class, if anyone felt that she was not teaching properly, or was deviating from the topic, one could raise his/her hand and tell it openly (360 degree performance appraisal).
Today I spoke to her after many years as I had got her number only 2 days back. I could feel the excitement in her voice. I asked her how it was at the KV she taught now. “It’s the same… every year old faces pass out and new faces come in. Once in a while I get calls from old students, which makes me happy. Hearing from old students - that is the best gift you can give to your teachers”.
I dedicate this post to all the teachers who helped me make who I am. My parents give full credit to my teachers for all the marks I scored in school, as I seldom studied at home.
Chennai MRTS
Posted by Sabarinath C in Blogs on April 4th, 2008
three years ago was out of curiosity. My home state of Kerala doesn’t
have metro rail in any of its major cities, let alone one that runs on
elevated tracks.
[pic: Mylapore (Thirumayilai) MRTS Station]
I
became a more frequent user of the MRTS after I shifted my residence to
Adyar area, which made Kasturba Nagar station just 5 minutes walk from
my house. By then railways had extended the service to Velachery and
increased the frequency to once every fifteen minutes. This mode of
transport made an excellent alternative to the slow, crowded MTC buses,
and the extremely expensive autorikshaws (one has to shell out anywhere
between 100 and 150 to travel from Chennai Central to Adyar). At Rs 6
per ticket, and a travelling time of just 20 minutes, MRTS trains are a
relief, the only grouses being that the services stops before 9 pm, and
that most stations are in bad shape. The station at Kasturba Nagar (at
Madhya Kailash signal) sports modern looks (at least most part of it),
though the one at Indira Nagar is pathetic. Now that the usage rate has
gone up, I hope that railways begin to keep the stations properly
maintained and well lit.
[pic: MRTS track near Mylapore]
One ways and a new definition of Bangalored
Posted by Sabarinath C in Blogs on April 3rd, 2008
Do one-ways really solve traffic problems? If my personal experiences in Chennai and Bangalore are anything to go by, they do not. They simply divert un-necessary congestion to more places.
Take the case of Little Mount- Raj Bhavan - Halda triangle one way system in Chennai - I personally feel that this arrangement has only made life difficult for pedestrians. The waiting time avoided at the signals have been replaced by waiting time in front of Little Mount court for pedestrian crossing. And if there is no policeman around, then it is impossible for a pedestrian to cross the road, as the road is very wide and all vehicles speed up on this road. In the evenings, the road from Raj Bhavan to Halda Junction (towards mount road) is congested as was the case before the introduction of the one way system.
Similar is the case with TTK road/CP Ramaswamy Road, though I think it is too early to take a call on this.
Traffic has somehow tremendously increased in the last two years and I find more and more roads in Chennai becoming one ways, like it happens in Bangalore. I would like to add a new definition to the term Bangalored (the real one being this whereas my definition is based on personal experiences) - “the feeling you get when you carefully plan your trip from one end of the city to another, only to find at a crucial junction that it had been made a one way overnight! And that you would need to drive at least 2 km extra to overcome this hurldle”.
Watching a cricket match - directly
Posted by Sabarinath C in Cricket on March 28th, 2008
There are a few updates due from me, including about my wedding next month '" but then this post can't wait. I watched Sehwag hit the triple ton, at Chepauk! The experience can't be properly described in words '" one has to be there to fully understand the feelings.
I was lucky to get ticket '" the stadium was packed (surprising for a test match). Then came the wonderful feat by Sehwag '" scoring 300 a second time in his career. The mood inside the stadium was exhilarating, cheering on the team in whatever means possible. It was interesting to note how people who were total strangers could execute Mexican waves in seconds. Some others improvised on horns and other 'instrumentals'.
It was disappointing not to see Sachin Tendulkar play as India lost only one wicket throughout the whole day. The crowd was disappointed with Rahul 'Wall' Dravid. Though he played his role well, his slow innings was frustrating. Moreover, this meant we couldn't get to see Sachin, Dravid & Laxman play. The crowd cheered whenever Sachin was shown on the screens, and sometimes boo-ed when Dravid played dot ball after dot ball.
India had a great day, piling 460+ runs for the loss of just one wicket. We had our consolation when we most Indian players, including Sachin came out for net practice. It was a day well spent, and I fully enjoyed the day forgetting everything else.
[update: for those of you who are really interested in cricket, and in knowing how it felt inside the stadium in a more verbose manner, you can check out this- part of a chat I had with my friend, about the day's play]
A Good Deed
Posted by Sabarinath C in Personal on March 11th, 2008
As I and my friends came out for tea during break time, we found the
local street dogs chasing a car like mad. We were wondering what all
this commotion was, and then realized that a puppy was run over by that
car.
The puppy was crying in pain. The many people around the tea shop
looked at the dog sympathetically but didn’t do anything. We too didn’t
know of any vet docs. While all of us returned for our classes, my
friend Suraj who didn’t have class at that time looked up on the
internet and located a vet in the neighbourhood. With the help of a
chap at the tea shop, he took the puppy to the vet. The puppy got
medical care and is now alright.
This act of my friend made me very glad - though most of us sympathized
with the puppy’s condition, only he took pains to get care to the stray
puppy. I’m proud of you my friend!
Ramayana by Ashok Banker
Posted by Sabarinath C in Books on February 29th, 2008
I had the fortune to read the six volume modern retelling of the Ramayana, by Ashok Kumar Banker. The story is something all of us would have heard and read many times, but what makes this series stand out is that it is not told from a spiritual point of view. The language is also modern, and the narration is similar to that of any modern English Novel.
The characters have been drawn out excellently, and the attention has been paid to the details. At times, it is a bit wordy - certain descriptions could have been more brief. But overall it makes a gripping read. The volumes are titled - 1. Prince of Ayodhya, 2. Siege of Mithila, 3. Demons of Chitrakut, 4. Armies of Hanuman, 5. Bridge of Rama, and 6. King of Ayodhya, totalling over 3000 pages.
The first book has a slow opening (initially a little patience is required, but it is worth the effort), but soon gets pacy as the plot is introduced. The series is in a way Banker’s own version of Ramayana, though he tries to stick to the original storyline. Interestingly, he has successfully conveyed deeper meanings, though in a very unconventional way.
