I stay very close to the highway – close enough to hear the siren of a passing Ambulance. The number of times I hear the siren is way too high and leaves me shocked. I wonder if this is what I hear on just one road then what about the entire city. I shudder to think of that.
Hyderabad city boasts of good roads throughout most part of the city. And there are some stretches of roads, especially the ring roads and National Highways that offer a ‘deadly’ combination of being wide & smooth and offer long straight stretches without much inhabitants (read interruptions) on either side of the road for kilometers altogether.
It is easy for any person to be seduced by these set of conditions to step up the gas. Sometime or the other, every driver on these roads is guilty of trying to see if the speedometer of his vehicle can actually touch three digit.
This and some other reasons like careless driving, talking on the mobile while driving, unexpected pothole, poor lighting on the roads, buffaloes on the roads, slippery roads, drunken driving and many other factors contribute to the high number of road accidents.
Thank God that there are some excellent Ambulance services like EMRI but as always prevention is better than cure.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
तत्काल (Tatkaal)
The “Tatkaal” (meaning Instant) scheme of booking railway tickets was introduced to help people secure a reservation when they needed to undertake unplanned /sudden travel at a very short notice like in case of the death of a relative or appearing for some interview in another city etc.
Earlier, true to its name, the Tatkaal tickets booking would “open” just one day prior to the departure of the train. People would be really thankful that they could travel peacefully in times of stress. However, in its new avatar the Tatkaal bookings open 5 days in advance, which by no means is Tatkaal.
Life is such that it always keeps throwing unexpected situations across our way. So if anyone needs to travel tomorrow due to some sudden requirement, he cannot even hope to get a reservation as all the Tatkaal quota seats would have already been booked 5 days ago. So the only option left is to fly (provided one can afford it) or travel in the train without reservation creating a lot of inconvenience to self and fellow passengers.
Would the Railway Minister please tell how should the common man travel (without inconveniencing self and fellow passengers) in case of urgency?
Earlier, true to its name, the Tatkaal tickets booking would “open” just one day prior to the departure of the train. People would be really thankful that they could travel peacefully in times of stress. However, in its new avatar the Tatkaal bookings open 5 days in advance, which by no means is Tatkaal.
Life is such that it always keeps throwing unexpected situations across our way. So if anyone needs to travel tomorrow due to some sudden requirement, he cannot even hope to get a reservation as all the Tatkaal quota seats would have already been booked 5 days ago. So the only option left is to fly (provided one can afford it) or travel in the train without reservation creating a lot of inconvenience to self and fellow passengers.
Would the Railway Minister please tell how should the common man travel (without inconveniencing self and fellow passengers) in case of urgency?
Monday, July 30, 2007
What I miss from Bangalore
I have very fond memories of my stay at Bangalore, some of the things that I miss from Bangalore are (in random order) -
- A walk down Brigade Road
- Almond Fudge at Corner House
- Shopping at Commercial Street
- Drive on the outer ring road
- Factory outlet shops at Marathahalli
Monday, April 16, 2007
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Saas, Bahu, Ekta & CSR
A lot has been talked about Saas, Bahu, Ekta Kapoor and about her soaps beginning with the letter ‘K’. There is little doubt about her popularity, especially with the housewives. And very few seem to be bothered about what values they and their family members are imbibing by watching these serials daily.
When there is objectionable content in a movie, there is a lot of hue and cry about it in the media and the censor board is ever ready to clip it but she has designed her soaps such that she manages to get the audience hooked on everyday year after year and at the same time she skillfully manages to dodge the censor board and the moral police for the kind of underlying content and message that her soaps carry.
Though I know a few families in which it is taboo to see any of these soaps, I sometimes wonder if Ekta herself is aware of the deeper and long term impact of her soaps on the Indian society esp. the middle class which forms a majority of her audience.
Being the creative head of Balaji Telefilms, she ought to be aware of her social responsibility or more specifically her Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
According to Mallen Baker “Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large".
