Life's Little Instruction Manual..

Its been ages since I have written on my own blog. I guess I am spending too much time on my short story blog these days. :) I found this beautiful piece of life's intsructions' on my friend Fahad's blog. So I borrowed it from him. Hope you guys like this. I have italicized my favorite parts.

Have a firm handshake.

Look people in the eye.

Sing in the shower.

Own a great stereo system.

If in a fight, hit first and hit hard.

Keep secrets.

Never give up on anybody. Miracles happen everyday.

Always accept an outstretched hand.

Be brave. Even if you're not, pretend to be. No one can tell the difference.

Whistle.

Avoid sarcastic remarks.

Choose your life's mate carefully. From this one decision will come 90 per cent of all your happiness or misery.

Make it a habit to do nice things for people who will never find out.

Lend only those books you never care to see again.

Never deprive someone of hope; it might be all that they have.

When playing games with children, let them win .

Give people a second chance, but not a third.

Be romantic.

Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.

Loosen up. Relax. Except for rare life-and-death matters, nothing is as important as it first seems.

Don't allow the phone to interrupt important moments. It's there for your convenience, not the caller's.

Be a good loser.

Be a good winner.

Think twice before burdening a friend with a secret.

When someone hugs you, let them be the first to let go.

Be modest. A lot was accomplished before you were born.

Keep it simple.

Beware of the person who has nothing to lose.

Don't burn bridges. You'll be surprised how many times you have to cross the same river.

Live your life so that your epitaph could read, No Regrets

Be bold and courageous. When you look back on life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the one's you did.

Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.

Remember no one makes it alone. Have a grateful heart and be quick to acknowledge those who helped you.

Take charge of your attitude. Don't let someone else choose it for you.

Visit friends and relatives when they are in hospital; you need only stay a few minutes.

Begin each day with some of your favorite music.

Once in a while, take the scenic route.

Send a lot of Valentine cards. Sign them, 'Someone who thinks you're terrific.'

Answer the phone with enthusiasm and energy in your voice.

Keep a note pad and pencil on your bed-side table. Million-dollar ideas sometimes strike at 3 a.m.

Show respect for everyone who works for a living, regardless of how trivial their job.

Send your loved ones flowers. Think of a reason later.

Make someone's day by paying the toll for the person in the car behind you.

Become someone's hero.

Marry only for love.

Count your blessings.

Compliment the meal when you're a guest in someone's home.

Wave at the children on a school bus.

Remember that 80 per cent of the success in any job is based on your ability to deal with people.

Don't expect life to be fair. (This is the ultimate one)

I Miss Mehico…

The one thing that I have really liked about my MBA course has been the summer internship program. I had the wonderful opportunity to work in Mexico. I should thank the MBA management for providing me that opportunity. We were a team of 3 MBAs and 1 graduate student. We worked with a scientific organization called CICY in the beautiful sea-side town of Merida which is very near to the famous tourist destination of Cancun Islands. Merida is a super green place with so many trees and bushes growing all over the place.

We worked with some great scientists who had made great innovations. We developed our feasibility study for their innovations and presented it to them which they liked it very much. This 3 month experience is very close to my heart as I found Mexico very similar to India. I have listed down some places in Merida which will always be dear to me.

1. Botanical Garden @ CICY – CICY had a beautiful 4 hectare botanical garden which hosted many different types of insects reptiles and birds. I always took a walk after my lunch into this piece of heaven. And whenever I walk inside the heavenly abode, I am reminded so much of my mother. She would have really liked place and its greenery.



2. Downtown CENTRO – Merida had a beautiful downtown Centro. On all Sundays and Mondays, the streets would be blocked off and people would dance there wearing their traditional dress. It was a pleasure watching even small kids dance. There were lots of shops in that place with lots of things to buy.



3. Progresso – This beautiful beach lay 20 miles off the north coast of Merida. I was absolutely stunned to see a pure white sand beach and the greenish blue sea. This is a must go destination for any person visiting this city. The big fish lunch at any one of the local restaurants is also not be missed. ;)



4. Uxmal – This is a beautiful pyramid built by Mayans 1000 years ago. It’s a marvelous piece of architecture and it resembled so much like the various temples that we have in India.



