No split for Andhra Pradesh please.....

Just to introduce myself, I am a girl from Lucknow and came to Hyderabad 4 years back. Here is a small example to understand the AP problem ..

Imagine a family :: Father and 5 children A,B,C,D,E

SITUATION 1 ::
Father has Rs 500 , divide it by 5, each gets Rs 100.
One of the 5 (say E's child, say E1, we can call remaining E as E2) feels that it is not doing very good and demands divide it by 6, each gets Rs 83. Who benefits? - the 6th person (E1) ; Who may seem to lose - all the existing 5 (A,B,C,D, E2)

SITUATION 2 ::
Father has Rs 500, divide it by 5. each gets rs 100.
One of the 5 (E1) is not doing very good. I say 'Dear child, we have an upper cap of Rs 500. We are all a united family. E has everything which A,B,C,D have. You have to just explore A,B,C,D and E and find where you fit best. I assure you that no one will stop you. I will bring better assistance to help you grow. This may not have immediate results but will surely make you learn from the lessons of A,B ,C, D, E2. If today you ask for a separation, tomorrow, A1,A2 ,B1, B2, C1,C2, D1, D2 will be born and this will only trigger DIFFERENCES. Even if you go far from E2 and serve A, then it does not mean that you left your parents. You need to just change your thought and understand that you are serving a similar parent A.

E1 are the Politicians who want that share of Rs 83 which they were never entited for and it is free and who does not like free things ! Here free things are the new position for a CM, the new set of MLAs etc etc
People coming under E1 will feel immediately happy that 'Wow, we got our share'. Feeling happy is obvious because they can see it but to really feel it, it will take ages.

What should bleed the father is that:
1- An everlasting disparity and a difference has been created
2- Immediate needs have been met but the vision of a large happy family is broken
3- A fear that tomorrow new outrages will occur between As, Bs , Cs, Ds and infact even in the new E1s and E2s.

Whats missing is
1- A Strict Father and
2- A Brotherly thought that there is NO lack of opportunities. Opportunities need to be created and there is no stopping if you are talented.

An experienced E2 should guide the remaining E1 and take it in its arms and E1 should have the trust that it is in safe hands. Whats missing today is the TRUST.

I seriously feel sorry when I see India shaping up like this. It is very very sad to see educated people on their sleeves in a simple discussion like this email chain. Did we think even once, while naming people in this email chain, that we are targeting our own family? If someone can just see the larger picture and follow the benefits of a Father's advice, things will be in place.

Whats even worse is that we allow people with selfish interests to rule us and fulfil their needs and we make ourselves believe that they did good to the people under them.

Violence only breeds Violence. Rational Thinking should be of utmost importance. Divisions never give Long term Happiness.

How much I wish that there were no walls !!

Take care.
Komal

On Thu, Dec 10, 2009 at 10:06 AM, Sri wrote:

Komal,

That is a wonderful example...I liked your anecdote; and Prasanthi, so
is your note... esp. the example about the water diversion.

I am from Andhra, but I felt that India was ONE Country. I traveled
across the country and almost felt at home everywhere, but it was
mostly because I felt so... and my positive mindedness did not notice
the discrimination people exhibited till it hit me hard. When I was in
Delhi, people were discriminating against people of other regions,
especially the Sardarjis from Punjab, and of course they considered
the south Indians inferior. When a southern politician was made a
central minister, it was something to talk about!! Once I went to
Madras, I had to ask a cop for directions, he listened to me and the
first thing he said was ' Telungu aaa... po po po...' That was one of
the first few times I experienced discrimination. From thence, it has
been discrimination all the way....and of course that's one reason I
wouldn't complain of racism or discrimination in the U.S. Telangana
folks who want to drive away andhraites should not complain about the
protectionism that seemed to have risen in the U.S in the past couple
of years. But, I know these very people who complain about the
protectionism in U.S curse andhraites and bloat with glee whenever KCR
made a political statement / scolds the andhraites. I saw this happen
here.

I heard stories of people here in the U.S who have not done anything
to develop their communities back home, but are supporting this cause
just for their personal gain, either monetarily or politically. I also
wonder why none of these people questioned why KCR could not do
anything all the while he was a Minister, did he point out any
discrimination which was meted out to any schemes he proposed or any
development plans he came up with which were turned down? If he is
considered an able leader, then why is it that he hasn't proven his
'ability' right upto the point of the elections? I am not aware of
any, forgive me if I missed any. This region lacks leadership, in its
own right. I'm not sure there are any true leaders there who will
'magically' develop and transform this region. Every person wants to
make money and forming another state is a very good way to mint money.
What more could a politician ask for...? Instead of holding people
accountable and taking them to task for their inaction while in power,
people are rallying behind them. If the blind lead the blind, both
shall fall into the ditch. At this point, I am neutral, as my
knowledge is limited, but as a lay person I have expressed my opinion.
What is lacking is not support, but leadership. A proper selfless
leader is lacking. How can they form and manage a state with no proper
leadership? Do they have any blue prints for development? Do they have
any plan based on which they seek statehood?

I would definitely go through the links and videos provided by our
other friends here and try to understand how much one region was
responsible for the loss of another region and how it is going to be
transformed.

