Saturday, March 20, 2010

Chaat Paatti Fun…



Had been missing the small carts selling chaats…., standing and eating on the road side, Salty-spicy-sweet taste of Yadav’s recipes… Pani Puri, Bhelpuri (Golgappa/Puchkas/GupChup), Phav Bhaji, sev puri, kebabs and Vada Phav….


Thank God you can see a lot of Yadav’s running chat, bhelpuri and pani puri thelas…These days…around here…so yummy….But not sure if its really Yadavs…We cannot be assured like the McDonalds..


For the Yadavs miss their trade mark…I wish they were so widespread and genuine…A good start right...

Also I used to ask my friends/relatives to get me Haldirams Bhujias, Samosas, Rasgullas, Gulab Jamuns from Mumbai, but now even they are available right here….

Like I ask my friend to get me Stride gums from US now..Its fun making gum bubbles, and Stride is indeed ridiculously the long lasting gum... and lingers ..It comes in various flavours like SPEARMINT(Dark Green); WINTERBLUE (Blue); UBER BUBBLE (Pink); NONSTOP MINT (Light Green): I am yet to taste ETERNAL MELON; MEGA MYSTERY; ALWAYS MANDARIN; SWEET BERRY; SWEET CINNAMON; FOREVER FRUIT; SWEET PEPPERMINT.Each packet containg 14 gums..Thank to Vijay, he brought for me 15 packets, quite a lot to last for long...Very soon this too should be available in Varkeys/More/Reliance Fresh supermarkets too like in Wal*Mart/Spencers/Target..



Have fun making gumbubbles...Anytime/Everytime..Anywhere/Everywhere...But do not litter please....

Friday, March 19, 2010

Why people dont forgive?



People act and react in non loving ways when they don’t know better. People bear grudges out of ignorance and innocence. When they can experience a better way, they go for it.

No one in their heart of hearts really wants to withhold and punish. It is merely the only way he or she knows to react when another person disrespects them.
We have problems because ‘we know not what we do.” We experience pain in our relationships because we do not know how to share our love in ways that work.
We are missing the skills.

I loved to here in the interview Fatima saying, hate and dislike is not good.
The story reiterates, Life is like a roller costar ride..it is a vehicle, and time is its wheels..Life is fragile and short deed of God..It may tick away at the tick of a second, so why put on pride and hatred?


The best but difficult way to forgive is to forget..

Love and forgive all….Where is the time to hate…when there is so little time to love…Decision making is upto us. Trust is more important in every relationship. There are people around to brain wash, in lust of power, money or?? Why do people fabricate things? Garnish their own traits while tarnish that of others?

What better time to think of this, when it was around this time, Jesus Christ dies on the cross, with prayers, 'Forgive them, for they know not, what they are doing'

If you cant fly run,
If you cant run, walk,
If you cant walk, crawl...
But whatever you do..
'Keep moving towards your goal...'

But so good…if it is for and towards peace, love, understanding, and cooperation…

Don't be the prisoner of the past, be the architect of the future...

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Royal Enfield: Kashmir to Kanyakumari...



The Ultimate Procrastinator, as Rajesh calls himself, who loves his bike, would indeed have had A memorable and thrilling travelogue, from Kanyakumari to Kashmir…I at times envy him, for he dared to do what his heart wanted, with his friends..….Through, the Himalayas, Manali-Ladakh-kargil road….…a total distance of 2535.74 km ..





I realized it ever more when we had a spectacular ride, faster and memorable one on the 28th of February 2010 Sunday, with recorded hottest day of the season in the past four years at 31.6 degrees Celsius...to and from Ernakulam-Allapuzha, attending two functions with a span of four hours; and then to the classes...


On the Royal Enfield so much better than Super Splendor, Ambition, karisma, Bajaj Pulsar, ….smooth, comfortable, not the…AVL engined bullets but the cast iron engine bullets..


Travel teaches you so many things: Out of necessity, you make so many inventions…And you will have memories to cherish…



Venice of the East...Allapuzha..
And when its a bike, you are with the common man, but travelling, you can see them, feel them, stop for them, and get along, through the busiest of traffic...that is why, I love them...

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Towards Unity ..

Member State of the European Union is any one of the 27 sovereign states that have acceded to the European Union (EU) since its inception in 1951 as the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), an attempt to unite Europe. From an original membership of six states, there have been six successive enlargements, the largest occurring on 1 May 2004, when ten states joined. The EU is currently composed of twenty republics, six kingdoms, and one grand duchy.

Bulgaria and Romania are the most recent Member States, joining on 1 January 2007

27 EU
Austria

Brussels
Belgium
Bulgaria
Czech Republic
Cyprus
Denmark
Estonia
Finland



Eze in France
France


Berlin Germany

Alexanderplaats



Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta

Amsterdam

Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovak Republic
Slovenia


Cardona...old church
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom


Before being allowed to join the European Union, a state must fulfil the economic and political conditions generally known as the Copenhagen criteria. These basically require that a candidate Member State must enjoy a secular, democratic system of government, together with the corresponding freedoms and institutions, and respect the rule of law.


