I wanted to drop this note earlier, but somehow never got to do it. I have moved my blogging activities to a new address:
www.nikunjverma.com
So, please pay me a visit there. There won't be any more posts at this blog.
See you there!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Monday, November 9, 2009
Vacation over.... :(
I just came back from a 10 day vacation in SE Asia(Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia). Hangover is very strong and I can feel the deep contrast between a vacation life and a real life right now. So thought of expressing the feelings which I have right now.
This is how I spent my vacation. First what I didn't have/didn't do:
1. No cell phone(no bill payment reminders, available bank balance!)
2. No internet for most part(no company emails about things breaking apart back in office!)
3. No television(no bheegi billi from 9XM !)
This is what I did a lot:
1. Cheers for this, cheers for that! Did you try the cocktail "Fantastic Phuket"? Argh how much I hate whiskey..... but ... !
2. Water sports. Jet ski, para-sailing, snorkeling, white water rafting. The action never stopped.
3. Water water everywhere. While not bathing in beach, it was the swimming pool. In fact soon I felt like I was living a "fishy" life. Later into the vacation I started avoiding going into the water and now I think hard about even taking a bath!
4. Not sleeping before 5 am. A lot of long nights in the pubs, discs, beaches and one time in the hotel room just playing poker.
On a more introspective note, I also learned a few things during this time. I would share it in a new post. For now its time to get on with the predictable and less exciting old life. But it has a silver lining- it pays you so that you can redo the vacation!
This is how I spent my vacation. First what I didn't have/didn't do:
1. No cell phone(no bill payment reminders, available bank balance!)
2. No internet for most part(no company emails about things breaking apart back in office!)
3. No television(no bheegi billi from 9XM !)
This is what I did a lot:
1. Cheers for this, cheers for that! Did you try the cocktail "Fantastic Phuket"? Argh how much I hate whiskey..... but ...
2. Water sports. Jet ski, para-sailing, snorkeling, white water rafting. The action never stopped.
3. Water water everywhere. While not bathing in beach, it was the swimming pool. In fact soon I felt like I was living a "fishy" life. Later into the vacation I started avoiding going into the water and now I think hard about even taking a bath!
4. Not sleeping before 5 am. A lot of long nights in the pubs, discs, beaches and one time in the hotel room just playing poker.
On a more introspective note, I also learned a few things during this time. I would share it in a new post. For now its time to get on with the predictable and less exciting old life. But it has a silver lining- it pays you so that you can redo the vacation!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Learning to swim- Part 1
Been wanting to write this post for long. Been much busy without much work. :) Anyway here it is.
In this post, I wish to just lay down the foundation for beginners.
1. Get equipped! : The fear and discomfort most people face in the pool is when the water gets in from all sort of places - ears, nose, mouth and rattles your internal sensitive nerves. So investing in protective gear to avoid this puts you in a better condition.A good eye goggle and a silicon swim cap is highly recommended. Goggle is obviously important as it protects your eyes as well as makes it easy for you open your eyes inside water- you want to be able to see where exactly you are in the pool! Swim cap, sometimes is given a skip by people(esp. guys) as they think it is a beauty tip. It is more than that as you can pull it down to cover your ears too, so you cover one more entry points of water.
2. Understand how to breathe once you are in: Its a no-brainer- we are not fish so we cant inhale inside. Still it takes a bit of control to tell your nose and mouth to think before performing a function they have doing all your life almost automatically! The simple concept is - Inhale from mouth when it is outside the water(large air in less time) and exhale from nose inside the water(less air leak in more time).
Here is a video which explains this:
Breathing Exercise
Just note this and try to stick to this rule. When you goof this up inside the pool, I bet you will know it. :)
In the next post on this topic, I will try to cover floating and basic leg movement. Feedback invited!
In this post, I wish to just lay down the foundation for beginners.
1. Get equipped! : The fear and discomfort most people face in the pool is when the water gets in from all sort of places - ears, nose, mouth and rattles your internal sensitive nerves. So investing in protective gear to avoid this puts you in a better condition.A good eye goggle and a silicon swim cap is highly recommended. Goggle is obviously important as it protects your eyes as well as makes it easy for you open your eyes inside water- you want to be able to see where exactly you are in the pool! Swim cap, sometimes is given a skip by people(esp. guys) as they think it is a beauty tip. It is more than that as you can pull it down to cover your ears too, so you cover one more entry points of water.
2. Understand how to breathe once you are in: Its a no-brainer- we are not fish so we cant inhale inside. Still it takes a bit of control to tell your nose and mouth to think before performing a function they have doing all your life almost automatically! The simple concept is - Inhale from mouth when it is outside the water(large air in less time) and exhale from nose inside the water(less air leak in more time).
Here is a video which explains this:
Breathing Exercise
Just note this and try to stick to this rule. When you goof this up inside the pool, I bet you will know it. :)
In the next post on this topic, I will try to cover floating and basic leg movement. Feedback invited!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
My swimming learning experiences- introductory post
Swimming is one thing which I have always wanted to do. I think the desire got stronger after I was instructed by ENT doctors to avoid swimming as I had a big perforation in my right ear. My visits to water parks and swimming pool, as a result, have been limited to being in the shallow waters and pretending to be relaxing in front of swimmers around. :) To save myself from this embarrassment, I got my ear fixed some 1-2 yrs back and about 10 days ago I started going to a nearby swimming pool to learn this cool thing. :)
I have been searching on usual internet resources to learn the basics of swimming, but have come across only myriad scattered pieces on different topics like different swimming strokes, maintaining balance, squeezing more speeds, etc. I didn't easily find a web resource for beginners, a resource which covers the aspects novices need to know in order to swim. The small steps I have taken in last 7-8 days have been full of learning and unlearning. So I thought I would make a note of my learning process here so that it might be of help to someone else. These notes will largely be a result of my browsing on the subject, my swimming trainer's words and my own experiences in the pool. As a result, these notes are subjective and I welcome any comments/advices from experts. I will try to experiment with such advices in the pool and will update the posts accordingly.
Hope this will help somebody somewhere to learn swimming faster.
I have been searching on usual internet resources to learn the basics of swimming, but have come across only myriad scattered pieces on different topics like different swimming strokes, maintaining balance, squeezing more speeds, etc. I didn't easily find a web resource for beginners, a resource which covers the aspects novices need to know in order to swim. The small steps I have taken in last 7-8 days have been full of learning and unlearning. So I thought I would make a note of my learning process here so that it might be of help to someone else. These notes will largely be a result of my browsing on the subject, my swimming trainer's words and my own experiences in the pool. As a result, these notes are subjective and I welcome any comments/advices from experts. I will try to experiment with such advices in the pool and will update the posts accordingly.
