Affordable and Comfortable Health Care

Dad sometimes get some health issues and I take him to the nearby Urologist. After thorough checkup, doctor dismisses all our fears and recommends some tablets to improve health. My dad returns home with a sense of relief and hope of recovery.

Today, I took my wife to the diagnostic centre for scanning and check up as she is carrying our second baby. Many parents were also waiting patiently for the doctor.  The doctor turned up little late and gave good attention to all her visitors. My wife returns home very satisfied and confident.

There is another family doctor who makes us very comfortable.

I wish such a health care, affordable and comfortable health care be available to the poor and less privileged too. The poor, not able to cope up with modernization, has gone into a  hybrid lifestyle.  There is little money the poor can save.  There is very less knowledge on their health. I knew somebody who survives on beedi and tea alone!  Fever and cold are very trivial these days that people get into self-medication.  But if a poor gets a heart ache, kidney failure, or any other vital functioning failure?  Can a to-be-mom will get all the support and motivation from a doctor that our household women folks get?  Can a clerk afford a psychologist for his mental stress?

We often read the plight of Govt. Hospitals in the media and we have seen.  The rich and popular do not go there - they visit Apollo's and Ramachandra's.

We need a system where both health care is made affordable (damn cheaper) and comfortable (positive psychology).

I write this because a sense of guilt hits me when I see someone could not afford a treatment and struggle in pain.  

Find myself singing - Jotheyale

When I came to Bangalore 15 years back, I heard this song and really felt mesmerized. Though I am aware of the tamil version of it "விழியிலே", I would say the Kannada version is very addictive. Listen to this song once a day, you will find yourself singing it all through the day.  Posting the original video.  Also, listen to SPB's ever youth voice - he was singing in Asianet and cannot ask for more.

Find myself singing - Endha Poovilum

Find myself singing this song - எந்த பூவிலும் வாசம் உண்டு.
This song always bring good feeling to me and take me to my school days - "ஆல் இந்திய ரேடியோ - கோயம்புத்தூர் வானொலி நிலையம்"
This generation of tamil music lovers should miss the Illayaraja - Janaki music creations.
The opening music of this song is often credited to Antonio Ruiz Pipo's Danza music. 

Find myself singing - Ponnoviyam

I find myself singing this song - Ponnoviyam.  Tamil music lovers - you cannot ignore this music.
Especially when Janaki sings - "கொஞ்சும் கிளி நான் உண்டு, நான் உண்டு!"

Private Vehicle Dumping School Children

Here is a private vehicle spotted on Bannerghatta Road (near the area where tiles and marbles are sold). Its not really justified to dump the school children like flocks of sheep in the van.  The van was also not in good condition.
Vehicle No. KA 04 M 8852.

Find myself singing - Ninaivo Oru Paravai

Was listening to this song "நினைவோ ஒரு பறவை" - while driving. All of a sudden, noticed there is something magical in the lyrics especially using "தேன்".
Illayaraja music, sung by Kamal & Janaki, and lyrics by Vaali.

Here is what I liked -
Stanza #1

கமல் - ரோஜாக்களில் பன்னீர் துளி ; வழிகின்றதே அது என்ன தேன் ?
ஸ்ரீதேவி - அதுவல்லவோ பருகாத தேன் ; அதை இன்னும் நீ பருகாததேன் ?
கமல் - அதற்காக தான் அலை பாய்கிறேன்
ஸ்ரீதேவி - வன் தேன்; தர வந்தேன் 

Stanza #2

ஸ்ரீதேவி - பனிக்காலத்தில் நான் வாடினால், உன் பார்வை தான் என் போர்வையோ
கமல் - அணைக்காமல் நான் குளிர் காய்கிறேன் ; அதற்காக தான் மடி சாய்கிறேன்.
ஸ்ரீதேவி - மடி என்ன உன் மணி ஊஞ்சலோ ?
கமல் - நீ தான்; இனி நான் தான்.

பின் குறிப்பு - இதே கணேசன் தான் செய்யுள் மனப்பாடம்  செய்யவும், அருஞ்சொற்  பொருள் விளக்கம் தரவும் தாளம் போட்டான். என்னே ஒரு மாற்றம்!

