Small things make life Wonderful

"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together."
-- Vincent Van Gogh

I always cherish small things and that’s the reason I sometimes embellish when I comment on something …but what is life without excitement and bit of fantasy….
How many of us enjoy a cup of hot tea standing in the balcony, enjoy a ride in the car with moon roof open, smile when we iron the shirt perfectly for the first time, beam when the queue in grocery store billing counter is less, enjoy the final layer sticking in the vessel in a chicken biriyani, enjoy the smell emanating after the rain, relish when somebody wishes you “Good Morning” when you have no clue who the other person is , enjoy the making of the film even after the film is over and titles start rolling, feel sigh of relief when our desi aunties has left at least some good lady’s fingers after breaking the tip of most in an Indian store ..etc ., the list goes on and on ….I personally enjoy all of these except the last one since I feel our aunties can show some pity on the bachelors…he he ..

We feel very blissful when dollar exceeds 50 rupees forgetting that our roots are from India (no showoff I also do this), very happy when Citi exceeds our credit limit or offers a good balance transfer deal, very happy when India wins the trophy …..no harm in enjoying all these as these would really swift gears and make you smile. The only thing is why don’t we give some if not equal importance to the small things ……I personally believe one who enjoys small things will always have a smile in their face …..


Also many of us in this modern era get restless very often …..if we see we don’t get parking lot near the doorstep of a store we gently scold shoppers ….the moment our internet starts to buffer at regular intervals we immediately say “why is internet very slow today?” without realizing all of our roomies are streaming a dvd version of a movie,scold our own driving skills missing the traffic signal by arriving a few nanoseconds late. I myself do all of these and that’s the problem with everybody these days. We get restless very often as we need everything very soon.

I wanted to write this blog to say to myself and to anyone who reads this blog to enjoy small things in life and not to get restless for petty things. This is not an advice just a message from your friend. Live life to the fullest and enjoy every bit of it as it is a gift from god.

Jai ho AR Rahman ji

Well it’s been some time since ARR won the coveted Oscar award ….I wanted to write a blog right away as I thought that would be my way of expressing happiness …life these days are so saccharine that I don’t even find time to convert my rough drafts to actual blogs …..well it was a bit cold Sunday evening when several of us assembled in one of our friend’s house to see the award ceremony …never in my life I have watched an Oscar show ..that too ‘live’ on television ……when the number slowly began to increase we decided lets munch something which we are pretty good at. It was decided Samosa would be the dish and on top of this rasamillai was on the way ….that was perfect and ceremony began ...we all were excited to see whether media would catch ARR among the crowd to say a few words …to be frank all of us were watching as if India were playing Pakistan against a world cup finals ….the ambience was bit tensed and only noise was from the people who were preparing samosa ....

Slowly awards were given for each category ...for every award Slumdog millionaire won we were whistling and bustling ...Slumdog millionaire was a film based on India but actually taken by British guy …many technicians were also outside India …but still since the movie was picturised in India we get a feeling its totally an Indian film …..when the nominations were announced under music category I just saw some of my friends and pondered whether they need a nail cutter for the coming months ….and finally ARR’s name was announced and all of us were on our feet just racketing and expressing our happiness ..and when ARR spoke in thaimouli Tamil …I personally was moved and just felt like removing my shirt like how dada did back in lord’s ……thank god due to members from my opposite gender was controlling my emotions …..and to add icing in the cake ARR got the second award and also performed on stage …that was truly a magic moment ….a moment to relish for every Indian and Tamizhan ....we all were also happy that none of the neighbours complained as the sound coming out from the room must have been lot of decibels ....

We personally know ARR for a long time ….we have listened to far better songs than the ones he composed for SM ….he himself accepted that he composed music for the entire film within 3 weeks of time ….his songs from his maiden venture is still hummable ……As a brand he has terrific track record in making his songs a super hit …..also one has to confess he approached right channels and his name crossed Indian borders due to the directors and people he worked with. Myself being a very big fan of Raja sir felt bit disappointed why he did not win any Oscars ….the sound coming from his composition is unique and as many he does not rely on software …he uses number of instruments and always has numerous people playing it just to get a kind of music he wants ….not being a technical savvy in music I do not know how to explain it …but one thing for sure Rajs sir’s music is always exquisite…Bollywood is a major place to put your name in Global map as the reach is much wider ….but that said ARR has to be appreciated and congratulated for bring home two Oscars and making every Indian and tamizhan proud …..as I read lot of biographies I have seen this quality among great men ….that they are ‘modest’ I don’t know to put it in which voice (active/passive) whether ‘great men are always modest’ ..or ‘modest men are always great’.