The author is now working on the other great epic from India, the Mahabharata, which is supposed to hit the stands by next year. I am eagerly awaiting its release.
Grandma - now only in memories
Posted by Sabarinath C in Personal on February 7th, 2008
I was sitting in the library idling away till the next lecture when dad called me asked me whether I could get a flight to Trivandrum before evening. I immediately understood the bad news. When I was leaving last time, I couldn’t get any response from her. There was only one reassuring sound coming from her - that of her breathing. I was very sad, and most mornings I dreamt that I was talking to Ammumma - only to wake up and be disappointed that it was only a dream.A few days that Grandma had become so weak that she had to be put on nasal feeding. Though this brought back some energy into her now frail body, it were not to last very long.
While waiting for the plane, I called up home and was told that cremation is to happen only the next day, and the body would be kept in the morgue till then. It was a tough night, with very less scope for private grief as there were a lot of relatives staying overnight.
In the morning, as the body was brought home, I found it tougher to hold back emotions, at the same time, being nice to the people who were pouring in. Grace had returned to Ammumma’s face, and her face looked very peaceful, as though she was sleeping. One good thing I felt was that she didn’t have to struggle in the ICU wards of any hospital - she was in her room, in the very house she loved so much till her last hour. And, on her last journey to the hospital, she was lying on her son (my uncle)’s lap.
Her absence in the house is something very difficult to come to terms with, after having lived with her for many years. I was her pet grandchild, one of the very few people she listened to, and was the one who ran most of her errands till I left for Chennai.
Ammumma, your house is very empty without you.
When the hunters become the hunted
Posted by Sabarinath C in Blogs on January 19th, 2008
MBAs, especially those majoring in Marketing Management are supposed to influence others’ buying and increase sales, and not by buying things on their own, right?
Sometime last week, we had a course in Consumer Behaviour, where we looked at various ways of connecting to the buyers’ emotions, and about providing an ‘experience’ as opposed to a ‘product’.
[That week, at Sathyam Cinemas, during advertisements before the movie began:]
Me: That ad was wonderful right? The emotion of happiness felt was conveyed excellently. Brilliant piece of creativity!
My Friend: Was it? To me it was just an ordinary ad. Maybe because I don’t have an MBA
[Two days later, dinner is planned with friends (who also are part of the same consumer behaviour course) at a restaurant in Adyar]
My friend, suddenly calls me up on phone: Sabari, change of plans… we’re not going to that restaurant… We’ll have dinner at Cafe Coffee Day…
Me: Coffee Day? Dinner???
Friend: Yes… come fast…we’re almost there…. click
At coffee day, I ask him: Why suddenly dinner at coffee day? Don’t tell me you were inspired by the case study on ‘Starbucks Experience’…
My friend grins.
Are MBAs more gullible consumers?
Pics of Hogenakkal
Posted by Sabarinath C in Photography on November 28th, 2007
Rediff somehow doesnt allow more than one pic - or I havent found out yet. So posting a link to my other blog
http://cacafonix.blogspot.com/2007/11/kavery-hogenakkal.html
Help Needed
Posted by Sabarinath C in Personal on November 19th, 2007
Friends, I need your help.I am doing a research at my b-school, for which I need to collect data from people working in IT industry. I have created an online survey: -
http://freeonlinesurveys.com/rendersurvey.asp?sid=objf8su9klcjojv356295
Anyone who is working in IT industry with at least 6 months of experience are eligible to fill in this survey.
Please forward this to all your friends.
Bengaluru
Posted by Sabarinath C in Blogs on October 20th, 2007
In the last few years, I have been making short visits to Bangalore, visiting friends. Now it is my first long stay in Bangalore - for a month long internship.
The work involves extensive travelling, and I seem to be learning the geography of the city the hard way - by driving around.
Hopefully this one month will allow me to catch up with a lot of friends.
An unexpected trip home
Posted by Sabarinath C in Personal on August 21st, 2007
With strict rules at the institute regarding leave, I kept on ignoring small fevers - till it got real bad, and seeing 104 degrees. And when one blood test showed positive for a variety of dengue I decided that it is time to go home for a break.
Back home, it was diagnosed as malaria. Malaria or dengue, all I was worried about was getting the fever down. Thankfully, medicines for malaria seems to have some effect, and I have now seen the right side of 100 degrees, after so many days.
Thanks to this fever (all its inconveniences notwithstanding), I got a much needed break from hectic activities. Being at home and getting home food is definitely doing good to me.
The disappointing part of my visit home has been my grandmother’s health. She had a fall two months back, breaking her thigh bone near her hips, and she had undergone a surgery. She was recovering the last time I met her, but now her condition has worsened. Other than recognising me, she hardly spoke, and replied in monosyllables. Thats very much unlike of her. I am finding this drastic change of character almost unacceptable. It’s like it is not grandma but someone else. I do hope that she gets to her normal self again, and is able to walk again.
So Far So Good
Posted by Sabarinath C in Blogs on July 11th, 2007
It is now close to three months since my one year MBA began. These three months have been quite interesting, with me slowly finding the groove. Initially it was tough to get back to studies mode after three years of work.
Looking back, I miss the following about my office: -
- My Team, and my friends
- The monthly paycheck: There is no longer the feel good factor whenever the date nears 30th!
- Coffee and snacks breaks
- Leave (such a thing is not in the dictionary of a fast track MBA program)
- Playing TT in the evenings
But these are more than compensated by the following at my b-school: -
- Making new friends, meeting new people
- the very fact of being back at school. At 24, this is the closest I can get to school life
- reliving school college style: studying only on the eve (sometimes only mornings) of exams, watching movies on the day before exam, etc
It has been great going so far, and the grades are also looking fine so far. I am hoping to carry forward both the fun part and the grades part throughout the year
Finding Myself
Posted by Sabarinath C in Personal on May 11th, 2007
One thing I knew even before joining a b-school was that making decisions forms the key to almost everything. Especially when it comes to making decisions which can have life long impacts. As someone who always let things "fall in place" than decide, it does not feel good when confronted with more and more decision making ' deciding on major specialization, minor specialization, topic for empirical study, topic for Autumn internship, what not.