5. 500 – This was a karaoke club. I had great fun singing up there. ;)



I would also want to thank all the scientist and Gaby(PA to the Director general) who helped us a lot. Also I would like to mention the super efforts our Mexican team member, GINA, who took so much effort in helping us communicate with the scientist (as most of them spoke Spanish only). On the whole, it was one of my best experiences and I would cherish this for a long time to come.

Blonde Cut..

There have always been some differences between life in India and US of A. I am going through a process of getting used to this wonderful place though memories of India always linger with me all the time. But there are certain things that I have seen in US that I never could have imagined to happen to me in India and I experienced one of that quite recently.

I had gone a barber shop to get a hair-cut last week. The hair cut experience has always horrified me.. by just looking at the different styles of hair-cut my friends have here. I have heard of many stories where the barbers ask their customers 1, 2 or 3 and then style their hair accordingly which sometimes look like a well shaven tree. But the last week’s experience was a very good one! :)

I had a hair cut from a blonde gal!!! I could have never imagined that in my entire life that I could have had this experience ;) She did her job really well. It amazes me to see how many opportunities women have here compared to India. I hope one day I get my hair cut in India from a woman barber and that would only be the perfect way of having 33% proper reservation.

My Love.. My Life.. My Mother.. :)

It is said that god cannot be with every person (impossible considering 6 billion people ;) ), so he created mother in his form for every person on this planet.. but to me my MOM is above god.. ;) For me my mom is my first teacher and most importantly my BEST friend. She listens to all my problems patiently, understands me and offers me thoughtful solutions. The days when I just have walked with her to the nearby temples.. has provided me so much peace and joy which can hardly be described in words. :)

Shez protected me all her life.. I still remember the time when she broke her little finger protecting my head when we tumbled down the stairs at our ancestral home :( She took me running to the doc when I had bouts of never ending flus in delhi.. Even now, when I speak with her, the first question she asks me is..” chellam, epiddi irukae” ;) Mom.. I MISS U A LOT!!

I still remember the time when I was young, when she used to bowl me out in a game of cricket. And after I insisted that I was not-out ;) she used to re-bowl slowly so that I cud hit for a SIX!! ;) I also remember how she used to rush back home if she had gone out anywhere.. lest I shud wake up alone and cry.. My sweet mom.. ;)

For me to do an MBA in US.. itself is a dream. But behind the dream, is the hard work of my mom who used to sit up endlessly teaching me. But she taught me more in life. Her stories of various great people, about her life and her views has made me the person I am today. She has sacrificed going to so many marriage receptions if they would fall next to my exam dates.. Thank you amma ;)

How can anybody forget mom’s fud ;) I would just eat ladies finger curry till my 12th grade and she had gladly obliged by making that curry so many many times ;) She cooks the most delicious fud.. My sis wud vouch for that ;) I guess shez got that from my grand-ma..

Shez been a stickler for cleanliness and discipline. To see a person so meticulous in cooking and keeping up the home is truly amazing. I guess even if I work at 5% efficiency of my mom, I would reach the high-paying jobs soon :)

When I was a kid.. I used to ask my mom how much she luved me.. She used to push her 2 hands outwards to the max and say this much.. I used to be so happy.. For perhaps, now I realize that she had meant that I was her world ;) I luv u so much AMMA.. I hopefully will see you soon ;) TAKE CARE..

An Year ON…

Exactly an year ago I started from my own singara Chennai to the land of wishes and dreams, the US. I never knew that my next one year of my life would be a roller-coaster of a ride. Though in my mind I felt that the journey would be very short and I would return home soon, I knew that I was setting sail to a new destination like Columbus ;) and things would be different that what I had imagined. The last year’s experiences outside home in a very challenging course have really molded me as a person. In this process I have also met many of my new friends and better understood life and people.