What this would mean to Indian music or Indian films on a whole ……this would definitely bridge the gap between west and east ..and also faucet many such talents and many would get exposed to the global arena …..Indian talent will be looked upon with great respect ….Since India always stands for cheap labor Hollywood may gauge this and the logistics may change slightly if not much and ARR will be remembered when all of this happen as he is the man who started the whole new show ...we also wish him and his three daughters to carry the torch for the coming generations ...
Thank you ARR ....

Typical weekend ……

Well weekend is something everybody look forward to. In this fast paced society where everybody on their toes look forward for weekend very fervently ….The moment Friday hits the calendar we tend to feel rejuvenated. Just want to pen down how a typical weekend is …..just want to assume me and my namban on the other line of the conversation ….

Friday afternoon - 4 pm (Gtalk )

Namba: machi ….irukiya?
Myself: solra ….me invisible mode …
Namba: romba over …aa voo na invisible ??
Myself: anbu thollai machi ….aprom …vera enna matter da
Namba: thookam kanna katuthu …what time u planning to leave …
Myself: he he …buffet a? nee gym porathu waste machi …anyway me planning to leave arnd 5 or 6 if no more issues …
Namba: dei peachtree la they are screening tamil movie ….lets go tonight …
Myself: namuku Vijay padam poitu bore nu solrathu palakamma pochu …..anyway me okay ….
Namba: lets assemble at mokkai’s place ….u pick X and Y…I will ask if A,B,C are coming …
Myself: sounds like a plan …machi dinner ?? heard an Indo-pak restaurant is open last week ..why not try ….
Namba: deal …..see u at mokkai’s place sharp at 7.30 pm

Mokkai’s place - 7.30 pm

Myself: dialing namba ……1,2,3 times …..
Namba: Sorry machi …phone la charge kammi …..
Myself: dei kadalai pota phone la charge layum podanum da …anyway seekiram vanthu seru ….

Off to Peachtree cinemas:

Namba: dei I will take tickets for all …
Myself: dei last Vijay padam vanthathukae nobody settled me yet …..better each of us pay ….
End of Movie …..
Myself: machi Vijay thirunthvae maataana …..same old formula …
Namba: don’t complain Vijay …we watch anyway ……
Myself: okay machi tomorrow how abt temple ?
Namba: okay sure ..can we go in ur car as I need to give mine for service ?
Myself: nee enaki machi car eduthiruka? That’s okay I will pick u arnd 12 …..

Saturday noon

Namba: dei naan ready what are u still doing?
Myself: machi costco la oru mini andhra vae iruku anyway me filled gas in Costco apudiyae USPS poitu on the way ….5 mins …
Namba: Dei every week USPS la enna da post pannuva ? seekiram va da ….
Darshan over and off to cafetaria …
Namba : machi lunchuuu ….
Myself: va va ..oru puliotharai, oru curd rice, oru kichadi and laddu …..
Namba: on the way Indian store da…..
Myself: ya ya me too have to go …
Namba: dei nee evlo sabji packet da vaanguva ? aprom ruchi pickle factory at ur place ???
Myself: sabji packets are like close buddies of all bachelors ….romba pesura …unaku unnoda x-axis kammi panrathu kaaga stop paneerka …..
Namba: ok da ….lets go
Myself: climate super da …lets go for shuttle or tennis ….
Namba: machi Mall la clearanace da …super sales …my roomies went yday and bought many …
Myself: dei intha shopping matter vanthu …if u go for others everything looks cheaper …if u go to buy for urself ..even a hanky looks expensive …..
As usual roaming 1-2 hrs in mall buying nothing but a starbucks coffee …
Myself: come to my place arnd 9 …will cook for u too …have asked our makkal to join ….
Namba: cook panrathu enavo ready made chappathi and 3 minute oven made sabji ..athuku evlo scenea?
Myself: enna padam paakalam ? pls don’t say any film is fine ..that sentence is problem than saying a particular film …
After lot of bustle ..finally settled with Mounam pesiyadhae …..
Myself: u guys continue ..me need to call India …
Film over and its 12.30 in the night Saturday ….
Some how when 4-5 guys end up chatting then there is sureshot two topics in discussion …
1) Settle in India or USA 2) Love marriage and arranged marriage

I somehow feel these topics are upto each individual …..but who cares they talk and talk and the discussions are like two rail lines …they never meet in the end …..