Devotion - Just Like That

I am sure each one of us have atleast one friend who religiously go to Sabarimala.  The mental toughness shown by these devotes always amazed me - the winter, food restrictions, and other do's and donts.  Its a religious practice but certainly brings in discipline.  The devotees are committed to this practice year on year.  But what irks me is sometimes when I see people treat this practice as a fashion and lost its relevance.  I really feel sad when I see people who go for 'just like that' and observe no restrictions - especially when they smoke. Here is a young "devotee" smoking to counter the winter.

Read Between Words

Here is a challenge for you. You may able to read between lines.  Can you read between words? Located at Westside, Gopalan Mall, Bannerghatta Road.

Read between words

What do you actually beg for?

What Do You Actually Beg For?
(c) August Minds

What do you actually beg for?

Money that rest of us Make, or
Food that rest of us Waste, or
Cloth that rest of us Cover with, or
Life that rest of us Lead, or

Peace that rest of us Seek, or

Direction that rest of us Lost, or

Knowledge that rest of us Pay for, or

Family that rest of us Build, or

Fun that rest of us Fake, or 

Identity that invoke atl east some Respect.

What do you actually beg for?
And tell us - 
How Different Are You From Rest Of Us?

Coffee good for digestion (of bills)

 A coffee after breakfast at the hotel helps in two ways -  Digest the food,  Digest the bill :-).   மாமா, காபி சாப்பிடேளா ?   Coffee at Adyar Anand Bhavan on Sunday Morning. 

Coffee - To Digest the food

Coffee - To Digest the bill

JP Nagar Central Mall Fire Exit Locked

The JP Nagar Central Mall has its fire exits always locked.  Last year (2011), I pointed this to a supervisor and within a week he took action.  Recently, I have been there and noticed that fire exits have been locked and cannot be opened easily in case of emergencies. Generally, the customers are to use either escalator or the lifts. They do not have access to steps. I could not reach the authorities.

Somehow, we react after incidents and do not learn from other mishaps and take action proactively. 

TOI's paper size outside edge ads - annoying

Sometimes, its very annoying when Times of India (TOI) prints its ads outside the edge.  Its very difficult to hold the paper and it crumbles in the hand.  The advertiser would have thought its an innovation and the extended paper size acts a book mark ('paper mark'?).  But hold the paper in your hands and you feel the incovenience. Are you with me?

Anything can be accomplished if you have TIME

August Minds presents T.I.M.E model

Did it sound very obvious when you read "Anything can be accomplished if you have TIME"?

I did not mean TIME in conventional sense.  During my college days, roughly 20 years back, I was a "solution man" among friends and came up with this acronym T.I.M.E.  Its my essential factors for success.

T - Time
I - Ideas
M - Money
E - Energy

Time - Time is nothing but an emotion.  Time appears too long or short and its true so only because of our perception. We give excuse of not doing thing because of lack of time.  But we personally know that we had enough time.  Unless we leverage the time available, nothing can be accomplished.

Ideas - The best way to get a best idea is to have lot of ideas.  Think of more than one way of doing things.  Doing things differently.  Take positions and have Plan B and Plan C too.  Write it down.  Writing translates brain views into clarity.

Money - You need money big or small.  Money is not evil.  If you dont have your money, use OPM (not opium).  OPM is other people's money.  Play with money as its an enabler.

Energy - An invigorating physical, mental, and spiritual energy makes you complete.

I am proud that that I could recall my old philosophy and its still valid.

Are you into the trap of festival offers?

Like this soap, all offers are special only for that moment
and becomes void after a while!

I look around only to notice many getting tempted to buy more and more mobile and tablet gadgets.   The festival offers lure the customers to buy more and more.  For any one from middle class, a serious thinking is needed - because there is no end to what one would buy!

