Thamizhan Da!!!

      Being proud of your where you come from is something we enjoy at times!! Over here in US, Sports plays a major role in making people bind together and feel proud about their place of origin. When Eagles win a game in a NFL playoff game the whole of Philadelphia erupts in joy. It is just a way of connecting towards something which is close to your heart and a sports event is just an occasion to celebrate. Back in India there are always two things that bind us – one is cricket and other is cinema. Cinema being my favorite would like to embellish on something which made all the Thamizhans across the world very proud.

      

     I want to talk about the showman of Indian cinema – Director Shankar. He is absolutely outstanding..Looking at his track record is just amazing. 20+ years but just 10+ movies. On an average he takes 2 years per movie. Every movie he takes a topic but never gets preachy in his presentation instead sugarcoats with lots of commercial ingredients – I cannot forget the scene in Endhiran where he created a scene in the screenplay where Rajini appears as Amman with several swords, scene in Mudhalvan where the entire traffic is halted with Arjun carrying the media coverage and there are people who play crosswords in Hindu newspaper etc., Just envisage if his movies bomb then two years of time goes for a toss and there is so much risk associated but he is so very confident on his product that he makes grandeur movies with so much of ease. Arnold coming onto stage and asking him to direct for his movie just speaks volume about this man. I think it is just about time that he spreads his wings and goes to Bollywood or Hollywood where his creativity is more acknowledged and he also finds producers who can meet the big budgets his movies are demanding. But wherever he goes he is from Tamil nadu and we should be proud of him….

      

    Aascar Ravichandran is another person who continues to puzzle me. Is this person epitome of modesty? He says in an interview he neither made the tune nor wrote the script so why should he boast in front of media….Man in tinsel world where every dick and harry who do so little but give hundreds of media appearances to promote their films should definitely take a leaf from this man’s book. He brought Jackie chan and Arnold to Tamil Nadu for audio launches and hence put Kollywood on the International map. His argument is if a small film called ‘Conjuring’ can release in 169 countries why can’t a good product like ‘I’ release in multiple countries. I think he has a point and in order to spread new territories we need to bring in celebrities to endorse our products worldwide and he is making right moves. He is one other person who makes us feel proud that our Tamil cinema is truly becoming global phenomenon. 

It all boils down to Quality through efficient Operations!!!

     Off late I have been traveling quite a bit and so naturally tend to eat outside quite often. I believe seven months back when I first stepped into one of my favorite restaurants in Bay area I did not realize that I will visit more often to this place. The location is in a very prime area with lots of offices around and desi population in California is like counting number of sugar molecules in sugarcane, so they got all the basics right in the first place. The place wore a decent look and nothing extraordinary and the menu is very standard with pretty much the regular south indian items. I was thinking why the menu would be so simple. Now after my ‘n’ number of visits I can say it is neither the appearance nor the menu choices that drives a successful restaurant but is the quality trough efficient operations which brings customers.

    The way they operate is very good – Idly at 9.30 P.M comes very hot and fresh because they make sure they prepare that upon taking the order, with sambar they have one for Thalis and one of tiffin items. The sambar that comes with tiffin items are maintained in a separate temperature I believe since its served pretty hot. When it comes to mint chutney restaurants more often find ways to dilute stuff since it could be expensive by that way they can bring down costs but here they make sure the authenticity is maintained. Serving food after taking the order can win customer’s goodwill for quality but on the downside customers got to wait bit longer to taste the food. But eventually customers may wait bit longer to have a nice food versus settling with mediocre food in quick time.

    Also one of the mantras for restaurant business is to keep the menu options simple. I came to know about this after reading McDonalds book. This restaurant or many such south Indian restaurants in Bay area keep the menu extraordinarily simple and they do roaring business because their model is to focus on limited items, serve fresh food, focus on quality through efficient operations and win customers appreciation which gets translated into multiple visits. Way to go these South Indian restaurants!!!

How easy modern day Television influences people’s mind

    I am just getting tired of TV shows showing something just to gain attention of audience and to boost their TRP ratings. They package the program in such a way that even a layman’s emotion is kindled. What is more disturbing is that even those who are educated are blindly believing the TV show just because it is coming from a reputed TV personality. This is neither the first time this is happening nor the last time this is going to happen.

