All that glitters is not cricket

Thanks to IPL, for pushing cricket through bidding to gambling to controversies to, lately, politics. All for the ‘love for cricket’!!
IPL has indeed become one of the fastest growing businesses considering the fact that it is estimated at an enormous $4.13 billion today and that too in less than 3 years. Some people are even predicting it to soon out cross English Premium League (EPL), which, by the way, is totally absurd. EPL, which is currently valued at around $12 billion, is one of the most watched sporting league with it’s viewership spread across over 200 countries and is also known for it’s deep rooted league culture of Europe. IPL, on the other hand, has neither a rich league culture nor a global viewership. In fact, IPL is less about sports and more about glamour. It is merely about owing teams based on economic and politic strength and attracting crowd through various sporting and non sporting gimmicks, including the foreign cheer leaders and the late night parties. But we Indians are so much in love with this sport that we forget that all that glitters is not cricket.
This is evident from the controversies that are filling in the news papers nowadays, that speaks of the lack of authenticity and transparency with which this whole business is being handled. The BCCI who is supposed to be in the governing role; they are themselves the biggest promoters of IPL. This is because those who are associated with IPL or the franchisees are part of BCCI board too. Due to which the sporting spirit has been replaced with the greed and hunger for more money and power.
And today, the whole nation is discussing about Modi, Tharoor and BCCI. Our government and income tax people are wasting their time, energy and resources and running around to get to the root of this conspiracy. Hmm, was IPL worth all this? Isn’t cricket much more than just bidding and cheap politics?


Courtesy: TOI

The Intruder!!

The first time I saw him, it was just for a fraction of a second. He came and peeped into my world and disappeared. It happened so quick that, I was left wondering whether I imagined it all.
Some days later, when I had totally forgotten about the incident, I saw him again! This time I saw him clearly. He was young …with small eyes, which were searching for something. He saw me looking at him, and then again he vanished!

After that, I couldn't stop thinking about him. I was becoming so paranoid that I keep looking around every now and then. He had left me all frightened and fumed up.
Until one day I decided, enough is enough! I have to face my fears and have to find a way out. Hmm!
I discussed my problem with my friend and he gave me a few suggestions. Hmm but I knew whatever it is, it has to be done soon and it has to be done by me alone. So I sat down and made up my mind and decided that I will go for it. Yes! Only this can stop him. The Rodenticide!!

The next step was to lay the trap and it has to look real. So for that I chose places where I have seen him and waited for his arrival, but he didn’t appear. I didn’t lose my heart and waited for the next day too. That night, I was almost dosing off waiting for him, and then from the corner of my eyes I saw his blurry image! But alas! By the time my eyes were wide open, he was gone. The trap I laid for him lie untouched!

It’s been 3 days, and there has been no sight of him. Where did he disappear?? And why?? I don't know..Hmm but hey...Should I care!? Anyways, I hate intruders!

Reel effect!!

One of the many brilliant Malayalam movies made till date is ‘Thirakadha’. Yesterday when I watched it again for the second time, I couldn’t help thinking how a movie manages to create an impact on people?
Two major aspects of a movie are script and performance (by artists). Script, I believe, is the powerful of the two. A strong script with moderate performance has a more impact than a moderate script with a great performance. Like in the movie ‘Thirakadha’, the story itself captures you and you can feel the journey within it. The performances also were more than just moderate, in fact they were good, especially the protagonist role played by Priyamani. Some of the movies that stands out for its script or subject are ‘Water’, ‘Page 3’, ‘Taare zameen pe’, ‘Kaazhcha’ (mal), ‘Walk to remember’, ‘Step mom’, ‘Forest Gump’ etc, to name a few. (The list is really long! :)). But a movie like ‘Jab we met’ where the storyline is not that unique or different, the performances and direction took the front seats and got the attention of the viewers, which eventually made the movie successful.
Thus each movie has its own ingredients, and its own flavours which attracts the audience towards it.
Salute to all the brilliant scripts, performances and the individuals behind it!!

Another chance !?

It’s been long since I wrote anything here. J

All I have been writing all this time has been crap emails and documents to clients and my team at work. Hmm J Work is good if u like it. But you also have to be careful enough to be not too committed. Especially in a team, at times you tend to push yourself to make things right for everyone and everything in your project until a point comes where you think ‘Is it worth all this effort ?!’.