We are into crazy times that mobile wars, tablet wars, big screen televisions, give a "false material life"

Let me put some thinking process for you in 3 modes - INVENTORY, INTENTION & INVESTMENT

INVENTORY - First let us take some inventory,

1. Do you have a landline connection at home, office that any one can reach you?
2. Do you already have a personal mobile or office provided that any one can reach you?
3. Do you have a desktop, laptop that is available to you as and when you need?
4. Do your family members already have a mobile connection?
5. Do you already have a tablet (like iPad) at home?
6. Do you have gaming devices at home?
7. Do you have a decent television set?

INTENTION - Analyze your intention,

1. Are you thinking of something new - because you have a NEED?
2. Are you buying something new - because you found something BETTER in terms of cost, energy saving, low maintenance cost?
3. Are you INFLUENCED by your peers, neighbours, relatives?
4. Are you being PSYCHOLOGICALLY influenced by the advertisements that keep hitting you everyday?
5. Are you buying something new, because you want to stay MODERN, PRODUCTIVE, and ADVANCED?
6. Are you double sure, you are not in to COMPULSIVE buying?
7. Are you buying a new item, because you CANNOT SHARE THE EXISTING one among the family members?

 
INVESTMENT - If you have are inching towards making the purchase,

1. Do you have enough money to buy this item?
2. Are you aware that EMI / Credit Card options could be a trap to influence your buying decision
3. Do you have any big commitments?
4. Are you using the current items effectively?
5. Are you aware that your new purchase could get obsolete (atleast you will so), when the next edition of the item gets released in another couple of months?
6. Is it possible that your new purchase take away the time meant for your family?
7. Can a small tweak to the existing item meet your needs?

I cannot provide answers on your behalf and there are no correct answers.  You are the judge.

Vijay TV's Airtel Super Singer 2012 - Cuteness won against Talent

Sukanya is my choice of winner
for the Airtel Super Singer 2012

Here is my take on Vijay TV's Airtel Super Singer 2012 results -  UNFAIR.Unfair because it finally became Cuteness Vs Talent and the former won.

I have been watching this program regularly and if I ever sit before TV, it is to watch this.

Regarding the Contest Results:

• According to me, first place should go to Sukanya, 2nd place to Yazhini and 3rd place to Pragadhi
• Aajeeth too deserves a place - but his was voice is yet to develop for a contest singing.  He is certainly good singer for his age. 
• Gautham is good but he should not be disappointed given his wrong choice of songs and lack of some confidence.  
• Sukanya reminds me of previous year's singer Alka Ajith;  her choice of songs and demonstration of talent deserves her a place in Tamil Music. She said she comes from a remote village. I am sure some one like her coming this far will never be stopped by a contest result. 
• Online voting and SMS voting concept is absurd and 'any one can vote any number of votes' is hampering the talent.

Regarding selections for Finals:

• There were some good kids like Anu who deserved a place in the final. I was amazed at her husky voice.
• Its a incompatible combination of junior and senior kids; carnatic and non-carnatic.
• If the selection intent is 'chella kural' (young sweet voice), Anu, Yazhini and Aajeeth can be in the finals. There were few more kids whose name I dont remember handy. 

What this program mean to me?

• Just wonderful!  Such grand programmes are really great and gives a new experience to the budding singers. 
• While some may think that the participation could impact their studies, I feel education need not always be the mainstream - it could be other way round.  Music first, studies next.
• It is really good, this program continues year on year.
• Regarding the prizes, I agree the prizes should be grand - but not sure if  3 BHK house is suitable. 
• The kids get a stardom and will be on stages in the coming days.
• The presence of AR Rahman gave a God like presence, especially when he entered. I wished he could have spoken little more. 
• Regarding the judges, I would say Chitra always gave sincere and serious comment.  Other judges like Shubha and Mano are bubbly and friendly - I think given that its a kid programme, they also should be around.
• Was there something wrong with Audio in the Finals?  I do not know -  for Aajeeth, I could hear the special effects for his high pitch singing for the first song.  For Suganya, 'minsara poove' was affected by lack of music synchronization. Gautam's esteem had something to do because of poor orchestra, I guess. 
• The comperes Bhavana and Anand did a good job.  Bhavana's lipstick and Anand's 'mokkai' is too much :-).   It will be a good idea to have singers as comperes like we had Chinmayi in the past.
• The episodes were going on and on, sometimes gave a feel 'when this would end'. Even the finals was close to midnight that I went to bed after Sudha Ragunathan's performance. 
• By the way, what was "Airtel" doing here?  Did I hear their name in the sponsors?  
• I felt good for the parents who come from middle class background.