Also, I cannot understand the cost factor of moving people and any
cross migration involved. I heard of one GO which is asking all state
employees from Andhra region to go back to Andhra...don't know the
implications of this. As an Andhraite, for the first time, I felt
insecure. I have never thought we were different. But listening to the
angry rants of KCR and others scolding Andhra people seemed a bit
extreme. State or no state, the attitude is disgusting. This country
does not belong to anybody's mom or dad. And by the way, the article
quotes Pt.Nehru as favoring separation, but Mahatma Gandhi, never
favored segregationist politics of any kind.

We human beings made this world thrive on division and discrimination.
We say the Western world and the eastern world. In the Eastern world,
we say the Asians and Sub continent Asians. In Subcontinent Asians, we
say, Pakistanis, Indians, and so on..In Indian- North, South, East and
West (Poor state of affairs MNS (sic)), In the South, Andhra,
Tamilnadu and so on..In Andhra Pradesh- Telangana, Rayalaseema,
Andhra. What next? Well...In Andhra it will be : Ours is East
Godavari, yours is West Godavari. In East Godavari, it will be ours is
Rajahmundry, yours is Kakinada. In Kakinada, it will be Mine is
Ramarao Peta, yours is Gandhinagar. In Ramarao peta, it will be Mine
is First Street, yours is second street. In first street, it will be
your house, my house, In your house, it will be First floor, second
floor and other floors, and in each floor, your apartment, my
apartment....and in each apartment, the children start with my
bedroom, your bedroom.... so the problem begins in assigning bedrooms
hehe!!! There is no end to divisions. And believe me, I did see first
floor guys Vs Ground Floor Guys kinda divisions in apartment
complexes...where the first floor guys complain of water scarcity!!!

Finally, we all should not forget that there are many underdeveloped
states, and many regions within each state which are underdeveloped.
So logically speaking, if Regions within states should ask for
separate statehood, underdeveloped states should ask for Independence
(Like it is seen in some parts of the world currently).

I did observe that many folks tend to get very emotional about this
issue and think that those who are against it don't know suffering of
any kind. Suffering and pain are universal, it is how we handle and
come up with solutions is what matters. This same set of politicians
who seemingly kept shut the past 30 years will continue to do so in
future.

State or no state, I don't feel the economics of this are feasible for
a flood ridden state at this point of time. I'm also wondering, would
our charitable acts be focused on Telangana or Andhra?

Personally, I would have been much happier if there was no violence
involved.

svasti prajabhyam paripalayantham nyayeana margena mahim maheesah
gobrahmanebhya shubamsthu nityam lokah samastha sukhino bhavanthu

Sri Surya

Satyam - My Final Salute to Ramalinga Raju

Guys , let me clarify - I am NOT a Satyam Employee :) . I am just a normal observer.

At a time when almost 90% of my Satyam friends are cribbing about the fraud and betrayal by Ramalinga Raju, I have a slightly different opinion. It's bold of me to write this in black and white but this comes straight from my heart and experience. Let me start by quoting an example of 2006. Most of my friends were unemployed with 50-60% plus marks in BTech, with a degree from an average University and hunting madly for a job. Whether people accept it today or not but the truth remains that Satyam was the ONLY saviour and the only mass recruiter who was ready to accept students who had back logs but had cleared them and also it did not put a very strict minimum marks criterion. And this was true not only for my small college at Lucknow but also those across India . Satyam is the fourth largest in IT in India. Looking at India's population I really want to thank Raju for giving some 54000 Indians jobs atleast for all these years . He was the reason for the revival of confidence and the reason for the bread and butter for many a families. Satyam training was renowned all over India. Their STC training centre created numerous love stories and unexpected rekindling of a youthful environment where girls and boys were more indepenent than their college days . I remember most of my Satyam friends felt that they made better friends at Satyam's three to six months training than those in the four years of BTech. Unfortunately people forget to thank God in sad times . I understand that what Raju did is deplorable and unpardonable. He should have treated business more formally and not dealt with it like a family affair . He should have been strict a couple of months or years before itself. Why did he hire so many non potential candidates and keep them on bench? When were the managers and the team mates last told that if they dont work hard, they will lose their job? Business cannot be run lousily. I have been staying with some 200 odd girls for the last 2 years and many of them are from Satyam. Moreover I network a lot and I have lots of male friends at Satyam . I have seen how people tail gate to Satyam, how they give their swipe cards to others to swipe it on their behalf , how female employees have gone home sharp at 6am irrespective of when they landed at office, how employees sit at home for months at a stretch, prepare for all kind of post graduate entrance exams and still enjoy a full month's pay, how often they went for movies at local theatres at office hours, how often employees went to office just to sign on registers in the morning and at evening, how often they faked their certificates , how often they put unlimited fake medical and house rental bills. How can we blame just one man when EACH AND EVERY person was disloyal ? How can we exclude Auditors like PwC ? How can we exclude the Board of Directors who have washed their hands off so clean? How can we exclude banks who gave hefty loans without true verfication? How can we exclude the Chief Minister of AP who allowed leniency for Raju's fellow businessman? How can we exclude managers who were never able to trace which bench employee under him had been away from office for how long ? Yet how can people forget this is the same man whose ideas and potentials gave them an identity for the past several years? How many couples found the right match at an IT industry , courtesy Satyam,how many people enjoyed the onsite experience and made money out of it and how many Andhra farmers benefited from their crores of investments in Satyam shares .How can people forget that Satyam launched its offices right at the doorsteps of a residential colony, where people can simply walk to work ? The most gruesome experience that I can recollect was when a Satyam tag wearing person was waiting to attend an interview and I overheard him saying that he was in a business meeting at the My Home Satyam ( Madhapur) office when he was sitting right infront of me at a totally different company. When employees themselves show such a lousy attitude and dont care a damn for the brand that they carry around their neck, how can they expect others to care? I am not saying that ALL Satyam employees are bad. I have known very dedicated people too, but my point is very clear, before pointing fingers at others, introspect .There are thousands of people who have completed certifications at the cost of Satyam, got trained at Satyam. Satyam made several freshers stand on their feet to get better jobs elsewhere across the globe and attain onsite exposure through Satyam. What Raju did was to keep the business of Satyam going at any cost. I see a very smart man in him when he understood that he should rather accept his mistake than be caught by the USA laws . I see a selfish father in him too that he put a lot at stake for Maytas. However, he resigned with a lot of dignity and his letter of resignation shows humility. It takes a mammoth amount of courage to accept your mistake in public at a time when the media is ready to blow everything out of proportion. If humans dont make mistakes who else would ? My last salute to this man is for creating such mass employment in India for 57k employees and 57k families when even opening a beetle(pan) shop in a lane in India is a challenge !! Thanks to him for creating income for all the thousands of families who benefited through food chains, the tiffin wallahs, the transport people and all those who made money by renting their houses.