IT industry is interesting, though not interesting enough for me to involve in it passionately. It is true that I don’t follow the technologies or the trends in the market, but it is not that. I find something missing otherwise too. Let’s just say IT doesn’t fascinate me. J

After all these months of work and mindless pursue of things, I have lost track of why I did all these in the first place. I feel lost and tired!! Hmm, I want to start afresh with things !! I am not asking for ‘another chance to grow up once again’ or anything! ;D Just that, this time I want to do things that matters to me and makes more sense and gives a meaning to my life.

Life in a metro....its been a year...

June 9^th 2008: the day I joined the corporate world..well software world to be more specific but since my job doesn’t deal with coding and stuff, I would just say corporate world.

One of the main reasons of me not joining TCS was that I was looking out for something diff other than the usual coding job. So when my uncle offered me one, I gladly accepted and so I came to Bangalore and joined Nous Infosystems as Business Analyst Trainee. (No longer a trainee!!;))

I have always liked to be independent from young so staying with my uncle in Bangalore was out of question. Within a month, I moved out to a place as paying guest (PG). PG is another growing business here with hundreds of people coming to the city every year to join various industries (mostly software) and if you are ready to pay you can get any kind of accommodation according to your comfort level. Anyways, as I didn’t have any friends with me when I came here, i was more eager to be in a sharing room, so that I can meet and be friends with new people. And I did too, some good ones and some bad ones and some whom you will learn to ignore as time goes.

It’s been a year but still my every weekday here begins with the feeling “Ah god! I wish it was a weekend and I didn’t have to go to office” as I get up from bed after snoozing my alarm for half an hour. As I step out of my PG to office, the roads will be filled with cars, school buses , autos....with people rushing to their offices so that they can ‘swipe in’ in time. J As my office is nearby, I normally walk which I think is better considering the traffic here at times. Office has been a good experience for me till now; have learned a lot and met different types of people. Anyways, coming back to my day...so day passes fast/slow depending on my work. If it’s something interesting its fine or else when it is just about to be 6 30 in the eve, I feel the same urge to run out that I used to feel when the bell used to ring at the end of the day in school. :D

Weekends here can be fun if you have friends to hang out with.:) Even though its expensive and also you might have your diet to worry about, you might still find it hard to restrict at times as the city has got too many theme restaurants, eat outs, bowling points and malls to check out. Shopping is another way of passing time and spending money..;) If you are a lil bit shoppie like me then you will find it lil hard to stop urself. In fact nowadays when I see some nice top or t shirt I think “ No! I am not gonna try that on and see.. cos then I may think its good on me and then i will have to buy it !”:D Nevertheless you can also get clothes and others for good bargains if you know where to go. Or else you always can widow shop. J

Yeah the city has many things to check out and see and learn about, but still it has a weird feeling of loneliness in its air which touches you in between as you walk through the busy roads and traffic..which makes you and your world stop for a while and makes you think. But, don’t worry you won’t feel it for too long..cos u just can’t afford to stop like that in life..not in a metro.

Father and Daughter (Michael Dudok de Wit)

Year: 2000
Director: Michael Dudok de Wit
Writer: Michael Dudok de Wit
Genre:Short Animation / Drama
Awards:Won Oscar. Another 20 wins & 1 nomination more

Plot:A father says goodbye to his young daughter. In time the daughter grows old, but within her there is always a deep longing for her father.

This 8 minute film took around 8 years to make. This is wordless, minimalistic and beautifully animated short. This is one of the most touching pieces of art I have ever seen, and its effect on audience might last for life time. I found this through another blog and found it so touching that I couldn't stop myself from posting it again.

Hats off to one of the strongest Indian women !!

Inner strength is something that i admire a lot in people and so this post is for one of the strongest indian women i have read about, Mrs. Sudha Murthy. 

When I say strong, it goes deeper than you think. For someone who has been a topper (gold medalist) throughout her studies and was the first woman engineer to be selected in Telco (Tata Motors), it is not an easy decision to leave her career to support her husband and family. I read somewhere that a few women journalists had accused her of setting a wrong example by giving up her dreams to make her husband’s dream a reality. But in reality, only a few understand that sacrifice is not something that everybody can do. It takes lot of courage and inner strength to sacrifice something for people whom you love. And never did Mrs.Murthy lose her identity as a woman, in her husband's shadow. After supporting her husband and family in the early stages, she did, later on, pursue her dreams and aspirations and came across as a teacher, engineer, writer, philanthropist and corporate—all rolled into one. She is well known for her philanthropic work through the Infosys Foundation, under which she initiated many projects for the welfare of the less fortunate section of our society.