    I am talking about a leading private Tamil TV channel where one of the shows is very popular going from strength to strength every passing year. Administrators are on a constant lookout for new ways to mint money since everything is based on TRP ratings. More the viewership more the audience and more sponsorship for their respective shows. They want to spice up their shows by either bringing in celebrities or by bringing in some topics which may very well be controversial. They say facts without proper reference, they edit the footage based on how they wanted the show to appear on screen and more importantly they tap the emotional quotient of the general audience by having their camera focus on tears rolling from one’s eyes.

    Why do they want to generalize just because few people from a certain community demean their respective profession? Current world is a cut throat world where currency bills will take precedence to honesty. But the thumb rule remains the same – only hard earned money will stick and the rest will evaporate just like a vapor.

    For most of us brought up in India we tend to have a common weakness called as emotional weakness. We tend to believe certain things at the face value - example a shabbily dressed man asking for money. It could just be an act of cheating us but we tend to believe the person and basically we are deceived. My sincere request to the educated community is not to believe these shows just like that since the motto behind these sort of shows are TRP TRP TRP!!! Remember this person hanged his brains before Shah Rukh Khan and did a jalra in an awards function because he is so loyal to his employer. 

Social Media

    Well social media has been part and parcel of everyone’s life. Unless we go to a remote area where there is no signal we tend to use the gadgets all the time – whether we eat, drive, work or even at times during nature’s call J. Orkut, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp ..the list goes on and on ….something may keep supplanting through acquisitions and new innovations but the message is loud and clear that the whole world is a victim of social media.

    Well as always there are wonderful nice things – people use social media for brand marketing, politicians use social media heavily for their campaigns, Nonprofit organizations use to their benefit to reach a message across breadth and depth of their intended audience, religious organizations use this as a communication medium and almost all of us use this medium to socialize. The amount of time spent on a single calendar day varies on individuals but all of us spend quite a chunk of time – thanks to smart phones which makes it more accessible.

    Though this may sound cliché but social media kills family time ..it absolutely kills. People who are bit old luckily has passed this modern era of social media but the current generation especially the newly weds and teenagers have fallen a prey. The amount of quality time spent is derailed and it has also become a fashion quotient to be active in social media. I really feel envy to those who do not have smart phones. Anything that happens on the spur of the moment has to be shared and people don’t have the luxury of enjoying the joy of the moment since no one has the patience to withhold their emotions.

    As always the balancing act is the best way to deal this chaos. Trying to inoculate some discipline may be the ideal way to bring back good old days. This is easily said than done but with practice everything can be possible. I hope government brings some regulations and governance towards this whole social media thing since it’s a bug pretty much bugging everyone. But that being said end of the day it is YOU who is responsible for YOUR own way of living. 

Good at Heart .....

       I often wonder two ingredients to lead a successful life are hard work and faith in god. But upon time I am realizing being good at heart is also one of the factors to lead a happy life. 'Hard work' is like a last name for most of us in this era where all of us do good justice. Temple and prayers are becoming part of everyone's social life and the amount of activities I see in temple these days makes me wonder everyone is spending good amount of time and money on temple activities. People believe in positive vibration by stepping into temple's premises and spreading love and positivity in the air by surrendering oneself to almighty and also by committing oneself to volunteer activities in temple which is growing manifold these days. But still there is something which does not make us feel happy? Thats where the third factor comes into picture.

        Being good at heart doesn't necessarily stop with one thing. There are way too many things in which one can be good at heart. Helping poor and needy, volunteering for the betterment of society and community, appreciating or even at times encouraging your peers, most importantly being thankful for what you possess all count towards being good at heart. In this cut throat world being jealous comes to you even without you realizing it, something like bed bug but we got to watch out for this and somehow convert this thought of jealousness to being competitive. At times we may have to accept defeat with our counterparts which is part and parcel of the system. Being a sport and having a positive attitude may help us on a longer run.