Today Satyamites call Raju a FRAUD. The true and loyal Satyamites who have slogged day and night for work and client deliverables, surely have all the reasons to say this word. But all the rest (management, staff, employees, auditors, stakeholders) who sucked every rupee out of Satyam without doing any value addition need to understand - who was a bigger fraud.

Trust into Reserve Bank of India revived

I fought with RBI and HDFC to the last drop and got my entire money with interest back . To know how I did it , the answer is "PERSEVERENCE to the utmost level for what you feel is right"
I know almost all Banking laws around Credit and Debit Card flaws now !!
Thanks to this memorable legal experience at HDFC Bank :)

Misuse of my HDFC Debit Card

This article comes against "HDFC, Hitec City, Madhapur Branch's Security and Privacy Management". I, Komal Rastogi, have my salaried account with HDFC for the past two years. On 17th Mar 08, I realized that I couldn't locate my HDFC Debit Card and blocked the same within 10 minutes. But on checking my account details through the online banking , I realized that my card had already been misused .I approached the Madhapur branch and was told to submit an FIR , get an indemnity letter franked for Rs 200 and a written application of my card loss and the transaction in dispute.

I am a white collared female employee, who works like all other IT Service Company employees from 9am to 6pm officially but am actually at office, almost till 8pm to meet the client deadlines. But the day I realized the loss of my card, was the day when my journey towards hell began and when I realized how weak an infrastructure we have for Banking Securities

After a good perusal into my HDFC online banking I realized that on 13th Mar 08, somebody had swiped my debit card for Rs 5300 at Vega Mobile Store and Rs 500 at Sri Furniture store. The names sounded very familiar and within minutes I realized that one of the shops was in Madhapur, near Image Hospitals.

In the interest of those who are not aware , in the current scenario, HDFC Debit Cards can be swiped anywhere in the world without a pin / signature / photograph proof (So have a party if you grab your hands on somebody else's card!!)

I went to the shop and asked the shopkeeper to show me the receipt of the transaction done on 13th Mar by my Debit Card. To my extreme happiness of having an active detective brain and being an avid crime story reader or rather extreme depression, I saw the signature of a person called as "Raj Kishore". He had purchased Nokia Model No 5200, with my hard earned money. I requested the shopkeeper to give me the receipt, so that I may show my discovery to the Bank, but he told me that he could give the same only to Police or the Bank if it was a disputed transaction. However I could not locate the Sri Furniture house at all

I called the HDFC Customer service Call centre and asked for the details of both the transactions, but I was told, the only detail that they have is of the name. My first frustration with HDFC started here.

1-Why did the Bank call centre, not know what the location of incident was? If the Bank doesn't have the details, then who else will have the same?

2-Why did they have the name of the shop alone? Shouldn't they have the complete address?

Having worked as a writer before and being currently employed in the Security domain, a series of intelligent questions flashed my mind

3- How did the Bank approve two transactions from my account, when my signature on the back of the Debit Card did not match with the signature of the fraud?

4- Almost all banks have photographs of card holders embedded on Debit and Credit cards. Many also have pin numbers enabled on the same. And no transaction can take place by merely swiping a card. The entry of a pin is mandatory. Why was the right of banking granted to HDFC when their credit and debit card security was so poor? SBI , Citibank , ICICI have been offering this feature since ages

5- Why was the amount debited from my account without sending me any SMS alert? I remember I was once traveling to Delhi, and was shopping with my Hyderabad ICICI card, and the company was responsible enough to call me and confirm whether I was at Delhi and even sent me SMSes of the amount that was being spent from my cards.
HDFC is very smart in calling me / sending me thousand SMSes if I owe them money through Credit Card or if I transfer money from one account to another. Where did the diligence go when money was being debited from my account by some fraud?

I went to the Madhapur Police Station, as both incidents happened at Madhapur. Unfortunately, I got a very cold feedback from them, as mine was not a case of "theft or stolen", but was a case of "loss of debit card". That reminded me that on 12th Mar 08, around 10pm, when I was traveling alone, my handbag was stolen from Jubilee Hills check post and that my debit card might have been in that bag

I did not report to the Jubilee Hills police station about the same on 12th Mar, as I thought the bag did not contain any valuable items. I remember it had just some keys, few papers, cosmetic items and some cash. I got little scared after the bag snatching episode, and was not aware of any police station in the vicinity that was hidden.