Four Western European countries that have chosen not to join the EU have partly committed to the EU's economy and regulations: Iceland, which has now applied for membership, Liechtenstein and Norway, which are a part of the single market through the European Economic Area, and Switzerland, which has similar ties through bilateral treaties. The relationships of the European microstates, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican include the use of the euro and other areas of co-operation.

Rabindranatha Tagore preached and dreamed of a country without walls, Indians failed to here it, and Europe is doing it....

Books and Beyond...



Thanks to the socialnetworking sites...I could catch up with some of my school friends...which is incredible...and along with them some of their blogs...which took me back to those days....Undoubtedly memory is the dairy we all carry about with us..

The school library, the English Classes...
The day when everything went wrong, and other essay topics in school...

Koo Chook Chook : The Mumbai railway train/station...http://aishwaryabhave.blogspot.com/2010/03/koo-chook-chook.html

Books and beyond: http://aishwaryabhave.blogspot.com/2010/03/books-and-beyond.html

(Dont know why, I am unable to put in the links to the posts here?)
Indeed books are all around me, they keep me going, and keep me from going....(sometimes reading, I forget, I have other things to do...)(and now internet/blogs too)

These days I can read all the books other than the CA Final especially Tax and law...:-(

And another ex colleague of mine from Amlaki have started this site:
Kerala Book Store,
12/208, Veloor,
Puthencruz PO,
Kochi, Kerala,
India 682308.
www.keralabookstore.com
http://www.keralabookstore.com/Welcome.do

Don't let your mind become dull, because it will suffer atrophy if it's not exercised. Step out of ignorance ..and one way is reading...

Reading can be a powerful catalyst for thinking; it has the potential for stimulating wisdom...All readers need not be leaders, but leaders need to be readers..Not necessarily of any Non-fiction book, but at least of the happenings in the area, he/she would like to remain a leader. Reading may not necessarily be a book or a newspaper...it could be even internet, or some other means...

Sunday, March 07, 2010

Ah Sunrise.....


From the neighborhood articleship firm, To the Land of amusement in Gods own country, Developing by managing My properties in Dubai, Marketing Chinese goods, in India, Doing US accounts locally, Here I am at the beginning of a whole new race...

Learning about the 27EU, states, Analysing the tasks, Hoping it tallies, and gets reconciled, With the classes, loved ones and the dreams...I need to grab them, coz, they are not just dreams, Ah Sunrise! I see you now, guide me, lift me..

Life is beautiful,When I see the brighter side, Life is hideous,when I see the darker side, Life is weary,When I am indifferent.I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true, I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to try and strive for the best...

Thanks for the strength, to shake off love and kindness and depart in pursuit of not just dreams..Crossing many a crag and hill I came here, Thanks for the wonderful Team India..I love the mixure of Banglore, Rajput, Calcutta, Orissa, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Assam, and Kerala. It gives me a feeling of My India..I am back to a mini India, Here very here...

Here I am a tree, wanting to bloom to the full, hope you will help me bloom, and not just let me weather away...coz they are not just dreams…. Oh! the burning fire, with evaporation, hope you will give me ample water to grow, and not let me die of thirst...

Courtesy HCCS for my thoughts, these hymn echoes:

Like a sunflower that follows
Every moment of the sun,
So I turn towards You, to follow You my God.

Friday, March 05, 2010

Just Chill..Corporate..


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_(film)

Corporate is about the vicious circle of ambition in the private sector, and how human emotions and life have no significance in it.

The movie starts off on a nice solemn note by Atul Kulkarni as we are introduced into the rivalry of the 2 big enterprises (soft drink giants ) and the story just moves Madhur Bhandarkar way, talking about the business tactics and manipulations, how companies use NGOs, the media, the religious institutions and politicians to their own advantage. And how the politicians use companies, film industry, swamis etc. It takes us into into a world of deceit, treachery and betrayal.
Rajat Kapoor plays Vinay Sehgal, Raj Babbar plays Dharmesh Marwah, respective heads of their business..

Performances by Bipasha and Kay Kay are cool. Bipasha is impressive as hard-worker who will do anything to get her work done. The transformation of Bipasha from middle class city girl to a working woman is amongst the most convincing aspects of the film. And for this, she had to pay dearly. Kay Kay is very realistic. There are Short comedy and jokes scenes in between , like people becoming public and private in companies, sleeping over the issue…between the peons in the office…

If you are ethical or emotional like the CEO Naveen, you will have to leave the company, and the best then is consultancy. Marwah Group's CEO Pervez, is easily charmed by Nishi, and therefore losses trade secret first, which cost him his job next. The impact, and the race for awards too is depicted here.

In corporate world, handful of men and women, hold in their hands the power to influence the lives of unsuspecting millions. Live their lives. Learn their lies. This film takes a deep insight in the mindset of these powerful people and attempts to find out what makes them tick. It explores the nexus between the corporate world and the political; and follows the trail of sex and corruption that hides behind a glittering and glassy exterior.

Also it throws a light on how the common men forget all that is dangerous in a product, and fall to the catchy tag lines and advertisements...

Thanks to Sarooo, could finally see this movie on the Idiot Box...

Friday, February 05, 2010

Friend, Just for you ~ Just for nothing!

