Cerebral Shangrila

Thursday, August 28, 2003

FOUR KINDS OF PEOPLE

I am reading a book called " Who Says Elephants can't Dance " by Lou Gerstner ( Its about IBM's Magical Turnaround in the 90's ) . Found this interesting piece from there . There are four kinds of people :

THOSE WHO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN
THOSE FOR WHOM THINGS HAPPEN
THOSE WHO WATCH THINGS HAPPEN
THOSE WHO DON'T EVEN KNOW THINGS ARE HAPPENING .

Wednesday, August 27, 2003

Why Mumbai ?

Why is it that Mumbai has always been the vent of anger to the Terrorists ? Here is a nice peice of Article from Rediff.com : Because Mumbai is India .......

THE END OF AN ERA - PETE SAMPRAS

Although it was much expected , the retirement of Pete Sampras caused immense sadness to millions of Tennis lovers like me . Arguably , one of the Greatest players to have graced the Court , Pete's acheivements speak volumes for his immense talent & incredible hardwork . 14 Grand Slams in this Competitive era is not a joke. He was the undisputed King of Grass ( Wimbledon) & seeing his Serve & Volley game in the Wimbledon is sheer joy. He has called it quits at the right time after an incredible win at the US Open 2002 , where in 1990 as a young 19 year old he captured the attention & hearts of the entire globe.

Unlike most of the tennis players of the current era , he let his Racket do the talking instead of his mouth. He has remained my favourite player for a long time & I would definitely be missing him .

I would also like to mention that my becoming a fan of Sampras , was greatly influenced by my favourite sportswriter - Nirmal Shekar ( He writes for THE HINDU ). If there is one sentence I could say about Nirmal it is -- He writes poetry in prose . He is one heck of a writer ( If you want to know what Sportswriting is all about then read his articles , its sheer poetry ) . Nirmal is huge fan of Sampras and am waiting for the next Sportstar edition for his article on Sampras's retirement .

Monday, August 25, 2003

MUMBAI BLASTS

Once again the financial capital of the Nation has been crippled by Terrorism & violence . Its shocking to see such gruesome incidents becoming increasingly common in Mumbai of late . I hope the Government from now on takes top priority in Internal security and values common people's lives.
Its sad to see the "City That never sleeps " being surrounded by Gloom & distress .

ONE-LINER

Found this funny one-liner : Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film.

Friday, August 22, 2003

OPEN SOURCE BATTLE

The open Source Movement & Linux in particular face their biggest crisis yet in the Lawsuit filed recently by SCO Against IBM. SCO has been Scorned by the Entire Linux Community for raking up the issue . The Suit undermines the Noble pursuit & basis of the Open Source & free Software Foundation and has angered most of the Geeks . Its interesting how the Case is going to take its course , beacause dependent on it is the future of one of the most important revolutions in Technology . Here are some URL's to know more on this :

SCO Launches $ 1 Billion IBM Unix Lawsuit ,
SCO action Created bad feeling in the market ,
Penguin's Progress ,
Linux Community pours Scorn on SCO

Thursday, August 21, 2003

MONOPOLY & PRODUCTS

In the realm of Business some companies exercise total monopoly over a segment/product that the Product tends to be identified with them . Normally in most cases they might be the inventors of that Product or segment . I will write more on this topic and cite examples later. Was reading one of my Quiz group questions & was surprised to know that Canon and not Xerox is the leader in Photocopier Market . In India in particular the act of photocopying has always been called "Xeroxing "signifying the extent to which they were entwined.

. I have in the past read articles about the decline of Xerox (There was good write up on Anne Mulcahy their current CEO who is effecting a turn-around in FORTUNE a few months back) but this came as a bit of surprise to me . Any inputs ( Similar examples I could think of are Caterpillar , Ford , Mcdonnel-Douglas , Apple -- Companies which created / were leaders in their respective segments but languishing now ) ??

