Wednesday, September 24, 2008


Another Day

 

It was just an ordinary day,

A day like any other day,

Children going to school,

Men and women going to work.

Everyone busy with their lives.

 

Suddenly there was a boom,

The serenity and monotony of everyday life-

Shattered with a ball of fire.

There was anger and chaos.

Blood and mayhem, everywhere.

 

Why were they targeted?

What was their crime?

No answers-just anger and a sense of hopelessness.

Governments may come and governments may go-

But terror continues-

As innocent lives continue to be lost.

 

Will there ever be an end to this mindless violence?

Or is it just going to be endless violence?

 


© Mahesh Ramani 2008


 

Monday, September 22, 2008


On Naukri..

 

Thanks to Tata Indicom's superfast Plug n' Play modem-230.4 kbps I spent 30 minutes to open my gmail inbox. Then I realized the speed was too slow so I switched to the HTML mode and thankfully Mozilla made the inbox open quicker. Then I created a profile for myself on naukri.com. Let me see if someone wants to hire-"A postgraduate in English Literature with 3+ years experience in Instructional Design and Copy editing."(That is my headline).

 

Let us see what happens seven weeks to go before I receive my relieving letter, hopefully will find something by then.

 

Hope, that is the pillar on which our lives rest.:)

Thursday, September 18, 2008


The Letter

 

So after three months of contemplating, weighing options, and postponing my decision, I took the plunge and tendered my resignation yesterday. Will be serving a notice period of two months. After that.., I do not know, am going to sit jobless in my house for two months and study like the devil for my IAS Prelims 2009. Perhaps find a simple 9 to 5 job. Guys and girls any openings in your companies:)

 

This time I will have to score much higher than the cut-off to ensure that I do not get caught in the caste quota thing.

 

Some interesting conversations with people from HR. I guess I have made up my mind. So people wish me luck.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Job hunting

Job hunting on a serious front, nothing seems to click, everywhere it is the same response-"Sir, you are already being grossly overpaid for what you are doing?"
If things go on at this rate, I might once again go back to writing stuff like-"At the end of this course the learner will...."

Let us see what happens...

Sunday, September 14, 2008


Delhi Blasts

 

SIMI and the Indian Mujahideen struck Delhi yesterday as five blasts ripped different places in Delhi, thankfully a sixth bomb was defused near Regal cinema, or the number of dead would have been more.

 

Atleast 30 people are dead and around 120 people are injured.

 

So while the politicians are breaking their heads over a nuclear agreement, terrorists are striking at will in different parts of the country.

 

Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Surat and now Delhi, so which city is going to be targetted next.

 

Is Shivraj Patil-honourable home minister planning to use the same reports that were issued after the Bangalore and Ahmedabad blasts?

 

It is time that POTA or a similar act is brought once again into place.

 

National morale is at an all time low and fear looms large in the mind of the common man.

 

No one knows when the  next terror attack will happen?

 

May the souls of the victims who died in the blasts rest in peace.


SNIPPETS ....

 

Manager: Hello there take a seat. Sorry to keep you waiting.

 

Max-(With a fake smile, bloody fellow kept me waiting for more than an hour)-No problem.

 

Manager-So you are working with SS Earnley, why do you want to quit your job?

 

Max-Well there are lots of reasons, two important ones are the tiring night shifts and a lack of proper vertical growth.

 

Manager-(Looks at Max's CV) Oh! you worked as an ID with XXX, tell me something about ID.

 

Max compresses the core of ID principles in a nutshell and gives a lecture for 5 minutes, the Manager is impressed but totally lost.

 

Manager-(Stares at Max for a while) Good you gave a good explanation(Max is sure that the manager did not understand head or tail.)

 

Manager-OK you can meet the HR Manager, I am through, best of luck.

 

Max is made to wait for another half an hour before he meets the HR Manager.

 

HR Manager-So what do you know about our company?

 

Max-Recollects and recounts the data he had carefully gathered from google the previous night.

 

HR Manager-I am impressed by your knowledge. So what is your current CTC?

 

Max-Mentions the amount.

 

HR Manager-So what is your expected CTC?

 

Max-30% more than my current CTC.

 

HR Manager-See you have to understand we are not a BPO, you get such high salaries because of night shifts, no night shifts here, alternate Saturdays holidays, gift vouchers on your birthday, and a defined growth plan.

 

Max-(Obviously getting frustrated by the HR Manager's monologue) So what salary can you offer me?

 

HR Manager-Rs 5000/- less than your current CTC. Think it over and send me an e-mail.

 

Max-Thank you.