Hope this will help somebody somewhere to learn swimming faster.
Monday, April 13, 2009
book review- The Fourth Estate (Jeffrey Archer)
I have been reading this novel: "The Fourth Estate" for about a month. Finally finished it yesterday. As expected from Jeffrey Archer, it is a well plotted and riveting story with a good measure of twists and turns thrown in. My verdict is a definite thumbs up, though there are somethings I wasn't convinced with.
First the plot. It kinda reminds me of the plot of an earlier novel by Archer, named "First Among Equals". There it was a battle of 4 politicians for the top chair in England, here it is a battle of two ruthless publishers- Keith Townsend and Richard Armstrong- to become numero-uno in the world publishing and newspaper industry. The real beauty in this novel is that you keep changing sides throughout this battle for supremacy- one moment you support Keith Townsend, another moment you go back rooting for Richard/Dick Armstrong! The reason for this wildly swinging loyalties is hidden in the basic human nature. Both of the chief protagonists demonstrate strengths unique to them and at the same time manifest common vice- a complete disregard for the means to achieve the ends. And thats where the famous Archer twists come in as you never know who of them might stoop to new lows to outsmart the other.
Coming to the writing style, its atypical of Jeffrey Archer. Keeping the readers guessing till the end of novel is a skill which is now mastered by many authors but doing the same continuously with each event in a 450 page novel is perhaps mastered by few like Archer. The novel begins from the end of the story and then ensues a long flashback after which the story comes back to the present.
[******Spoiler warning******* skip the next paragraph to avoid it.]
The end of the novel however left me a bit unconvinced. I didn't expect Armstrong to commit suicide, specially after the solidarity he showed in his end days. In the last board meeting in which the chariman resigned, he was as steadfast and ruthless as ever and didn't show any sign of surrender. It is also difficult for me to digest that a fighter like him who fought all his life would not look for any rescuer like Keith got in EB. He knew he was in mess and he knew he needed $50 mn to survive. Why he made no attempt to generate that money, with the exception of thinking of selling his stake in NY star to Keith, is not very clear to me. He simply gives away his empire and disappears in disgrace and oblivion.
As someone who is interested in business side of our world, I wonder why Townsend and Armstrong were always after acquisitions of big established names in the newspaper industry. Townsend was in fact so desperate to buy newspapers that he could be sold coal mines at an exorbitant price in a package deal. Also, in most of then novel we are told only about the insane expenditure by the leading men- how they got so rich is kind of not clear. The figure of $3 billion, which Townsend offers for a major media firm in USA, looks a little too inflated to me, more so considering that it was supposed to happen in early 1980s.
One more thing. I like Jeffrey Archer novels for the learning opportunity they provide. I remember in my early days I was told by him about how Swiss banks work. Then, his short stories had me appreciate tiny tid-bits about life- legal loopholes, politics, etc. In this novel, I learnt more a range of topics- Nazi torture camps, Hitler's nickname- "der Fuhrer", menace of labour unions, etc. It makes the reading so more interesting!
Final Verdict: 3.5/5
My other verdicts to give you some idea my rating scale and my literary tastes:
1. Atlas Shrugged: 4/5
2. Fountain Head: 4.5/5
3. 32 Short Stories by Archer: 4.5/5
First the plot. It kinda reminds me of the plot of an earlier novel by Archer, named "First Among Equals". There it was a battle of 4 politicians for the top chair in England, here it is a battle of two ruthless publishers- Keith Townsend and Richard Armstrong- to become numero-uno in the world publishing and newspaper industry. The real beauty in this novel is that you keep changing sides throughout this battle for supremacy- one moment you support Keith Townsend, another moment you go back rooting for Richard/Dick Armstrong! The reason for this wildly swinging loyalties is hidden in the basic human nature. Both of the chief protagonists demonstrate strengths unique to them and at the same time manifest common vice- a complete disregard for the means to achieve the ends. And thats where the famous Archer twists come in as you never know who of them might stoop to new lows to outsmart the other.
Coming to the writing style, its atypical of Jeffrey Archer. Keeping the readers guessing till the end of novel is a skill which is now mastered by many authors but doing the same continuously with each event in a 450 page novel is perhaps mastered by few like Archer. The novel begins from the end of the story and then ensues a long flashback after which the story comes back to the present.
[******Spoiler warning******* skip the next paragraph to avoid it.]
The end of the novel however left me a bit unconvinced. I didn't expect Armstrong to commit suicide, specially after the solidarity he showed in his end days. In the last board meeting in which the chariman resigned, he was as steadfast and ruthless as ever and didn't show any sign of surrender. It is also difficult for me to digest that a fighter like him who fought all his life would not look for any rescuer like Keith got in EB. He knew he was in mess and he knew he needed $50 mn to survive. Why he made no attempt to generate that money, with the exception of thinking of selling his stake in NY star to Keith, is not very clear to me. He simply gives away his empire and disappears in disgrace and oblivion.
As someone who is interested in business side of our world, I wonder why Townsend and Armstrong were always after acquisitions of big established names in the newspaper industry. Townsend was in fact so desperate to buy newspapers that he could be sold coal mines at an exorbitant price in a package deal. Also, in most of then novel we are told only about the insane expenditure by the leading men- how they got so rich is kind of not clear. The figure of $3 billion, which Townsend offers for a major media firm in USA, looks a little too inflated to me, more so considering that it was supposed to happen in early 1980s.
One more thing. I like Jeffrey Archer novels for the learning opportunity they provide. I remember in my early days I was told by him about how Swiss banks work. Then, his short stories had me appreciate tiny tid-bits about life- legal loopholes, politics, etc. In this novel, I learnt more a range of topics- Nazi torture camps, Hitler's nickname- "der Fuhrer", menace of labour unions, etc. It makes the reading so more interesting!
Final Verdict: 3.5/5
My other verdicts to give you some idea my rating scale and my literary tastes:
1. Atlas Shrugged: 4/5
2. Fountain Head: 4.5/5
3. 32 Short Stories by Archer: 4.5/5
Sunday, April 12, 2009
after a long hiatus..
Ok so I get it now- a little bit of procrastination can soon add up and keep you away from blogging for days and days on. A mental note registered in my mind- write something here twice a week at least.