One may call Ekta Kapoor successful. But the definition of success itself varies from person to person. For some it may mean more money, more fame, more power. To some success may be the ability to reach out and help others or contribute to the society. I am not sure which definition of success she chooses for herself but from where I stand I see it this way.
To me it seems that she does not realize that she is at a very enviable position, where she has the power to transform a society and influence their thoughts in a very positive manner. Look at the countrywide debates ‘Lage Raho munna Bhai’ generated on Gandhigiri and the way it swept the audiences irrespective of their age groups.
May be she is too much bothered about getting the TRPs and creating value for the shareholders of Balaji Telefilms. But I hope eventually this realization does dawn upon her and may God give her the courage to take the steps in this direction so that she is remembered not only as a successful business woman but also as a great human being.
When there is objectionable content in a movie, there is a lot of hue and cry about it in the media and the censor board is ever ready to clip it but she has designed her soaps such that she manages to get the audience hooked on everyday year after year and at the same time she skillfully manages to dodge the censor board and the moral police for the kind of underlying content and message that her soaps carry.
Though I know a few families in which it is taboo to see any of these soaps, I sometimes wonder if Ekta herself is aware of the deeper and long term impact of her soaps on the Indian society esp. the middle class which forms a majority of her audience.
Being the creative head of Balaji Telefilms, she ought to be aware of her social responsibility or more specifically her Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
According to Mallen Baker “Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large".
One may call Ekta Kapoor successful. But the definition of success itself varies from person to person. For some it may mean more money, more fame, more power. To some success may be the ability to reach out and help others or contribute to the society. I am not sure which definition of success she chooses for herself but from where I stand I see it this way.
To me it seems that she does not realize that she is at a very enviable position, where she has the power to transform a society and influence their thoughts in a very positive manner. Look at the countrywide debates ‘Lage Raho munna Bhai’ generated on Gandhigiri and the way it swept the audiences irrespective of their age groups.
May be she is too much bothered about getting the TRPs and creating value for the shareholders of Balaji Telefilms. But I hope eventually this realization does dawn upon her and may God give her the courage to take the steps in this direction so that she is remembered not only as a successful business woman but also as a great human being.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Review of Motorola RAZR V3i
I purchased this phone a month or so back and once I started using it, I started discovering the usefulness of its features. I must congratulate the team which has designed this product. Amazing. Not only the looks are excellent but in usefulness of the features - nothing can beat this phone (in the same price range). It has almost everything you would look in a phone and more. I felt so strongly about it that I wrote a product review on it. Read it here.
Friday, August 25, 2006
The Milk Miracle
For those who believe, an explanation is unnecessary.
For those, who don’t believe, an explanation is impossible.
These are the beginning lines of the site dedicated to this miracle which happened over 10 years ago on 21st Sept. 1995. There is a video of the same and lots of other information on the site. For the curious it’s worth a look.
For those, who don’t believe, an explanation is impossible.
These are the beginning lines of the site dedicated to this miracle which happened over 10 years ago on 21st Sept. 1995. There is a video of the same and lots of other information on the site. For the curious it’s worth a look.
It's Raining Miracles
It’s raining miracles in India.
First came the news of sea water turning sweet in Mumbai and then the news about idols drinking milk yet again spread like wild fire across the country. And now the latest miracle to happen is the image of Sai Baba is visible on a building wall in Surat. Read here for more details.
First came the news of sea water turning sweet in Mumbai and then the news about idols drinking milk yet again spread like wild fire across the country. And now the latest miracle to happen is the image of Sai Baba is visible on a building wall in Surat. Read here for more details.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Orkut Profiles Misused
Whenever any service becomes popular on the web, some people always find a way to misuse it. This time around the casualty is the popular online community Orkut.
Recently there have been cases where people have created profiles on Orkut with some other person’s real name and filing the profile with data such as to slander them. Some have even gone to the extent of posting the doctored photographs of the victims. It goes without saying that the first victims are females.
The Telegraph reports here about the details of the same.
People have to be aware that whatever information they are posting on any such online communities is no longer private. Not only their friends but any other person who can navigate to that page has access to that information.