In a world of gold chain snatching, day light killing, I rather felt thankful, that I lost only a hand bag. Moreover I had plans of weekend traveling on 14th Mar and return on 17th Mar 08 early morning

There was no question of going to office that morning. I immediately went to the Jubilee Hills Police Station and reported the case. To get an FIR(No 135A/2008) from them, it took me some 12 hours! Which Indian female would trust and report incidents at 10 pm to such a place? I would have landed spending an entire night alone, at the Police station in this case

I went to Ameerpet around 6pm to get the franking of Rs 200 done and then went back to the HDFC Bank after following all their formalized standards

To my utter dismay, I was told that the FIR was not sealed by any Police officer and the Bank would not accept the same. I felt like crying right there as I had reached a breaking point of my courage level. Thankfully the Bank employee saw my watery eyes and got the FIR stamped for me the next day

But worse was still to come. After 15 days I was told that the Insurance had rejected my case as it was a case of "customer negligence". What was the new discovery in this? I myself accepted that I lost my card. I had filed the case for "Bank negligence" for giving my money to some fraud without even the slightest use of authentication

In frustration, I broke down to tears in front of the Bank Manager, the staff and the overcrowded Bank. In return I was told stupid consoling statements like:
1- Madam , please be careful next time
2- Madam be happy that you lost just Rs 5800 (alias Rs 6000+ if I include the Rs 200 of Franking, auto drives, loss of pay from office etc). You are really lucky , there are people who lose lakhs

The appropriate answer to the above is:

6- Where was the Bank not careful for the money that a customer is keeping in the custody of the Bank?
7- If people lose lakhs, then it truly shows that the Banks security policies need a very sound revision. What level of authentication and authorization is done by the Bank before transferring money from one account o another? (I.e. from my account to the shopkeepers account?)

As a layman I did enough investigation to even tell the model number of the phone that was purchased by my money .Who is the vendor for HDFC insurance who couldn't decipher the difference between a fraud and an authentic user?

I was told my FIR was not worded clearly and I should get an amendment to the FIR as to why there was a delay in blocking the card. The one line answer to it was "I DID NOT realize n 12th Mar that I lost my card. I am an educated person and know that card losses should be reported immediately. I blocked it, on 17th Mar , the day I realized the same"

Needless to mention, my experience at the Police Station , I resubmitted he FIR(No 135B/2008), with the inclusion of that one line

After 2 months of no reply from the Bank, I went to Bank in person. And to my add to my agony, I was told that it's been rejected second time by Insurance due to "Customer Negligence"

8- My final question to the Bank – Is the customer not supposed to be sent a simple mail or phone cal if his / her case has been rejected / approved? Is the customer expected to stand in queues and beg day and night for updates?

The Bank refuses to allow customers to have direct interaction with the Insurance people as they are a back end body. Fine, then who the hell will give me the ground / reason for rejection?

9- Would the same treatment be offered to NRI or Foreign consumers? In such cases, HDFC would have been on its nerves. Why the same efforts are not made for Indian consumers?

If HDFC, in US or any other country of the world, which s aware of Customer Financial Security is caught of taking the customers on a ride like this, banks like HDFC will lose their credibility, in seconds, but in India, EVERY mistake is of the customer. The Police work at its sweet pace and the Banks are having a gala time

I accepted long back that I lost my card but the biggest mistake I made was to bank with an organization which does not have its "security policies, compliances, identity and access management, authentication, authorization, integrity, notification and risk governance" in place. In a nutshell, there entire "Security and Privacy Service Management" needs a sincere revision

I have taken this case to the Reserve Bank of India Ombudsman forum already and am in the process of taking it to the consumer forum too. The amount may be small, but the person who earns it, knows the value of the same

I have a very genuine question to the higher authorities who grant rights to these new upcoming private banks as to why a proper methodology or standard is not followed while giving Banking / Card distribution rights to Banks like HDFC, who are not following the latest market security trends?

If one private bank can follow a standard then why can't the other?
Debit Cards are not just Plastic Cash that any Tom, Dick, Harry, who grabs his hand on the same, can swipe it, without signature / pin/ photograph authentication. We truly need to question the Bank to change its existing unsecured cards and make them safer in the interest of its lakhs of users

Politics Unlimited ...

As a child, I used to wonder why people don’t like speaking their thoughts and mind openly. Why I was always seen with either mocking eyes or with eager eyes whenever I showed people the mirror. Today after ages of thought giving and experience, I understood how complicated things are..Everything is POLITICS. People don’t like involving themselves in matters of others . They like being dominated. They allow people to dominate them. People don’t want to be leaders. They don’t want to spoil their impression by saying anything against their managers or seniors

The dictionary meaning of the word says – “Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions on who gets what”, but in the real world, it is the dirtiest deed that happens. I saw the very early signs of it at College and now at working environments

It really takes a big heart to raise a voice and even bigger to do anything to make your point make sense to all. Will wait for the day when people will awaken to unmindful politics and have the confidence that this life can be made useful to another soul

By being a victim to one wrong deed and bearing it silently, you are actually encouraging the other guy to learn to treat others like shit

All I can say as a bottomline is ..."Halla Bol – speak out loud for any injustice you bear ” before its way too late !