 

End of conversation and interview.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

TYAGU-ORU MANITHANIN KADHAI


I have always cursed myself for never managing to learn to read or write Tamil. Circumstances always prevented me from learning Tamil. I always wanted to read the masterpieces of Kalki, Jayakanthan, Sujatha and many others, but I had to console myself with the condensed summaries written in various blogs and book reviews.

Yesterday I found a gem from a bookshop in Moore Market, Tyagu-Oru Manithanin Kadhai, by Sivasankari, translated in English by Uma Narayanan.

It is the story of a brilliant young boy, who grows up and becomes an alcoholic.
The story starts with a grown up Tyagu ruminating on his life as his father’s dead body lies before him and he is waiting for his step-mother to come so that he can perform the last rites for his father. He goes to the bathroom takes a swig from his whiskey bottle, which he has artfully hidden in the cistern in his western toilet. He drinks the entire bottle and is so disoriented that he is not able to perform the last rites of his father.

We learn that Tyagu’s father was a hypocrite, a learned man-a Sanskrit pandit who terrorised his wife and children. His insatiable craving for sex, is a recurring theme, Tyagu adored his mother a beautiful woman-compared to a Ravi Varma painting.

The events of his life flash by, his young sister Vasu meeting an accident, falling into a coma, and eventually dying. Then his mother too died. To his utter shock his father remarried and brought an ugly woman home. Tyagu could never recover from the shock. No one could take his beloved mother’s place.

He completes his M.Com and hunts for a job for over a year bearing the taunts of his stepmother and father. In utter desperation and disgust with himself he is frustrated beyond redemption, he meets a friend who invites him home and offers him a drink of whiskey. For the first time in his life he tastes alcohol and thus starts the journey of Tyagu. Finally he gets a decent job in Madras and later transferred to Calcutta, he is relieved to leave the confines of his father and stepmother.

Then he gets married to Ganga a girl of his father’s choice. They are a complete mismatch. They have a boy named Kannan. Tyagu by now has become a manager drawing a salary of Rs 3000. His dependence on alcohol keeps increasing.

His wife leaves him and goes to Maduranthakam to stay with her parents. A chance encounter with Nana-Narayanan a childhood friend, sets the story in motion. Nana was a wastrel as a young boy and passed his S.S.L.C. in his second attempt. He has passed his MBA and now works in a high post in an international company. The two meet at the club and slowly Tyagu realizes what a failure he has turned out to be and how Nana an irresponsible young boy had reached such great heights of success.

Tyagu breaks down into tears and Nana take sit upon himself to save Tyagu, as many years ago it was Nana who had tempted Tyagu with the first cigarette. Nana and his wife Vidya help Tyagu and get him admitted to an alcohol de-addiction center. A psychiatrist Dr. Reddy treats Tyagu and slowly Tyagu comes out of his shell and during the course of the treatment Tyagu reveals his fear and deep hatred for his father, his extreme love and admiration for his dead mother, the sorrow of not having been able to help save Vasu’s life, and the intense dislike for his stepmother. In about 15 days Tyagu is cured of his craving for alcohol and prescribed a medicine called disulfural.

There is a brilliantly written section of the novel where Tyagu is given a glass of whiskey, he drinks it and within a couple of minutes the dilsulfural pill starts acting and Tyagu suffers severe chest pain and palpitation, he is quickly administered oxygen and returns to normal, Dr. Reddy warns Tyagu-“We saved you now, but if you drink whiskey again you will die. You should never ever discontinue the medicine that I have prescribed.”

Meanwhile Nana and his wife Vidya persuade Ganga-Tyagu’s wife to return to Chennai and start a new life with Tyagu. Things slowly return to normal and Ganga's scepticism is replaced by love for her husband. Her intense craving for a daughter, and Tyagu's inability to satisfy his wife's sexual needs once again creates rifts between the two. Meanwhile Nana gets a promotion and transfer and leaves for Manila. The intense friendship between the two is portrayed in the scene where Nana breaks the news of his transfer to Tyagu.Then Tyagu discontinues the tablets for about 20 days and starts drinking whiskey again. One night he returns emboldened by the alcohol within him and has sex with Ganga, and finally he satisfies her desire.

The conjugal success boosts his desire for alcohol and he once again becomes an alcoholic. Ganga becomes pregnant and everything looks fine. Then Tyagu loses his job for drinking in office and once again there is a domestic fight of epic proportions as Seshan-Ganga's father comes curses Tyagu-"You will end up an outcast on the road and not a sigle soul will come to help you."
He takes his pregnant daughter, pays Tyagu's debts leaves him on the road and goes to Madurantakam.