The money, fame and grandness will motivate the schools and parents to put their children into this program. Parents should NOT encourage to participate in such contests and make them fail unless they are serious its only for the experience and NOT for the winning.

How I solved lesser internal space issue in my android mobile

my HTC Explorer  desktop

I bought HTC Explorer few months back.  A very good Android mobile and has lesser internal memory and storage. I consciously decided not to invest in high end mobiles given the everyday mobile war and launch of phablets (phone+tablets).

However, the real issue came when I started downloading the apps which by default stores in internal memory and the updates would fail due to insufficient storage space.  I was left choice of uninstalling or moving the apps to SD card.

I guess most of the Android mobiles have this issue and buyers generally compromise for the cost. Instead they buy a 8 GB or 16 GB card.  Only thing they dont realize is the apps gets downloaded into the phone and not the SD card by default.

Fortunately, I came across this article on How to install Android Apps in SD card by default which saved my problem.

If you spend about 10-15 minutes, you can make the SD card as the default location for installing apps.

The simple steps are:

1. Enable USB debugging in your Android mobile
2 (a). Install the Java JDK in your computer (if not already installed)
2 (b). Install the Android SDK in your computer
3. Using the ADB utility, issue the following command -
           adb shell pm setInstallLocation 2

Now two magics would happen -
a) You will be able to move some of the adamant apps to the SD card
b) All your new downloads will happen to your SD card.

I found the instructions very useful!

Mindfulness with Trees

What is Mindfulness ?  Being there where ever you are!

Trees seem to be literally manifesting Mindfulness through times.
The sight of trees remind me of wisdom, experience and magnanimity.
The bark of trees reminds me of the skin of a elephant.
The branches of trees resemble a nervous system.

The vigour in the branches tell me of strength and vitality, courage and confidence.
The web of branches remind me of harmony.
The entangled branches represent art form of life.

Talking of advaitam, Thirumular says

marathai maraiththathu  maamadha yaanai
marathil maraindhadhu maamadha yaanai
மரத்தை மறைத்தது  மாமத யானை
மரத்தில் மறைந்தது மாமத யானை 

(Translation - the huge carved wooden elephant hides the tree; the huge carved wooden elephant is hidden within the tree.  When you see the elephant, you dont see the tree; when you see the tree, you dont see the elephant).

When you live next to a tree, you become its neighbour.

Next time, when you see a tree, see if you can say Thanks from your heart.

Photo Credits:  Ganesh Subramanian @ August Minds

Colours of Kitchen

Photos clicked by me in my kitchen and also in other's kitchen's as well. Colourful indeed!

A Resting Week for me

Everybody needs a rest and I seem to getting it this week!

Photo Credits:  Boots clicked by Ganesh Subramanian on a field.  (c) August Minds

Life's Essential Ingredients!

I was reading Director Bala's interview in Anata Vikatan weekly on his upcoming movie Paradesi.  Some of his words inspired him. Then I thought, what could be life's essentials -

Here is my list of Life's Essential Ingredients -

• one or more strong Love
• one or more Rejections  
• one or more Betrayals
• one or more Rivalry
• one or more Pain
• one or more Success

Nothing else matters!  If we have all these, realize your life is already full and complete and start celebrating. Without the above, you cannot have life experiences.  I feel I already have all these and I feel fulfilled. As you read, you too have already this list of experience in your life.  So, start celebrating.

Recent books purchase on Linguistics

I ordered these books on Linguistics from Flipkart recently -

Linguistics: An Introduction to Language and Communication  and  Linguistics for Dummies.

Both are very good books for beginners.  The Linguistics book is also co-authored by Ann K Farmer, Information Engineer at Google.  I also bought the book A Linguistics Workbook, which is a companion to Linguistics book.  I feel this will be a great start to understand Linguistics and do justice for my new found love for Linguistics.

Metaphors in every day news 13-Oct-2012

Today's Times of India carried the following news headlines.