The underlying question, the answer to which could simplify a lot of decision-making, is what I want to do in life for a profession. Something which I would love doing, and give me a comfortable (not luxurious) pay. An industry where I don't feel like a misfit, in spite of being above average. Something that would also give me enough time to spend with my family, similar to what my parents could give me.
Introspection only adds to the confusion. When I was in fifth standard, gazing at the night sky through the simple telescope I made with my father's help, I dreamt of being an astronaut, dreaming of walking in space. In 6th standard, after reading about the Wright brothers and their aeroplane, I dreamt of making my own single seater and flying it.
An overdose of newspapers fascinated me, and bringing out a handwritten gossip tabloid in my class, I felt like a natural journalist in seventh standard. Eighth standard saw me conform to the standard Malayali ambition of becoming a doctor. In ninth standard, after having assembled a stereo cassette player I was sure that I wanted to be an electronics engineer.
In tenth standard, reading the adventure tales of James Bigglesworth by Capt W E Johns, I wanted to join the Indian Air Force as a pilot ' a dream cut short by flat feet and myopia. For 11th standard, I didn't even consider the non-science streams (the general perception in Kerala is that only those who don't get science stream go to arts and commerce). When it came to choosing between Biology and Computer Science, arbitrarily I chose computer science because I didn't want to learn biology (that despite being born to two avid botanists). The same repeated two years later, when I chose Computer Engineering.
Through my years in engineering, I could compile a list of jobs I would not want to do, Software Engineer topping the list. Upon finishing engineering, a computer engineer couldn't be anything but a software engineer, hence I spent three years in the IT industry, often feeling like a misfit, in spite of being an above average programmer.
I needed a change, and here I am, in a b-school, trying to figure out where to go from here. One comforting feeling is that I am not the only confused soul around here. I do feel good that at least I know and accept that I am confused, whereas there are many who don't. It remains to be seen whether things continue to fall in place, or whether a b-school will make me more proactive.
Back to school
Posted by Sabarinath C in Personal on April 11th, 2007
This post has been in the offing for quite some time, but due to many reasons never got typed in.
After nearly 3 years in the IT industry, I am going back to school. School, and not college because I am joining a one year fast track MBA program, which packs so much into a single year that there are no breaks, holidays, or weekends.
No more monthly visits to God’s own country or home sweet home. No more the luxury of eating food cooked by Amma once a month. No more ‘decent’ pay of the IT industry - back to student life, ‘thozhil rahitha vidyarthi’(unemployed student) as we say in Malayalam. To use an exaggeration, joining a jail for rigourous imprisonment where there is no parole!
On the brighter side, this course would open up a lot more avenues and wider options in my professional life. What remains to be seen is whether this one year turns out to be fruitful in finding myself - something that never happened for in the IT industry.
Trichy ramblings
Posted by Sabarinath C in Travel on March 6th, 2007
I am right now in Trichy, with three more hours to kill before my train to Chennai. Dusty, hot and humid like most places in Tamil Nadu.
The train was supposed to reach at 5 am, and it was not a terminating train - so kept on waking every hour, to discover at 5 am that the train was late by at least an hour and a half. First sight of trichy was the Kaveri river(it is not a river any more - you can see most of the dry river bed, and the little spring like water remaining is only ankle deep - reminded me about Nila/Bharatapuzha in Kerala). Next came the shanties and slums, and the familiar sight of women queueing for their share of water at the hand pump.
I could find easy and affordable accomodation near the central bus stand, and food at Vasanta Bhavan was also tasty (and again cheap compared to Chennai).
Visited the Rock Fort Temple yesterday. Amazing experience - the 7th century temple, its architecture, the paintings, the carvings, and last but not least, the view of Trichy from the top. Initially I also had plans to visit the Srirangam temple, but somehow felt extremely lazy (nothing new).
My planned one hour at the internet cafe is almost over now. I shall upload the pictures taken from Rock Fort soon.
Some more snaps - Mamallapuram
Posted by Sabarinath C in Photography on January 29th, 2007
Some pics taken at the shore temple at Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram)
http://cacafonix.blogspot.com/2007/01/snaps-from-mamallapuram-mahabalipuram.html
Snaps taken from train
Posted by Sabarinath C in Photography on January 27th, 2007
Some snaps taken from train near Tirunelveli. Providing a link to my blogspot blog, as it is not possible to attach multiple pics in the same blog on iLand.
http://cacafonix.blogspot.com/2007/01/snapshots-from-train-tirunelveli.html
The Guru
Posted by Sabarinath C in Personal on January 13th, 2007
No, this post is not a film review of Mani Ratnam’s latest offering. It is about an evening well spent, with one of the few people whom I consider as my Guru, one of the few teachers who has inspired me.
I met him yesterday in connection with getting a recommendation letter for admission to one of the universities. Once we were done with it, we had small chit chat, general enquiries about my batchmates, work, life, everything. I’d always loved listening to him, mostly because he has a different outlook towards everything - one of the few people who still resists using a cellphone - and, that, on many counts, I found his views to be strikingly similar to mine.
He said he played badminton with some of his students in the evening, invited me over to a game in the makeshift badminton court he had made in front of his department building. I happily joined him, teamed up with him for a couple of doubles matches against his other students, and promptly lost!
After the game, we both went back to his office to cool down for a while, before taking a walk to next bus stop outside the university. We had tea and snacks from a small shop there, continuing with our general discussions, and about my higher studies plans. When we were done with our snacks, we together took a bus to the city.
It was an evening very differently spent than my routine days in the infotech industry, but I enjoyed every moment of it. There he was, a senior professor and director of a research centre, with me, doing all those simple things, like playing a game or chit chat over tea and parippu vada in a small kerala tea shop. But then, to me, it is these simple things in life that give me joy, spending quality time with people I admire
First Look: Windows Vista
Posted by Sabarinath C in Technical on December 17th, 2006
Attrition, Hikes and Happiness
Posted by Sabarinath C in Work on December 11th, 2006
"If in another 6 months, I don't get a transfer to x-branch of the company, I would quit."
"There is no challenge in this job profile. I want them to put me in x-project, where work would be interesting. Else I would put in my papers."
