Sun rises.. Sun sets…

Last week end I had been to Chennai and Trichy. I reached Chennai on Friday morning, left to Trichy in the evening and came back to Chennai on Monday. Left Chennai to Hyderabad on Monday evening. This was just to give what a whirlwind trip it was

I reached Chennai Central station around 6 30 AM on Friday. It was drizzling slightly. Myself and my wife came out of the station and wanted to take a prepaid auto to Tiruvanmiyur. As I came out of the station, I saw a bus with a digital board on the side reading “Tiruvanmiyur”. Saw it from a distance and asked why not we take the bus instead of an Auto.. She agreed and we just quickly went and got on to the bus.

I was pleasantly surprised. It was one of those “Sogusu Perunthu” . It was a MTC bus . It was an air conditioned bus. The seats were spaced widely with space inbetween for luggage . They waited for about 10 minutes to get the bus full. People got on to the bus till the seats were full. No body was standing. Everybody was seated.The bus was so comfortable. The bus started and the conductor started issuing tickets. I paid rs 25/- for a ticket from Chennai Central to Tiruvanmiyur. The conductor issued the ticket using a hand held..!!!!!!

Yes.. every bit of this was so very surprising (ofcourse pleasantly). It was a great experience. I know everyone in Chennai must be wondering - so what - this has been there for long. Yes. This definitely shows how much I am out of sync with Chennai and the developments. This makes me yearn more..!!!!!!

This was the positive development about Chennai. Another experience which definitely needs mention is the famous “Chennai Auto”.

As I was leaving to Trichy I wanted to take an auto from Tiruvanmiyur to Egmore station. I came near the Triruvanmiyur RTO and looked for an auto. He asked for Rs 150. Well - I tried to negotiate but dint succeed. So yielded for Rs 150 and went to Egmore. On my return I came by a bus from Trichy to Chennai and got down at Guindy Kathiparai junction. Looked for an auto to go to Tiruvanmiyur. I asked 6 autos and consistently everyone asked for Rs 150/ from Guindy to Tiruvanmiyur. I was fed up and walked opposite to Le Meridien and looked for an auto. After a few negotiations, I managed to get one for Rs 120/-.

The same day I wanted to go to TNagar (ofcourse knowing all the crowd) for some work. I had to pay Rs 150/ for the auto..!!!! The return also cost me Rs 150. Again in the evening an auto to Central station cost me Rs 150.

I really don’t know. Across the city the auto drivers seemed to standardised on Rs 150 for a little long distance. I don’t know how much a metered auto would cost (if such a thing exists). But the Rs 150 seemed very high if not exorbitant. !!! I couldn’t digest the Rs 150 auto syndrome across the city and came back to Hyd. I had to pay Rs 150 from the Secundarabad railway station to home..!!! //sigh//

I recently sent a courier by DTDC. Went to one of their local office on Monday evening to send a courier to Chennai. They asked me if it was urgent and if it should be delivered the next day. I said yes. Then they said it would cost Rs 120/- while the normal courier was Rs 50/-. I knew this was a catch.

I said, it has to go tomorrow but I don’t want to pay the Rs 120/- but would send by the regular fare Rs 50/-. I asked if it would reach the next day. They said it will most probalbly and said 99%!!!!!. I then asked them to send it by the regular courier.

The courier was finally delivered only on Friday that week - after 4 days of delay. I was even tracking the consignment online to find that it is “out of delivery” for 2 days but finally delivered on Friday.

I can clearly see what kind of a cheat was DTDC as an organisation. They are trying to cheat customers by charging more than double the fare for the next day delivery. The postal department had given way to courier because of their next day delivery to most of the destinations but I think DTDC is now taking the customers for a ride.

To check this, I had send another courier this week using First flight. The courier promptly reached the next day.

I did not want to take the DTDC delay as a “one off” incident but a clear strategy by the company to cheat customers in trying to push them on the over night deliver with double the charge.

I also spoke to a couple of people who gave a clear negative feedback on DTDC.

So if you are looking at overnight delivery or want your couriers reach in time, think twice before choosing DTDC.

Today I watched the Malayalam movie “Katha Parayumbol”. To say the least I just loved the film. I couldn’t hold my excitement writing about it. I should say the movie really captivated me.