Hey, Big Spenders - TIME COVER STORY

The Big Daddy of Magazines ( Though the standard of TIME has drastically come down in Recent Years ) is increasingly taking note of India . Here is an Article on the Consumer Spending Power of Indians . Worth a Read .

Tuesday, August 19, 2003

TRAVEL DIARY - CHANDIGARH & AMRITSAR

I was eagerly awaiting the Thursday morning for the long pending Chandigarh - Amritsar trip. The Independance day long weekend and my parents presence in Delhi meant that I had to make the trip this time. I finalised the plans for Delhi - Kurukshetra - Chandigarh - Jalandhar - Amritsar - Wagah Border - Ludhiana - Delhi to be covered in a little over four days . I had the choice of either taking the Shatabdi from Delhi or renting a Car and preferred the later for the Time I would be saving and the ability to cover far more places.

We started off on the Thursday Morning around 7 am from Delhi in a Tata Indica and reached Kurukshetra by around 9.30 am .

KURUKSHETRA : One of the most Visited places in Haryana , the venue of the Mythical Mahabharata battle and Gitopadesha , Kurukshetra lies 150 Kms to the west of Delhi . Kurukshetra was the Venue for the 18 Day war between Pandavas & Kauravas which the former won .There is a friendly helpful Tourism office at the entrance where you can grab free pamplets of the places to visit there . If you drive ahead for around 6 Kms , you will reach "Jyotisar" the venue of Gitopadesha . A small temple has been constructed there and the Linga & tree there are supposed to be thousands of years old . 2 Kms Back on the Track is Bheeshma Kund , the place where Bheeshma had lain in a bed of arrows awaiting Dakshinayana . There is a Huge Hanuman statue (around 40 Feet) and a small pond ( According to Myth when Bheeshma asked for water to quench his thirst Arjuna shot an arrow on the ground and Ganga , the Mother of Bheeshma quenched his thirst ) . There is a nice Krishna Museum down the Road which has wonderful intricate paintings / Sculptures ( particularly from Orissa & Tamil Nadu ) . We then headed towards Chandigarh .

CHANDIGARH : Chandigarh (Its called City Beautiful) is located 245 Kms from Delhi & we reached there by around 4 pm . We directly headed to the Pinjore Gardens which is located 20 kms to the east of Chandigarh on the Shimla Highway . The Pinjore Gardens were constructed in the 17th Century by Fidai Khan ,foster brother of Aurangazeb and resembles a typical Moghul Garden . Its a seven layered garden with ample trees & fountains . We then headed back to the City and checked into to the Yatri Niwas Hotel ( a rather pricey one , a Double room + extra cot cost us around Rs.800 ) . We then headed to Sector -17 which is the upmarket area of Chandigarh . You get a feeling as if you are in Europe ( Though I have never been there!!), with huge shopping area and a sprawling chowk . For the South Indians Sec-17 offers couple of good restaurants viz . Sagar & Indian Coffee House , where you get some
nice Idlis , Dosas & Veg Thalis .

We started the next day with a visit to the Rose Garden . Its a sprwaling park with around 5000 varieties of Roses and is reputed to be one of the largest in Asia ( My thoughts went back to a Similar Rose Garden I had seen in Portland , Oregon a few years earlier ) . Its a nice place for Morning / evening walks and lies quite close to Sec-17. We then headed to the Rock Garden , the epitome of struggle & success of One man - Nek Chand . Nek Chand was a Road Inspector with the Govt in the 50's and had built a small garden with waste materials like broken Porcelian , Bangles , Sacks etc .It was about to be demolished in the 70's but good sense prevailed and now its renowned throughtout the World and Nek Chand gained International fame. Its an amazing place where you could see the Creative genius of a man with unbridled passion. We then Headed to the Sukhna lake where amidst the drizzle we went for paddle boating . Its a fairly huge lake and nice place to spend the evenings . Just down the road is the Vidhan Soudha & secretariat and we shot a couple of photos there before heading to Jalandhar .