Sunday afternoon

Myself: dude lets go for lunch ..Sunday afternoon shd be good lunch ….
Namba: kandippa …i need to collect my hard disk too …its with you ….
Myself: ok meanwhile let me get my laundry done …konjam delay panna enga laundry room la chiranjeevi padam release aana effect irukum ….

Sunday evening

Myself: we shd register in APICS and do CPIM or CSCP or atleast do PIMP da….
Namba: aama machi we shd definitely do something …
Myself: we shd stop eating outside da….what I am doing is buying outside and eating inside da these sabjis ….
Namba: I think we have been telling this for a long time ….ok da let me make a leave ..what plans now …
Myself: routine stuff da…ironing dress for the week by listening to raja sir songs and munching Britania bourbon biscuits …..
Namba: hmm…good nite machi

Well that’s how most of the weekends go for me …though its routine still weekends are always special. After being far away from family and relatives being with friends gives us the feeling “Home away from home” …may not fully deliver what we want ..but still serves the purpose .

Cinema and Myself !!

The word “Cinema” itself brings in excitement to most of us. For any get together we either arrange a dinner or watch a movie. Youth bunk classes and go watch a movie in the nearest theatre. So why Movie is given so much importance which is only there to entertain your evenings and weekends? I believe films are nothing but reflection of our own life. We hibernate our day to day activities for some time and watch a film to relax ourselves which in turn makes many of us happy. Cinema is also a very powerful medium as the reach is tremendous. It is fully upto the film makers to either have a movie in an entertaining way or to seriously take up a social cause and write a screenplay so that it can fit into celluloid. Many believe cinema is a entertainment medium so they expect the movie to be a light hearted one, they should come and watch having popcorn on one hand and coke on the other. Very few enjoy all kinds of movies and I am one among them.

Before saying I am a movie lover lemme say I am a big fan of tamil movies as many say this is the “Kasi” of Indian cinema. Kollyhood has the most charismatic actor, most talented actor, top choreographers, top cinematographers, music legends and top technicians from any department. I am very happy that a guy from Kallakurichi is rocking entire Bollywood with his hindhi film “Gajini”. No wonder why neighbouring states in south grumble when a tamil movie gets released in their state. Even though I know how a Rajinikanth movie will be still the excitement this man creates is unbelieveable. Basically his movies are larger than life but who cares people enjoy those moments on screen. I am not that sort of crazy fan doing all kinds of “eye catchy”activities but definitely fan of his punch dialogues and larger than life image.

I have some all time favourite movies which I cherish every time I see. One such movie is “Mouvna Raagam”. Well this movie is close to my heart and every time I see I wish Mani ratnam good health and also wish someone from his family (preferably his blood relation) should carry the torch for the coming generations. Whenever I am in happy and in good mood I watch this movie just to sustain my happiness. Also I pray and wish neither they remake this movie nor remix any song from this classic. If they do so I really do not mind buying a calling card and blasting the guys.
I also love Mani’s other movies and wonder how would he take such daring themes like life of a underworld Don, ethnic war between hindus and muslims, Life history of Tamil nadu political dons, Srilankan civil war, Student unrest in one of top univs and Terrorism. His recent movie “Guru” the way he portrayed the hero on screen was a welcome change as it was so very realistic explaining how modern day Businessmen work. I can also say that I got somewhat inspired after seeing “Unnal mudiyum thambi” a very very simple story told in a very clean way which has a strong impact on audience.

I started enjoying other language films too after coming to US. One such movie where tears literally rolled out my eyes was “Taare zameen par”, literally had to sit in the chair till everyone went outside the movie hall after the movie got over just to avoid embarassment. Its unbelievable how 150 minutes of your time and ten dollars of your money can be so meaningful. I always hate telugu movies as I believe it had pure commercial content. I was prooved wrong after I saw “Anand” and “Godavari”. Oh boy ..Sekhar kammula should be applauded for breaking the trends of telugu films. Godavari is nothing but a boat journey between the lead pair said in such a beautiful way. I hope money and fame doesn’t bother him much and he keeps entertaining audience with lovely movies.