Tyagu is offered shelter by his drinking mate Aravindan, for a glass of whiskey Tyagu stoops down to the level of barking and howling like a dog. In a fit of anger he punches Aravindan and is promptly kicked out of the house. Tyagu realises that Seshan's curse has come true. He stays in a mansion and spends all his money on drinking even refusing to eat.
Nana returns from Manila and is shocked to learn about Tyagu's failures.
At one point he ends up drinking hooch to satisfy his quest for alcohol. He vomits blood and realizes the end is near. He looks out of the window and sees a dog that gets stuck in tar, he wants to help it but he is too weak to leave his room. Eventually the dog dies.


Tyagu decides to commit suicide and tries to buy sleeping pills, when he is unable to buy them, he settles for rat poison. A man suddenly appears and says-"You want to commit suicide?"


The man takesTyagu to his house promising him a drink and lunch. He finds out the details of Tyagu's life and then says he is a member of Alcoholics Anonymous.


Eventually he and his friends tie up Tyagu and inject him with a sedative. He wakes up to find himself looking at Dr. Reddy and Nana.



The good Samaritan had contacted Dr. Reddy found Nana and transported Tyagu to the de-addiction center.


Tyagu' eyes filled with tears as he saw his friend Nana again. Nana informs him that Ganga had given birth to a daughter-Vasu. Tyagu feels happy.


God had given Tyagu another chance to live, as the sun rose and the first rays of the dawn filtered through the window Tyagu thanked God, he decided he would become a reformed man and be a good husband and father.


The story ends on this positive note.

Friday, September 12, 2008


Mumbai Drama

 

The strange case of partisan vote mongering and media hype continues as the saga of Raj Thackerays "Hate North Indian" campaign continues. At the audio launch of "Drona" Jaya Bachhan said that she would prefer to speak in Hindi. The Sena construed it as an insult to the Marathi manoos.

So what happens hoardings of Abhishek and Amitabh are torn down, the premiere show of "The Last Lear" gets cancelled and Amitabh and Jaya are forced to make an "apology."

 

So does that mean it is a crime to speak in the national language. Thirty years ago Bal Thackeray successfully launched an anti-South Indian campaign. My father still narrates incidents of surprise unprovoked attacks and how he used to wear the white topee and go to work.

 

It is the TRP rating starved media that is making Raj Thackeray a hero; ignore him and his non stop bickerings. We do not want more communal problems in Mumbai.

 

The government is shameless as it refuses to take action against the instigator.

Let us see what happens....

Thursday, September 11, 2008


9/11

 

Another year has gone by, Osama continues to evade the greatest nation in the world, atrocities continue in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other parts of the world.

 

A silent prayer for the ones who lost their lives in the 9/11 terror attacks.

 

 

Monday, September 08, 2008



A BUSY THURSDAY

Thursday evening as I am returning home after work, I get a phone call, and I am informed that my aunt is hospitalized. A distant aunt(do not ask me the exact relation), she is still my aunt. I visit her at the hospital, her blood sugar had increased and she had complained of chest pain and nausea. The doctors conducted their usual round of paisa-vasooling tests and advised her to be admitted at the hospital for three days.

I was dog-tired and with one more visit to the hospital on Friday, I had to take a day’s leave at the office.

All is fine now, aunt has returned home and everything is fine with the world.


Friday, September 05, 2008

Google Chrome Rocks

Chrome the new web browser from google rocks.
Brilliant in its simplicity, Microsoft has one more problem from google now, and looking at the number of people downloading Chrome, I guess the quest for an OPEN SOURCE computing world is soon going to become a reality.
ONAM

Happy Onam everybody.
Onam has started may King Mahabali bring joy, wealth, good health, and prosperity to all of us.

Thursday, September 04, 2008


MEGA PROBLEMS FOR THE NANO PROJECT

It started as a dream, which became a challenge, which was met with skill, and overcome, when the Nano was unveiled at an automobile expo. The world stood up on its feet and congratulated Ratan Tata and his team of engineers for his remarkable feat. A car that would cost just Rs 100000/-.

West Bengal welcomed the Tatas with open arms and land was procured to set up the automobile plant. There were protests, shootouts, mob violence, killings, political mud slinging, and other hundred problems; but we were sure that sanity would prevail and the Nano would roll out of Singur.

Mamata Bannerjee and her Trinamool Congress ensured that the Tatas would leave Singur. The factory has not opened for the past three days. The foreign technicians working on the project have returned to their respective countries.

Who wins?

No one. West Bengal has lost its credibility to woo any potential investor. Many local youth who had secured jobs at the Nano plant are uncertain of their future.

Tata will roll out a limited number of Nano cars from its Patnagar plant in Uttaranchal, which currently manufactures the ACE brand of commercial carrier vehicles.