Afterthoughts : Chandigarh is easily one of the most beautiful cities in India . A very well planned city ( by French Architect Le Corbusier) , its full of parks & greenery .

JALANDHAR : It lies 100 Kms to the west of Chandigarh . Its very famous for its Sporting goods ( Most of the Cricket Bats & other sporting gear are manufactured here ). "Basti Bawa Khel"is the sports market which lies 5 kms away from the city Centre. Since We were there on the I-Day most of the shops were closed and we just ended up spending the night in the city. Next morning we started for Amritsar .

AMRITSAR : Amritsar lies around 120 kms to the west of Jalandhar & is one of the Holiest places for Sikhs . The world Famous Golden Temple is situated here & so also the Jalian Waala Bagh memorial . We checked into a hotel right beside the Golden Temple . Words fail me in describing the beautry of the Golden temple . It lies majestically perched in the centre of the pond with the 1000 kg Gold roof shimmering in the Sun.You have to cover your head before entering the temple ( they provide free scarfs at the entrance or your handkarchief would do ) and wash your feet . The Golden Temple was constructed by the fourth Guru of Sikhs , Guru Ram Das who also founded the city of Amritsar . The inner sanctum is called the Har Mandir and there is a long queue to get into it . The Langar ( Sikh Kitchen) provides delicious free food inside the temple to thousands of devotees everyday .There is continuous recitation of Guru Granth Sahib and the holy text is housed here .Thousand of Sikhs take a holy dip in the pond everyday which is supposed to cure all
ailments.

There is also a Museum at the upper floor of the Clock tower which traces the Sikh history & the sacrfices / valour during the Mughal period. The paintings depict the gruesome horror inflicted on the sikhs by Mughals ( Mughals wanted the Sikhs to convert to Islam ) and the Martyrdom of Sikhs .

A five minute walk from the temple brings you to the Jaalian Waala Bagh Memorial . A peaceful crowd of indians had gathered in this Ground on April 13th , 1919. General Dyer ordered indiscrimnate shooting of the innocent crowd which left around 357 dead and 1500 injured .General Dyer died 8 years later from a fall & Micheal O'dwyer (The Lt. Governer) was assasinated by Udham Singh in London in 1940 . The Memorial contans a small photo gallery of the martyrs & a tall structure erected to commemorate their martyrdom . The walls still contain the bullet marks and this place definitely evokes a strong patriotism .

WAGAH BORDER : Wagah border is the only arterial Roadway Post which Connects India & Pakistan. It lies 30 kms to the West of Amritsar . Everyday the Indian & Pakistan troops involve in a Harmless Charade of patriotic act . The Flags are hoisted and downed at the Dawn & Dusk
on either side. There is a huge gallery constructed on either side of the Border where the Indian & paki crowds throng to watch this spectacle ( which has
become quite famous thanks to the Television ) . Patriotic Songs boom across the Speakers & the Indians enjoy a upper hand since their gallery can accomodate around 5000 people as against the 1000 capacity of the pakis .

LUDHIANA : We started for Ludhiana on Sunday Morning . Ludhiana lies on the NH-1 ( G.T.Road) on the way back to Delhi around 150 kms from Amritsar . Its the garment Capital of India , where you could get very good Shirts , T-Shirts , Trousers for throwaway prices ( I got T-shirts for Rs.60 , which would cost close to Rs.200-250 in metros). We spent a few hours shopping here and reached Delhi back on Sunday Night .

We had covered a Total Distance of 1200 kms and had thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

TRAVEL TIPS : The Ideal time to make this trip is September / October , post the monsoon season and just before the onset of Winter .If Travelled as a Group per head expenses would come to Rs.2500 . Make sure you carry a Road map of North India and a Travel Guide with you always.

Wednesday, August 13, 2003

LONG CHERISHED TRIP

My parents have come to Delhi . We are off to Delhi - Kurukshetra - Panipat -Chandigarh - Amritsar - Delhi trip for the next 4 days. Amritsar is a place I have been wanting to visit for a long time . More on the Trip after the visit .