Faith in Chilkur Balaji Temple

Most of my articles reflect how much I am proud of the heritage that I belong to and the million year old faith and believes which have been passed on from one generation to another
While people in different parts of the world like mountaineering and rock climbing just to conquer a hill , in India people of all age set such targets in the name of God . Be it the 22kms rocky roads of Vaishno Devi Mata Temple , the snow covered Amarnath Temple requiring intensive rock clibing or the muddy roads of Poorna Giri Temple , people of all age continue walking and climbing almost all round the year . Rich or Poor , Young or Old , Indians continue showing such applaudable religious feats almost each day in India
My most recent experience was the visit to the Chilkur Balaji Temple alias Visa God . Why Visa God ? Coz according to the temple history , almost all IT professionals visiting the temple had got an onsite opportunity within a year of visting the temple .The faith here is that if a person makes 11 rounds of the entire temple and prays with some wish in mind then that wish comes true . After the 11 rounds , he / she is fit to worship God And incase if the wish comes true , one should make 108 rounds of the entire temple .

108 rounds sounded absolutely crazy to me on first sight . The funny and weird thing is that such a faith is just passed on by word of mouth . Not even a single scripture says that this is the real story and still one can find people making 108 rounds in huge groups like a massive marathon
Who doesnt have dreams and unfulfilled desires ? I too decided to make 108 rounds with a piece of paoer in my hand to mark each round completion . But unconsciously ,what I learnt that day , I cant forget ever in my life

1- Only when you have to know how much you want something or someone , you know what it is to pray like this , bare foot for someone
2- 108 rounds means atleast 4-5 hours of walking in the sun at normal pace . Hard work is the key to success but do we ever concentrate on giving this much physical pain to achieve something which only hard work can really pay ? This is called as "Sheer Faith" and the desire for the Magical to happen
3- The biggest eye opener was the sight of physicaly challenged people walking on one stick , crying in pain and yet doing the rounds . Only God knows what stamina he has given to the humna body and mind . Infact this again shows the beauty of will power
4- Ladies with tiny toddlers walking aound the temple must have made some real resolution that even the cry of their child doesnt stop them from putting an end to the tiring and exhausting walk
5- There is no drinking water , no medical aid and no availablity of food , yet people want nothing . All they know is that the unexpected will happen by the small pain to the body
6- Its a tradition to offer coconuts and flowers to God here and there are no shops inside the temple . So all the people who are making the rounds in sweat and the heat also carry the heavy coconuts that should be offered to God after the prayers . Only the poor fingers can tell the true story
7- There is no derth of the medically unfit people who want to get cured by these rounds . What amazes me is from where they get this amount of energy to walk so much ? Truely it doesnt involve normal human power or energies
8- Skinny people , whom in normal day I would prefer to assume that they would faint at the drop of a hat , also move with the same zeal and the even magical thing I noticed was that even though , people saw other fellow collegues fainting , yet everyone wanted to take the task to its completion
Somewhere Faith and Belief can drive a person to do the impossible . So far I just saw the craze in people to do everything under the Sun to get things in a smarter way but my faith will become staunch if one day the wish I prayed for comes true
I feel very proud that our nation has such a rich heritage where good beliefs and faiths are passed on from generation to another with or without scriptures . Even if the rounds did no fulfilment of dreams , atleast it kindled into many a feeling tht they can do what they want to do .
Above all , that was the day I learnt what Love is ..... what Dreams are and above all what is the meaning of Emotional Bonding , because every person in that temple was surely praying for their loved ones whether close or far

Kudos to Johny Gaddar :)

I am an absolute movie freak who should actually get a movie hall pass just the way people get railway pass , metro pass and student pass . By luck , I came across a friend who praised this movie and I am grabbing the chance to make this movie popular to other readers . This movie is a real icing to the cake of the hundreds of good Indian movies . It has a very exceptionl plot and an even more gripping story line
In a nutshell , its an absolutely amazing movie . I am really very happy to see such a splendid piece of art by our Bollywood industry . The most paltabale thing about the movie is the Screenplay and the Direction .
In every part of the movie , one will wonder that the suspect will get caught in the next scene but every time the director brings forth a trap to eliminate the witness itself
There are no real songs and no running around trees in this movie and yet with the very nominal star cast the writer manages to carve a special niche for the movie .
Story Writer, Pooja Surti and Director Sriram Raghavan deserve a real hand of applause for reaching very close to the more practical and the more Hollywood kinda approach . Even the very nouveau actors Neil Mukesh and Soniya Rakkad have added stars to the movie . Soniya who mostlly adorns Ekta Kapoors serials as an absolute canniving lady portrays here a very different warm feminine character
All in all , the movie is worth the ticket cost . Hope film makers keep making good movies like this and give me and my friends more chance to spend weekends at the theatres :)

Advertisements (Commercials) make me mad :)

Half the world watches Television for soaps , music , dance etc . I primarily watch Television for Ads and I feel very lucky that I found a friend with whom I can discuss any ad that I love .I stay at a hostel so see very few ads but am planning to buy a Television exclusively to watch Ads !