"They are paying only x.x lakhs per annum to freshers Company Y pays double that. If in my next appraisal I don't get at least z.z lakhs per annum, I will join Y. In fact, Y has already made me an offer to pay my bond money also. Besides, I have three other offers also to consider."
These are the kind of words one gets to hear from the younger software engineers. Not that I am old, but that's the feeling I get when I talk to these people. I remember back in 2004 when I passed out, when the industry was beginning to look good, recovering from the 2000 dot com bust, my batch mates considered themselves lucky to get a job. It is not that we all were angels and never cared about the money, but I feel we at least give our jobs more respect than 'I-sell-myself-to-the-highest-bidder'.
I don't think the young engineers alone are to be blamed. In this boom of software industry when every company is in need of a large number of 'resources' (I hate the term resources ' makes it sound as if people are just another computer ' maybe 'talent' could fit better), they have been blatantly throwing ethics to the winds, openly encouraging prospective recruits to just vanish from their current positions without any notice. That's just once side of the story. The other part is that while on a recruiting spree, every company fails to keep track of its current workforce, often paying lateral entrants much more than the employees who had stayed on for many years. Thus, loyal employees too are forced to look for greener pastures outside the company. Also, most companies refuse to give proper raises during appraisal meetings ' whereas, in resignation meetings there is a better chance of being granted a hike. While most IT/ITES companies are constantly whining about high attrition rates, had they spent half of what they spend on luring others to the company on hikes to existing employees, the attrition rates could have been better managed.
Again, the dreams and aspirations of the youth is very constantly changing ' if my previous generation was happy buying a car/house in the mid forties, this generation is still not content buying every 'kool' gadget under the sun using their credit cards. If the nth batch was happy with x lakhs per annum as salary, the (n + 1)th batch is not content with x.5 lakhs per annum. Somewhere along the road to economic prosperity, we've lost the key to happiness. As my generation becomes increasingly consumerist, I wonder whether with many times more salary than our previous generation, we would be at least half as happy as what our parents were.
Parallel Blog
Posted by Sabarinath C in Blogs on December 7th, 2006
http://cacafonix.blogspot.com/ shall be my parallel blog from now on. I thought I’d compare the two blog services.
Musings
Posted by Sabarinath C in Nostalgia on December 1st, 2006
The girl sitting opposite to him smirked, and said, “No way. You would realise that sooner or later”.
That was more than three years back.
”You mustn’t compare two different types of relationships. I care about my friends, but that doesn’t mean I care more about them than I care about you. You wouldn’t understand because you don’t have many friends”, he retorted.
That was two years back.
Review - Classmates (Malayalam)
Posted by Sabarinath C in Movies on November 29th, 2006
Home, Sweet Home
Posted by Sabarinath C in Blogs on November 24th, 2006
Back to home after nearly two months, back to my loyal computer, back to blogosphere, back to Thiruvananthapuram…….
Catching up with so many things….right now feeling very tired after the journey. Hope to come up with a proper post during my short stay of two days in Thiru’puram.
Alive and Kicking
Posted by Sabarinath C in Blogs on October 21st, 2006
Yes, I am very much alive and kicking. But, I’ve not been able to jot down on my blog, due to some internet policy at office. From internet cafes, the free flow writing simply doesn’t happen.
There has been a lot to write, a lot of weird musings, which are left unworded in my mind…all that for the next time I browse from a cafe (damn all those proxy servers and internet policies)
Before signing off, I must thank Indian Railways for having a browsing centre inside the railway station at Chennai. This has made waiting for trains a lot easier
Down the memory lane
Posted by Sabarinath C in Personal on August 24th, 2006
I can’t stop admiring this wonderful tool called orkut. When I had passed out from school, email and internet had not been so popular, which meant many school acquaintaces and friends lost touch after going in their different ways.
Now, many years after I finished my 12th std, I could renew contacts with a lot of old friends from school. Among them, I found my English teacher’s daughter too, and hence came to know that my teacher was also in Chennai. Subsequently I talked to her over telephone, and was promptly invited for lunch over the weekend.
Now, bachelors staying away from home would know what home cooked food means to you! I had a wonderful afternoon, cherishing home cooked Kerala food, while going over those golden days at school - I got to get an update on most of my teachers, while she got updated about her old students from me.
In course of that conversation, my teacher asked me about my bête noire, about whom I had written in an earlier blog titled Childhood Enemies (http://sabarinath.rediffiland.com/scripts/xanadu_diary_view.php?postId=1142514893) . I told her about the whereabouts of this “friend”, when my teacher’s daughter, (who had studied two years junior to me at the same school) interjected - “Bhaiyya I still remember about the fights you too had”.
I was taken aback, for I had so far believed that the fights between me and this “friend” were entirely between us, and others, let alone juniors, would be blissfully unaware of these. My hopes were shattered when she replied, “I always knew - either mom talked about your fights after coming home, or whenever we came to the staff room, we could find one of you complaining to teachers, about the other!!!”
Of Bicycles and Magnanimous People
Posted by Sabarinath C in Blogs on July 31st, 2006
One of my iLander friends, Shweta, had written in her blog titled “Too Sweet” (http://shwetu.rediffiland.com/scripts/xanadu_diary_view.php?postId=1153251085)- that iLanders always say nice comments about each other. I too felt the same way, because, on most of the blogs, the comments are either nice and complimentary, and at worst, diplomatically critical.
I had agreed with Shweta, until I got a whopping 8 comments from a magnanimous well wisher, by name Bhushan. The comments were on my blog titled “On a pair of unpowered wheels” (http://sabarinath.rediffiland.com/scripts/xanadu_diary_view.php?postId=1151916992 ). After reading my blog, my generous friend Bhushan did the following, using words bordering on arrogance and rudeness: -
-Offer me money to solve my “monetary problems”: Until today, I didn’t know that people bought bicycles because they couldn’t afford two square meals a day. I am indebted to this friend for this enlightenment.
- He is going to do a PhD on Indian Poverty: I have the satisfaction of having inspired someone to do a doctorate I wish, after his research, he does make similar offers to all the poor people he bases his thesis on - offering them monetary support or cars, as the need be.
- Offer me a car from his stable consisting of two esteems, one accord and one maruti 800: (can’t you see he is magnanimous?): I am happy with my cycle, Sir, you can keep your cars. (Now, why do I get a feeling that this friend, may be in dire need of money, and that his lack of funds to buy fuel for his cars is driving him into donating these?)