~ Stop by the shore, where we shared memories, and broken bangles! ~


I will let you go;
Coz, your dreams are away
(Coz I know, you can’t go!)
And am scribbling this, just for nothing!

Its summer again; but without you!
It hurts harder than ever,
And I know, I will be burned to ashes
And am scribbling this, just for nothing!

Its winter again; but without you!
It congeals my thoughts again,
And I know, I will be buried in the arctic
And am scribbling this, just for nothing!

Its rain again; but without you!
It tramples my candle evermore,
And I know, I will recede in this deluge
And am scribbling this, just for nothing!

I will let you go;
Coz, your dreams are away
(Coz I know, you can’t go!)
And am scribbling this, just for nothing!

___________________

A smile cannot hide the pain within. I hope you understand, what I mean. I miss all the silly things that we shared during work. I can’t tell you how much I’m gonna miss you, my dear friend. These words cannot show the real feeling flowing through my heart, when I say this.
I have whole lot of prayers for you; to give you wings to achieve the sky that you have dreamt for. I have whole lot of thanks for you, for all the positive spirits you sprinkled on my way. I have whole lot of dreams about you. Keep going, and keep winning hearts as you always do.


-----------------------



Teachers used to say (and guess they still do)
listen is silent rearranged,
so, learn to b silent & you’ll learn to listen..
(and that is the way to success & blah blah..)

hmmm…well,
silent could be listen rearranged too..
so say something worth listening & you’ll get your silence J

Confused?!

-----------------

.. and here I’m sitting by my window,
Looking at the gloom spreading in the sky!
....listening to the wind howling around..

I dont know my dear Friend, how to Thank You for all that you are, and all that you have done...Hope you dont mind me putting all this here...

____________

Serenity


Something that I wanted to say, but could not put in words; dont know how could I thank Prafoooo and the Crazy 4 for this:

Let the sky fall on me; Let the sea evade me;

Let the wind sweep me; Let the God beckon me;



I’m here;

With myriad nails struck on my heart…

Take me..

Take me back!

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Al-Vida..Sayonara…



Stealing the blue from the splashing seas,
A tinge of green from the youthful trees,
A bit of orange from the sunset hues,
With crystal white from the morning dews,
I have framed a bright and colourful wish
Just for you...............Best of Luck My Friend A--X.


If you desire to be pure, have firm faith, and slowly go on with your devotional practices without wasting your energy in useless scriptural discussions and arguments. Your little brain will otherwise be muddled.R-J-E-


Time is finite capital
Time cannot be stored for future use.
Time waits for none.

Follies in the past should guide us for moving carefully in the path ahead. R-N_J_T

You practiced simplicity which only rarest of rare can do. I realize, simplicity is a difficulty virtue to be practiced.
Wishing you all the best throughout your life.
Al-Vida Vij Put..


Continue dreaming and thinking as always you did. Be true to your talents.

We will miss you. Be true to your gift, you will not regret.
All the best … Give your best where ever you go. Vij..K

Thank you for all your hard work - it is noted & appreciated!

I wish you success in your future professional & personal life and also specific wished for your exams!

Please keep in touch! NR

Well you will not be easily replaced! But i'm glad for you
i'm glad that you have other opportunities available to you, but I’ll miss you!AG

Then there were so many farewells..gifts..books....

As the time has come to bid good bye I reminisce the associations I had ...


I have enjoyed working and I appreciate having had this wonderful opportunity to work with you all. Thanks are due to all of you for being so great to work with over the past year.



I am sorry, if any of my words or actions have hurt you or put you into any sort of difficulties.

Ithu vayikkumbo vishamam kond oru Omlet kazhikkan thonnuva…..

Friday, January 29, 2010

True Stories of the Second World War


This is a non fiction book published in 2003, written by Paul Dowswell, who specialises in children's information books.

Indeed Second World War, is as ‘As dirty a business as the world has ever seen…..’

Recounting the stories of some of the most heroic, devastating and pivotal moments of World War II, this book gives young readers a strong sense of the suffering, but also the bravery involved in the war. It also gives an understanding of the experiences which may have affected their grandparents.

The war involved a desire by the Axis powers (Germany, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria) to gain power over the Allies (Great Britain, USSR, USA). Also Japan’s military rulets sought to take over the Asian and Pacific territories fading European powers. The war began with the German Invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939.

From the voyage of the Bismarck (Germans greatest battleship) , and the Battle of Iwo Jima to Cracking Enigma, the Manhattan Project and attacks on Japan, this book proves an unpatronizing and approachable insight into this conflict.

In the Voyage of the Bismarck, there is the extraordinary scene, of Captain Lindemanns death, as the deck slowly turned over into the sea, Lindemann stopped and raised his hand to his cap in a final salute, then disappeared. In 1989, marine archaeologist Robert Ballard, have found that Bismarck’s hull remains intact, and the swastikas, on bow and stern have made a sinister reappearance.

The story of Violette Szabo, the sales girl/British agent who worked for the Special Operations Executive, was really touching. The atrocities committed on them, seems to be worse or akin to the one shown in the movie Kalapani…Her surviving coprisioner, Marie Lecomte described it, and was finally able to kiss each of her family members as was promised.