Before I really get to write about the movie, I should say what prompted me to see this movie. What else can it be than our thalaivar going to act in the remake? Having been following Kuselan’s latest developments and that’s what really made me watch KathaParayumpol . Also I have always liked Malayalam films.

When I saw the ad this movie was being screened for the weekend at Prasad’s, I decided I should watch it. When my wife asked why don’t we watch Katha Parayumpol this week, I simply accepted.

A very strong story and simple screen play. The highlight of the movie is the depiction of the various characters. Thats very typical of a malayalam move. This I would say is a core strength of the movie. The simplicity of the scenes and no extravagant settings , songs and dance sequences was another highlight of the movie. The story centers around a barber and his family, his daily life and how much trouble he goes through not even being able to support his children education etc. Things change for the good when people around him figure that he has been a close associate of as superstar actor who is now in their village for a shooting. Everyone is after him to get close to the actor, see shooting, get the actor to their school etc. The barber really does not want to go meet the superstar for the sake of getting a “favor”. After pursuing so much with him when people around him find that he is not making attempts to get them to the superstar, they change completely and change hostile to him. What happens in the end is the rest of the story But I should say the last half hour was highly emotional. Too good.

Hats off to every actor who have played their role to perfection.Srinivasan as the hero is simply fantastic. I really don’t have words to praise his acting. It was so powerful. I really want to say that he is the hero in the movie. Momooty is only on a guest role. A true guest role. Every actor has played their role to perfection - be it Sridevi (Meena), Venu, Eppachan, the great poet or any body else. ( I dint know the real name of the characters Venu or Eppachan or the poet

The movie really goes very fast - which is unlike a Malayalam movie. The screenplay and direction is so fantastic that they were able to make this strong, heavy story so light by the comedy and the characters surrounding the barber.

That is on Katha Parayumbol. Now I cant wait to see how Kuselan is going to be. While it will definitely be commercialized and tamilicized :), it will truly be a great movie. I am already keenly following every news on Kuselan. The team is now headed to Hyderabad and shooting expected to start from 16th March. This is sure to be a super duper hit similar to Chandramukhi. Prabhu has also joined the team.

I started on Katha Prayumbol and ended it on Kuselan. I am now going to be keenly following every movement of Kuselan and wait for our next thalaivar film.

The world economic forum has announced the list of Young global leaders for 2008 - and A R Rahman is one of them.

Every year the World Economic Forum announces a list if Young global leaders - professionals who are below 40 but have outstanding achievement in their chosen area of profession as well as their commitment to society and their potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world.

Yet another jewel in the crown for the Mozart of Madras.

After a loooooong gap I am back. I am hoping I would be a little more regular now.!!!!!! Lets see how regular. Life has been hectic and lot of water has flown under the bridge. I only realised that complaining about it doesn’t make anything better. But decided to start looking at things differently and keep myself occupied in areas of interest more.

I was in Chennai for the Yi National summit. Was really a fulfilling , thoughtful, insightful, concerning, enlightening and inspirational..ooof… can it be better?

The theme of the summit “Wake up India” was really a wake up call. The theme came from one of the key report “India at Risk” that was prepared jointly by CII and World Economic Forum. While we are euphoric about all the growth, is it truly inclusive? The report identified 6 key risks.

1) Can India’s demographic dividend turn India into a demographic liability?
2) What point price level would risk derail India’s growth story?
3) Can India cope with globalization backlash?
4) Is India in position to balance the trade off between Environment and Growth?
5) Will loss of fresh water hamper growth?
6) What if India fails to combat HIV and TB?

However, Yi chose one area out of this risk report.. the one on fresh water loss and climate change… The Yi net students really brought out some of the startling points of how climate change has already affected many of our parts of the country. Infact the video by one of the students in Chennai showing the difference between the drinking water from the pump viz the bottled water really got the eyes of all the delegates. Infact Mr Kamath went to the extent of noting in his speech, if this is the case with Chennai a metro - what would be the status of rural areas..This was definitely a wake up call for all the delegates.

The key note was by Mr K V Kamath who really brought several points that need to be addressed. The most important being “right skilling” rather than pure skill building. He also brought up how much of skill building is required to address the needs of the country. Was truly a thought provoking speech.

The special address by Mr.Pachauri was scintillating. Since he couldn’t make it in person he made a video conference. He was very powerful too.