Monday, August 11, 2003

ONE-LINERS FROM AMERICAN LATE-NIGHT SHOWS

Jay Leno's sense of Humour & timing is matchless and he makes sure that you have a hearty laugh & forget the day's tension before going to Sleep. Here are a few one-liners from the American Late night shows ( Leno , Letterman , Conan ....) ..some of them are too good..

Things not looking too good for California Governor Gray Davis, in the latest popularity pole he was three points behind the movie "Gigli.” -- Leno

President Bush is on vacation. Aides to the president say he needs to get away from the White House to relax. See, that’s the difference between Bush and Bill Clinton – Clinton found ways to relax without even leaving the Oval Office -- Leno

As I’m sure you heard, Mike Tyson is filing for Chapter 11. This is the first time Mike Tyson got up to Chapter 11 in anything -- Leno

So far President Bush has been silent on Schwarzenegger – actually, he just can’t pronounce his name -- Letterman

Today economists said there was some good news on the economy – President Bush is going on a monthlong vacation -- Leno



Saturday, August 09, 2003

FALLEN STAR - KOBE

It was a very Shocking news when a few weeks back I read about the Sexual Assault case against Kobe Bryant , the Lakers NBA Superstar . Though I am not a big Lakers fan ( I prefer the Spurs / Mavs / Kings -- the Anti-Laker brigade ) , I have always been an admirer of Kobe. Potentially the only one in the Current NBA Circuit ( oh..wait ...Letz wait & see how LeBeron performs) who contends for the Throne of MJ , Its sad to see Kobe going the OJ way . Though I spent a few years in America , I could never fully comprehend the american views on Morality .

Kobe's Talent has never been in question , and his clutch plays in particular have saved Lakers from numerous embarassing defeats. He has always been a very shy , soft-spoken perfect Gentleman off the field & my first reaction to this news was "Et tu kobe "??

Thursday, August 07, 2003

TELECOM TALES

It was with incredible surprise that I read the TOI Article which claimed that Delhi now has more Mobile Phone users than Fixed line users . The Transformation in the Telecom Industry has been amazing in the last few years ( This is inspite of Muddle over ever Changing prices & TRAI Vs Operator Wars & CDMA Vs GSM Battles !!) . Telephone has always been Considered as a Luxury & STD/ ISD a bastion of the Rich & famous . But Today on my cell phone a Mobile to Mobile Long Distance Call costs the same as a Local call , a drastic change from the 90's . In a Country like India with a Huge Population and a Burgeoning Middle Class its always the volumes which will tilt the Revenue equation in favour of the Operators than the premium. This is further corroborated by the fact that Mobile Phone is no longer a luxury but a Necessity & Call Volumes have increased multi-fold in the last few years.

The Future looks exciting with the Govt recognising the potential of VoIP & the Country starving for more Bandwidth & Sophistication. So the cost of saying a sweet hello increasingly looks to be getting more inexpensive .........................

BLUE-CHIPS IN US OUTSOURCE TO INDIA - Forbes

Not a Day goes by , Without the announcement of another Fortune 500 Giant Outsourcing to India or Coverage of such news in the Western Press. Have a look at this Article " Blue-Chip Companies Send More Jobs to India " ...Of Course still more to come ....................

BOLLYWOOD FAQ

Came Across this rather interesting Article in TIME titled BOLLYWOOD FAQ . It provides a Bird's eyeview of Bollywood and answers some of the Questions Westerners might have about it . The author does have terrific knowledge of Bollywood and seems to be mesmerised by it :-)

Wednesday, August 06, 2003

Western Values And Eastern Challenges
- NR Narayana Murthy


Came Across this Interesting Article on the web. For a Generation which feels Confused between Western Values & Eastern Challenges , this article might prove to be an eye-opener . It also proves there is much more to West than just MTV & Paparazzi .