- Inform me that 50% discount is being offered on imported cycles in his city: As per his conclusion, I couldn’t afford two meals a day…so Sir, imported cycles are out of reach for me.
This generous friend, who can make Warren Buffet feel humble was also worried where my wife would sit on my bicycle. I am not worried, because, as of now, I dont have a wife! He was also curious whether helmets were compulsory for a bicyle. If he owns a helmet manufacturing company, its bad news for him - helmets are not compulsory for bicyle riders.
Now, some iLanders may feel that it is not fair to devote so much space to someone who comments on one’s blog. I look at it this way - this is the least I can do, sing paeans on my blog, about someone who has been so concerened about me.
On a pair of unpowered wheels…
Posted by Sabarinath C in Blogs on July 3rd, 2006
There was more in store for him.
“I am buying a second hand BSA SLR Photon”, my second one-line email to him
Thus last weekend I finally got my second hand bicycle. Being a bit too utility oriented, the MTB models never appealed to me. Actually there was no particular reason for me to own at cycle at this stage, except for an irritating, ever growing paunch that seems to grow in proportion to the years I spend in the IT industry.
Pedalling through the busy lanes of Chennai has been an experience quite different from zipping through on a petrol powered tweo wheeler. Now I consider myself lucky enough not to be run down by the aggressively honking, oversized Mahindra Scorpio (the driver of which thinks that the whole road is his property). Its an altogether different world - there is no machine power to race you ahead of the driver on your right side - only the already panting and weak muscle power. You become patient, begin to understand better why the cycles on the road go slow, and no longer consider them as an avoidable vehicle on the street.
The pleasures of pedalling your way around are many, notwithstanding the panting part - you can choose to be blissfully oblivious of the spiralling petrol prices, no more need to worry abt turning off engines at signals and furiously kicking them back to life when the signal turns green. The best part, I feel, is the extra kilograms of unwanted fat accumulated in the last two years, that I hope to burn off.
Who is rude?
Posted by Sabarinath C in Blogs on June 27th, 2006
Recently, there was some noise in the media about the survey conducted by Reader’s Digest - which found Mumbai to be the rudest city in the world. Noted journalist and iLander Shobha Warrier made a few personal observations in her blog Chennai, the kindest city- http://notanobserver.rediffiland.com/scripts/xanadu_diary_view.php?postId=1150998319 . She lists her first hand experiences of kindness in the city of Chennai, compares and contrasts it with a few first hand experiences in her home town, Trivandrum (incidentally, my hometown too).
What surprised me was that how a whole bunch of stupid people could take offence at the article, and convert the comments section of this blog in to a platform where North Indians bash up South Indians and vice versa. I really can not comprehend how a totally benevolent article could be interpreted as something anti-Hindi or anti-North Indian. The language both sides used made me feel sick. Cry, my beloved Mother India, your sons abuse and fight each other for the most unreasonable “reasons”.
Unless we want our country to go the USSR way or Yugoslav way, we must reinforce the feeling that we are Indians first, and whether we are Biharis/Tamilians/Marathas/Malayali should not be a reason for us to hurl the most obscene abuses at each other. Politicians should stop pumping venom into the minds of people, on lines of caste based politics, and we, as responsible citizens should not fall into the trap of votebank politics.
Instead of rudely reacting to Shobha’s article, one should remember that a city or nation is only as good as its people, and by being rude, one is only vindicating what Reader’s Digest said.
Of Blogs, Comments and Childishness
Posted by Sabarinath C in Blogs on June 26th, 2006
“I shall not write another blog unless and until I get at least one comment on this blog”, I thought, while writing passionately about my idol in Indian History, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose (http://sabarinath.rediffiland.com/scripts/xanadu_diary_view.php?postId=1147953193) I know it has been a childish of me to think that way, and it took me on a sabattical from blogging for more than a month.
Why do I write blogs? I write them when I feel like expressing something. Why do I expect to get comments on some of my blogs - very frankly I think its a feel good factor - knowing that others too feel the same on certain topics, and also the fact that on some topics I may be having strong feelings and put them down in writing very passionately…
Do other iLanders feel that way? Am I feeling too childish abt one particular blog? Anyway my sincere thanks to those people who finally commented on my previous blog, and hence bringing me out of my “vacation” from blogging.
Netaji Remains A Mystery
Posted by Sabarinath C in Politics on May 18th, 2006
The Government has categorically rejected the commission’s findings, saying “Netaji died in that plane crash”. Agreed that the commission was instituted by the previous government. But if this government was in any case going to say that Netaji died in that crash, why did it not wind up the commission immediately after it came to power? Why did it wait for dull two years? Did the government simply want the commission to endorse its version on Netaji’s death?
The rejection of the findings comes amid allegations by the commision that government did not produce certain documents which, according to it, could have solved the mystery of Netaji’s death once and for all. The bigger question, I believe, is whether the government really is interested in knowing the truth, and the risks involved - in case the truth turns out to be contrary to what we are told.
So this charismatic leader continues to live in his fans’ minds (me included). The big ifs remain - if Netaji had not died/disappeared after that crash, would India have been partitioned? if he had returned to post independence India, would the Nehru-Gandhi family have had so much of influence, down to generations, in India?
Why did commisions four Commissions of Enquiry instituted at different times not really conclude anything? What is being hidden from the people? Are the ashes kept in the Japanese war temple really that of Netaji? If so, why has the government not claimed it in these six decades? Will the complete truth be ever known?
Those Hindi classes
Posted by Sabarinath C in Nostalgia on May 3rd, 2006
Hindi classes constitue one of the most interesting memories at school, second only to the crushes
. Though we hated those classes like anything, we didnt realize its entertainment value until we all dropped hindi in our 11th standard. That our hindi teacher was a little eccentric only added to the fun.
She would start saying something, possibly a poor attempt at a joke, and forget what she was saying in mid-sentence and then try to remember it, saying “Kya Hai…” aloud. This used to happen so often, that we the back benchers started counting the number of “Kya Hai…” she used to say. When the count crossed half century inside a 35 minute period, we would applaud, and the poor teacher would think we were appreciating some joke of hers.
