Manthan.....

Formula to make Educated Middle class Vote

2009-03-30T10:29:00.000-07:00

I remember last year, I read in one of the newspapers that Bangalore recorded the lowest voter turnout among all the districts that went to the polls in the first phase of the Karnataka assembly elections .

Isn't that strange in a city inhabited by the people with lot of grey cells?

I'm quite happy with the initiatives taken by the various media houses to make the educated people realize the importance of voting ..especially the campaign "I swear" by Times of India Group . But does that really help to get the educated out of their homes n vote .There are many other campaigns happening on issues like "Global warming " ..But How much they have been successful ??.. does that really touch many people directly and make them realize the importance of subject..I am talking about most of the people .

One formula which will definitely work and make all the educated people vote will be " Tax rebate for people who vote whenever the elections are held."Still need to work out the details...

I have seen people, the so called educated middle class going crazy during financial year closure. In order to get the maximum benefit of tax rebates ,they simply do everything to save as much as they can. I understand money is important but the kind of interest they show during that period is different.At that moment nothing seems to be much more important than this activity.

We really want that the people should show the similar interest during election days.

I'm damn sure the educated middle class will throng the polling booths to vote... If voting is connected to some incentive like this ...

Thats why the saying goes as "Paisa Phenk Tamasha Dekh ".

Nominee for my web-space

2009-03-26T09:51:00.000-07:00

Few days back I was thinking..what will happen to all the web space which I possess after my death...My profiles in social networking sites...my email accounts..etc.

People will be able to post some comments on my profile but there would be no more updates from my side...

People will be able to send me the mails but no reply back from my side.

I think there should be a provision to choose the nominee for these accounts . If the account holder passes away , these websites should give away the access to the nominees by some way..either by sharing the passwd etc.

Just googled a bit and found there is a new startup by the name of Legacy Locker, it offers an online repository for usernames and passwords that is released to a beneficiary in the event of a person's death.

Not a bad Idea though :)

Nano ....The revolution begins !!

2009-03-25T09:57:00.000-07:00

"Nano" main Sapna..Sapno main Sajna..Sajna Pe Dil aa gaya ..

I'm damn sure I'm sounding like an AAJ Tak channel ..but this was exactly they were playing during the telecast of Nano Launch. Well hats off to their creativity !

When I was in US , I was asked by my friends that which car I possess..which car my bro has n which car my parents have etc etc. I replied back saying that in India, in middle class families.. mostly we have one car per family and not per person..but I think Nano could be the answer now .

After its share of ups n downs ..Nano is finally here..The Launch of Nano has many advantages as well as Disadvantages.

Advantages

1)The car most of the people can afford.It is the cheapest car in the world.

2)Rise to a competitive environment where every manufacture will try to offer much more than Nano but keeping price in considerations .Its like a journey of mobile phones..from 10k to some hundred rupees.

3)It will give a tough competition to the 2- wheeler space ..

Disadvantages :

1)As many will be able to afford it , it will drastically increase the number of cars on the road..hence leading to a traffic congestion.

2)More cars..means much more emission and hence more pollution .

In a place like Bangalore, where the present traffic situation is already pathetic ..I don't feel its in a condition to embrace the situation where the number of cars r gonna increase drastically..

I feel there should be a rule to restrict the number of Nano cars in a city depending upon its infrastructure. If a state can't afford much Nano cars....simply hold responsible the CM of the state to deprive you of this comfort . Might they learn from this and put their heart n soul for the infrastructure development of their state.

Anyways... Everyone is looking forward to Ratan Tata's Pretty Woman...

WinXP - Movie Maker Crash...resolved

2009-03-21T03:04:00.000-07:00

I have a HP dual core winxp laptop ...Somehow whenever I used to use win movie maker s/w , the sytem used to shut down abrubtly ...

Just figured out the issue and now it is working fine.

Reason :

Movie maker is a heavy software and it seems both the CPU's were fully loaded .Due to this if the heat build-up gets too high, there’s a circuit breaker in the system that instantly shuts down the computer to protect it from damage.

So in case of dual core processors, we can use only one processor to achieve the task ..thus generating less heat as compared to two processors in action. To make your process run on a particular processor ..you can set the process affinity.

Solution :

1) Go to Task Manager.

2) Select Process tab.

3)Right click on the process.

4)Select Set Affinity.

5)Finally select the CPU where you want to run your process.

Note : This is not a permanent setting. Everytime the application is launched, this setting needs to be done.

Now I am able to make my first Video using movie maker on my laptop successfully.

Online shopping in India

2009-03-18T10:28:00.000-07:00

Well Just a thought about why I think online shopping as such didn't pick up in India after such a long time of IT boom ...the way it picked up in west.
People in west, prefer to buy everything if possible online especially the electronic gadgets. But this trend is still at a nascent stage in India .

In west..I feel people use their resources more optimally . They will neither waste time nor gas...going to a market to buy just a 10$ USB drive .They would do some research online..shortlist a brand and buy it online and spend their time doing something else.

-But In India we still prefer to go to a shop and feel the device with our hands and then buy it...We need to have some confidence before buying and that comes by seeing it with our own eyes and feeling it with our own hands:).I might waste my whole day to buy just a Rs500/- USB drive.

-In west, the internet based sites have won the confidence of their customers.They have built such a reputation with their customers that they are delivered the product exactly what they have asked for and also of good quality...Well I'm talking of the good online shopping sites..though there are many black sheeps too.