When I came to US, I desperately missed my sis and parents and the Chennai’s lifestyle. It seemed to me as if I had to live 20 kms away from Chengalpattu, in a remote village. Soon, I was way too engrossed in my MBA course that life went ahead so quickly. I had lots of moments to cheer about like the potluck dinner that we wud have and the trips to Mt.Lemmon and Grand Canyon. I really cherished my India trip last December, where in I felt that I had regained my life and soul back again. The walk through T.Nagar uplifted my ragged soul and soon I was enjoying my life again. The next few months in US were really nice and a couple of MIS course more relating to my previous work really got me going... :)

My internship in Mexico was the best thing to happen. When I got down from the airport, I felt a familiar hot and humid air breezing through me. Wow! I thought I had landed in Chennai!! ;) This Mexican town is so green that I really feel like I am living in a paradise. I am just enjoying my internship, though I wish to return to Tucson and then to India soon.. :)

An year down the line, I wish I would get a job in a city which is more crowded and where you wud get all the things that you want in a nearby annachi store like in Chennai ;) . Strange wish though.. ;) I guess NJ or any city in California would be a gud place to live.. And also I wish that my mom and dad would soon join me in US :).. Life is all about wishes.. Ain't it?? ;)

GRANDest of all CANYONs..

There have been so many places in this world where I have gone and wondered the marvel of god's creations, but this place just blew me off!! I would call it the grandest of all canyons. Our trip to grand canyon was a long six hour drive from my place. The road climbing up the mountain was picturesque and dotted with mountains on both sides of the road. It was about evening time, that we reached this place. When we reached the creek overlooking the canyon, I noticed a strange starry look on my friend’s face. I too had the same look after 5 secs when I reached there :)

It was most similar to MadhuBala’s reaction from the ROJA in the opening scene of pudhu vellai mazhai song (filmy tuch ;) ). What a beauty.. What a marvelous piece from the god’s architectural closet. The evening twilight added to the beauty of the canyon. The reddish pink color on the canyon gave it some real life. I bent deep to look how far down the gorge went down, I guess it would have been about 3000-4000 feet deep. I and my friends took some pics up there. Then,we headed to the I-Max theatre for a 30 min documentary of the grand canyon. The opening sequence when the camera scooped along the colarado river was awesome.



The next morning we headed right to the Bright Angel Trail. The trail had 3 sections and we decided to walk only the first part of it. The walk down the hill was the easiest part, the tough one was yet to cum... We eventually reached the end of the first part after walking down for about 45 minutes and then after some rest started our way back. The way up was more difficult but I guess it was a good trek. Next time we gonna hike there, we plan to camp down there for a nite..

We could not catch a helicopter or rafting ride(as it needed prior reservations) in there but all in all, I had the chance to visit one of the best god made wonders of this world and it’s definitely a must-go destination.

Vivah - an eternity.

I recently watched an awesome movie - VIVAH. The movie is about a very young couple who are soon to be wedded through an arranged marriage. The movie starts of beautifully capturing the very delicate scenes of the time between their engagement and their marriage. Tragedy strikes when the bride sustains 40% burn injuries in a fire accident just before the marriage. However, the groom goes ahead, showers the bride with all the love in the world and marries her. Its one of the very meaningful movies that I have seen recently, though it sometimes drags a little too much :)

When I was speaking about this movie to my friend, he mentioned that the things shown in the movie hardly take place these days. I guess that's the truth. But I guess times have changed wherein a gal getz to know the guy more than they used to in the past. Speaking about marriage and life, I remember another movie that so typically portrays the current marriage situation. The movie, Parthiban Kanavu, shows a person who wants to get married to a very beautiful modern,outgoing gal, but ends up marrying a homely gal who looks the same as the modern gal. All the drama follows and finally the movie ends up with the hero understanding that he was very much lucky to get a homely gal in his life.