May be I am sounding over-cautious but the prudence is in letting out only that information online which you are comfortable in sharing with strangers. Even I had some not-so-experiences after which I decided to remove some pages from my website which gave details about my family members.
So as the saying goes “Learn from other people’s mistakes because you won’t live long enough to commit all of them yourself”
Update - Crime on the net has become a reality. These incidents should not be discarded as one-off cases. Increasing number of crimes are being committed. Read this one for example. And here's another one - a very recent one where the CEO of the Indian portal MouthShut.com was threatned for extortion. Read the details here.
Recently there have been cases where people have created profiles on Orkut with some other person’s real name and filing the profile with data such as to slander them. Some have even gone to the extent of posting the doctored photographs of the victims. It goes without saying that the first victims are females.
The Telegraph reports here about the details of the same.
People have to be aware that whatever information they are posting on any such online communities is no longer private. Not only their friends but any other person who can navigate to that page has access to that information.
May be I am sounding over-cautious but the prudence is in letting out only that information online which you are comfortable in sharing with strangers. Even I had some not-so-experiences after which I decided to remove some pages from my website which gave details about my family members.
So as the saying goes “Learn from other people’s mistakes because you won’t live long enough to commit all of them yourself”
Update - Crime on the net has become a reality. These incidents should not be discarded as one-off cases. Increasing number of crimes are being committed. Read this one for example. And here's another one - a very recent one where the CEO of the Indian portal MouthShut.com was threatned for extortion. Read the details here.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
World's First Online Book Fair
World's first Online Book Fair has started on 4th July 06. About 1/3 million e-books are available for free access / download between 4th of July to 4th of August.
There are eBooks from nearly every classic author on variety of subjects. One can find books on a variety of topics viz. Literature, Philosophy, Wisdom, Fiction, Religion, Politics, and Electronics etc. The website even lists MP3 books. All the books can be downloaded free of charge.
For people who are used to reading e-books it definitely is good news and I am sure they would try to download as many as possible during this period.
However I am not a fan of e-books. They are good to have but I am still more comfortable reading the good old paper book rather than the e-book. In the past I have tried reading an e-book but could never get past 20-30 pages.
I have seen people read lot of stuff on their handheld or laptop especially during travel time but I feel they can’t beat the fun of reading from an actual paper book.
One can read a book practically anywhere where there is sufficient light without bothering about the battery getting discharged or plugging it to a power source or the fear of damaging your expensive gadget. And they are relatively easier to carry when on the move.
Apart from these there are a few disadvantages too with the paper books –
# One can’t download them for free
# Usually they are pretty expensive especially if you but the original (non-pirated version)..in terms of the Indian currency usually the MRP is higher than the number of pages in the book in most cases
# Storing them requires physical space in your house and usually requires some care in the long run.
But if you are willing to take these in your stride then books are one of the best companions you can get.
There are eBooks from nearly every classic author on variety of subjects. One can find books on a variety of topics viz. Literature, Philosophy, Wisdom, Fiction, Religion, Politics, and Electronics etc. The website even lists MP3 books. All the books can be downloaded free of charge.
For people who are used to reading e-books it definitely is good news and I am sure they would try to download as many as possible during this period.
However I am not a fan of e-books. They are good to have but I am still more comfortable reading the good old paper book rather than the e-book. In the past I have tried reading an e-book but could never get past 20-30 pages.
I have seen people read lot of stuff on their handheld or laptop especially during travel time but I feel they can’t beat the fun of reading from an actual paper book.
One can read a book practically anywhere where there is sufficient light without bothering about the battery getting discharged or plugging it to a power source or the fear of damaging your expensive gadget. And they are relatively easier to carry when on the move.
Apart from these there are a few disadvantages too with the paper books –
# One can’t download them for free
# Usually they are pretty expensive especially if you but the original (non-pirated version)..in terms of the Indian currency usually the MRP is higher than the number of pages in the book in most cases
# Storing them requires physical space in your house and usually requires some care in the long run.
But if you are willing to take these in your stride then books are one of the best companions you can get.
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