As it is said in the Vedas: Man can live individually, but can survive only collectively. Hence, our challenge is to form a progressive community by balancing the interests of the individual and that of the society. To meet this we need to develop a value system where people accept modest sacrifices for the common good.

A value system is the protocol for behaviour that enhances the trust, confidence and commitment of members of the community. It goes beyond the domain of legality - It is about decent and desirable behaviour. Further, it includes putting the community interests ahead of your own. Thus, our collective survival and progress is predicated on sound values.

There are two pillars of the cultural value system - loyalty to family and loyalty to community. One should not be in isolation to the other, because, successful societies are those which combine both harmoniously. It is in this context that I will discuss the role of Western values in contemporary Indian society.

As an Indian, I am proud to be part of a culture, which has deep-rooted family values. We have tremendous loyalty to the family. For instance, parents make enormous sacrifices for their children. They support them until they can stand on their own feet. On the other side, children consider it their duty to take care of aged parents. We believe: "Mathru devo bhava, pithru devo bhava" (Mother is God and Father is God). Further, brothers and sisters sacrifice for each other. In fact, the eldest brother or sister is respected by all the other siblings.

As for marriage, it is held to be a sacred union - husband and wife are bonded, most often, for life. In joint families, the entire family works towards the welfare of the family. There is so much love and affection in our family life. This is the essence of Indian values and one of our key strengths.

Our families act as a critical support mechanism for us. In fact, the credit to the success of Infosys goes, as much to the founders as to their families, for supporting them through the tough times. Unfortunately, our attitude towards family life is not reflected in our attitude towards community behaviour. From littering the streets to corruption to breaking of contractual obligations, we are apathetic towards the common good.

The primary difference between the West and us is that, there, people have a much better societal orientation. In the West - the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand - individuals understand that they have to be responsible towards their community. They care more for the society than we do. Further, they generally sacrifice more for the society than us. Quality of life is enhanced because of this.This is where we need to learn form the West.

Consider some of the lessons that we Indians can learn from the West:

Respect for the public good - In the West, there is respect for the public good. For instance, parks free of litter, clean streets, public toilets free of graffiti - all these are instances of care for the public good.
On the contrary, in India, we keep our houses clean and water our gardens everyday but, when we go to a park, we do not think twice before littering the place.
Attitude to corruption - This is because of the individual's responsible behaviour towards the community as a whole. On the contrary, in India, corruption, tax evasion, cheating and bribery have eaten into our vitals. For instance, contractors bribe officials, and construct low-quality roads and bridges.
Corruption, as we see in India, is another example of putting the interest of oneself, and at best that of one's family, above that of the society.
Society is relatively corruption free in the West. It is very difficult to bribe a police officer into avoiding a speeding ticket. The result is that society loses in the form of substandard defence equipment and infrastructure, and low-quality recruitment, just to name a few impediments. Unfortunately, this behaviour is condoned by almost everyone.

Public apathy - Apathy in solving community matters has held us back from making progress, which is otherwise within our reach. We see serious problems around us but do not try to solve them. We behave as if the problems do not exist or are somebody else's. On the other hand, in the West, people solve societal problems proactively.
There are several examples of our apathetic attitude.
(i) For instance, all of us are aware of the problem of drought in India. More than 40 years ago, Dr KL Rao - an irrigation expert, suggested creation of a water grid connecting all the rivers in North and South India, to solve this problem. Unfortunately, nothing has been done about this.

(ii) The story of power shortage in Bangalore is another instance. In 1983, it was decided to build a thermal power plant to meet Bangalore's power requirements. Unfortunately, we have still not started it.

(iii) The Milan subway in Bombay is in a deplorable state for the past 40 years, and no action has been taken.

To quote another example, considering the constant travel required in the software industry; five years ago, I had suggested a 240-page passport. This would eliminate frequent visits to the passport office. In fact, we are ready to pay for it. However, I am yet to hear from the ministry of external affairs on this. We, Indians, would do well to remember Thomas Hunter's words: Idleness travels very slowly, and poverty soon overtakes it.