• Denied more time, Chargers on thin ice
• SC frowns on erratic water release to TN
• Sparks fly as Biden, Ryan cross swords at TV duel

English is a crazy language

Source: fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net via Deysa Jean on Pinterest

Patricia Kuhl: The linguistic genius of babies (TED Video)

Confidence in accent

Next time when some one speaks a wrong accent, do not laugh or criticise.  It could restrict their confidence to build their language and also can impact self esteem.

Rufous Grasshopper

Clicked this Grasshopper on top of a car in office car parking.  Got to know it is called Rufous Grasshopper.  The way he landed himself on the car, reminds me of Spider Man.

I did a little bit Googling on it, and it was very interesting to read about its 'courtship song'  (link)

Sometimes I feel struck in awesome looking at some of the very common insects / creatures around us. Every creature has some place on this earth!

Photo Credits: Ganesh Subramanian @ August Minds

Anthony Robbins Pictures

Anthony Robbins is my all time favorite author and motivational speaker. His photos and powerful words are good enough for me start off my day

BESCOM Helpdesk is professional!

If you ever complained of BESCOM in the past, you would have noticed a lot has been improving in the BESCOM.  I would like to highlight my experiences with BESCOM customer support.  Anytime the power goes, I immediately call 080-22873333 which is a 24 x 7 customer care support. Someone always picks up - they take all the details like the time power went, address, contact details and provide the complaint number.  Once the power is restored, they call back and ensure we are satisfied.

Today, I had to call due to a power cut. I also gave feedback that while I am happy that the complaints are immediately attended to, the short power cuts have been happening very frequently in our area.  The executive (yes, she is one!)  suggested that I write to bescomconsumer@gmail.com so that all the complaints are reviewed by the senior officers.

This is really professional and I am very glad to write about this in August Minds.

Hearty Appreciations to BESCOM HelpDesk.

Floored by books

What a magic world is that of books!
Being a bibliophile, I found myself rearranging my bookshelf to put them in some order.
And I had an opportunity to spend time in front of my best friend Dr.Shankar's bookshelf (read bookshelves) with vast collection of books from diversified topics.  Dr.Shankar introduced me to various authors, characters and subjects. Overnight, I chose to sleep at the feet of the huge bookshelf so that I can flip through all the books the next day (today's) early morning. 
Recently I have developed a lot of interest in Linguistics and constantly pursuing topics on health.  I ordered Manhood of Humanity: The Science and Art of Human Engineering by Alfred Korzybski; and Eat to Live: The Amazing Nutrient-Rich Program for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss by Fuhrman Joel.  The Eat to Live is on the Top 10 on Amazon and the once-obese-readers have been sharing exciting feedback.
Today, I ordered some more books - some of the books are influenced by Dr.Shankar and some by Bill Gates blog -

• The Elephant Whisperer by Graham Spence
• Society of Mind by Marvin Minsky
• Abundance: The Future is better than you think by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler
• The Better Angels of our nature by Steven Pinker
• Linguistics for Dummies

If the world has produced so many books on various topics, they have been published because someone wrote it, bothered to write about something.  But this world has not produced enough books yet - as there are several men and women have not shared their stories yet.

I am literally floored by the world of books. 

She is still around

She is still around.
I try to avoid...
Not sure how I can eliminate beggary...
Undecided if I have to support her !
She keeps appearing on the signals...
Reminding us in contrast of ATMs and Fashions around !
What do I explain to my kid?

Airtel woes - Jo Mera Hai, Woh Tera Hai

Paying bills is one of the monotonous things that everyone hates to do.  You end up avoiding the 'bored' feeling by automating it -  through ECS, automated payment options etc.

But if you just automate and dont verify the bills, you are the problem.

If you are a Airtel customer, Airtel Customer Care is part of your everyday life.  If you have not spoken today, you may talk to them this week.  If you have not spoken to them this week, you will speak this month, for sure.

Most of us almost end up taking to them for Broadband disconnects, Exorbitant Mobile Bills, Telecaller nuisance for one more Postpaid connection.