Oh, btw, did I tell you about the two contradicting inner selves of mine? Well, like most of us, I hear two voices from within- a positive one which basically says- "you rock dude!" and the other self doubting, cynical one which always seems to say - "Umm. Are you sure you can pull it off?". For eg. right now I am telling myself - "Make it a point to blog here, whatever it may be" I say to myself and pat comes the reply from the cynical self - "who reads your blog anyway?". :)
Anyway, one more decision I have taken now it so write something more worthwhile on this blog. As you might have noticed I have written more about my personal outbursts and opinions. And as the famous cliche goes- "opinions are like you-know-what holes", now I plan to write some unpredictable stuff. Like what?. Umm, I haven't really thought much but I guess there will be some tidbits about technology, book reviews, etc.
Back to work now. Sigh.
Oh, btw, did I tell you about the two contradicting inner selves of mine? Well, like most of us, I hear two voices from within- a positive one which basically says- "you rock dude!" and the other self doubting, cynical one which always seems to say - "Umm. Are you sure you can pull it off?". For eg. right now I am telling myself - "Make it a point to blog here, whatever it may be" I say to myself and pat comes the reply from the cynical self - "who reads your blog anyway?". :)
Anyway, one more decision I have taken now it so write something more worthwhile on this blog. As you might have noticed I have written more about my personal outbursts and opinions. And as the famous cliche goes- "opinions are like you-know-what holes", now I plan to write some unpredictable stuff. Like what?. Umm, I haven't really thought much but I guess there will be some tidbits about technology, book reviews, etc.
Back to work now. Sigh.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
New year laundry list..
HNY 2009 to all of you!
For me this is slated to be an important year. This is what I wish to accomplish in this year:
1. Hit the gym. The tyre needs to lose some air..:)
2. Look at the entrepreneurial stuff seriously. Been fantasizing about a few ideas off late, but not doing anything serious with them. Time to take the plunge!
3. Learn a new language. French. Why is French so popular?
4. Marriage? :)
5. Read some more books. More of Ayn Rand?
I am pretty enthusiastic about this new year. Let me know if anyone wants something to be added in this list. This is your dream chance to get me changed(for the good)!
For me this is slated to be an important year. This is what I wish to accomplish in this year:
1. Hit the gym. The tyre needs to lose some air..:)
2. Look at the entrepreneurial stuff seriously. Been fantasizing about a few ideas off late, but not doing anything serious with them. Time to take the plunge!
3. Learn a new language. French. Why is French so popular?
4. Marriage? :)
5. Read some more books. More of Ayn Rand?
I am pretty enthusiastic about this new year. Let me know if anyone wants something to be added in this list. This is your dream chance to get me changed(for the good)!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Why people like Raj Thackrey should be stamped out in Indian democracy, right now!
Okay so I have been against Raj Thackrey since the first day he spat his venom on "north Indians" settled in Maharashtra. I used to think that people like him who want to gain votes will keep trying to polarize the historically easily dividable Indians and people should just just ignore him.
But what I realized yesterday, got me scared. It also made me see clearly why people like him should be made to shut up or sent to jail right away. I may look shortsighted and unnecessarily "worked up" but let me try to make you see what I see now.
Let's forget about Raj Thackrey for a moment. Let's see the history of the Hindu-Muslim divide which gifted us Mumbai attacks a few days ago. If you go back to early 1900's, all was well in India. Indians were standing up to oppose the British raj and the freedom movement was building up.Then something happened. Britishers played the "divide and rule" card and turned Hindus against Muslims. From nowhere, a guy called Jinnah became a rival to leaders like Gandhi and sparks started flying everywhere. Soon partition happened and 60 years from then, we are still not able to recover from it. Thanks to the image which was portrayed in Indian movies and media, I used to believe till now that it was Jinnah, who played a key role in this painful partition.
But no. Here I need your attention. This is what wiki says about Jinnah:
"Some historians like H M Seervai and Ayesha Jalal assert that Jinnah never wanted partition of India and independence of Pakistan —it was the outcome of the Congress leaders being unwilling to share power with the Muslim League. It is asserted that Jinnah only used the Pakistan demand as a method to mobilize support to obtain significant political rights for Muslims."
So, he never wanted partition but still used to demand for Pakistan to gain support. Rings bells? This is exactly what I am told by some of my Maharashtrian friends, who don't see anything wrong in Thackrey apart from his violence for North Indians. They say that Raj Thackrey is just doing this to gain votes but his real intention is for upliftment of Maharashtrians and there is nothing wrong in it.
And this is where my dread starts. If my educated friends don't see the far reaching consequences of this separatist movement, even god can't save this country. Remember, what was just a demand for Pakistan, created the great animosity between Hindu and Muslims; animosity which feeds on blood of innocent people. What if same thing happens today? Hatred doesn't take much time to seize control of one's mind. We have seen that again and again. How easily Indians get divided? First came Hindu vs Muslim, then came Mumbai vs Lungi(South Indian), Tamil vs rest of India and north Indian vs Maharashtrian. Somewhere, some self serving leader wants votes, calls conferences, targets a community and people get divided, just at the drop of a hat.
Yesterday I watched "Ek Ruka Hua Faisla" in full. You would be amazed at the fact that the feelings expressed by the characters are so relevant even today. You would also feel anger at watching a few scenes like this one:(the video is a comparison of this movie with its original "12 Angry Men". Listen to the dialogues of the person in the original too, they are relevant in Indian context too )
Now imagine for a second what is being said in this scene about Muslims, being said about a Bihari by a Mahrashtrian in future. Looks ludicrous? Today, yes. But if we don't wake up now it may as well be possible.
I am all for development of Maharashtra by people like Raj Thackrey. Reserve jobs for less privileged if need be. Reserve seats at colleges and schools. But for god's sake don't divide India again. You will come and go, after reveling in power plays but the hatred you stoke today will never wither out. If we don't wake up now, India will again become a collection of small states, as it was before the Indian republic was born.
I see a devil. I see another Jinnah. I am scared.
But what I realized yesterday, got me scared. It also made me see clearly why people like him should be made to shut up or sent to jail right away. I may look shortsighted and unnecessarily "worked up" but let me try to make you see what I see now.
Let's forget about Raj Thackrey for a moment. Let's see the history of the Hindu-Muslim divide which gifted us Mumbai attacks a few days ago. If you go back to early 1900's, all was well in India. Indians were standing up to oppose the British raj and the freedom movement was building up.Then something happened. Britishers played the "divide and rule" card and turned Hindus against Muslims. From nowhere, a guy called Jinnah became a rival to leaders like Gandhi and sparks started flying everywhere. Soon partition happened and 60 years from then, we are still not able to recover from it. Thanks to the image which was portrayed in Indian movies and media, I used to believe till now that it was Jinnah, who played a key role in this painful partition.