The most funniest incident happened in 9th standard, where we had to study a poem by Harivansh Rai Bachchan. We had a film buff in our class, and he was totally crazy about Amitabh Bachchan. We had monthly unit tests, and in one test we had to write Kavi Parichay on Harivansh Rai Bachchan. What this film buff wrote as Kavi Parichay was so interesting that it was read out in the class. His article on Harivansh Rai Bachchan read something like this - Amitabh Bachchan is India’s finest actor. He gave sterling performances in movies like Deewar and Sholay. [more description about Amitabh's acting talents, famous films, etc running into paragraphs]. Finally, Maanya kavi Shri Harivansh Rai Bachchan hamare priya Amitabh-ji ke poojya pitaashri hain!!!
Being Cyrus is about being patient
Posted by Sabarinath C in Movies on April 1st, 2006
“F**k….F**k ” cursed the man, before the bullet pierced his head.
“I do that, I do that”, said his killer. “Only that, when I do it, women dont fall asleep in between”.
Such dialogues hit you, once the otherwise slow movie picks up pace towards the end. The movie is like a jigsaw puzzle - you wonder why a particular scene was shown when it doesnt seem to make any sense at all, until the final ten minutes when everything falls in place and begins to make sense.
‘Being Cyrus’ is a very different movie. First of all, its an Engligh movie, but certainly not a crossover film. It certainly proves that Saif Ali Khan has now matured as a versatile actor, playing roles varying from Hum Tum to Parineeta to Being Cyrus with ease, and very convincingly.
All the central characters in the film are Parsi. Naseeruddin Shah plays Dinshaw Sethna, a once reknownwed sculptor who has now faded into oblivion, his eccentric wife Katy, his father, his younger brother and his very young wife. All of them are peculiar characters. Said Ali Khan plays Cyrus, someone who comes in to help Dinsha Sethna with pottery.
“The way Katy was interested to see me in told me that my role here would be much more than getting my hands dirty with pottery”, thought Cyrus, as he entered the Sethna household. As he gets to know more about the family, he also gets more involved with the small problems inside the family. Dinshah is a dreamer, lost in his own world most of the time, happy with his country life.
Katy, his wife, had high dreams when she chose to spend her life with Dinshah, then a very successful sculptor. Her dreams were dashed when her husband chose to live in this countryside farmhouse, whereas her husband’s selfish brother Farooq(played excellently by Boman Irani) took away the big building in Bombay owned by their father. She lives an eccentric life, best summarized by Cyrus as “Most people make eye contact. Katy makes breast contact”
Dialogues are good, shifting between philosophical and psychological. All the actors have done their due, except for Naseeruddin Shah, who has been wasted. Saif has done well, and so has Dimple. Boman Irani excels in his role as the selfish brother, and the character of their father, the senior, senile Sethna is also interesting, with pilosophical dialogues like - “After the game (of chess) is over, both the King and the pawn go back into the same box”.
So what happens to all the eccentric characters, including the protagonist? If you have patience to go through 60 minutes of jigsaw puzzle in hope of the remaining 15 minutes of action, go ahead! But I must warn you that those 60 minutes out of the total 80 minutes are a real test of patience.
My Trip to the City of Joy
Posted by Sabarinath C in Travel on March 29th, 2006
A late evening flight took me to Kolkata for my three day stay. I had decided to see as much of the city as possible during these three days, and had a rough idea of what all places I wanted to see.
The drive from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose airport at Dum Dum to Baliganj, where I was to stay was a long one, passing through the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, which connects the south of Calcutta to the north, without passing through the city.
As my uncle is working in the Army, I could have a look inside Fort Williams, built by Robert Clive in the 18th century, now converted into army barracks. Inside the Fort, the old church has been converted into a grand library, containing books of colonial vintage. In front of the library stands the oldest cannon.
My next stop was Victoria Memorial, which was envisaged by Lord Curzon (yeah, the same guy who partitioned Bengal) in memory of Queen Victoria. The building is an imposing structure made of marble, and currently it houses a museum, containing paintings and other articles of British colonial rule.
Post lunch I visted the Indian Museum, one of the largest in India. Unfortunately, its focus was on matters of little interest to me, like minerals of India, fossils, zoology, etc…The only exhibits that interested me was the sculptures from ancient and medieval India.
Having completed my round inside the museum much ahead of schedule, I used the extra time to pay a visit to Kalikhat, to the temple of the reigning deity of Kolkata. (The name Kolkata/Calcutta is an anglicised version of Kalikhat). This temple took me by surprise; the surroundings of the temple were in stark contrast with what one would expect with the main temple of a city. The places around the temple looked somewhere between a market and a slum, and lots of ‘middlemen’ were running around offering to take care of all your pooja-requirements, of course, for a few hundred rupees.
One thing that stood out about Kolkata was its glaring contrasts - a modern city caught in a time warp at times, the battered old city buses, the yellow painted taxis standing out in the traffic jams, old, peeling buildings standing right next to brand new skyscrappers, the near absence of autorikshaws, the now illegal but omnipotent hand pulled rickshaws, streets teeming with people,….the list goes on and on.
For me, the highlight of my trip was my visit to Netaji Bhavan, the home of Netaji Subhas chandra Bose. It was in this house that Netaji was placed under house arrest by the British during 1941, and it was from here that he made the ‘Great Escape’ through Afghanistan, Russia and finally Germany. The building is now home to Netaji Research Bureau, which does research into Netaji’s life, and brings out a good collection of books giving insight into his life.
Next couple of days was an ernest attempt to cover as much of places-to-see in Kolkata as possible in minimum time. And I think I have been successul on that count, by visiting Dakshineswar Temple, where Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa initiated Swami Vivekananda into spirituality, Belur Math, across the Hugli river, where Swami Vivekananda and other disciples of Ramakrishna founded Ramakrishna Mission, rides through the Howra Bridge, Vidyasagar Setu, and Vivekananda Setu, all the three bridges across the Hugli River, a ferry ride across the Hugli, which unlike Couum of Chennai, does not look like a reservoir of coca cola. In addition to that I also managed to take a ride in the underground metro railway.
In all, it was a wonderful trip, albeit short, to a remarkable city, that was once the capital of British India (till 1912) and was considered to be the most important city in the British Empire, after London.