I simply adore the way the current system works . Some Ads between some soaps or some between News clippings is the perfect flavor to the tongue , just like well garnished salads between yummy meals . Its a very good respite to see how one man's thoughts have the capability to keep the other person in absolutely another part of the world engaged for 3 to 5 minutes . And the most captivating ones are those which keep you guessing till the end

The bigger challenge is faced by the news papers , where the sole medium of transmission are few words , no speech , no ears and still if their ads are able to hold the reader then the target is achieved

Its my personal observation that the standard of ads has really improved in making the product really enticing . We have really come rungs up from mere selling of product to actually making it "wanted"

Relaince , Airtel , Idea ads are in the top of the innovative list of Ads

Ad agency are no more restricted only to fair skin and beauty display . There is more personal touch attached to them . There is more awareness among the normal gentry and its not a child's play to fool the intelligensia . Public is now smart to understand the false endorsements

At the same time , some big names have made ads as their full time business for making money . Its really sad coz none wants to watch stupid advertisements just for the heck of watching their favourite star endorsing an absolutely pathetic product . Big or small stars , for stupid ads , there is just one object that needs to be groped for ,and that is the "Remote" !

All in all , the advertising agencies are coming a long way and ad lovers like me and my pals are having wale of a time watching and buying well advertised products !

Similarity brought us close like never before !

Like ever , my grandmother brought a fourth bird to my house in the cold winters of February and caged the poor featherless thing in a cage ten times its size . Only a caged bird understands what an animal at the other end of the zoo bars goes through .. only a prisoner knows how much the world can curtail its freedom. The first words that I shouted on seeing this chick like yellow small creature was , "Send it back! . Dont cage it ."

I had my reasons at that age for saying the above . In hindi its a saying , a parrot is the most disloyal creature . Leave it open for 3 seconds , and it flies away . Somehow , my father felt that I was the parrot of the house ..disloyal to his teachings . Again the frustrated Ko , replied "Then who asks you to tame and prison parrots when you hate them so much?"

Still the tiny yellow creature peeped and tried opening its eyes and tried staring at the girl who was fighting for his freedom . Night fell and the tiny creature was shivering in cold struggling to hunt its dear mother . On the other end , I was holding the college book and gazing at it and realising the similarity between this fella and myself . Both hunting for our mothers !

So far , I didnt bother to touch it . But this mother hunt pushed me to close my books . I opened the cage and picked up the featherless chick into my hands and realised it was very cold . I took a rack in which we bought 10 kg wheat grains the previous day and covered up the creature. The poor thing was on cloud nine . It slept in a matter of 5 minutes in my hand . For the first time , someone accompanied me on that lonely bed and I actually felt a sudden kick in my stomach .

Early morning , something was squeaking . Gosh ! Did I kill the poor thing ? I was a champion at rolling over the bed and taking a roller coster ride on the same . Thankfully No ! The tiny creature was hungry perhaps . Papa and grandma were still asleep .

The motherly Ko , was awakening in me .I took some wheat flour and dipped it in water and decided to feed this fella . I had never fed anyone before so didnt know whether what I feeding him was right or wrong . Still the squeals made me mad and I opened its mouth and shoved the semi liquid thing into its mouth . The hungry beast wanted more and more . Then I realised the batter was drying in its tiny mouth . I ran for water and a spoon and this spoon was enough to be a pillar for this guys home . Instantly , my eyes paused at my ink dropper and I dipped it in water and filled it with it and made this thirsty soul taste the divine liquid . I never ever felt such a peaceful moment before than this sight of feeding a kid in my arms .

I wanted to cojole it and call it names . I somehow wanted to call him Beta .. Beti .. Mitthoo .. Parrot like all others ... But I was not sure of its sex .. He was such a Petu ( with a tummy growing bigger while eating ) ... Petu alias BETU sounded best and cutest .. Yes that was gonna be my betu... Komal's Betu !

It was as if heaven had opened its doors for me and given me my best pal and my cutest baby and made me a very young and responsible mom . I shall never be able to forget the first plumes of green feathers , the first stiffness of the beak , the appearance of the black belt around my baby that proved that it was a male , the first time my baby wanted to unfold its tiny wings and fly inside my bed room , the first time my baby wanted to suck my tongue and each night when this baby learnt to open the cage and sleep next to me , his sister , his mom , his friend , his girl friend ... his so assumed - she parrot !

This is the beauty and the power of love . Even today I can talk like a parrot . I have started understanding the bird lingo . I know what they like and what they dislike . Some of the most memorable times were those when he sat on my books and put my stationary in his mouth and hit it on my head every time I dosed on those books and made them as a cushion !

He knew how to talk like me and how to use human language , how to laugh , sing , dance , cry and even sneeze and cough. The cutest of his activities was sleeping upright on the bed , with feet in the air and the funniest of all was when he learnt to say " I love you , Komal" .. " I want to kiss you" .. " Baby Baby Baby , where are you " ( ofcourse all of the above are in Hindi and spoken with sugar coated honey dipped words)

I truly have shared the best of my lives moments with my dear Betu . From tearing of books , to shitting all over my table and bed .. From breaking the cage door to flying all over and coming back to the cage .. From listening to my boring chats to listening to my tears , Betu and his young mom have come a long way !

Sometimes even I believe , there is a rebirth .. a reincarnation .. and if this concept was even little bit true , I want to get a human form again in next life and be with my betu forever after

I hope people stop reiterating age old superstitions amd myths that created a prejudice in my mind to hate this creature's breed as my father compared them for disloyalty .

Loyalty cannot be pushed into the head . Its imbibed . Only Love breeds Love . I can vouch on what I am going to say next .... Even if you set my betu free , he will either come back to my bed room or fly to reach its foster mom in whichever part of the world I am !