But no. Here I need your attention. This is what wiki says about Jinnah:
"Some historians like H M Seervai and Ayesha Jalal assert that Jinnah never wanted partition of India and independence of Pakistan —it was the outcome of the Congress leaders being unwilling to share power with the Muslim League. It is asserted that Jinnah only used the Pakistan demand as a method to mobilize support to obtain significant political rights for Muslims."
So, he never wanted partition but still used to demand for Pakistan to gain support. Rings bells? This is exactly what I am told by some of my Maharashtrian friends, who don't see anything wrong in Thackrey apart from his violence for North Indians. They say that Raj Thackrey is just doing this to gain votes but his real intention is for upliftment of Maharashtrians and there is nothing wrong in it.
And this is where my dread starts. If my educated friends don't see the far reaching consequences of this separatist movement, even god can't save this country. Remember, what was just a demand for Pakistan, created the great animosity between Hindu and Muslims; animosity which feeds on blood of innocent people. What if same thing happens today? Hatred doesn't take much time to seize control of one's mind. We have seen that again and again. How easily Indians get divided? First came Hindu vs Muslim, then came Mumbai vs Lungi(South Indian), Tamil vs rest of India and north Indian vs Maharashtrian. Somewhere, some self serving leader wants votes, calls conferences, targets a community and people get divided, just at the drop of a hat.
Yesterday I watched "Ek Ruka Hua Faisla" in full. You would be amazed at the fact that the feelings expressed by the characters are so relevant even today. You would also feel anger at watching a few scenes like this one:(the video is a comparison of this movie with its original "12 Angry Men". Listen to the dialogues of the person in the original too, they are relevant in Indian context too )
Now imagine for a second what is being said in this scene about Muslims, being said about a Bihari by a Mahrashtrian in future. Looks ludicrous? Today, yes. But if we don't wake up now it may as well be possible.
I am all for development of Maharashtra by people like Raj Thackrey. Reserve jobs for less privileged if need be. Reserve seats at colleges and schools. But for god's sake don't divide India again. You will come and go, after reveling in power plays but the hatred you stoke today will never wither out. If we don't wake up now, India will again become a collection of small states, as it was before the Indian republic was born.
I see a devil. I see another Jinnah. I am scared.
Monday, December 1, 2008
India waking up...
So it seems it took one more disaster, the jolts from the recent terrorist attacks on Mumbai, to wake the giant sloth of this nation of 1 billion. Or at least thats what it looks like today and as given the forgiving tendencies we Indians nurture, the giant may doze off again soon.
But this time it does look like a different awakening. I am not sure what exactly was different this time around than the previous attacks, most notably the attack on the Indian parliament in 2001. But this time it does look like, at least to me, that the way people are disturbed because of this incident is totally different from the previous ones. This is what I think explains this wide spread public anguish and loud voices to bring about a change:
1. This time it was death, minute by minute, unlike a big blip on the radar, at one point in time. The seize lasted for 60 hours which were covered in detail by the prodding eyes of media. People had their eyes fixated to their TV sets, getting updated about minute by minute actions from both sides.
2. The attacks were carried out in one of the most brazen way, one which took everybody with surprise. No one had thought that out coastline and deep seas were so unsecure that people could sneak in with so much ammunition all the way from Pakistan!
3. The shocking(and myterious) demises of top 3 security forces of India, all the the same time! When the news came that three top bosses from three different security forces fell simultaneously, people were shocked to the core. How can three popular chiefs fall in what can be called a "soft dismissal"?
4. The attacks had all the elements of a typical bollywood flick- corrupt, inept politicians, foreign hostages, black commandos, hand grenades being flung around. All this sensationalized by the media round to clock.
Whatever be the actual reason for this powerful response to this version of the act, I thank god that at least now the general public is taking it seriously and asking the authorities right questions. And the ripples have started getting formed already- state home minister and chief minister are already stripped of their power and asked to resign "on the basis of their own conscience". At the center, the union home minister has been forced to resign "voluntarily" too.
I see a lot of activity on the blogosphere too, with people from abroad reacting sharply and caustically to the incident. Closer home, the reform lists are being prepared by the media(eg. TOI wish list) and I hope new home minister- P.Chidambram will pay heed to these.
Hope this is not an initial euphoria and we all don't just fall asleep again. Not this time.
But this time it does look like a different awakening. I am not sure what exactly was different this time around than the previous attacks, most notably the attack on the Indian parliament in 2001. But this time it does look like, at least to me, that the way people are disturbed because of this incident is totally different from the previous ones. This is what I think explains this wide spread public anguish and loud voices to bring about a change:
1. This time it was death, minute by minute, unlike a big blip on the radar, at one point in time. The seize lasted for 60 hours which were covered in detail by the prodding eyes of media. People had their eyes fixated to their TV sets, getting updated about minute by minute actions from both sides.
2. The attacks were carried out in one of the most brazen way, one which took everybody with surprise. No one had thought that out coastline and deep seas were so unsecure that people could sneak in with so much ammunition all the way from Pakistan!
3. The shocking(and myterious) demises of top 3 security forces of India, all the the same time! When the news came that three top bosses from three different security forces fell simultaneously, people were shocked to the core. How can three popular chiefs fall in what can be called a "soft dismissal"?
4. The attacks had all the elements of a typical bollywood flick- corrupt, inept politicians, foreign hostages, black commandos, hand grenades being flung around. All this sensationalized by the media round to clock.
Whatever be the actual reason for this powerful response to this version of the act, I thank god that at least now the general public is taking it seriously and asking the authorities right questions. And the ripples have started getting formed already- state home minister and chief minister are already stripped of their power and asked to resign "on the basis of their own conscience". At the center, the union home minister has been forced to resign "voluntarily" too.
I see a lot of activity on the blogosphere too, with people from abroad reacting sharply and caustically to the incident. Closer home, the reform lists are being prepared by the media(eg. TOI wish list) and I hope new home minister- P.Chidambram will pay heed to these.
Hope this is not an initial euphoria and we all don't just fall asleep again. Not this time.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
We are at war!
"I condemn this dastardly attack."
"The wires were pulled by ISI in Pakistan."
"I am confident that Mumbai, with its characteristic indomitable spirit will bounce back soon and show to the perpetrators that we are not scared and your plans to disturb communal harmony in our country will not be successful."