Then there is the brave story of the Russia’s women pilots, headed by Marina Raskova, commonly known as the Stalin’s female ‘Falcons’.

In the book-keepers storage problem, you get to read about the Adolf Eichmann and the Wannsee Conference 1942, with his boss SS General Reinhard Heydrich, an ‘Aryan’ (was the Nazi term for pure-blooded Germans)!!!! Planning to make Europe Judenfrei, or ‘Jew Free’. Jews were gradually rounded up. Some were shot, or gassed in special vans designed for the process. But most were placed on Freight trains, packed in their hundreds and thousands into cattle wagons, and transported to death camps-Treblinka, Sobibor, Majdanek, Belzec, Chelmno and Auschwitz-names which would haunt the lives of an entire post-war generation.

In the war of the rats, at Stalingrad, there is the incredible story of Vasily Zaitsev and Tania Chernova.

The lost hero, is about Raoul Wallenberg’s from Sweden, studied in US, with the mercy mission to Hungary .. There was frequent encounter with Euichmann..What happened to him is a question of much speculation, he was missing, after the war, and as per the most reliable records available, he was executed in his Moscow cell on July 17,1947. The war produced more than its fair share of senseless moments, but for a man who had saved anything up to 100,000 lives through sheer bare-knuckle courage, it was a desperately unjust fate…

‘…Like running through rain and not getting wet.’…Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima is a historic photograph taken on February 23, 1945, by Joe Rosenthal.


It depicts five United States Marines and a U.S. Navy corpsman raising the flag of the United States atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. The photograph was extremely popular, being reprinted in thousands of publications. Later, it became the only photograph to win the Pulitzer Prize for Photography On February 19, 1945, as part of their island-hopping strategy to defeat Japan, the United States invaded Iwo Jima. Iwo Jima was originally not a target, but the relatively quick fall of the Philippines left the Americans with a longer-than-expected lull prior to the planned invasion of Okinawa. Iwo Jima is located half-way between Japan and the Mariana Islands, where American long-range bombers were based, and was used by the Japanese as an early warning station, radioing warnings of incoming American bombers to the Japanese homeland. The Americans, after capturing the island, deprived the Japanese of their early warning system, and used it as an emergency landing strip for damaged bombers, saving many American lives. Iwo Jima is a volcanic island, shaped like a trapezoid’

The destroyer of worlds, is about the Manhattan Project and the atom bomb attacks on Japan, in 1945. The chief scientist, Oppenheimer, mouths the words ‘I am become Death The Destroyer of worlds’ from BG, while trying in Alamogordo, New Mexico on 16th July 1945. Later the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, from Enola Gay and B-29 Superfortress ; the bombs were named Little Boy and Fat Man respectively. There are arguments for and agains bombing…Some claim if not for the bomb, they would have died long before; You’ve got to kill enough people, only then they stop fighting. Some cried with relief and joy…Some say, Japan was ready to surrender, and it wasn’t necessary to hit them with that awful thing…

Alias ‘Uncle Ricardo’, Adolf Eichmann, 1945-1961, lived in exile for years…and then was hanged….Indeed…when you taken the life of one man for the murder of six million, you cheapen the value of the death.

From Technicolor to black and white, after the war ended…has a small poem by John Maxwell Edmonds, which was popular with both American and British troops,

When you go home,
Tell them of us and say,
‘For your tomorrows
These gave their today’



Have often heard of the Turkey blocking the way to the Middle East…was wondering how much have they contributed/saved the war? Indeed Creating blocks, is indeed very troublesome, whatsoever the motive….

The cause of any war is usually too complex to reduce to a simple explanation, and none of us want a war….but there is……either a cold or hot war….everywhere, every time….
War against terrorisms, family feuds, Can we stop them? Can there ever be so much of understanding to avoid wars?

3 Idiots....Aal Izz welll


Loosely adapted from the novel Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat, Three Idiots, is a bollywood movie, directed by Rajkumar Hirani, with a screenplay by Abhijat Joshi, and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra

It is entertaining, enlightening, everything... what more would you want from a movie?

The story is about three engineering students who share a room in a hostel at the fictional Imperial College of Engineering, Farhan Qureshi (R. Madhavan) Farhanitrate, Raju Rastogi (Sharman Joshi) Prerajulization, and Rancchoddas "Rancho" Shyamaldas Chanchad (Aamir Khan). It is framed as intermittent flashbacks from the present day, ten years after Chatur vowed revenge on Rancho for embarrassing him at the speech night and promised to become more successful than Rancho a decade later.

Rancho is the rebel among them always questioning things and believing that learning is more than just the usual mode of education, topping the class. He even manages to win the affections of the director's daughter Pia (Kareena Kapoor). But Rancho's greatest contribution lies is making his friends realise their true calling.


1. Never Try To Be Successful

Success is the bye-product. Excellence always creates success. So, never run after the success, let it happen automatically in the life.

2. Freedom To Life

Don’t die before actual death. Live every moment to the fullest as you are going to
die today night. Life is gifted to humankind to live, live & live @ happiness.