Office of Profit
Posted by Sabarinath C in Politics on March 28th, 2006
It was fun to watch another “Sacrifice” drama by our de-facto Prime Minister, Madam Sonia Gandhi. That such a minor issue would snowball into something like this was not something that I had expected.
When around 60 MPs were involved with the so-called office of profit, I was wondering how this could go un-noticed, as I could clearly remember studying about this condition to qualify as a Member of Parliament, way back in high school. Maybe the 770 odd MPs never took their school education seriously, nor read any fine print while contesting elections.
It was atrocious to know that the Govt was doing wrong on two counts by planning the ordinance to bail out Sonia Gandhi : (1) Govt was planning to do this to help out cheif - bending laws to suits their needs, and (2) By planning an ordinance when Parliament was in session, it was an insult to the highest institution of our democracy.
Thus the hue and cry raised by the opposition was understandable. But then, they too let me down, when they all agreed to bring in a bill to exempt more offices from offices of profit. They made it look as if it was ok to bend laws, only that one has to ‘lawfully’ bend laws.
After all, the opposition too does not want to be left far behind when it comes to holding offices of profit. Way to go, for the largest democracy in the world!
Railways are changing, Positively!
Posted by Sabarinath C in Blogs on March 21st, 2006
A couple of years back, booking for a railway ticket meant long queues at the reservation centre. Then came the facility by IRCTC wherein you can book tickets online, and get them delivered by courier within 36 hours at your doorstep, at a nominal charge of Rs 40 per ticket. Now they have gone one step further and now lets you book a ticket online, and take a printout of the ‘e-ticket’ and travel using that printout. You need to carry a photo ID card, which you need to resister at the time of booking the ticket.
Also, the Internet Cafe at Chennai Central railway station is now up and running again. Supposedly the only Internet cafe inside a railway station in India, it was closed down temporarily. There are mobile/laptop chargers available at the platforms too!
Sunrise at Pondicherry
Posted by Sabarinath C in Photography on March 17th, 2006
Mangroves at Pichavaram
Posted by Sabarinath C in Photography on March 17th, 2006
Childhood Enemies
Posted by Sabarinath C in Personal on March 16th, 2006
In between the introductions, my mind went back to those school days. Well, there wasn’t anything factually incorrect in the way she introduced me, and possibly there would not have been a better way to describe our relationship.
Right from the day I joined the school, we were at loggerheads with each other. Everyday, we would try out best to see each other in trouble, and methods improved from complaining to teachers in 4th standard to direct verbal duels in 10th standard. Two things added insults to my injuries: school teachers were typically more sympathetic towards girl students, if not partial, and on the marks front, she would always top annual exams, leaving me a distant second.
This went on for the full six years we studied together, until one extremely pleasant morning when I got the news that she won a foreign scholarship and that she would be leaving to study abroad. That would have been one of the happiest days in my life till that point of time, having her out of my school and hence out of my life. But I also noted that half of my dislike for her vanished into thin air from that day itself - we became more polite with each other, and lessened our bitterness for each other.
Yet, we kept in touch, through emails and phone calls, and our penchant to get at each other’s nerves continued. This time also she was doing it, I understood, and she was enjoying every moment of it.
But coming to think of it, I too was enjoying it. This occasion made me nostalgic about those golden school days, which I’d always wanted to re-live. I also recollected that, though we were sworn enemies at school, our relation was something that stood the test of time, and that we’d been a lot more in touch that many closer friends. Also, I was the only “friend” from school who attended the wedding.
At some point of time the realization occurs that relationships may not be the same over the years, and that our perceptions could change over time.
The Digital Divide
Posted by Sabarinath C in Blogs on March 10th, 2006
In course of the conversation, we also discussed what Sabir Bhatia (of hotmail fame) had said about blogging after launching ‘BlogEverywhere.com’ - that in five years time, blogs would become inseparable from daily life. We both still are novices to make any kind of predictions on Bhatia’sprediction, but we were looking at the way computers have changed our lives.
I looked back at this wonderful thing called e-mail. I acquired my first email id back in year 2000, and these days I feel awkward if I had not checked my mails at least once a day. Looking from that perspective, email has become an inseparable part of my life, in a span of 5-6 years.
This friend of mine, with whom I was having this conversation, lives on the other side of the world, thousands of miles away, in the USA. If not for another related technology called Instant Messaging, I would not having been having this conversation. Instant messaging too has become an inseparable part of life.
Maybe in the year 2010, when Sabeer Bhatia is smiling all the way to his bank out of the revenue he made through blogeverywhere.com, I wld be writing a similar piece on how blogs too have become an inspeparable part of our lives.
All these thoughts led me to think about people who didn’t have access to the internet, or people who were not aware of its benefits. I have lost touch with most of my acquaintances who belong to the other side of the digital divide. I also remembered that, apart from job/exam applications, the last of what we now call ’snail mail’ I wrote too was in the year 2000, the year which I migrated to email, and became spoilt by it.
Snail mails definitely had a more personal touch to them. Getting used to the benefits of e-mail, IM, etc also meant that we probably become spoilt enough to lose the good side of the non-digital world. These days we have started to read emotions in between the ASCII text, with or without emoticons.
How much longer would it take for us to be completely lost in this pseudo world of computers? Having been a tad too long on this side of the digital divide, I would wish to have a balanced share of both sides of the divide, not any one world alone.
Sunset at Chunnambar
Posted by Sabarinath C in Photography on March 8th, 2006
Temple - Gangai Konda Cholapuram
Posted by Sabarinath C in Travel on March 8th, 2006
Built: 11-12th century, in the Chola Period
Currently maintained by the Archeological Survey of India
The drive from the temple town of Chidambaram to the temple of Gangai Konda Cholapuram took us through the real countryside of Tamil Nadu. The place was far away from hustle-bustle of city life. When we finally reached the destination, there was more foreign tourists than local people.
The temple is very similar in contruction to the more famous Brihadeshwar temple at Thanjavur(Tanjore), and the shadow of the ‘gopuram’ of the temple would not fall on the ground at any point of time - it would always fall within itself. There is a very big idol of Nandi (Lord Shiva’s ‘vahanam’), which would reflect sunlight onto the Shiva Linga inside the temple all day.