What could be the reason for this? We were ruled by foreigners for over thousand years. Thus, we have always believed that public issues belonged to some foreign ruler and that we have no role in solving them. Moreover, we have lost the will to proactively solve our own problems and have got used to just executing someone else's orders.

Borrowing Aristotle's words: "We are what we repeatedly do." Thus, having done this over the years, the decision-makers in our society are not trained for solving problems. Our decision-makers look to somebody else to take decisions. Unfortunately, there is nobody to look up to, and this is the tragedy.

Our intellectual arrogance has also not helped our society. I have travelled extensively, and in my experience, have not come across another society where people are as contemptuous of better societies as we are, with as little progress as we have achieved. Remember that arrogance breeds hypocrisy.

No other society gloats so much about the past as we do, with as little current accomplishment. Friends, this is not a new phenomenon, but at least a thousand years old. For instance, Al Barouni, the famous Arabic logician and traveller of the 10th century, who spent about 30 years in India from 997 AD to around 1027 AD, referred to this trait of Indians.

According to him, during his visit, most Indian pundits considered it below their dignity even to hold arguments with him. In fact, on a few occasions when a pundit was willing to listen to him, and found his arguments to be very sound, he invariably asked Barouni: which Indian pundit taught these smart things!

The most important attribute of a progressive society is respect for others who have accomplished more than they themselves have, and learn from them. Contrary to this, our leaders make us believe that other societies do not know anything!

At the same time, everyday, in the newspapers, you will find numerous claims from our leaders that ours is the greatest nation. This has to stop. These people would do well to remember Thomas Carlyle's words: The greatest of faults is to be conscious of none."

If we have to progress, we have to change this attitude, listen to people who have performed better than us, learn from them and perform better than them. Infosys is a good example of such an attitude.

We continue to rationalise our failures. No other society has mastered this art as well as we have. Obviously, this is an excuse to justify our incompetence, corruption, and apathy. This attitude has to change. As Sir Josiah Stamp has said: "It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities."

Another interesting attribute, which we Indians can learn from the West, is their accountability. Irrespective of your position, in the West, you are held accountable for what you do. However, in India, the more 'important' you are, the less answerable you are.

For instance, a senior politician once declared that he 'forget' to file his tax returns for 10 consecutive years - and he got away with it. To quote another instance, there are over 100 loss-making public sector units in India. Nevertheless, I have not seen action taken for bad performance against top managers in these organisations.

In the West, each person is proud about his or her labour that raises honest sweat. On the other hand, in India, we tend to overlook the significance of those who are not in professional jobs. We have a mindset that reveres only supposedly intellectual work. For instance, I have seen many engineers, fresh from college, who only want to do cutting-edge work and not work that is of relevance to business and the country.

However, be it an organisation or society, there are different people performing different roles. For success, all these people are required to discharge their duties. This includes everyone from the CEO to the person who serves tea - every role is important. Hence, we need a mindset that reveres everyone who puts in honest work.

Indians become intimate even without being friendly. They ask favors of strangers without any hesitation. For instance, the other day, while I was travelling from Bangalore to Mantralayam, I met a fellow traveller on the train. Hardly five minutes into the conversation, he requested me to speak to his MD about removing him from the bottom 10 per cent list in his company, earmarked for disciplinary action.

I was reminded of what Rudyard Kipling once said: A westerner can be friendly without being intimate while an easterner tends to be intimate without being friendly.

Yet another lesson to be learnt from the West, is about their professionalism in dealings. The common good being more important than personal equations, people do not let personal relations interfere with their professional dealings. For instance, they don't hesitate to chastise a colleague, even if he is a personal friend, for incompetent work.

In India, I have seen that we tend to view even work interactions from a personal perspective. Further, we are the most 'thin-skinned' society in the world - we see insults where none is meant. This may be because we were not free for most of the last thousand years.