3. Passion Leads To Excellence

When your hobby becomes your profession and passion becomes your profession. You will be able to lead up to excellence in the life. Satisfaction, pleasure, joy and love will be the outcome of following passion. Following your passion for years, you will surely become something one day.

4. Learning Is Very Simple

Teachers do fail. Learners never fail. Learning is never complicated or difficult. Learning is always possible whatever rule you apply.

5. Pressure At Head

Current education system is developing pressures on students’ head. University intelligence is useful and making some impact in the life but it cannot be at the cost of the life.

6. Life Is Emotion Management Not Intelligence Optimization

Memory and regular study have definite value and it always helps you in leading a life. You are able to survive even if you can make some mark in the path of the life. With artificial intelligence, you can survive and win but you cannot prove yourself genius. Therefore, in this process genius dies in you.

7. Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention

Necessity creates pressure and forces you to invent something or to make it happen or to use your potentiality. Aamir Khan in this film, 3 idiots, is able to prove in the film by using vacuum pump at the last moment.

8. Simplicity is Life

Life is need base never want base. Desires have no ends. Simplicity is way of life and Indian culture highly stresses on simple living and high thinking, and this is the way of life: ‘Legs down to earth and eyes looking beyond the sky’

9. Industrial Leadership

Dean of the institute in 3 idiots is showing very typical leadership. He has his own principles, values and ideology, and he leads the whole institute accordingly. This is an example of current institutional leadership. In the present scenario, most of the institutes are fixed in a block or Squarish thinking.


10. Love Is Time & Space Free

Love is not time bound and space bound. It is very well demonstrated in this movie same love was demonstrated by Krishna and Meera. Love is border free, time free and space free.

11. Importance Of One Word In Communication

If communication dies, everything dies. Each word has impact and value in communication. One word if used wrongly or emphasized wrongly or paused at a wrong place in communication what effect it creates and how is it affected is demonstrated very well in this movie.

12. Mediocrity Is Penalized

Middle class family or average talent or average institute is going to suffer and has to pay maximum price in the life if they do not upgrade their living standards. To be born poor or as an average person is not a crime but to die as an average person with middle class talent is miserable and if you are unable to optimize your potentiality and die with unused potentiality then that is your shameful truth. One should not die as a mediocre. He/she has to bring out genius inside him/her and has to use his/her potentiality to the optimum level.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Life is not easy, baby!

VERY SHORT, MOST EFFECTIVE AND HOW TRUE...

"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them - Work, Family, Health, Friends and Spirit and you're keeping all of these in the Air.

You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back.

But the other four Balls - Family, Health, Friends and Spirit - are made of glass. If you drop one of these; they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for it."

WORK EFFICIENTLY DURING OFFICE HOURS AND LEAVE ON TIME. GIVE THE REQUIRED TIME TO YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS & HAVE PROPER REST.



For the past two years, OPI was my family and AFL, Stanley and others were my friends…Now that it is time for the divorce, I am rembered of the MOST EFFECTIVE 30 second Speech by Bryan Dyson (CEO, Coca Cola)

Precise, valid, convincing, compelling, hard hitting,… but truth 

Sticks and stones may break my bones - and words hurt, too!


- An old usage, but truth!!


I could never be Complacent.

Life is not easy, baby!

Is'nt life richer for those who aspire to ever and ever reach higher and higher?

Friday, January 01, 2010

Have a peaceful and satisfying Twenty-Ten.

A New Book is opened ..Its Pages are Blank..we are going to put the words..Ourselves..! The Book is called Opportunity starting with New Year..a New Phase ..a New Beginning..!- Juhi Gupta...

Had Abhis wedding this New Year day...A double occassion to enjoy...



Also this was a part of something that I really missed, on the days before the wedding:

aathirayalle.. thiruvathirayalle..thiru vegappura bhagavaninnulsavamalle..
bhagavthikku noymballe.. thiruvathirayalle..


Like birds, let us, leave behind what we don’t need to carry… GRUDGES, SADNESS, PAIN, FEAR and REGRETS Life is beautiful, enjoy it.Riju Jose...

Is there a way to persuade and make them understand, those who cannot remove this, and others, who not only cannot remove this but also is busy brainwashing others!!!

Had to leave behind what I wanted to carry, with 2009, even my dearest little choti left us....to another state....she was sweet little pie of so many...who had conquered many a hearts within a very short span of time...

The year ended 2009 or the beginning of this year 20-10 was ‘Once in a blue moon’....!!!! There were two full moons in December 09…..

P2 G combo emails were real fun and inspiring…The one sentence stories, one word stories, and the pictures. above all, the comments on the pics send by P that keeps us wondering, so very original, quick, inspiring, that keeps us thinking…..

And there was again the beautiful poem from Prabhu....

Folks, thanks for being with me.. and for all the inspirations that you sprinkled in my lone alley!

It’s a new day .. A New Year!

May the New Year bring all the fortunes in your life!
_________________________

My FRIEND Alex Thomas's gift on Virtues....

Health is the first of life,

Wealth is the next of life,

Characters Courage is the best of life,

Respect is must in life,

Turning is the test of life,

God's blessing is the crest of life,

Love is crucial for life,

Happiness is the perfume of life,

Truth is the search of life,

Death is the rest of life...