The temple derives its name from the legend that after a scion of the Chola dynasty made considerable conquests up to north India, he made a replica of the Tanjore temple at this place. More than that, he made arrangements to bring the water from Ganga (Ganges) daily for the ‘abhishekam’.
What took me by surprise was the attitude of the ASI officials. They were making most out of the control vested in them. Everyone, including the pujari of the temple, are in cahoots in extracting money from the tourists. Entry into the grand Gopuram is prohibited , said the officials, but on a few extra rupees per head, they could ‘take a risk’ and show us around since we are ’special’ people.
Inside the Gopuram, whose tricky, dark stairways scare you - one slight slip and you fall into the rocks. The Gopuram had a shell like architecture - an outer wall, some ten feet space in between and then an inner pyramid. If you switch off the lights ut in by the ASI, you can experience total darkness - absolute - you wouldnt see your hand if you wave it right in front of your eyes. The bats inside gave a touch time to the ladies.
Another interesting thing I found in this temple was the way the ‘Nava Graha’ were depicted. Here, the Sun was shown as driving a chariot, with all the planets around him within the same chariot. Probably the Indian astronomers of those times knew heliocentric theory long before Nicolai Copernicus proposed it in the 16th century - that the sun was at the centre of the solar system, and the solar system together had a common motion of its own.
The trip was very enlightening - one must visit and see first hand these places so that we realise the great India within - which many of new generation Indians refuse to recognise.
One could also notice how foreign tourists were fleeced by the locals. One cannot really blame them, for the development of the place as a tourist destination has not brought any real benefit to the locals, most of whom are still very poor.
More details about the temple is available at: http://www.tamilnation.org/culture/architecture/gkc.htm
The Rice Bowl of Kerala
Posted by Sabarinath C in Photography on March 8th, 2006
Alappuzha Backwaters
Posted by Sabarinath C in Photography on March 8th, 2006
Kani Konna
Posted by Sabarinath C in Photography on March 1st, 2006
Ponmudi
Posted by Sabarinath C in Photography on March 1st, 2006
House Hunting Blues
Posted by Sabarinath C in Blogs on February 26th, 2006
The landlady of the house I am sharing with two of my colleagues, is returning to live in the house. Which meant we are to hunt superfast for a new place to stay in.
Having sold my bike I found my 10 km commute to office taking up a long time. Also, getting a bus back to home in the late hours of the night was nightmarish. So we began trying to find a house near the office, more towards the heart of the city.
Hunting for a house had more in store than I had presumed. For many house owners, bachelors were a strict no-no. Brokers would play this up so that they get higher brokerage fees.
Finally when we found a decent place through one of our colleagues, the rent was a tad too high for our expectations, and our prospective landlady got confused about provisions regarding rent receipts. It finally took three rounds of what cld be regarded as ‘personal interviews’ of us tenants, three hours of patient listening on our freedom struggle, moral values, elections and what not, and four glasses grape squash to make our 80 year old land lady agree to lease out the house to us.
My Maiden flight
Posted by Sabarinath C in Blogs on February 26th, 2006
A special offer from Jet Airways offering flight tickets to Trivandrum from Chennai at Rs.999 let me materialise my long cherished dream of flying.
Chennai airport was a lot cleaner than what I had expected, and I made a mental note that Indians can keep places clean if they want to. I had a printout of an e-ticket with me, which said that Identity Proof was compulsory before boarding. I had my newly acquired photo credit card fished out from my wallet, but to my amazement and dismay all at once, no one bothered to verify my identity. So much for security measures.
The aircraft was much smaller than what I had imagined. It was an 80 seater Airbus Aerospatiale. It had just 2 seats on each side, and I luckily got a window seat . There were two stewardess, helping us out with seat belts and other safety instructions.
The take off happened 20 minutes behind schedule, but once we were up in air I felt so happy - the earth below looked liked what I had seen in Google Earth (Maybe ppl who had flown before they saw Google Earth must have felt vice-versa). The flight took a course along the coast line and watching land and sea from the air was exhilarating.
After an hour and a half of flying at 500 km/h, the view below changed to something even better - the flat, barren landscape of Tamil Nadu gave way to hilly, green land of Kerala. It was simply breathtaking. I was disappointed when the flight touched down of Thiruvananthapuram International Airport - my maiden flight had come to an end. My only consolation was that my return flight on Monday was also by flight.
Looking forward to Monday’s flight, but not getting back to office straight from Chennai airport
Nine Point Some Book!
Posted by Sabarinath C in Books on February 21st, 2006
Nine Point Some Book!
“What not to do at IIT”, said the tagline on the front cover of the book. I had thought that taglines had more to do with movies and products than books. But sure enough, these words aroused my inteersts suffieciently to get hold of a copy of it from one of my friends.
The book gets hold of you right from the acknowledgements page. The simple, yet beautiful language catches the reader’s attention. Moreover, anything that tells the tale of escapades of college life would enthrall any recently-out-of-college people like me. One can very easily identify with the events mentioned in this novel, and incidents from one’s own college life would replay in front of the reader.
What sets apart this book is that it tears to pieces all preconceived notions about India’s premier institute, the IIT. “Five Point Someone” tells the story of three people very different from what we would think of as a typical IITian - they have their GPAs at five point something. It tells us that, after all, life at IIT can be fun too - but maybe at a price. Everything from the ragging scenes at the hostel, boring lectures, campus romance, assignments, to semesterly exams, bring back vivid memories. One more or less relives those four years of engineering.
One quote at the back cover of the book says it all very precisely - “…this is the book version of Dil Chahta Hai…”. To conclude, this is an un-put-downable book, which one would most probably finish in one straight sitting. THe author, Chetan Bhagat, has done an excellent job with his maiden literary venture. We could give a nine point something GPA for this book.
The Devil and Ms Prym
Posted by Sabarinath C in Books on February 21st, 2006
The Devil and Ms Prym is another typical Paulo Coelho book, though it lacks the pace and punch of his evergreen The Alchemist. As is usual with his novels, this one too raises questions about our concepts of faith, morality, crime, etc.
Worth a read, but I am getting increasingly bored with his style of novels - they’re becoming too predictable.
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