O our dear politicians, Give us a break now. Don't expect people to take it lying down again and again while you sit in your comfy offices enjoying the power you have been given for no real vitrues of your self. If you don't act now, I quite seriously believe that we are going to witness something like what the movie "A Wednesday" showed. Watch first 2 minutes from this video:
I particularly have strong objection to the unshakable belief on what is known as "irrepressible, indomitable" spirit of Mumbai. Quite simply, I don't believe that a thing like that exists. And whatever reasons we have to believe it exists, are actually not the high points about Mumbai anyway. The reasons for my this rather unpopular belief will take quite a few more keyboarding and I will write about them in the next post.
As an aside, there is theory doing rounds since this all started on 26th. There seems to be a logic behind the dates chosen for the execution of these attacks. The formula seems to be-
Date of attack = 13 or 26, alternately
Month of attack = Month of last attack + 2.
Look at the dates for last 4 attacks:
13th day, 05th month- Jaipur
26th day, 07th month- Ahmedabad
13th day, 09th month- Delhi
26th day, 11th month- Mumbai.
I am quite cynical that this is true, but who knows? These dates might be chosen due to some personal/religious/group preferences.
"The wires were pulled by ISI in Pakistan."
"I am confident that Mumbai, with its characteristic indomitable spirit will bounce back soon and show to the perpetrators that we are not scared and your plans to disturb communal harmony in our country will not be successful."
O our dear politicians, Give us a break now. Don't expect people to take it lying down again and again while you sit in your comfy offices enjoying the power you have been given for no real vitrues of your self. If you don't act now, I quite seriously believe that we are going to witness something like what the movie "A Wednesday" showed. Watch first 2 minutes from this video:
I particularly have strong objection to the unshakable belief on what is known as "irrepressible, indomitable" spirit of Mumbai. Quite simply, I don't believe that a thing like that exists. And whatever reasons we have to believe it exists, are actually not the high points about Mumbai anyway. The reasons for my this rather unpopular belief will take quite a few more keyboarding and I will write about them in the next post.
As an aside, there is theory doing rounds since this all started on 26th. There seems to be a logic behind the dates chosen for the execution of these attacks. The formula seems to be-
Date of attack = 13 or 26, alternately
Month of attack = Month of last attack + 2.
Look at the dates for last 4 attacks:
13th day, 05th month- Jaipur
26th day, 07th month- Ahmedabad
13th day, 09th month- Delhi
26th day, 11th month- Mumbai.
I am quite cynical that this is true, but who knows? These dates might be chosen due to some personal/religious/group preferences.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Pathetic public bus service in Pune
The headline will find an echo with the mind of most of the readers here. There are plenty of problems around public bus service in Pune and I remember when I came to the city for the first time a lot of people used to say it is deliberately kept in a messy state by the two wheeler production lobby. While this might be true, the fact that some of the problems in the PMPML buses are very basic in nature and this is the state in one of the better cities in India, amazes me to no end.
The biggest problems with PMPML in my view are:
1. Very few direct routes.
2. Low frequency of buses. You have to wait for 15-20 mins minimum to catch bus.
3. Hostile staff which still lives in ancient Indian PSU(Public Sector Undertaking) mindset.
4. Badly maintained fleet of buses.
Today, I wrote an email to the PTTF(Pune Traffic Transport Forum, www.pttf.net) of which I am a member about a bad experience my sister had recently with our PMPML bus service. Here is the email:
Hi,
Since, we frequently encourage people in this forum and elsewhere to use public transport, I thought of bringing up experiences by my one family member and my friends with our PMT buses.
It is a well known limitation of our bus route planning that we have too fewer direct bus routes and most people have to go to corporation to go anywhere from their destination. Not only its an additional hassle to change over, but it is often the most painful point in this public bus usage exercise.
For instance, a few days ago, my sister wanted to come from railway station back to home, at Baner. She went to corporation bus stop and located a bus supposed to go to Baner in around 15-20 mins of time. She boarded the bus and the bus start getting filled with people. After 20 mins, there was a sudden rush and people started getting off the bus and started climbing on to a different bus. People informed my surprised sister that the bus to go on the Baner route has been changed! And to her shock, she found the bus drivers and conductors standing there, smiling in mischief at the plight of the people. What there were thinking it was- a prank?
Anyway she changed the bus and climbed on to the new bus. After 10 mins in the "new" bus- hold your breath- the same event of bus change happened again! People started scrambling on their way out from the door to climb on the new bus yet again! Not to mention- the PMC people standing nearby repeated their "smiling at your plight" exercise again.
In the end, my sister, whom I had asked to use public transport, managed to come after 1.45 hours from corporation to Baner and was aghast at this callousness and inefficienct operations by PMC. I asked her if she noted the bus numbers and the name of the PMC people, but she told me that she was too taken aback to do that.
Before, anyone here starts to discount this as an one-off incident, let me tell you that this experience has been shared with me by one cousin and a friend of mine about 1-2 years ago too.
On this forum, we talk of metro(not too many supporters though), BRTS(quite a big following). But shouldn't our first step be to make regular bus service reliable and customer friendly? Shouldn't there be more direct routes? Shouldn't the frequency be increased/decreased as per the latest traffic load? Shouldn't PMC staff be taken to task when they behave in a hostile/callous manner to a customer?
I tend to think that the argument made against metro, that Pune is not as big yet, holds good for BRTS also to some extent. We can do without BRTS if the PMPML is run efficiently. But without an efficient PMPML, dreaming of BRTS looks ill conceived. This is just a feeling, so let me know if I am wrong here.
I would also be very eager to hear about:
1. steps, we as a group, have taken to improve PMPML.
2. steps we can take now to this end. I would be happy to volunteer.
Thanks,
And soon got a reply from a senior group member, who is known for his rebellious streaks, to trash this expectation that people should use public transport in place of private vehicles, in the current conditions of PMPML bus service:
The expectation is that this moth eaten institution of the PMPML is to replace all our personal travel vehicles, unless we plan to cycle or walk all the way, all day. All plans are hinged on this great hope that the PMPML with its third rate fleet, apathetic staff and clueless management is going to substitute 14 lakh pvt vehicles. The efforts to improve the PMPML are on for several years now. And we all know that the experience u have narrated is the rule and not the exception. How many of us use public transport and leave our scooter/car behind? Only those who can afford to use the rickshaw.
Hmmm. Sad, but true. But I would choose to fight the system. I hope as a group of citizens who want to improve things, we are able to bring some change in this area.
P.S. I have been just invited to attend a meeting of PTTF and the new GM of PMPML on Friday 11 AM. Since it is a week day, it would be difficult to make it but I think I should. At least once. Will update if I do go.