I personally would like to be part of any good films, be it a producer or a story writer ot penning a Screenplay for a simple plot ( I love sketching out scenes in a flow given a simple plot). Many feel that I resemble director Gautam vasudeva menon. I don’t know what does future hold for me, I love being in IT profession but at same time as a extra curriculam want to indulge myself in any drahma group so that I can perform stage shows in many social gatherings we come across in our day to day life.

Contractors Vs Full timers

This is one interesting topic which we can discuss for hours. There are pros and cons in both the type of employment. In any project not just an IT project we may not know how will the Project progress; for example, the company changes direction and the project gets killed, or assigned a lower priority. At this time the Contractors are more flexible. I always like this example when it comes to Contractors. When a Glass jar is pull of pebbles upto the top and when we wonder how to add substance to it then the only thing we can do is to add water. Contractors can be used the same way and hence provide flexibility to an arganization. Even in the current senario when company is scared to hire Full time people go for Contractors as they are flexible. It is a well known fact that Contractors get a fat salary whereas they compromise on training, insurance, paid vacation, sick time, profit sharing, 401K matching, worker’s compensation etc. It is really upto the individual whether he/she needs a 401 K matching and other benefits. According to me I would like to have the money instead and take care of what all I need. Its my personal choice and I would prioritize based on my needs.

Another advantage being a Contractor is your learning curve. Well any learning is upto the individual.He can either make Diamond out of nothing or make nothing out of a Diamond. The presssure for a Contractor is more as he is being brought exclusively to do a particular piece of work within a particular period of time. He by all means has to complete before he rolls out of a project. This automatically makes the learning curve scale greater heights. Being a contractor has another big advantage that of getting to accustom in different environments. Today you work on an automotive industry and six months down the lane you work on a Pharma industry. You meet different people and work in different environement. Right from the coffee machine to the Software tool you use keep changing. If you are a contractor and on top of that a Consultant then you are in for a real treat. Of course we do shift gears at some point considering the personal ciscumstances.

One crucial thing is Contract positions is “Networking”. You got to keep in touch with the recruiters all the time. In a counntry as big as United States there are positions open in every nook and corner, but to know its important they we are in touch with as many recruiters as possible. In my recent project the company decided to move all its full time employees from SAP to mainframe as the ERP project is gone outside to a third party vendor. I could see all of them very unhappy as they didn’t want to leave what they have been doing. But they did not have any choice as they have commitments. So Contractors also have the luxury to work on what they intend to do.

Botton line is people switch gears between contract and full time positions according to their personal situations. Its as simple as choosing your buffet, if you need hot and spicy food for an Indian restaurant or if you need yummy food with less spicy go for Chinese buffet.

Why I like Star Vijay

Why I like Star Vijay ?

I love this channel for many reasons so want to pen my thoughts. If we are looking for words like cutting edge, fantasy, solicitous, creative, passionate, funny, dramatic, are some of the adjectives we are looking for in a group, then look no further. Star Vijay is the answer to our Google search. I recently had Star Vijay connection at my house temporarily for two months as my parents have come to visit me. The channel here works bit differently as they telecast the programmes after one full week which is pretty late. But still I was adamant going for this channel as this was my personal favourite. Well to be frank back in India I never used to sit and watch any programmes other than SCV channel which plays video songs. This channel I feel in this visually stimulated society, is the perfect form of communication to speak Biblical truths to a media-driven culture which provides both entertainment and enlightment at the same place.

One summer afternoon back in Boston when I was feeling bit bored I saw a clipping for Jodi No.1 (Its one of my favorite TV pgms) season onewhich I have heard was a huge success. Somehow got hooked and started to see all the episodes. I somehow thought this programme is bit different from others even thought many would not agree. It’s the same song, same stage, same comments from judges but still the way Divya dharshini carries the show, the reality show tidbits, the way the channel packages make this somewhat different. One of my other favourite pgms is “Coffee with anu” which I am sure nobody except Anu can create the magic. Anu’s attitude is one of its kind and to conduct a show like this one has to have good presence of mind and astute thinking. Initially I thought Airtel super singer to be as “Iyer Super singer” but slowly started to love this one too as I feel the participants are being molded.