2G / 3G ?  - How come the customer care people charge you for 2G, and 3G if you have not really used it.  The excuse they give is weird - if your area has 3G network, your 2G becomes 3G.  But my question is - when did I opt for 2G ? 
Everybody is made some form of 2G scam, whether they like it or not. I am also worried more for the poor who are charged exorbitantly for some innocent clicks.

Broadband Woes - Broadband speed invariably varies, sometimes zero.  The technical team discovers that there is a problem in the junction box, and finds need for replacing old cables to new cables.  Dont you guys have a monitoring service? and why do you wait for the customer to call 4 times a month?

Dish TV - Every day, you see a yellow icon eating up the space with new message on the TV screen.  But when it comes to taking that 'extra money' you get a SMS - "new 5 channels have been added to your account; and your package price is increased by so & so".  Whom did you ask, madam?    And when you actually introduced a new free channel, you never let me know.

Online account -  Are there really technical people with Airtel for maintaining their website? I wonder.  You cannot reset your password, manage your account unless you talk to the customer care.

Airtel woes - Airtel woes - Jo Mera Hai, Woh Tera Hai.
Its just not with Airtel, I believe, as I hear from my Vodafone, Reliance and BSNL friends.

Here is a call to change Bangalore city - iChangeMyCity

Many of us often complaint - not to the respective departments, but among ourselves - on various civic issues in Bangalore.  Here is an e-initiatve from the Janaagrahaa called IChangeMyCity (link) where everyone can log their complaints online.

ichangemycity

Here is what you need to do:

a) Create an account for yourself
b) Then post a complaint on the issue that you would like to address -
  1. You select the location from the embedded Google Map
  2. You describe the complaint
  3. If you have a photo or so, you can post one

c) You select the type of the problem (traffic, garbage etc) so that the complaint can be accordingly routed through.
d) You can also view others complaints and vote "I am affected"
e) You can also create a group so that many of us can collectively fight a common issue

The issue gets assigned to the ward corporator or any respective authority.  You also accumulate points for creating issues (I am not sure what it means to have points; but it could be for some motivation).

The authority acknowledges and also provides the contact number, or take action.  Once the action taken, you can change the status to "resolved".

You may say 'there are several such initiatives in the past but nothing happened'; but this is different:  The entire Bangalore city's problems are plotted on a map. It is visible where the problem lies.

If you agree with me, please take action now.  Visit the IChangeMyCity (link); spread a word on this initiative to other friends; if you are a blogger, blog about this. If you are employed, post this info in your billboard.

Be the change, before you expect the change!