The other sessions were on the various risks faced by the country. The session on Rural risk was really good to know. While we think that the rural areas and villages are peaceful and green places, the session was an eye opener to all the issues faced by the rural areas. Also it was nice to see how much of work is being done by some of the institutes on microfinance. The fact that the availability of even Rs 5000 as a loan is a huge thing for the rural areas. We really need to do so much in the rural areas.

The panel discussion that followed was one of the highlights. It was a powerpacked panel discussion with the topic on “inclusiveness of youth in nation building”. So were the panelists. With people like Piyush Pandey, Meher Padumjee, Narain Karthikeyan, Mr J Radhakrishnan, Kezivino Aram and Shiraz Gidwani - the panel discussion was truly some fireworks. The session was moderated by CNBC TV 18 and was also telecast as a special program separately.

The closing sessions were even better. Sir Mark Tully was at his best giving his perspective on the challenges India face and what the youth must do. So was Mr C R Kesavan.

This was yet another summit which was highly inspirational and engaging. Was really worth spending the weekend for this.

I was at a resort during this week. Not during the weekend. It was during the week.I reached this place in the morning and left back in the night. Yes. I could only spend one day in this lovely place.

As soon as I reached in the morning took these pictures.

An then I took pictures of this place in the night. This place looked awesome in the night too. Was beautifully lit. It truly looked like a paradise.

It was not just this place. The whole area surrounding this resort was also awesome. I had about an hour to walk across this place and picked clicked a few pictures. Thanks to participating in 1two3ty1, I started looking at various options in my camera. While I wasn’t too happy with the pictures, I think this was a beginning to my photographic skills.

The first was a visit to a fantastic temple. Followed by this, visited an artificial lake with a fountain.. (couldn’t get a good picture of the lake though)

The whole area looked beautiful, scenic and artistic.

Also there was a nice memorial.

Then there was this club house, where there were so many indoor games etc. The entrance to this was truly artistic. Managed to capture some pictures of the entrance.

And this was how the reception looked at the resort.

Now…. how do you like this resort. Well… It was not a resort. It was resort like. This was a guest house and the locations within the township of a manufacturing plant. Since I was on a business visit, all I could do was capture a few pictures before 7 30 in the morning and after 6 30 in the evening.. This place was truly amazing. The very interesting part is this is in a rural area near Bellary. There is nothing else in this place other than this manufacturing plant. They have truly converted it to such a wonderful place.

One of the best things that I saw in this place is “Datahalli”. This is an initiative by this company on a “Rural BPO”. This is a non-voice BPO. The highlight of this BPO is the employees itself. This is a true rural BPO, which employs girls whose educational qualification varies from 7th standard to 10th standard. These girls from the neighboring villages have been trained to use computers - free of cost. After they have gained reasonable level of proficiency, they are absorbed as employees in the BPO. Currently this rural BPO employs about 200 people.

What a fantastic attempt by the company. There cannot be anything better in terms of rural development. The girls there are not only getting their skills developed, but also gain employment in their own village. This completely cuts down the migration of skilled rural people into the cities and towns, thereby reducing the slums in the cities. The girls stay with their parents, support them and improve the economy of themselves and the place.

This is one of the best example for something that is Rural + CSR + Low cost + Business model + Skill development. Truly amazing. Isn’t it a great example of “inclusive growth” ?

We need several such programs in areas of skill development, employability, education etc, to make our country truly developed. Thankfully, several such initiatives are already under way by different sources - be it a CSR activity by the companies or activities by NGO’s or Foundations. A great example in the area of education, especially education for the underprivileged girl child is Nanhi Kali.

If we get to look deeper, we can find several such fantastic programs, which are also very effective. Things are happening and it is really very positive to see many many good things happening around. But given the size of our country, we need all these programs and many more to run in large scale. A massive scale infact.

I dont think you will have a doubt if this is 3ty1..err… i meant 31…

Found in a webpage….

And this webpage is none other than http://1two3ty1.pbwiki.com/

This photo is a tribute to Ranjhith, the man behind the concept and making this challenge happen.

Hats off Ranjhith and to each and every participant in this challenge.

Thanks to all who had comments and gave such an enthusiasm to keep this going.

For the first time, after buying my Nikon S4 over a year ago, I found that I can change certain parameters and click rather than simply point and click. Thanks to 1two3ty1 and Ranjhith.

30.. found in the display board for a doctor in Kondapur..