_________________________

And ha...Money, though not everything, is something very important in life.

And from Sreerams Blog: You can read it at: http://criticatwork.blogspot.com/2010/01/festivals-how-important-are-they.html


What is there in festivals? If you have money, every day is a festival. If you don’t, you don’t care whether it is a festival or not.”

My manthra in life is very simple- “Enjoy your work, make enough money to enjoy your time off from work. If you are not happy with work, don’t sit and whine, move out as early as you can and find out something that will keep you happy (hopefully!)
________________________

Indolence is a delightful but distressing state; we must be doing something to be happy!

Happiness Always!
________________________

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Xmas is nigh and S&C was back

Keeping the spirit of X’mas alive……we had a fun-filled X’mas celebration…….right @ OPI on 22nd Dec between 3.30pm to 5.30 pm with X’mas carol English, Malayalam…… Spanish, French, Latin or Polish was also allowed, but nobody dared to……..……. and santa (Shamu) giving chocolates.…….and we rocked!!

The Rule was simple:
Everyone should participate…….Everyone should have fun!!

All came dressed in one of the three colors: White, Red or Green!!

Venue for the celebration was just were we were ….



Our Carol Team of 20 energetic and lively members were the first runners up in the Infopark Carol Contest held on the 21st of December ……and gave a great wrap-up to the year 2009!! OPI Santa was Inforpark Santa….



We were happy, as was rightly pointed out by GM, in case we would have come first, it would have increased the expectation, and there would have been no scope for improvement next time...

2009 had been a very eventful year and all the efforts had made it a lucky year for OPI and we are looking forward for the coming year 2010 to be more promising more fun and entertaining!



Special thanks to Susan- the strength behind the Carol team, with her organ, and Biju's winning team at OPI without whom the event wouldn’t have been this entertaining!


Again borrowing from Pappu:
It is at Christmas, Santa comes to our door leaving red sack full gifts!

This year I saw him rushing away through the snow filled alley. But he did not look back. I heard the jingles fading away in darkness. I sat down on ..... Thank you, Santa!!

Merry X’mas, mates!

This Years gift from Santa...

Santa came at my door leaving a dairy full of Virtues for each month!

January:

One day you might see yourself walking alone on a new path. No one seems in sight. No one seems to have walked it earlier. Don’t give up midway. You’re on a right track. Go on. Reach your dreams.

“The reason why you do not see anyone is because, the world is following you.”

February:

We grow old filled with regrets-
For things not done;
For words not said;
For love not shown;
For Dreams not completed.

Life is short. Act today.
Do all that makes you happy. Now.



March:

There is no limit to what you can imagine.
And with commitment, with effort,
What you can imagine you can become.

Put your mind to work for you.
And you’ll find the ability to do it.

April:

Take the whole responsibility on your own shoulders.
Know that you are the creator of your own destiny.
All the strength and success you want is within yourselves.
Stand up. Be bold. Be strong.
Make your own future.



May:

“ You have powers you never dreamed of.
You can do things you never thought you could do.
There are no limitations in what you can do
Except the limitations of your own mind”



June:

If you ever feel like knowing, how the people around look on you?

See reflections on the faces of the people you meet:
Read your images form their eyes.
All the faces in the world are mirrors.
You just have to learn how to read them.

July:

Face your past without regret.
Handle your present with confidence.
Prepare for the future without fear.
Keep faith and drop the fear.
Don’t believe your doubts and never doubt your beliefs.

Life is wonderful if you know how to live it.



If God brings you to it! He will bring you through it….

August:

Don’t look at a thing; Start it.
Don’t put it off a day; Start it.
Don’t pretend you must think over; Start it.
Don’t start half-heartedly; put everything you can.

September

Even though the sky seems dark, believe in the future.
The storm will pass over. The clouds will roll by.
Believe in the best though it seems hidden
Know that it will come though it’s not in sight.

Your faith will take you through the darkness.
Your belief shall prove that the sun will shine again.




This too will pass away….

October

I do not ask to walk smooth paths
Nor bear an easy load
I pray for strength and fortitude
To climb the rock strewn road

Give me such courage that
I can scale hardest peaks alone;
And then I shall learn to transform
Every stumbling block into a stepping stone.



November

Fears, like babies, grow larger by nursing them,

We should act in spite of fear
And not because of fear


December

‘Nobody will sympathize with a person
Who constantly lets chances pass by
Without making any efforts to salvage them
Lost time is NEVER gained again.”


I heard the jingles fading away in darkness. But I believe Santa will guide me live the virtues...

Thank you, Santa! Alex!


Merry X’mas, mates!

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Contests..




Two years in a row, the second runnerup...had a nice time explaining the team, Thanks to the motivation form Biju sir...and the team work...it were long days, making the floural carpet, cutting the flowers, keeping together the accessories..

In 2008 it was: Athithee Devo Bhava and in English

In 2009 it was courtesy Jomon, the malayalam+ narrated when in Veegland...

.. those flowers

The remark: 'I think your words gave life to the pookalam and thus the prize!'