I feel that marriage changes a person's life. With so many divorce cases, especially in IT industry, I guess it is very important to choose the right person in your life. I hope all my friends and people around me find their right choices in their life and be happy forever :)

A for.. Ashutosh Gowarikar

All of us know what A for means. But to me it means Ashutosh Gowarikar, the genius behind one of the toughest made movies of this century, Lagaan. I know my article is a little late on epic movie but I happened to watch "The making of Lagaan". A 2 hour documentary on the in-numerous struggles Ashutosh went across to complete his movie. He explains in the video as to how he broke the four basic rules of hindi movies that 1. Period movies could NOT be made commercially successful. 2. Movies cannot be made on sports 3. Heroes cannot be simple villagers and last and the most important point that mainstream hindi movies cannot be made in any other dialect apart from hindi. Ashutosh broke all these paradigms and created an awesome piece of history that would even be talked about, 50 years from now. I salute a person who had such a superb vision and had the capability to execute it.

His partner in this adventurous venture was the one and only aamir khan, who also went on to produce the movie(for he thought that nobody else would dare produce such a crazy movie). The documentary video goes on to show the struggles of movie making right fron the casting, to the movie making part of it. Each day in the shooting process was adventurous and very much demanding. In the middle of the movie shooting schedule, Ashutosh has a slip disc and is advised a month's rest but he goes on to direct the movie lying on a bed. Truly sensational stuff!! The movie after all its struggles, is successfully released in theater where it becomes one the biggest hits in indian movie history. Its tremendous success leads to it being nominated for Oscars, in the category for best foreign movie. Unfortunately though, it lost the Oscar award by a whisker.

Ashutosh has not turned back since then, and has directed another scintillating movie.. Jodha Akbar, a movie of sheer class and pure history. Its a story of a mughal prince and a rajput princess, whom destiny brings together and it has become one of the best love stories, Bollywood has ever seen. This story is a reminder to our divided nation of how hindus and muslims have had a deep boding of love and friendship 400 years ago.

Such awe-inspiring stories give me HOPE that one day, I too will do something, something that will be remembered for good. I hope destiny takes me to my dreams as it has with Ashutosh Gowrikar. My salutations to you sir. May you go on to direct many more epics like these in future.

MIS Assignment.

In my long list of postings, here comes the one which is so directly related to my studies- an MIS assignment for creation of blogs. Even though I know how to post my articles in the blogs, this assignment has helped me learn various types of blogs, their uses and how it connects us to the real world. This exercise as well as this MIS course has been very helpful to me and it has made me understand the business functions behind each and every project that I had worked as a technical consultant. I take this opportunity to thank Professor Sue Brown for the 6 weeks of knowledge sharing session of MIS 585 course and hope that this course helps many more people like me.

Lord of Music!!

I guess all of us would know whom I meant. The one and only Mr. AR Rahman. Congratulations on the spectacular victory at Oscar. For many of us in the generation-next, he has been our inspiration. Personally I have grown up listening to his songs. Right from his "Ennavalae" in Kadhalan to "Behka" from Ghajni.. ARR ne ham sab ko behkadiya hai :)

When I first saw the movie ROJA, I was spellbound by the music, and the song Chinna Chinna Roja was played again and again wherever I went. Then Kadhalan, Bombay, Alaipayuthe, Jeans, Mudhalvan, Guru, Sivaji.. right to the completely awesome Delhi 6 music, the lord has truly given some amazing hits.. No comparisons ever!! I was fortunate to go to one of his concerts, where he rocked and held the audience sway for 4 hours. I was completely rolled over by the concert. I guess my friend suren wud agree with that too.

When I first heard about him, I had searched for some information on him. He was born as Dinesh in a small family and his father had been working as music director in Kerala movies. Unfortunately he father died when he was very young, say abt 14 years. After that he had come to Chennai to work in Film music. His sister was afflicted with a special disease that none of the doctors could cure. When a muslim hakim(Muslim physician) cured her, dinesh and his family converted into muslims and he changed his name to Allah Rakhah Rahman, which means a person who is unique and great in a crore of people. True to his name ARR is one of the brightest shining star in the indian sky.