       World needs to be a better place. We got to spread positive fragrance to our near and dear ones. Everyone's life is different but one thing that binds all of us together is love and affection. After all no one is going to measure someone by the amount of villas and luxury cars they own at the time they bid adieu to the world but instead everyone will talk about the person's humanity. Its just one life ...lets crack some silly jokes and enjoy life to the fullest by not just making yourself happy but also surrounding you happy..as they say smile is a curve that straightens everything. 

How one bad experience can ruin your day !!!

    We live in a modern era where Time is everything and not just money. Things move at 100 MPH and at times we don’t have time to do our mundane tasks. We just run behind the clock. While we try to manage our work-life balance there are some occasions which would totally piss you off and pretty much spoil your mood and your day. This could be so very frustrating since there could very well be a need where your attention is very much needed.

   Things go especially bad if we had to deal with any of the frustrating experience in the morning – a bad commute due to horrible traffic on your way to office, a lengthy call with your customer service representative which did not add any value, badly trying to reach someone who is not picking up the call etc., The worse thing is if its not your day then anything and everything goes for a toss and you may even just want the day to end without having the energy to bear any more.

   I believe the focus has to be the bigger picture rather than worrying about small pitfalls. Rather than having your day getting ruined by petty incidents I believe we should have all our thoughts and actions aligned towards the goals we want to accomplish. This is easily said than done but that’s where we learn from our mistakes and try not to repeat the same mistake over and over again.

   May be few mind games can do the trick? Or even game of Suduko? Something intriguing for our mind to keep up our focus and ultimately making us more productive. 

Best healer of Pain !!!

        There is a saying that “When it rains it pours” – I am just trying to visualize that in my mind. On a pouring day if beltway is caught up with traffic, on top of that if it starts to snow, on top of that if there seems to be lot of mist, on top of that if roads are slippery, on top of that if there are few minor accidents, on top of that if there seems to be a big tree which fell on the highway, on top of that if there seems to be a power outage …..just imagine someone sitting in the car waiting to go home.  It is just as worse as it would get but just holding on, hanging in there with some patience can eventually get him through.

       None of us know what life is about to offer you. Astrology can predict things but as individuals we got to face the reality. There is so much more to life which unfolds at every single step. That’s the thrill as well as the anxiety which creeps in. Life teaches many things through experiences. At times we just don’t know why do things happen but the story is told at a later stage.  Going through a rough patch is a difficult thing especially when your mind is looking for every single opportunity to exploit you. But that is where strength, courage and spirit grows within you.

      Is there any medicine better than ‘Time’? Time is the best healer. It is natural way of curing something. It may be slow but it is definitely the most effective way. It teaches you so many things during the course of your tough phase which are basically lessons of life.  The best thing to do is to engage in something where your mind does not dominate you. 

    I am just wondering if everyone’s prayers are answered right away then all we got to do is to pray and wait for the result to happen right away. If this is the case then we will see more crowd on temples than in any of the busy highways. Prayers with faith and patience are always rewarded.  Just that you got to wait …wait and wait ….if things don’t click for you then the wisdom is for us to realize god has better plans for you. 

Art of Diplomacy

      I recently had a chance to serve for two years in a Non profit organization and had a chance to experience some of the best practices of human behavior. One can do Yoga either in the morning or in the evening but earlier the better since you gain more mileage out of it. So I wanted to take up the role much earlier just to make sure I learn from people regarding the various traits of human relationships. Being a guy who observes people I could have not asked for a better atmosphere to learn things.
      

     Diplomacy is one of the most powerful words in English dictionary as it is basically as ‘Art’; Cooking is an art since everyone gets the same ingredients to make a dish – what makes a great dish compared to a good dish? Well it just depends on the nuances of cooking and that what makes it an art. Same way being diplomatic is an art by itself. The way you respond/react/talk has so much to do with your individual behavior. Diplomacy at time may even be boring or tend to be cliché but do we get tired of a nice dish irrespective of the number of times we had tasted the delicious dish. It just depends on what context we use our words and actions. Observing few senior people I learnt one of the best practices to have in your kitty is to be diplomatic.

      Being diplomatic comes with experience though. Once we are exposed to real world situations and conversations that we are normally not used to accustom in our day to day lives we may tend to act in a very immature way. That’s where the learning curve starts. At times even beating round the bush may seem to be appropriate. It takes time to get into your system to acknowledge some of the ways in being diplomatic.