PMPML ! Here I come!! :)
The biggest problems with PMPML in my view are:
1. Very few direct routes.
2. Low frequency of buses. You have to wait for 15-20 mins minimum to catch bus.
3. Hostile staff which still lives in ancient Indian PSU(Public Sector Undertaking) mindset.
4. Badly maintained fleet of buses.
Today, I wrote an email to the PTTF(Pune Traffic Transport Forum, www.pttf.net) of which I am a member about a bad experience my sister had recently with our PMPML bus service. Here is the email:
Hi,
Since, we frequently encourage people in this forum and elsewhere to use public transport, I thought of bringing up experiences by my one family member and my friends with our PMT buses.
It is a well known limitation of our bus route planning that we have too fewer direct bus routes and most people have to go to corporation to go anywhere from their destination. Not only its an additional hassle to change over, but it is often the most painful point in this public bus usage exercise.
For instance, a few days ago, my sister wanted to come from railway station back to home, at Baner. She went to corporation bus stop and located a bus supposed to go to Baner in around 15-20 mins of time. She boarded the bus and the bus start getting filled with people. After 20 mins, there was a sudden rush and people started getting off the bus and started climbing on to a different bus. People informed my surprised sister that the bus to go on the Baner route has been changed! And to her shock, she found the bus drivers and conductors standing there, smiling in mischief at the plight of the people. What there were thinking it was- a prank?
Anyway she changed the bus and climbed on to the new bus. After 10 mins in the "new" bus- hold your breath- the same event of bus change happened again! People started scrambling on their way out from the door to climb on the new bus yet again! Not to mention- the PMC people standing nearby repeated their "smiling at your plight" exercise again.
In the end, my sister, whom I had asked to use public transport, managed to come after 1.45 hours from corporation to Baner and was aghast at this callousness and inefficienct operations by PMC. I asked her if she noted the bus numbers and the name of the PMC people, but she told me that she was too taken aback to do that.
Before, anyone here starts to discount this as an one-off incident, let me tell you that this experience has been shared with me by one cousin and a friend of mine about 1-2 years ago too.
On this forum, we talk of metro(not too many supporters though), BRTS(quite a big following). But shouldn't our first step be to make regular bus service reliable and customer friendly? Shouldn't there be more direct routes? Shouldn't the frequency be increased/decreased as per the latest traffic load? Shouldn't PMC staff be taken to task when they behave in a hostile/callous manner to a customer?
I tend to think that the argument made against metro, that Pune is not as big yet, holds good for BRTS also to some extent. We can do without BRTS if the PMPML is run efficiently. But without an efficient PMPML, dreaming of BRTS looks ill conceived. This is just a feeling, so let me know if I am wrong here.
I would also be very eager to hear about:
1. steps, we as a group, have taken to improve PMPML.
2. steps we can take now to this end. I would be happy to volunteer.
Thanks,
And soon got a reply from a senior group member, who is known for his rebellious streaks, to trash this expectation that people should use public transport in place of private vehicles, in the current conditions of PMPML bus service:
The expectation is that this moth eaten institution of the PMPML is to replace all our personal travel vehicles, unless we plan to cycle or walk all the way, all day. All plans are hinged on this great hope that the PMPML with its third rate fleet, apathetic staff and clueless management is going to substitute 14 lakh pvt vehicles. The efforts to improve the PMPML are on for several years now. And we all know that the experience u have narrated is the rule and not the exception. How many of us use public transport and leave our scooter/car behind? Only those who can afford to use the rickshaw.
Hmmm. Sad, but true. But I would choose to fight the system. I hope as a group of citizens who want to improve things, we are able to bring some change in this area.
P.S. I have been just invited to attend a meeting of PTTF and the new GM of PMPML on Friday 11 AM. Since it is a week day, it would be difficult to make it but I think I should. At least once. Will update if I do go.
PMPML ! Here I come!! :)
Friday, November 21, 2008
Road Rage- Survival of the fittest?
Road rage. This has been in news a few times in recent times. Sometime back, one of my ex-colleague at Nevis Networks, was manhandled in city while she was driving in her car and happened to rub a motor cycle rider on the wrong side. In broad daylight, on a busy road, she was pulled out of car and slapped by this brave young man a few times. Police complaint followed but I won't be surprised if the case is now forgotten by everybody.
A few months ago, there were a series of events on city roads where traffic policemen were beaten by a few youths. They probably didn't like getting an earful from the cops and decided to give him back something in return. Whoa.
Apparently, this is a global phenomenon. A car driver in US recently got a free ride on top of the hood of a car driven by a road rager:
http://videos.oregonlive.com/oregonian/2008/07/cyclist_on_car_hood.html
After seeing this video, I feel a bit scared of going outside on my cycle. If this is what happened in US, anything is possible in India.. :)
A few months ago, there were a series of events on city roads where traffic policemen were beaten by a few youths. They probably didn't like getting an earful from the cops and decided to give him back something in return. Whoa.
Apparently, this is a global phenomenon. A car driver in US recently got a free ride on top of the hood of a car driven by a road rager:
http://videos.oregonlive.com/oregonian/2008/07/cyclist_on_car_hood.html
After seeing this video, I feel a bit scared of going outside on my cycle. If this is what happened in US, anything is possible in India.. :)
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
5 year experieced test automation lead looking for networking/embedded system companies
Well, this is my status message on linked-in these days. Reason- My company after trying hard not to touch India office headcount in last one year, finally bit the bullet and shut down the India operations. In several rounds of layoffs in US office so far, one at the end of each "below expectation" quarter, they had already cut down the staff size by 50%. Well, the good news is company is now recovering from a string of bad quarters and hopefully will soon bounce back.
So here we are, 5 "IT guys" in newspaper parlance, trying to find shelter after the sudden unseasonal heavy rains. The things are going well so far with all talking to different suitors to find a match between good work and financial and non financial incentives. The 1.5 year journey we had at Tropos was fun and we really had a gala time together.
And coming back to linked-in, heck I wonder if its any good for job searching in India. How can recruiters come to know of the people like me who are looking for a job? If they can, I would be amazed because sites like monster will get you hooked to phone for hours in a day attending the calls from the dream sellers..
All the best to me and my partners in crime(read ex colleagues) in this marketing exercise of selling your self to the companies at a good bargain!
So here we are, 5 "IT guys" in newspaper parlance, trying to find shelter after the sudden unseasonal heavy rains. The things are going well so far with all talking to different suitors to find a match between good work and financial and non financial incentives. The 1.5 year journey we had at Tropos was fun and we really had a gala time together.