I always wanted to put a stone in my heart and set him free but because he has never truly learnt to fly , he is now not capable of protecting himself from the pangs of the wild eagles and hawks

Sometimes I feel God made this naive creatures so that they would prick our human souls and awaken our hearts to learn the silent and simple lessons of Love from these selfless creatures !

Love you my Betu !

Business Making Shared Autos at Hyderabad

The beautiful Hyderabad, every year, invites hundreds of out-station candidates, with its exceptional job opportunities and the lure of making a good career. An amazing, simple and highly developing city has a lot yet to be explored

The formation of Hitec City has given jobs not only to the enthusiastic youth from different parts of India but has also done immense good to the poor people especially the autowallas

There are varied opinions about the auto experience in this city. One has two options either to take a private auto or a shared auto. Both currently have analog meters with a starting price of minimum Rs 10. However the Government is on loggerheads to change these to digital Meters. Lets wait and watch when does this happen

In the interest of those who don’t know what is an auto. Here is my portrayal of it. A small vehicle which should be used as a three-seater with the same functioning as a normal scooter, except that instead of having one pillion seat, it has a capacity of three … instead of two wheels, it has three wheels, and instead of being started with a kick by the leg , it starts by a pull of a rod like element by the hand.


God forbid, if you take a private auto, and the auto driver is money minded guy, you will get to see the whole of Hyderabad, even if your destination was just opposite to the point where you started! For private auto from Cyber Towers to Venunburg IT Park, 5 kms far, it’s minimum Rs 30

The theoretical concept of sharing means supposing many people want to go the same destination, they can divide the cost of the meter by the number of people traveling. But it needs real patience to understand how it works at Hyderabad.

The first noticeable feature is they won’t have a meter at all! They have decided destination wise. If you are commuting anywhere from Cyber Towers to Venunburg IT Park, you will be charged Rs 5, but if your destination is within 1 km, they will be liberal to charge you Rs 4

The funny thing about shared autos is mostly you wont ever find autowallas is their uniform. They will take minimum five people in the auto, and without that they won’t even budge an inch. Don’t gasp! I will explain the how part of it. That means Rs 50 for back and forth journey to a destination of max 5 kms. Come on three people in backseat, is pretty normal guys.

Hyderabad Hitec City is very sweet to females. They want to see more and more females joining the IT industry to bring an equal male: female ratio. So the dear autowallas take three females in the backseat and make two males perched on either side. And the poor guys just hold the horizontal rod on the top of the auto, which was officially meant to hold the roof of the tiny auto and the other hand they put around the autowalla. And believe it or not there is perfect harmony between the three guys

We should really appreciate their faith in the driver, that come what puddles and jolts, they won’t fall. Also we should applaud their nasal buds. Most auto drivers are poor people and don’t take regular shower and God forbid if you have put on extra calories by eating your favorite sandwiches , pizzas and coke provided free of cost by the office ! You will be forced to squeeze yourself in else shell out the Rs 30 yourself

The beauty of human adjustment doesn’t end here. If the considerate autowallas see one more female waiting in the sun, they request the 3 people behind to squeeze in to create space. How can they see her skin getting tanned? After all they know how much she’s spending on cosmetics! Their considerate part ends there! There is no consideration in the auto ticket. All 6 pay Rs 5 each.

If you thought this is the end, you are absolutely wrong! Even males want consideration. We are a democratic country. If one skinnier male is standing in the sun, be assured that the Divine autowallas will offer you a seat. The two men can surely adjust!

End... Naah! There’s more. One more guy waiting. The autowallas will catch such targets with their eagle sharp sight and request the guy on the left to compromise as the guy on the right is! Its unfair right, that one side there are two guys and the other side has just one! So the autowalla will take a special angle just to be able to start the auto, and here you go! You now have 9 people in the auto each ready to pay Rs 5

9 is an odd number. It doesn’t sooth the eyes right? Perhaps we should have space just for one more. Indians have a big heart and a bigger heart for compromising guys. Chill! Don’t worry.

Comes another destination, and one skinnier guy standing Most would expect the auto, not to stop. But as usual you guessed it wrong. The wheels will halt even if you are gasping for breath in that overloaded vehicle .Needless to mention the touch of the creepy males who sit in these compact autos just to touch the females here or there, the air conditioned seat is still empty!

The guy also pulls his specs to see where is the space for him to squeeze in but the auto walla gives the same “guest is god” grin and makes the skinny guy hold on the horizontal rod which was designed by the auto inventor for base support to the vehicle . Yes you are right .this time; we are talking about the Air conditioned seat. After all you also have to reach your destination on time, right? Also the skinny guy didn’t get this body just like that. He is used to aerobics guys!

In total all these 9 people pay the guy Rs 45, which comes to Rs 90 to both ways for a total drive of just 10 kms in about 30 minutes. Now think what was your daily pay for working for 9 hours at that office? Say around Rs 500 daily and hourly around Rs 65 and Rs 33 half hourly

So think and break your heads who is earning more? Even with minimum five people, these guys make Rs 25 in 30 minutes and we make Rs 33 and with the overloaded autos in peak office hours they make Rs 90 in 30 minutes and we still make Rs 33!!!

Nevertheless the autowallas are doing a lot good to the commuters who want to travel frequesntly and economically

If you are suddenly thinking to buy an auto, don’t think you are the only one thinking on those lines! And don’t forget my commission for suggesting you ideas! After all apni India is ever forever compromising, for ever hospitable , for ever adjusting and for ever in a hurry to reach just a few minutes around the IST !