     Diplomacy has so many different dimensions to it – a very slight variation in a sentence may tend to be more diplomatic. How exactly you draft an email, how exactly to react to a situation, on what basis a decision was taken, how you stress something and you subtly convey something everything plays a role if you are to be considered a diplomatic person. At times you might wonder am I losing my own individuality by adjusting to things around you but later you come to know best way to handle anything is to be balanced in your approach by giving yourself enough time for dust to settle.

     Diplomacy is definitely signs of maturity – I used to dream that I wanted to pen my thoughts on any single topic and come up with a book. May be this is the topic which I should cash upon since I have so much of contents to write. I am aware this is just a wish list but nevertheless I am happy that I have gained some invaluable lessons which are much more worth than writing my own book. 

How does Luck work?

The literal definition of ‘Luck’ is “success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one's own actions”. It clearly means irrespective of one’s effort consequences happen this way or other. Luck plays such a crucial role in this era where everything is competitive. Winners are losers are not distinguished by huge margin, difference between both is very minimal. Luck plays a role where it just elevates you onto the next level which is a good enough launch pad to get further up in the ladder.

Does Luck work in such a way that it carries from our past lives? I don’t know the answer but I have heard people saying when something really good happens that they must have done something very good in their past lives. May be there is just one balance sheet per human being versus being every single life. If this happens to be true and let’s say person XYZ was a gardener in his past life with humble living nurturing thousands of plants then he might lead a sophisticated life in his current life where lady luck may keep showering.

        Is Luck directly proportional to hard work? I believe this is true as it fulfills the basic philosophy that hard work never fails. Sometimes no matter how hard you try things never click; this phase can be so frustrating. This is the time where not just one but many things go out of your reach and it really tests your patience. But all of a sudden everything seem to work and it just amazes you how quickly life changes. So does that mean you keep working hard and lady luck will take its course later in the game?

       Is Luck anything to do with Intelligence?  People who trade stocks take a big gamble but their instincts are backed up with sound intelligence. Intelligence is build by sound knowledge and sound knowledge is built by keeping abreast with industry news by reading articles, following strategies, following best practices etc., Though people lose money once they learn their lessons and try to be more wiser than before then there is a good chance lady luck may favor them.

      So I believe Luck has several dimensions to it – keep working hard, being wise and also leveraging on the goodwill earned from our past lives. But nevertheless Luck is a very interesting topic to explore. 

It’s all about Selling!!!

        As consumers we follow certain metrics before we end up buying a new product. Obviously one of the things we do is to go over the label. I just wonder people get smarter each day when they try to sell the product due to the stiff competition. There are various different ways one can come up with in their advertisement material but taking a closer look would baffle many. Same with the case of surveys, statistical reports, Job reports etc., All these are used to lure the consumer towards buying their product. It is true that sometimes even people with lots of awareness overlook some of the pitfalls.

       Let us consider a jar full of cookies. Cookie may contain 20 grams of sugar for each piece and it is very natural for people to have at least 3-4 in one shot due to the size of the cookie. The company may label in such a way it may say 40 grams of sugar and it may say serving size to be two pieces. This is all true but for a common man who is trying to get some cookies into his shopping cart without paying attention to details may end up buying. Same with the case of Job reports – unemployment rates are calculated by leaving people who are unemployed for more than two years. This is just to bring down on the percentage and come up with false news. When people prepare statistics saying these many number of units have been sold does that mean the product reaches the end customer? They may sell it to their retailers and wholesalers but it may still be sitting somewhere in the supply chain before it reaches the end customer.

      There is nothing wrong in trying to sell your product by highlighting the selling points but why the common man does not kept aware of the rules that go into the making of these gimmick?  Why do the sellers take buyers for granted? Whom do the buyers contact if they see a contradiction? The intelligence of a common man should not be tested. There are countries where Illiteracy rates are very high and this is where laws and regulations have to be tightened enough for a common man to have his voice be heard. I guess public awareness is the key for common public in order to keep him from falling into these modern day gimmicks.