And coming back to linked-in, heck I wonder if its any good for job searching in India. How can recruiters come to know of the people like me who are looking for a job? If they can, I would be amazed because sites like monster will get you hooked to phone for hours in a day attending the calls from the dream sellers..
All the best to me and my partners in crime(read ex colleagues) in this marketing exercise of selling your self to the companies at a good bargain!
Monday, April 7, 2008
Unwiring Pune!
I read about the grandiose plans of "unwiring"Pune again after a long, long time. Last time they talked about it was about an year ago. And I read in the yesterday's Pune mirror, that all this long they were trying to put up a pilot project, which as per the paper doesn't work. There was a nice picture by the article which showed the well despised "Can not find server" IE error.
So where am I heading? Well, I had a sense that this was never going to work given that we haven't been able to get past even a relatively rudimentary, not too tech-oriented problem of making "drivable" roads. Since I have been working in a wi-fi mesh networking company for last one year, I think I know some of the hurdles and challenges in an ambitious plan like this. A really meaningful city wide wi-fi deployment takes some good planning and also needs sumptuous resources, which are two major problems in the India context. Add to these the huge population pressure, the poor per capita PC penetration and the pathetic law and order condition( think-shiv sena can pelt stones at a wireless router to oppose young people using orkut to set up dates!) and we know that we are in for a herculean task.
Lets focus on the technology part, setting aside the political and law and order problems. Wi-fi (technically 802.11) by design is supposed to be a shorter range solution than something like wi-max, but at a cheaper price than the latter. To guarantee a coverage of about 90% in a city like Pune would translate to a at least 30 large capacity "nodes" per 4 sq km. Depending on the backhaul connectivity you choose, you would have to give back haul(wired connectivity to the internet) to all or some of these access points which means non trivial investments in laying down fiber lines etc. Just a quick comparison with a smaller city like Mountain View, CA would be sufficient to have a feel for the costs. The figure will be close to a $1 mn there. Note that google has provided "Free" internet here to all citizens and this network performs well with good coverage and satisfactory speeds. Here is a link: http://gigaom.com/2006/08/15/google-launches-wifi-network-in-mountain-view/
And look at the meager amount of money spent for the pilot project recently finished in Pune. It claims to cover around 200 hectares of Pune agricultural college and is supposedly put together for just Rs 2 Lakhs. Ok, we might be able to do better network planning and maybe even discover a better solution to reduce costs, but the figure will still be more than $ 2-3 mn (Pune is after all a far bigger city than a tiny Mountain View). And then there are maintenance and support costs which are a continuous drag.
Some might say, capital in India is not a big deal. Private sector is always ready to jump in with cash. Can agree. That brings me to the bigger question- why do we need city wide broadband access anyway? How many people are really mobile in a city with their wi-fi enabled PDAs , laptops? If you just have a PC and prefer to work from comfort of your home, you are better off with a broadband like BSNL which will me much cheaper and reliable. And come to think of it, India needs to get the basics right first. Good quality roads, traffic etiquette, reliable power supply, potable water are some teething problems which we should try to solve first.
This is not to say that the campaign "unwiring Pune" is futile and should be relinquished. No, just add more sense to it. Learn from the lessons from across the globe. Don't plan to cover the whole city in one shot. First choose parts which really need mobile broadband, like say Koregaon park and Hinjewadi. As and when you feel the need, you can always add more access points.
We need to compete with the best of the cities in world. And we need to add a dash of local flavor to make their solutions work. The marketing punchline "Think Global, Act local" seems apt here.
-nIkUnJ
So where am I heading? Well, I had a sense that this was never going to work given that we haven't been able to get past even a relatively rudimentary, not too tech-oriented problem of making "drivable" roads. Since I have been working in a wi-fi mesh networking company for last one year, I think I know some of the hurdles and challenges in an ambitious plan like this. A really meaningful city wide wi-fi deployment takes some good planning and also needs sumptuous resources, which are two major problems in the India context. Add to these the huge population pressure, the poor per capita PC penetration and the pathetic law and order condition( think-shiv sena can pelt stones at a wireless router to oppose young people using orkut to set up dates!) and we know that we are in for a herculean task.
Lets focus on the technology part, setting aside the political and law and order problems. Wi-fi (technically 802.11) by design is supposed to be a shorter range solution than something like wi-max, but at a cheaper price than the latter. To guarantee a coverage of about 90% in a city like Pune would translate to a at least 30 large capacity "nodes" per 4 sq km. Depending on the backhaul connectivity you choose, you would have to give back haul(wired connectivity to the internet) to all or some of these access points which means non trivial investments in laying down fiber lines etc. Just a quick comparison with a smaller city like Mountain View, CA would be sufficient to have a feel for the costs. The figure will be close to a $1 mn there. Note that google has provided "Free" internet here to all citizens and this network performs well with good coverage and satisfactory speeds. Here is a link: http://gigaom.com/2006/08/15/google-launches-wifi-network-in-mountain-view/
And look at the meager amount of money spent for the pilot project recently finished in Pune. It claims to cover around 200 hectares of Pune agricultural college and is supposedly put together for just Rs 2 Lakhs. Ok, we might be able to do better network planning and maybe even discover a better solution to reduce costs, but the figure will still be more than $ 2-3 mn (Pune is after all a far bigger city than a tiny Mountain View). And then there are maintenance and support costs which are a continuous drag.
Some might say, capital in India is not a big deal. Private sector is always ready to jump in with cash. Can agree. That brings me to the bigger question- why do we need city wide broadband access anyway? How many people are really mobile in a city with their wi-fi enabled PDAs , laptops? If you just have a PC and prefer to work from comfort of your home, you are better off with a broadband like BSNL which will me much cheaper and reliable. And come to think of it, India needs to get the basics right first. Good quality roads, traffic etiquette, reliable power supply, potable water are some teething problems which we should try to solve first.
This is not to say that the campaign "unwiring Pune" is futile and should be relinquished. No, just add more sense to it. Learn from the lessons from across the globe. Don't plan to cover the whole city in one shot. First choose parts which really need mobile broadband, like say Koregaon park and Hinjewadi. As and when you feel the need, you can always add more access points.
We need to compete with the best of the cities in world. And we need to add a dash of local flavor to make their solutions work. The marketing punchline "Think Global, Act local" seems apt here.
-nIkUnJ
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
My december
As I hear Linkin Park song:
this is my december
this is my time of the year
this is my december
this is all so clear
in the background while I finish up some "end of the day" office chores, I can't help trying to find a meaning in an otherwise vague song. December is one of my favourite months- holiday season and cold weather keep my spirits high. Christmas and "year end" buzz in US means less work in office too.