Life Sucks Because Their Life Soaks

When I hear the phrase "Soak No More",  of all the broad themes what I see most prominent is "Getting Soaked in Day Dreams".
I wish we have a detergent, a magic tool, a milk powder, or an inhaler that will shake off people from day dreams. Not to blame the individual, its mostly the environment that puts people to lull.
1. At school :   A dull teacher in a congested classroom puts everyone in to lull (except first bench); classroom with no fan soaks everyone in sweat; randomly the principal arrives soaking everybody (including the teacher) in fear.
2. At road: Most of the drivers keenly follow the traffic signal but many a times the signal is not justified. We soak ourselves in traffic not because of the traffic but because of the traffic police. Until the police arrives, the traffic is smooth; what an irony!
3. At home: Life is not black and white for many.  Life is either colourful or black.  Colourful because people soak themselves into TV programmes for hours together.  The young ones soak into music, the elder ones into tears (lifelong TV serials).  When the power supply goes, everyone soaks into darkness - we reach out to the neighbour and discuss how bad the government is and not providing constant power supply (the real concern is missing the TV program).  Actually neighbours dont see each other, but its the power cut that bonded them to together and they are soaked into conversations on politics, society and school's high fees - all until the power comes.
4. On the mobile -  Everyone is soaked into mobile these days.  The ear plugs stem out of the curvy ears of the girls and boys lined up on the window seats of the bus. They either listen to music or call somebody but do not talk to the neighbour seat person or to the family person.  They send "I love you" SMS to Music programmes so that everyone can read.  Soaked into SMS world, they keep checking every now and then if a 'message is received'.  They dont properly talk to their "appa" because they are already soaked in android "apps".  They are upset when the daddy gets angry;  they are happy when they can kill angry birds.
5. On the Internet - Everyone is soaked into Internet these days.  They jump into the internet pool as soon as they wakeup, tweet good morning, make some "likes", forward some junks, and check some filmy news.
6. On the news media - I know of the few who are soaked into all forms of news media - TV, newspaper, online websites;  as an additional measure, they soak themselves into cafetaria discussions (paid by their employers) almost deciding the fate of this country.
7. Soaked in queues:  Most of us are soaked in queues, because we do not really follow the queue.  If we can define a queue as a "single thread", we spin branches out of it.
8. Soaked in eatery joints: This is a hugry world - every 1.5 hours.  We have not solved the toilet problems (I mean lack of sufficient toilets) but we have solved the food problem and health problem.  First we soak ourselves into all types of food;  second we soak ourselves into all types of medicine.  For every individual, there are 5 hotels available.  For every individual, there are 5 pharmacies available.
9. Soaked in religious tours:  We have not found the "God particle" yet.  The home's pooja room Ganesha and other lined up Gods are not sufficient.  We pray, commit, and visit all the relatives of Gods.  We travel from one part of the country to another part to see if  some other God can help.  Soaked in all types of religious measures, we still fail to see God in ourselves.
10. Soaked in Advice:  The best advice I would give is "Do not give advice".  When someone shares his concern,  please listen. When someone is upset, comfort them.  When someone shares something, do not provide advice.  Advice contributes to 80% of pollution in this country.  Whereever I turn, advice, advice, advice.
For many, life sucks because their life soaks.  Read all the above 10 points, soak yourself into some serious thinking, change yourselves and only after that change the society.  Soak No More.  Hope I justified the title.

Note:  This is my article for Indiblogger contest on the theme "Soak No More".   Visit this link for more details.

Keladi Kanmani or Keladi Kullamani - Youtube Movie

I was surprised to see the blockbuster movie Keladi Kanmani (கேளடி கண்மணி)  is mistakenly translated as Keladi Kullamani (கேளடி குள்ளமணி) . Its not about the typo; everybody would make mistakes.  But Kullamani is a comedian's name and is very hilarious to read. Wondering what was in the translator's mind when he translated :-)

Visit this link before Youtube makes the change.  If you see the change already happened, please comment.

Keladi Kullamani?

Start Your Kid's Day In Style

As a dad, can you get that valuable 15 mins for your kids when she wakes up?

Start her day with a small, funny story and take her to brushing. While she brushes, introduce your innovative lines like "Ben Ten attacked all the germs powerfully" or "Chota Bheem brushed all his teeth very clean and became very strong".

Start Your Kid's Day In Style

Kids need that happy start and rest of the day they create happiness for themselves and others.
You as a dad, do that magic for your kid.

Why There Is No Such Thing As Failure

One of the NLP Presuppositions is "There is no such thing as Failure; there is only feedback."

It is true.  You may also want to equate it with 'everything is maya' concept; however if you meditate more on this presupposition, you will understand the "truth".

This world is running through a chain reaction - if only we can see the cosmic rays probably we may see web of events. The events interact, interfere, impede and impact one another.  One leads to another. By "event", I do not mean an incident, in our conversational sense. It could be anything that is "exeA cuting" or "under execution". Let us assume you understood this and probably agreed to this.

Given this a well coordinated, complex events, - is it really fair to expect only success. Having studied history, we know both "success" and "failures" are part of our baggage.

There is no such thing as failure! There are only results.

So, when we work on any mission, lets remember this -

a) Success and failure are one of the results.
b) A success necessarily need not mean, it was possible due to your efforts. There could be other "contributing factors".
c) A failure necessarily need not mean, it was due to your efforts. There could be other "contributing factors".

So, when you encounter so called "failure"
1. Do not accept it as a failure - see it as a case for study
2. Identify those contributing factors
3. If you are really serious about your "intended result",  rework again.
4. If your intention was to try only once, and expect success - probably you are not serious.