Google to read more about her works and don’t miss the love story of Mr. and Mrs. Murthy, it’s really inspiring. J Read below another inspiring post written by Sudha Murthy on why she respects JRD Tata so much and how her angry letter made him to change his rule…

There are two photographs that hang on my office wall. Every day when I enter my office I look at them before starting my day. They are pictures of two old people. One is of a gentleman in a blue suit and the other is a black and white image of a man with dreamy eyes and a white beard.
People have often asked me if the people in the photographs are related to me. Some have even asked me, "Is this black and white photo that of a Sufi saint or a religious Guru?" I smile and reply "No, nor are they related to me. These people made an impact on my life. I am grateful to them." "Who are they?" "The man in the blue suit is Bharat Ratna JRD Tata and the black and white photo is of Jamsetji Tata." "But why do you have them in your office?"" You can call it gratitude."
Then, invariably, I have to tell the person the following story. It was a long time ago. I was young and bright, bold and idealistic. I was in the final year of my Master's course in Computer Science at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore, then known as the Tata Institute. Life was full of fun and joy. I did not know what helplessness or injustice meant.
It was probably the April of 1974. Bangalore was getting warm and gulmohars were blooming at the IISc campus. I was the only girl in my postgraduate department and was staying at the ladies' hostel. Other girls were pursuing research in different departments of Science. I was looking forward to going abroad to complete a doctorate in computer science. I had been offered scholarships from Universities in the US. I had not thought of taking up a job in India.
One day, while on the way to my hostel from our lecture-hall complex, I saw an advertisement on the notice board. It was a standard job-requirement notice from the famous automobile company Telco (now Tata Motors). It stated that the company required young, bright engineers, hardworking and with an excellent academic background, etc.
At the bottom was a small line: "Lady candidates need not apply." I read it and was very upset. For the first time in my life I was up against gender discrimination.
Though I was not keen on taking up the job, I saw it as a challenge. I had done extremely well in academics, better than most of my male peers. Little did I know then that in real life academic excellence is not enough to be successful.
After reading the notice I went fuming to my room. I decided to inform the topmost person in Telco's management about the injustice the company was perpetrating. I got a postcard and started to write, but there was a problem: I did not know who headed Telco. I thought it must be one of the Tatas. I knew JRD Tata was the head of the Tata Group; I had seen his pictures in newspapers (actually, Sumant Moolgaokar was the company's chairman then).
I took the card, addressed it to JRD and started writing. To this day I remember clearly what I wrote. "The great Tatas have always been pioneers. They are the people who started the basic infrastructure industries in India, such as iron and steel, chemicals, textiles and locomotives. They have cared for higher education in India, such as iron and steel, chemicals, textiles and locomotives. They have cared for higher education in India since 1900 and they were responsible for the establishment of the Indian Institute of Science. Fortunately, I study there. But I am surprised how a company such as Telco is discriminating on the basis of gender."
I posted the letter and forgot about it. Less than 10 days later, I received a telegram stating that I had to appear for an interview at Telco's Pune facility at the company's expense. I was taken aback by the telegram. My hostel mated told me I should use the opportunity to go to Pune free of cost and buy them the famous Pune saris for cheap! I collected Rs 30 each from everyone who wanted a sari. When I look back, I feel like laughing at the reasons for my going, but back then they seemed good enough to make the trip.
It was my first visit to Pune and I immediately fell in love with the city. To this day it remains dear to me. I feel as much at home in Pune as I do in Hubli, my hometown. The place changed my life in so many ways.
As directed, I went to Telco's Pimpri office for the interview. There were six people on the panel and I realised then that this was serious business. "This is the girl who wrote to JRD," I heard somebody whisper as soon as I entered the room. By then I knew for sure that I would not get the job. The realisation abolished all fear from my mind, so I was rather cool while the interview was being conducted.
Even before the interview started, I reckoned the panel was biased, so I told them, rather impolitely, "I hope this is only a technical interview." They were taken aback by my rudeness, and even today I am ashamed about my attitude.
The panel asked me technical questions and I answered all of them. Then an elderly gentleman with an affectionate voice told me, "Do you know why we said lady candidates need not apply? The reason is that we have never employed any ladies on the shop floor. This is not a co-ed college; this is a factory. When it comes to academics, you are a first ranker throughout. We appreciate that, but people like you should work in research laboratories."