Further, we seem to extend this lack of professionalism to our sense of punctuality. We do not seem to respect the other person's time. The Indian Standard Time somehow seems to be always running late. Moreover, deadlines are typically not met. How many public projects are completed on time?

The disheartening aspect is that we have accepted this as the norm rather than an exception. Meritocracy by definition means that we cannot let personal prejudices affect our evaluation of an individual's performance. As we increasingly start to benchmark ourselves with global standards, we have to embrace meritocracy.

In the West, right from a very young age, parents teach their children to be independent in thinking. Thus, they grow up to be strong, confident individuals. In India, we still suffer from feudal thinking. I have seen people, who are otherwise bright, refusing to show independence and preferring to be told what to do by their boss. We need to overcome this attitude if we have to succeed globally.

The Western value system teaches respect to contractual obligation. In the West, contractual obligations are seldom dishonoured. This is important - enforceablity of legal rights and contracts is the most important factor in the enhancement of credibility of our people and nation.

In India, we consider our marriage vows as sacred. We are willing to sacrifice in order to respect our marriage vows. However, we do not extend this to the public domain. For instance, India had an unfavourable contract with Enron. Instead of punishing the people responsible for negotiating this, we reneged on the contract - this was much before we came to know about the illegal activities at Enron.

To quote another instance, I had given recommendations to several students for the national scholarship for higher studies in US universities. Most of them did not return to India even though contractually they were obliged to spend five years after their degree in India.

In fact, according to a professor at a reputed US university, the maximum default rate for student loans is among Indians - all of these students pass out in flying colours and land lucrative jobs, yet they refuse to pay back their loans. Thus, their action has made it difficult for the students after them, from India, to obtain loans.

Further, we Indians do not display intellectual honesty. For example, our political leaders use mobile phones to tell journalists on the other side that they do not believe in technology! If we want our youngsters to progress, such hypocrisy must be stopped.

We are all aware of our rights as citizens. Nevertheless, we often fail to acknowledge the duty that accompanies every right. To borrow Dwight Eisenhower's words: "People that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both."

Our duty is towards the community as a whole, as much as it is towards our families. We have to remember that fundamental social problems grow out of a lack of commitment to the common good. To quote Henry Beecher: Culture is that which helps us to work for the betterment of all.

Hence, friends, I do believe that we can make our society even better by assimilating these Western values into our own culture - we will be stronger for it. Most of our behaviour comes from greed, lack of self-confidence, lack of confidence in the nation, and lack of respect for the society.

To borrow Gandhi's words: There is enough in this world for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed. Let us work towards a society where we would do unto others what we would have others do unto us. Let us all be responsible citizens who make our country a great place to live.

In the words of Winston Churchill, "Responsibility is the price of greatness." We have to extend our family values beyond the boundaries of our home. Let us work towards maximum welfare of the maximum people - "Samasta janaanaam sukhino bhavantu".

Finally, let us of this generation, conduct ourselves as great citizens rather than just good people so that we can serve as good examples for our younger generation.

Thank you.

(Excerpts from a lecture delivered by NR Narayana Murthy, Chairmain of Infosys Technologies Ltd., at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management, New Delhi, India on October 1st, 2002).

Tuesday, August 05, 2003

GAVASKAR'S LECTURE AT MCC

Here is the full Text of Gavaskar's Controversial Lecture at MCC & his tirade against Sledging. He hasn't forgotten the MCC Controversy even after so many years and has started his lecture based on that Incident. Typically Sunny !! ..As Anti-English & Establishment as ever ..........

INDIA VS CHINA

Its a neck to neck race Between these two Asian Rivals to become the next Superpowers . While China leads the way in Manufacturing Sector , India is miles ahead in the Knowledge Sector (IT/ITES,BPO,Pharma).

Here is an Interview that I happened to read in the Harvard Business School Working Knowledge . Tarun Khanna is a Prof of Strategy at Harvard & Yasheng Huang, formerly of HBS is now a professor at Sloan . They have some interesting views on the Today & tomorrow of these two neighbours.