I tuned myself into a philosphical mindset and attempted to write this for the last 3 days - I think I got it this time. Please meditate on this - There is no such thing as failure.

Two Wheelers - Know Your Limits

Bangalore Two Wheelers need a lesson or two. In general, there is no respect for the stop limit and vehicles stop just right o the pedestrian cross. Do we expect pedestrians figure out and manage the 10 seconds they get to cross the road? What if the pedestrian is your parents or your school going children. Here is something annoying I notice very often. The violators are invariably educated, literate people who very would talk about what is not good in this nation. These educated violators set the trend on the road - I have already reached the stop mark. A two wheeler, the trend setter first gets on to the pedestrian cross. He also opportunity to jump the signal if police is not around. Seeing him, follow other two wheelers. Location - its immaterial; its all over in Bangalore.  In case you are curious, its East End Signal, JP Nagar. Feel like screaming - Two Wheelers, Please Know Your Limits

Continuous Learning Experience for Village School Teachers

I always thought of this - where do school teachers take help if they need help on subjects?  Teachers in cities and big towns always have good sources like professors, internet, library etc to take help from. However, teachers in the village do not have a mechanism to take help from. They are continuously exposed to continued teaching experience; but they do not get continuous learning experience. 

I have few ideas for addressing this need.  There is a huge entrepreneurial opportunity to execute one or all of these now -

• A tuition centre for teachers in the villages. 
• A call centre for teachers who can log in and take help. 
• Like medical camps, social workers and volunteers can visit villages and do education camps. 
• Universities can setup mandatory quarterly visits to villages or get the teachers to cities for quarterly refresher courses for village teachers.
• Lab visits for practical knowledge.

Mere provision of internet and electronic media to the teachers without any practical help can add to their frustration.
I will blog more on each of the proposals after brainstorming with like minded people.

Bookmarks for Bibliophiles

I made these bookmarks for all the bibliophiles. Hope you all like it.  You may want to get them photo-printed and cut them as individual bookmarks or just use them as posters. 

If you have any good quotes on book reading, or on bibliophiles, please share in the comments section. 

Diya's Wake Up Calendar

Diya is such a nice kid that she allows me to experiment good ideas with her. We needed a mechanism to make Diya wake up in the morning without we doing any circus. I came up with a Wake Up Chart with the following features: a) Its a matrix of  15 days and morning time slots. b) The time slots start from 6am, till 8 am and with a gap of 15 minutes. c) Each time slot is named "Superb", "Excellent", "Wow"  etc. Now, this is what happens.  Diya wakes up in the morning and rushes up to the chart to color code what time she woke up.  She asks "Daddy, what time I woke up?".  If I say 6.15 am, she responds "today is Excellent". For morning conversation starts like this for the past one month or so. Here in the attached images you can see her July and August charts. Diya tries to innovate with different colours and connecting the dots. For next month, I am planning to make more kid-friendly chart instead of a typical corporate like tabular chart. :-) Request the parents to try this Wake Up chart, if you like this idea.

Favorite Tamil Songs for All Generations

These are some old time Tamil favourites that mesmerized our grandparents continue to be favourites of this generation too.

Jayanagar's Gifted MLA - BN Vijayakumar

If anyone finds Bangalore's Jayanagar a model constituency, full credits to the MLA BN Vijayakumar.  I had a couple of opportunities to interact with this gentleman and he was very friendly.  I also need to mention that I also had several opportunities to interact with his personal secretary Mr.Chennagiri, who looked into the every issue that we took to him when the officials failed. Once I attended the Janaspandana in Jayanagar through a last minute invite and I was the 100th person to share my concerns.  (In the adjacent picture, I am in dark blue shirt sitting 2nd from left). Now, the MLA also has made something unique to his ward, probably - every street's sign board has his name and the area corporator's contact number; I do not recall seeing this in other constituencies. He also the first one to initiate the bicycle tracks.

When you walk along the Jayanagar streets, you may also see pedestrian friendly speed break-cum-pedestrian footpaths. There are more.  Looking forward more from this gentleman. You may also visit -

• Janaspandana Meeting That I Attended
• Facebook Page of BN Vijayakumar