“Put yourself in a state of mind where you say to yourself, here is an opportunity for me to celebrate like never before, my own power, my own ability to get myself to do whatever is necessary”


True: ‘Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. ‘ It was later reprinted together with other essays in the book Parkinson's Law: The Pursuit of Progress (London, John Murray, 1958). He derived the dictum from his extensive experience in the British Civil Service.

S&C brought to us, our 1st event of 2010…….”Republic Day Celebrations @ OPI”.

Here is what S&C has planned:

1. Republic Day Quiz-

How much do you think you know about India’s history……? Try it out!

The link was send on 25th Jan for your participation.


2. “Express your thoughts”- “I am an Indian”……we have used this phrase a 100 times before. But what does it really mean to us? “Being an Indian- what does it means to you?”………express it in your words (not more than 2-3 sentences). Thoughts to be mailed to S&C-Kochi by EOD 25th Jan or dropped in the Box kept at the reception
_______________

And what was submitted ; dedicated to the crazy 4 is:
Born onto her, nourished by her heart, and willing to die on her shoulders, she is my Mother India, and I am her daughter…I am an Indian…

She is getting older, but the most beautiful of all, willing to accept everyone as her, loving and caring, I am her’s…I am an Indian…..

Hail to my Mother! Hail to my Motherland!!

------------------

Also one of the memorable event was the lunch to the team sponserd by Sreeram Sir...in July/August..

The power of positive living….By Norman Vincent Peale….




1. Positive Thinking still works
• Nothing is impossible when two people are in love.
• Wrongdoers are often clever and sometimes they get away with their crookedness for a time.
• The thought is ancestor to the deed. It is the spark that ignites the action. And success or failure depends on whether that thought is positive or negative.
• Don’t decide things emotionally.
• Pray, and decide, which is thinking in its highest form. For then your thoughts are in tune with God, who sees a lot further down the road than you do.
• To sum up:
 A monumental event can happen any day. Be ready for it.
 Beyond positive thinking is positive believing.
 A thought can ruin you. But a thought can also make you.

2. Be a Believer=Be an Achiever

• Philosopher F.W. Robertson wrote: “To believe is to be happy; to doubt is to be wretched. To believe is to be strong. Doubt cramps energy. Belief is power. Only so far as a man believes strongly, mightily, can he act cheerfully, or do anything that is worth the doing.’
• Raise others above the standard. Tell them, “I will not let you fail.” Today all over the land, educators are raising standards, teaching accountability to their students, demanding hardwork and getting it.
• You are somebody, Never build a case against yourself.
• How to become a believer:
 Unlearn being a non believer.
 Say to yourself, I am going to be successful.
 Have constant reiteration, constant assertion, and constant affirmation of the believing attitude.
 Have the guts to take a risk.
• To sum up:
 Believe in people-don’t use them.
 Replace negative attitudes with constant affirmation and optimism.
 Have faith that what you need will be given to you.
 Get rid of low self –esteem-believe in yourself.


3. Knock the T off Can’t
• Marcus Aurelius: ‘Our life is what out thoughts make of it.’
• Gautam Buddha: ‘Mind is everything. We become what we think.’
• Professor William James: ‘The greatest discovery of my generation is that human being can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.’
• Thomas A. Edison: ‘The principal use of the body is to carry the brain around; and the brain is what we are.
• Believe that you can, you can, you can. Success is lucking in your mind, let it out. Let it come to life.
• To sum up:
 We become what we thing.
 Be self-confident, have faith, and persevere.
 When we make our minds amendable to God’s will we can accomplish miracles.
 To cancel the “I just can’t” feeling, affirm the fact “ I can, with God’s help, I can.”
 And then go on and do it.

4. Do You Have What it takes to be Happy!
• Spiritual Experience
• Inner Peace
• Serenity
• Joy
• Excitement
• Struggle
• Health
• Love
• Money

5. Things may look Bad…BUT…
• Difficulties and problems can be handled if you become tougher than they are.
• To every disadvantage there ma be and usually is a corresponding advantage.
• Stop thinking only of yourself as a priority.
• Drop that ‘making it big’ goal as your great objective.
• To sum up:
 Don’t ever despair. Many successes have been born from seeming failure.
 Always see your assets and possibilities.
 Remember the power of the three-letter word: B-U-T.

6. Get out of Yourself!• The one person who most blocks you from a full, happy and successful life is you. Yes, you yourself!
• Loud, incessant talks of people are a cover-up for the true feelings, a form of whistling in the dark.
• HOME: Helping ourselves means education.
• Each of us can expect astonishing results when we seize the opportunity to help someone else. And in the right spirit, it makes us feel good.

7. Running on EmptyIt is on the solid foundation of faith in God…the other principles must be build….
 Think
 Learn
 Try
 Work
 Believe
And be a success in life!

It is on the solid foundation of faith in God, the other principles must be build.

8. Turned On to a Joy-Packed LifestyleAccepting new responsibilities are difficult. But God knows, what is best for us, much more than we do….

The rewards of joy and satisfaction are well worth it.

So stop fighting the truth…and discover untold joys…..