Magazines re-invent the wheels and try to throw up surprises on their covers for their annual "Best B schools", "Best companies to work for", "Most respected companies"surveys. Shopping malls do brisk business by offering heavy discounts (though I always have this suspicion they hike the printed prices before offering such discounts).
On the flip side, this is one month which probably makes more holes in the pocket than any other. Festive spirit means higher vulnerability to spend more, and a flood of "SALE!! SALE!! " means higher probability of getting knocked off by some of the offers even if you manage to ward some of them off..
But whatever it is, eventful December is. 3-4 more days, and it will be gone for one full year. Will wait for it again...
Now back to music:
this is my december
this is my time of the year
this is my december
this is all so clear
this is my december
this is my time of the year
this is my december
this is all so clear
in the background while I finish up some "end of the day" office chores, I can't help trying to find a meaning in an otherwise vague song. December is one of my favourite months- holiday season and cold weather keep my spirits high. Christmas and "year end" buzz in US means less work in office too.
Magazines re-invent the wheels and try to throw up surprises on their covers for their annual "Best B schools", "Best companies to work for", "Most respected companies"surveys. Shopping malls do brisk business by offering heavy discounts (though I always have this suspicion they hike the printed prices before offering such discounts).
On the flip side, this is one month which probably makes more holes in the pocket than any other. Festive spirit means higher vulnerability to spend more, and a flood of "SALE!! SALE!! " means higher probability of getting knocked off by some of the offers even if you manage to ward some of them off..
But whatever it is, eventful December is. 3-4 more days, and it will be gone for one full year. Will wait for it again...
Now back to music:
this is my december
this is my time of the year
this is my december
this is all so clear
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Om Shanti Om - firms up my belief
"Have to write something atleast once here in 2 weeks" will be a good resolution I have thought and hence this post...
Watched Om Shanti Om yesterday with my family. The movie was watchable really but the more I watch the new bollywood flicks, the more I envy the people in the show biz. Man, once you get in the industry( your birth right if you are born in a bollywood khandaan) the cake is all yours. Take crowd pulling faces, hype up a movie and don't forget good music with catchy visuals- and bingo there are 99% chances you will break even in the first 1-2 weeks. And after that its all neat profit, you can depend on people like me who advance book the tickets in multiplexes which don't even have a decent parking space to ensure that.
I can't help comparing these mega stars to the poor race of sportsmen. Even the richest of the latter breed, the godly cricketers, attract my sympathy, forget the ignored sects of swimming, athletics, etc. Most of them work hard to get their chances at the national level and perform multiple times to confirm the birth in the team. A few good knocks latter, may be they start getting idolized by people, media and advertising companies alike, but the truth is a few bad knocks later which they can't really control, they can soon desert them too. The die hard fans become bitter detractors in no time.
No such risks for our movie stars. Their body sells, they have money to maintain it and you just can't go wrong with your acting from one film to other.
And if you have your filmy connection firmly in place, then even if you perform badly, it doesn't matter if you can't act at all. Don't believe it? Well ever heard of Fardeen Khan? Or Amisha Patel?
Over last one year, the film biz has started making sense to me. Gone are the days of unpredictability in a movie's success. In these times of mushrooming big bazaars and baristas, there is big crowd of nouveau rich people who have money to spend on something which is packaged well. Already the biz is huge and with tier-2 cities slated to join the mall culture soon, the things can only go in northward direction for this business.
I wish our bollywood gets more organized something like the way things work in hollywood. There are companies like Adlabs etc available today in the market, but big banners are still controlled by individuals. When private companies like Time warner in hollywood become big banners in India, I will sure be among the first ones to fill up an IPO application for them!
Rather long post. Supper time now!
bye,
nik
Watched Om Shanti Om yesterday with my family. The movie was watchable really but the more I watch the new bollywood flicks, the more I envy the people in the show biz. Man, once you get in the industry( your birth right if you are born in a bollywood khandaan) the cake is all yours. Take crowd pulling faces, hype up a movie and don't forget good music with catchy visuals- and bingo there are 99% chances you will break even in the first 1-2 weeks. And after that its all neat profit, you can depend on people like me who advance book the tickets in multiplexes which don't even have a decent parking space to ensure that.
I can't help comparing these mega stars to the poor race of sportsmen. Even the richest of the latter breed, the godly cricketers, attract my sympathy, forget the ignored sects of swimming, athletics, etc. Most of them work hard to get their chances at the national level and perform multiple times to confirm the birth in the team. A few good knocks latter, may be they start getting idolized by people, media and advertising companies alike, but the truth is a few bad knocks later which they can't really control, they can soon desert them too. The die hard fans become bitter detractors in no time.
No such risks for our movie stars. Their body sells, they have money to maintain it and you just can't go wrong with your acting from one film to other.
And if you have your filmy connection firmly in place, then even if you perform badly, it doesn't matter if you can't act at all. Don't believe it? Well ever heard of Fardeen Khan? Or Amisha Patel?
Over last one year, the film biz has started making sense to me. Gone are the days of unpredictability in a movie's success. In these times of mushrooming big bazaars and baristas, there is big crowd of nouveau rich people who have money to spend on something which is packaged well. Already the biz is huge and with tier-2 cities slated to join the mall culture soon, the things can only go in northward direction for this business.
I wish our bollywood gets more organized something like the way things work in hollywood. There are companies like Adlabs etc available today in the market, but big banners are still controlled by individuals. When private companies like Time warner in hollywood become big banners in India, I will sure be among the first ones to fill up an IPO application for them!
Rather long post. Supper time now!
bye,
nik
Monday, November 5, 2007
Finally!!
So here am I....after occupying so many blog urls before....hoping that I would be really really be using this finally..
To be fair to me, I didn't like the names of my previous blog urls anyways..to the extent that I don't even remember them any more... And wasn't I busy going through the grind for so long that I didn't get chance to organize myself earlier?
Anyways here is a serious attempt ... Infact, I already feel an energy which I normally experience during my new year resolutions, so it does seem this will last longer ..
A big thank you for visiting me now... please keep coming back and keep posting!!
Cheers!
-nIkUnJ
To be fair to me, I didn't like the names of my previous blog urls anyways..to the extent that I don't even remember them any more... And wasn't I busy going through the grind for so long that I didn't get chance to organize myself earlier?
Anyways here is a serious attempt ... Infact, I already feel an energy which I normally experience during my new year resolutions, so it does seem this will last longer ..
A big thank you for visiting me now... please keep coming back and keep posting!!
Cheers!
-nIkUnJ
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