Godly Touch

Blessed are those who get the motherly love , the fatherly care , the sisterly respect , the brotherly support , relatives faith and the grandparents guidance . Only with the presence of all this around , we proceed with our lives with a peaceful mind Ask a child who had none .. Also ask a child who had all , but the warmth of each of the above was missing . With both parents working and all siblings living to meet the competitive standards of the world around and even more than the above , communication gap may be a reason for a lot many young girls and boys to faulter in adolescence Golden were the olden days when the families had a caring house mother , who would wait for the door bell to ring , and flung her arms open to hug the kids . This is the electronic and the IT age . Most couples are not available to enjoy that magical moment . Its either official or business commitments and all that welcomes a child is a House Lock , which he /she has to unlock him/herself Also the parents of the couple are either in different cities or the couple themselves choose to have their share of privacy and live in nuclear family . Here is a small but real story Tiya dreamt of conquering the world , wanted to gain immense fame but always wanted a living persona to confirm her actions , her thoughts ,her dreams and above all a patient listener who would approve and advice . Communication gap , Busy office hours and non availability of time for emotions , drew away the Career Oriented Parents , from the dream world living girl . Moreover , Physical expression of anger , unnecessary scoldings , avoidable beatings , frustration and mechanical live style , drifted the young girl to find solace in school friends . The mother daughter bonding never happened in growing formative years when it was needed most , there was no way that now Tiya could bank on the mothers shoulders in adolescence . Friend Circle grew day by day . School staff said , it was a "second home" , " a home away from home" .. the tiny mind of Tiya always rephrased it as "first home" , "the only home". Atleast the teachers and the friends saw a spark in the girl and encouraged to move to higher avenues in life For the external world , the worldly eyes saw a very normal family , but from inside things were rotting . Getting to rot to the core . It was soon time to leave school .. time to leave best confidants . Once again it was the birth of the next generation of young ladies and young males who had the fire to do something and make a living Youth phase came spedily in full bloom and College life awaited with several times more enthusiasm . An altogether new phase started . So far only thoughts and intelligence was admired at school but college saw a different admiration . The most awaited phase of a girls life , the appreciation of beauty by fellow male collegues , the never moving eyes of the spectators , the acclamation of the batch mates and the glued vision of even the unknown . The opposite pole attraction waves started moving steadily at the speed of lightenting . Thhe uncanny waves may be misleading , they may lead you to the safe harbour or may throw you at the defunct one Unfortunately the latter happened . The young naive boat took the route shown by any & every wave that seemed soothing and comforting in times of thunder , and Tiya gave that wave a full control . The shores were rough and were way too many . The boat was toyed and tainted so much that for her it became adventourous . The boat just wanted the feeling of being wanted and the loving caress of the beaming shores to rest in peace . She was like a free bird , none watching , none to create any boundaries and none to sit through the rights and the wrongs and above all still no peace ! Down home , all saw the bodily existence but the emotions were wrapped in stiff muslin cloth with several foldings . Had the mother ever stepped down from the professional duties to a motherly duty and had the father ever seen the world beyond just making a living , perhaps the young girl would have felt her limitations The faith in the institution of marriage is most often , lost in such kids , who have lived much more than they have actually seen . Marriage was a nothing more than a sheer mechanical phase of life
The young girl started running away from her parents to explore her dreams . She didnt want to be party, any more to the mechanical life where emotions were given least importance and life was totally undirectional .
Finally after years of rough phases , God decided to be flexible .The undirectional phase of life was about to end . God Himself decided to send His own harbinger to take care of His girl baby . The girl who had just given and given in the lure of getting back love
By luck and extreme destiny Tiya met God in the disguise of a mentor . The exploration of common interests and complimentary qualities , gelled the chemistry like an unbreakable bond . The impossible Godly touch was finally happening .But Tiya was scared that her doomed past and family relations would ruin the Godly Touch and drift the dream man away . The very thought sadded Tiya . Its aptly said truth speaks for itself and in hard times the person by our side , is the truest if friends
After the relevation of Truth , Lady Love started smiling and now there was no earthly bolster to spoil the relation . Its a true saying that when you want to achieve something from heart , the whole world around you unknowingly starts pooling in to help.
The Harbinger cared for the girl like a fairy and promised to be by her side whenever she faultered . The Godly touch made the girl feel so precious and made her gain a lot of the lost self confidence . All that he did was pure , genuine , selfless love .
The dreams got a direction , life got a reason and social boundaries got drawn .The harbinger was a package of all father , mother , family love , all bound in one human body . The only dream now , was not to let go off this Godly touch away even for a nanosecond . The fear of seclusion , isolation was gone and only happiness and a sense of security had filled every nook and corner of the heart and the body .
Only few are lucky to get such people around be it as life partners , parents , siblings, God Fathers , God Mothers or friends as true guides . The young girl found the dream man after facing a lot of self created or situational created miseries . The old retired parents are yet to find the daughter with whom they never built the emotional bonding !
Its a small but a very true message :

Hatred can only whine , Love is blind , But only true Love can bind ! Lets not get so involved in our jobs and build such a thick wall that even our lovables cant break those walls . Life is very small and very unpredicatable . The Godly touch may come to some but not to all .. Wouldnt it be a great idea if instead of waiting for the Magical Godly touch to happen , we ourselves start the touch for others around us and make this Earth as Gods own abode !