9. Let Go of Fear and Affirm Faith
Highly respected mental health clinic: Blanton Peale Institute was established.
Fear is the most subtle and destructive of all human diseases. Anxiety is the great modern plague. Only faith can save it.

When making a decision, think it out, then pray for God’s guidance, then believe, you will have the guidance, make the decision, and put it in the hands of God, and forget it.

When you keep your thoughts high and pray, for God’s guidance, that day is never far-off….

Things can be better, and not far….you would say “THINGS ARE BETTER”


10. More about the Healing Power within the mind
Incredible things can happen to anyone who mentally takes charge, constantly sending healthy thoughts circulating, vibrating and pulsating through the physical system. The general rule seems to be-and for a fact is- think right and feel right.

Condition your life so that you are able at all times and under all circumstances to preserve your tranquility and peace of mind.

Also more on this in the Health is the first of life, and Wealth is the next of life….

• To sum up:


 Remember the healing power of love and forgiveness
 Cultivate good will over hate and resentment
 Healthy-mindedness and care for our physical well-being much work together.

11. Your Comeback Power
When things start going wrong, analyse inner conditions. A good, sharp, honest analysis will often reveal the truth. Ask ‘What am I doing to make these things happen?’

Take moves of ourselves doing the good and bad period and compare them.

‘The critical thing is self-esteem, If that’s intact, you can weather any storm.’

Be a maximize. When you want to do something that seems impossible your biggest obstacle may be a low self-esteem. If you have an inferior feeling about yourself, you are a minimizer. Never be a minimizer. Always be a maximiser! Every one has greater power than we ever realize.

The optimist almost invariably has an edge over less enthusiastic colleagues.

• To sum up:

 Believe that you have it in you. Never doubt it.
 Your comeback power is always there, ready to work for you when needed.
 Just be a believer, a real believer

Remember this…when things go wrong, especially, this will give you courage..

12. The old, Ever New Secret of success
Each of us have a thought factory inside us. Take a look at your products. Fear, Worry, impatience, anger, doubt. Your factory is capable of taking the raw materials of experience, mingling them with faith, love courage, and compassion, and thus becoming a plant worth operating. Your thought factory should produce positive, self-confident thoughts which naturally lead to positive, successful results.

As per Henry J. Kaiser…Here are five rules to be successful:

i. Know yourself and decide what you want to make out of your life. Then write down your goals and a plan to reach them.
ii. Use the great powers you can tap through faith in God, the hidden energies of your soul and your subconscious mind.
iii. Love people and serve them.
iv. Develop positive traits of character and personality.
v. Work! Put your life’s plan into determined action. Go after what you want with all that’s in you.

The sure way to success is so simple, but it requires character, guts, persistence, the mastery of lower jobs to be ready for the better one.

Do every job well, plus think, work, study…

Change your thoughts. Open your mind to new ideas and see how your life changes for the better.

• To sum up:


 Ask yourself: ‘How can I expect to succeed if I have a negative self-concept.
 List your assets when you’re feeling hopeless or inadequate.
 Do every job-no matter how ‘small’- with care and enthusiasm.
 Go after your goal with faith-and image yourself achieving it.

13. Your Censor Knows-Trust it
Do only what you know to be right if you want to gain real happiness.

People, who think that they can have an easy, bendable moral attitude and get away with it forever, always find otherwise. Adherence to a proven moral code does not guarantee sweetness and light. But it does promise an enveloping feeling of rightness much more surely than when we bend the laws for pleasure.

Remember the story of the boy, who was afraid to pick the snake, but took it, when the snake said: ‘I will treat you differently. If you do this for me, you will be special. I will not harm you.’ The boy took the snake. And after its purpose was served, the snake bit the boy. And then said: ‘You knew what I was when you picked me up’.

There are people who stick to their words come what may. It’s just so reassuring to know that there are people in the world who are as good as their words…’

‘…..neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.’

‘Stand porter to your mind.’

14. Living is Believing-Positively
Listen to God and Obey! Life is full of hazards and traps. But if you keep yur eye on the pin and follow through with all your might, you’ll be champion at everything you do, even if you don’t win every time.

Mentally prepared to win is believing.

Thought stopping is an effective response to self-defeating thoughts and emotions. Each time a negative thought comes to mind, say Stop.

The freedom of America, the emphasis on the potential in the individuals, create a historical climate of thought in which believers thrive

How ordinary people become extraordinary is by thinking, believing, working, falling, picking themselves up, and trying again and yet again…

To every disadvantage, there is a corresponding advantage…

I Believe + I Can +I Will = I Did

• To sum up:
 Belief gets results.
 Belief works even under the most difficult circumstances.
 The answer to difficulty is to be a believer. Believe in God. Believe in yourself.
 Believe in the future. Believe that you can. Believe in people.
 Believe and keep on Believing.

15. Get the Fire of Enthusiasm Burning
A person wishing to cultivate a better way of thinking may act ‘as if’ he did possess it. And if that individual continues persistently to act ‘as if’, then he or she will, in fact become as acted.


Whatever you do, keep the fire of enthusiasm burning. And remember what Thoreau said so well: ‘None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm…

Always think positively and believe enthusisastically..That’s living…

A wonderful gift from Prafoooo