Monday, August 04, 2003

ENCOUNTERS OF A DIFFERENT KIND (THANKS TO SPIELBERG FOR THE TITLE!!)

Hey ,"which class do you study?". A very harmless Question in most cases but not certainly when it is asked to me. I did not know what prompted him (The Him in Description was a 30 Year Old , cigaratte smoking Stranger at the basement of a friend's apt ) to ask this question to me ( Since I always roam around in a T-shirt & shorts , I could take some reassurance !!) ? . I told him that I don't study in a school & that I work. He said since the novel I was holding was a Comics ( Once he again he was mistaken since it was P.G.Wodehouse Novel with a cariacature of jeeves & Wooster on cover which he had presumed as comics) , he had asked that question. I told him it was not a comics & it was a novel and told him the author , whom he didn't know. He then quickly had a look at the Novel and asked me if I was a member at the British Council Library . I answered a smug "yes" . He asked me If I knew when the Orientation session was scheduled for Indian Travellers to UK . I told him , I was just a member at BCL and didn't work there . He then proceeded to tell me that he was heading for UK next week ( I presume he must be a software engineer , because they are the only tribe with such pompous attitude & nil literary knowledge !!) . I gave him the BCL phone numbers & website address and in return didn't even get a Thanks.

Its definitely a strange two minute encounter , but leaves a lot of questions unanswered about manners & changing attitude these days !!...

P.G.WODEHOUSE

What kind of Books do you read ? Who is your favourite Author ? ... As a Voracious Bibliophile , I have been asked this question numerous times and everytime I have fumbled for an answer.

What do I read ? --- Practically anything I can get my hands on , although these days I read less of fiction & more of Biographies , Business , Wildlife & Culture / Travel Books.

Who is my Favourite Author ? -- Definitely I do not have an asnwer for this . Every author has his own Distinct style & at various times I have liked most of them . But I do definitely know that "P.G.Wodehouse" remains perched somewhere at the top of that list.

He is the master of Humour & satire and subtle comedy . It always takes me a long time to finish a Wooster & Jeeves Novel because most of the time you have read between or into the lines to get the hidden subtle humour . His prolificity has never ceased to amaze me and "Wooster & Jeeves"stand out as the two most immortal fictional characters to have been created in English literature. I am a Succor for comedy. Most of my Favourite movies (be it in English or Hindi or Tamil) are comedy movies and hence its no wonder that P.G has had such a deep impact on me.

Friday, August 01, 2003

QUOTES

Quotations of Great Poeple have always found a Place in Most "Email Signatures"and I am no exception. In Fact a friend of mine recently joked that my Signature in most cases was longer than the Contents of my email !!! . Here are those Quotations :

A thing of beauty is a joy forever ! -- John Keats

Knowledge is power -- Francis Bacon

Cogito , Ergo Sum (I Think , Therefore I am ) -- Rene Descartes

Faith,faith,faith in yourself ; faith in God - the only secret of success -- Swami Vivekananda

Genius is 1% inspiration ; 99% perspiration -- Thomas Edison

You must be the change you wish to see in the world -- Mahatma Gandhi

I am always doing things I can't do ; that's how I get to do them -- Pablo Picasso

If winter comes ; can spring be far behind ? -- Shelley

To try and fail is part of life ; To fail to try is unforgivable -- Anonymous

You're never a loser until you quit trying -- Mike Ditka (American Football Coach)

Winning isn't everything,it's the only thing -- Vince Lombardi (The legendary NFL Coach)

The woods are dark,lovely and deep,but I have promises to keep;
And miles to go before I sleep,miles to go before I sleep -- Robert Frost

Perform your Duty equipoised,abandoning all attachment to
success or failure.Such Equanimity is called Yoga -- Bhagavad Gita

Katradhu kaimannalavu ; Kallaadhadhu ulagalavu -- A Tamil proverb