Even though ARR has got the award, I would have been more happy, had he got the award for a movie directed by an Indian. I still await that day when our movies will make it to the grandstand- The Oscars. However, till then, I and 150 crore people will cherish the success of the lord of music. Long Live ARR.. May he give us more and more good music in the years to come..

Friends for Life!!

Dil chata Hai, Jaane Tu, Kalluri , Happy Days.. All these movie have one theme in common- friendship. To me friends are my life. This is my tribute to my best friends who have listened to my mokkai jokes, made me laugh all the time when they are there around, who have given me a shoulder to cry upon in times of distress and most importantly have always been there to speak to and advice me if I went wrong anywhere.

Where to start.. Hmm.. that’s a tuf one as I have blessed with so many good friends.. :) I will start with my best friend Deeptha. I have known her from my 8th standard, though we became friends only later, in our college life. I have never ever seen such a person, so very confident in whatever she does and she does it best. She my first goto person whenever I have any probs and she been my pillar of support right from my college days. Speaking of college days, I had very few friends. But one of them is Francis aka Vijay bcoz he looks so much like him. Hez a real time romeo with so many luv stories in his kitty. We both have watched so many movies at udayam and Kasi ;), but I never gotta chance to watch a Vijay movie with him.

School days were super cool where I had a group of friends – Deepak, Badri, Abishek and Kaushik. Though we never used to go to movies and stuff, we were kinda close friends. I still remember the beautiful Ooty trip that we had in 12th. That was a great trip. My next best friends came in college – Aravindhan and Arun. But the curious fact is that we became friends only during the final project of our undergrad and our friendship has been going strong from that. We always have a nice time together, though I could not meet them this time when I was in Chennai. I hope to meet them in here sometime.

After college came the best and most cherished 45 days of my life where I went to Trivandrum for my TCS training. I met so many of best friends there – Surendar, Sangeetha(my sis kinda ;) ), Manoj, Sajana, Mahesh, Anu, Vijila, Rajesh, Vijay Karthick, Meyyamai, Gayathri, Hima Bindu. Quite a gang in itself!! Surendar and I shared our room and we kinda have become bros ;). We all had a great time at the beaches in Trivandrum and were kinda in tears when we had to part off after the training.

Moving on to TCS office ka friends, I was fortunate to have 2 super cool aka rowdy friends ;). Sudha and Ranjani. I really started enjoying my workplace after my rather schoolish Satyabama college undergrad. I met sudhs and ranjani in my project where we became great friends. I still cherish the moments where we used to laugh so heartily in our canteen that passerby people used to stare at us. Really miss those times ;) The list of my other cool friends from office is huge but I hope to accommodate them as much as I can. Here it goes – Arjun, Sembian, Sai, Pratibha, Vamsee, Ranga, Senthamarai, Deepti, Kamal, Anupama, Seeni, Ravindar, Arun, Karun, Satish, Subbu, Shine, Kurunji and many many others. I have to specially mentioned about me best friend Karthick Chidambaram. Hez like my elder bro. Whenever I have to do anything important in life, hez my goto person(So cool and collected in thoughts and words). If I am doing my MBA in US, hez the big reason behind it. I cherish the times we used to go to Mayajaal and also out IMS classes. Infact we had a gala time there  Speaking of IMS, I would want to mention my friend Vikram and Karthick. I and Vikram really slogged it out for GMAT and Karthick provides me expert advices on the IT industry ;)

So I have nearly reached the end of my friendship list. Speaking about good friends, I have mention my roomies (or they will kill me).. He he.. But actually we have become good friends. Oh! I have forgotten to mention their names. Kartik- padipu genious and Pandian- Finance Genie. And also in my big bandwagon of friends are 2 other gud friends – Ashwini and Nithya. Together we form the Happy days gang ;)

There so many friends of mine who I have laughed with, shared food, had great times. I hope to have included everybody in here but I may have missed somebody. Please forgive me.. I will surely incorporate u in Version 2.0 ;) now I speak like an IT guy.. Thanks to everybody who have made my life so meaningful.. Therz no life without friends.. and I cherish all the time that I had with u guyz… THANKS!!