The future looks bleak and the West Bengal government is going to end up paying a high price for this unfortunate turn of events.


Tuesday, September 02, 2008


THE END

He stood on the beach, silent and sad, he took another swig from his bottle of rum, the drink felt bitter, it was his third bottle of the day, and he was drinking to forget her. He stared at the sea and thought of the evenings the two of them had walked together hand in hand, admiring each other discussing a common future.

All those were just memories now; she had left him, gone. Not even a hint, that she was leaving him, no message, no e-mail, no goodbye, she had just dumped him. A colleague said that her marriage had been fixed and she had left for her native village.

He had been devastated when he heard the news, even mulling suicide. Then he comforted himself-“Let her out of your heart man, maybe I didn’t deserve her.”

He finished the bottle of rum, walking dangerously close to the sea, and flung the empty bottle into the sea.

He cried out loud, “Have a great married life.”

He collapsed on the sand exhausted and intoxicated.

Three days later some fishermen found his body that had washed ashore.

One more love story that ended on a sorry note.



REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN INDIAN ADVERTISING

“A pretty face almost always sells a product.”

This perhaps is the sole motto on which the Indian advertising industry runs. If it is a premium bathing soap that is your product, get a young actress, throw in a waterfall or a lake, a ‘just about there’ dress, pulsating music in the background, and get the pretty young thing to prance in the water; and hey presto! You have got your advertisement. Does the summary ring a bell? That was a description of the Lyril ad that launched Preity Zinta’s career; she captured the imagination of millions with her dimpled smile and cute looks. Sadly the rumored botox treatment has made her smile artificial today. Then all the Lux soap ads with the beauty queens of each era-Dimple Kapadia, Karishma and Kareena Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai, and then they did a complete U-turn and had Shahrukh Khan surrounded by a bevy of beauties selling Lux soap! Yuck! The height of metrosexuality.

The soft drink ads-Aishwarya started with Pepsi then endorsed Coke, now we have Deepika Padukone endorsing Pepsi.

Then we had the ads for detergent powder, washing soap, and dishwashing soaps.

Some ads that remain fresh in mind are:

The Washing powder Nirma ad.

Ariel ad where in the lady says, “Daag dhoondte reh jaooge.” The small boy who appeared in that ad is none other than Kunal Hemu who is a Bollywood hero now, with three or four movies to his credit.

One particular ad that brought out the wonderful relationship between an old lady and her grandchild was the Borolin ad, I do not know how many of you remember it. It had a wonderful jingle that went “Antiseptic cream Borolin, Borolin, ting.. ting.. ting”

The Rasna ad where the chubby little girl says “I love you Rasna.”

An all time favourite ad would be the one for Woodwards Gripe Water, three generations of ladies describing the merits of TTK Woodwards Gripe Water-

"Are kya hua?"
"Bachcha roraha he"
"Tum use Woodwards gripe water kyu nahi pilathi? Jub tum bachchi thi, toh me bhi tumhe wohi pilathi thi"


These are all examples of some of the good old stuff of Indian advertising. The current trend of using women for products not related to them at all isn’t healthy.

Why do you need women in an ad for men’s underwear?

The Lux Cozee underwear series of ads is extremely insulting and the Regulatory Authority was correct in its decision to ban it. A woman is shown washing a brief and fakes sensual pleasure in her action as other women stare at her. Downright cheap!

Similarly I do not understand why you need a woman in an ad for a Gillette Mach III razor.

Women continue to be used as glamourous accessories to sell a product. It is the same sorry story with the Bollywood film industry. They used to run with the hero behind trees, now they wear swimsuits and run on a beach in Bali or Phuket. They are very few movies that give women a solid author-backed role and give them a chance to showcase their talents. A bit of a lengthy role and 9 out of 10 the lady gets to play a negative role.

The government has to take strict action against producers who portray women indecently. A movie is branded as adults only, but what about ads that are broadcast on television. Some ads border on sexuality and make veiled comments. Remember the rediff ad. “Is it really big?” Or Bipasha’s Panasonic mobile ad, “I will dance with the man who has the smallest?”

Somehow I find the ads for all the sanitary napkins strange. Do we need them to be advertised, same for underwear, people know what essential to buy and use.

The consumer is not going to be coerced into buying a product because a beautiful woman or for that matter if a hunk endorses it. They might try it once but if they do not find it satisfactory they are not going to use it.

It is time that sensible ads were made with women being given respect.

I guess that will not be accepted by the ad gurus and celebrity endorsements won’t work, so things will remain as they are now. :)


Monday, September 01, 2008

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday my dear blog. Three years in the blogosphere.

Thanks to all the readers and friends who make suggestions and comments.

Bye for now!

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