I was a young girl from small-town Hubli. My world had been a limited place. I did not know the ways of large corporate houses and their difficulties, so I answered, "But you must start somewhere, otherwise no woman will ever be able to work in your factories."
Finally, after a long interview, I was told I had been successful. So this was what the future had in store for me. Never had I thought I would take up a job in Pune. I met a shy young man from Karnataka there, we became good friends and we got married.
It was only after joining Telco that I realised who JRD was: the uncrowned king of Indian industry. Now I was scared, but I did not get to meet him till I was transferred to Bombay. One day I had to show some reports to Mr Moolgaokar, our chairman, who we all knew as SM. I was in his office on the first floor of Bombay House (the Tata headquarters) when, suddenly JRD walked in. That was the first time I saw "appro JRD". Appro means "our" in Gujarati. This was the affectionate term by which people at Bombay House called him.
I was feeling very nervous, remembering my postcard episode. SM introduced me nicely, "Jeh (that's what his close associates called him), this young woman is an engineer and that too a postgraduate. She is the first woman to work on the Telco shop floor." JRD looked at me. 
I was praying he would not ask me any questions about my interview (or the postcard that preceded it). Thankfully, he didn't. Instead, he remarked. "It is nice that girls are getting into engineering in our country. By the way, what is your name?" "When I joined Telco I was Sudha Kulkarni, Sir," I replied. "Now I am Sudha Murthy." He smiled and kindly smile and started a discussion with SM. As for me, I almost ran out of the room.
After that I used to see JRD on and off. He was the Tata Group chairman and I was merely an engineer. There was nothing that we had in common. I was in awe of him.
One day I was waiting for Murthy, my husband, to pick me up after office hours. To my surprise I saw JRD standing next to me. I did not know how to react. Yet again I started worrying about that postcard. Looking back, I realise JRD had forgotten about it. It must have been a small incident for him, but not so for me.
"Young lady, why are you here?" he asked. "Office time is over." I said, "Sir, I'm waiting for my husband to come and pick me up." JRD said, "It is getting dark and there's no one in the corridor. I'll wait with you till your husband comes." I was quite used to waiting for Murthy, but having JRD waiting alongside made me extremely uncomfortable.
I was nervous. Out of the corner of my eye I looked at him. He wore a simple white pant and shirt. He was old, yet his face was glowing. There wasn't any air of superiority about him. I was thinking, "Look at this person. He is a chairman, a well-respected man in our country and he is waiting for the sake of an ordinary employee."
Then I saw Murthy and I rushed out. JRD called and said, "Young lady, tell your husband never to make his wife wait again."
In 1982 I had to resign from my job at Telco. I was reluctant to go, but I really did not have a choice. I was coming down the steps of Bombay House after wrapping up my final settlement when I saw JRD coming up. He was absorbed in thought. I wanted to say goodbye to him, so I stopped. He saw me and paused.
Gently, he said, "So what are you doing, Mrs Kulkarni?" (That was the way he always addressed me.) "Sir, I am leaving Telco." "Where are you going?" he asked. "Pune, Sir. My husband is starting a company called Infosys and I'm shifting to Pune." "Oh! And what will you do when you are successful." "Sir, I don't know whether we will be successful." "Never start with diffidence," he advised me. "Always start with confidence. When you are successful you must give back to society. Society gives us so much; we must reciprocate. I wish you all the best." Then JRD continued walking up the stairs. I stood there for what seemed like a millennium. That was the last time I saw him alive.
Many years later I met Ratan Tata in the same Bombay House, occupying the chair JRD once did. I told him of my many sweet memories of working with Telco. Later, he wrote to me, "It was nice hearing about Jeh from you. The sad part is that he's not alive to see you today."
I consider JRD a great man because, despite being an extremely busy person, he valued one postcard written by a young girl seeking justice. He must have received thousands of letters every day. He could have thrown mine away, but he didn't do that. He respected the intentions of that unknown girl, who had neither influence nor money, and gave her an opportunity in his company. He did not merely give her a job; he changed her life and mindset forever.
Close to 50 per cent of the students in today's engineering colleges are girls. And there are women on the shop floor in many industry segments.
I see these changes and I think of JRD. If at all time stops and asks me what I want from life, I would say I wish JRD were alive today to see how the company we started has grown. He would have enjoyed it wholeheartedly.
My love and respect for the House of Tata remains undiminished by the passage of time. I always looked up to JRD. I saw him as a role model for his simplicity, his generosity, his kindness and the care he took of his employees. Those blue eyes always reminded me of the sky; they had the same vastness and magnificence.