Ok what makes Vijay TV better compared to others? I heard that they pay less and also one of their offices in Nugambakkam is pretty small one (I wrote my GRE on the same venue and did not realize its Vijay TV’s office). I would say their Vision is their biggest strength. I believe their only goal is to promote and elevate everybody to the next level and eventually realize their dreams. They create a platform and push people. This noble thought is indeed a welcome change rather than usual run of the mill kind. They engage fresh blood and drive everything in a very innovative way. They are funded by STAR network so they are not short of money. I even like the idea of having their own ads between the programmes which keeps the audience glued to the network rather than switching to another channel. We all know how Google makes money through ads displayed on right hand side of the search but they hardly spend money on advertising – it’s the way Larry and sergey wanted to be and did not disturb their strategy amidst heavy criticism from investors and shareholders. Also they do not rely fully on Cinema content – they try different programmes which has an impact with audience. To name one such programme is Gopinath’s “Neeya naana” which is a very thought provoking show but I feel sometimes this one is bit boring as they get too much into the subject. The word “Different” is used everywhere and audience are sick hearing that word instead they want to feel its different. I think Vijay awards every year is a very good step taken by the channel which will create that buzz and excitement in the air. Having Kamal and Mani ratnam receive the awards for the first two years for “Sivaji award” they are well on road to make it a grand event in the coming years.

I would like to see the channel reach further heights by its bold experimentation and noble thoughts. Now that everyone started to mimic them they should move on to the next stage instead of keep on saying that they are the ones first to do this kinda show. Well I am not sure whether the channel offer stocks for its investors , if so I would definitely go for it as my gut felling says it has a great potential to rule the Tamil nadu television industry.

US Economy

US Economy is the topic which is hitting the headlines in every nook and corner of the world, so thought why not voice out my opinion about the current scenario in USA. No wonder this recession is talked all over the world as this being the worst after second world war with worst holiday sales ever in USA, Auto industry worst hit, Job loss which is beating all old records, USA’s GDP to go further down by 1.4% in 2009 and worst of all is the Mortage crisis. Even the layman would be educated by reading news like “Toyota has reported loss after 50 years” . To add fuel to the burning fire companies file for bankruptcies which has become a routine these days. Even though they file under Chapter 11 which provides a process for rehabilitating the company's faltering business the interest among the General public and stockholders slowly seems to wither away.

The main reason for this recession started with the Mortage industry. It is the “Greedy” attitude by some of the leading lenders in the country which paved way for all these problems. Money is being given to people who do not deserve a house, the lenders were able to charge higher interest rates and make more money on sub-prime loans. If the borrowers default, they simply seized the house and put it back on the market. On top of that, they were able to pass the risk off to mortgage insurer or package these mortgages as mortgage-backed securities. Easy money uhhh!!!! Same is the case with Credit card companies , I do not really understand what do they really do with our credit score. One of my friend recently got a new credit card approved for 10,000$ having 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers and he has got his SSN card just a few days back. A guy who used to think twice before buying a Cricket bat back in India is now on a roll touring Las vegas and spending money like anything …Thanks to credit card…. Another reason for the country’s struggle is we produce less than what we consume …. It has been said that America is a paper economy. We can’t go along producing nothing and consuming everything for long until things start to get out of whack. But that’s exactly what Americans have been doing. We tend to go to Walmart and Sam’s club for all our needs and they in turn go towards China to procure everything ….By doing this we have been running a trade deficit for years and it only seems to get worse not better. As a result nations like China have all our money. We send it to them in the form of the trade deficit. Producing less than we consume explains why we borrow more than we can responsibly pay back.

Well the situation is like an eye opener to many ..so lets march towards the new year with a positive attitude …Personally I believe bailout is not a good option simply being the money the government is paying is our money …Why should the government pay our money when companies are making some greedy moves just to stay alive in the competitive market? Well that being said we have no other solution at this point of time atleast to my knowledge …. First and foremost the people in the country should come forward and spread the positive energy …Government should recapitalize the financial sector by a transfer of wealth from the taxpayers to banks and brokers .. Also the government should Implement a massive monetary stimulus, such as taken by Japan at the start of their dark decade (I am happy the Indian govt led my Dr.Manmohan is making this move). Also it is high time companies start investing in Manufacturing and create tons of new jobs. Also the country has to control the balance of Trade deficit as this is the only means by which foreign companies will be able to accumulate funds to purchase our best companies.

Also people should not consider the word “Savings” as a bad word, I see every American living his/her life to the fullest. I do not get a parking lot in any malls during a weekend. There is no harm in enjoying life which everybody loves to do; the only thing is they should understand it is not only important being smart in your physical attire but also being smart intellectually.