But In India somehow we still have to go a long way to build such a reputation. I had a bad experience of buying t-shirts from a quite renowned website.. Finally which got delivered were of different size and colour and literally bad quality.So I'm still not grown over that.

So few important things for an online shopping to pick up in India are :

1)Mindset : .
-We should start believing in a brand and realize the brand which we see on shop will be the same if it gets delivered in our homes.

2)Awareness :
Make us more literate in terms of evaluating a product..The whole info is on web..we don't need a sales person to use jargons and makes us buy what he feels is good.

3)Company - Customer relationship :
Company's should not compromise on the quality and win the confidence of their customers by delivering the product in time and in good shape.

Election Time 2009

2009-03-17T10:31:00.000-07:00

"Party Party Everywhere..But None Worth to Vote "
- Gaurav Mengi

Its election time in India..n everyone is blowing their own trumpet..Thats wat the elections are all about...

This post is not against BJP but somehow I never kind of liked that party.I always felt there is too much of Saffronism n fanaticism in their beliefs...Just few days back I saw LK Advani making a strong Statement "Ram Mandir Ban ke Rahega"...I was simply pissed off....Is that your Manifesto Sir?...I would have been happy if he would have mentioned something like that .."We will construct a school where people from all religions can come and study..."

n today Varun Gandhi's statement added fuel to the fire. It's extremely sad that he belongs to such a respected lineage ..but maybe he has learnt this from his mentors in the party and that is what he vomitted in his rally....Might be this Gandhian grandson joined the wrong school of thoughts.

There are splits n alliances..only for the sake of seats and not for the national interests..there is no demarcation clearly defining the objectives of each party but rather if seats can be attained ..manifestos can be changed....

I still remember that once Omar Abdullah,when he became the CM was suggested that he should choose very Ideal candidates for his cabinet..By ideal he meant...No criminal background..well read..doesn't discriminate religion...etc etc...He replied back saying that if you mention such statments in a debate competition ..you will receive a gr8 round of applause but in politics the dynamics are too different.....

Actually that day I felt concerned and Sad because then that means The ideal party will only exist in Books...

So let's see How the story unfolds as the day passes by....

whats your Japanese name ?

2007-05-17T09:41:00.001-07:00

"Gaurav Mengi" in Japanese is....

Yasuo Gojo

What's your Japanese Name?

Second Innings ?

2007-05-12T13:15:00.000-07:00

Theres a whole lot of talks....discussions..viewpoints..arguments related to the APJ's second term as the President of India....Many people are in favour of it n as usual many against....

Well as far as I'm concerned ....I Don't admire him because he is the President of the country but because the way he chased his dreams inspite of abject poverty.....His books "wings of Fire"..."Ignited minds" are no less than Bhagwat Gita to me . I think he is the only President of the country till today with whom I feel or many people feel connected in some ways.....The previous Presidents like Shankar Dayal Sharma, R Venkataraman .......I just knew their names because they were President of the country....My relationship with them was only that much and nthg else.

There is something different about this President . What I think HE is :

- A self made genius .

- A very humble n down to earth personality....

- A very approachable person.

- He's a source of inspiration n motivation for lot of children and not only that he's quite well connected with them. Look at the site Children's Gallery .He has answered almost all the questions asked by children .

- A great Visionary .

- Emphasis on Youth empowerment .

- Believes in creating knowledge Industry and feels that it is going to be the greatest asset to make India a self sufficient and developed nation.

- Wants to make everyone tech savy...

- Tours a lot and interact with lot of ppl anywhere n everywhere be it in Siachin glaciers.....or in Submarines..

- n the list goes on.....

Today India is boasting upon "large young population"....then this young population really needs such inspirational icons..I feel its better if he continues as the President for the 2nd term or his replacement should be with the one who has somewhat similar thoughts n should be an inspiration for the youth of the country ....whose work should speak rather than only his speeches on 26th jan or 15th Aug. We really don't want Babus.....

Its Hot .........

2007-05-11T11:02:00.000-07:00

Its tooooo Hot but not sexy ...Bengalooru was never like that . Man its 40c these days........This once so called pensioner's paradise is literally burning ......Few years back people in Bengalooru didn't have the provision of even fans at home but now its difficult to survive without an air conditioner. Thats the story of deep south . Lets go to my birth place Kashmir....extreme North . At this time all the mountains there should have been covered by the snow. But alas! there is hardly any snow left even at the peaks ....its touching 30c..... Boss wats happening and whose responsible for it ..... Is it some new planet ..I'm damn sure its not the one which our great grandfathers left for us . Is it the consequences of too much need for the comfort........Is it the consequences of growing economy....Is it that we have taken our nature too much for granted........

Fact is today I'm able to afford almost all basic comforts. If its hot..replace a single fan in the room with two..n if u can spend more.. buy an airconditioner.....who the hell is this "NATURE"....I hardly have any time for myself then why the hell i should bother for this invisible entity "NATURE".
Simply How Selfish n mean I have become . So many campaining...so much of propaganda..then why are we so ignorant about this whole concept of "Global warming".

There are some basic ethics which we all can follow in our daily lives ....i've tried to pen down few..n e'one is invited to add to this list...

-reduce waste by choosing reusable products instead of disposables .

- replace all incandescent light bulbs and start using fluorescent bulbs .
(I can't say that i did it after thinking about global warming but just to save enormous electricity bills.But anyhow its good.)

-turning off lights when you leave a room, and using only as much light as you need.
(atleast try to do).

- Remember to turn off your television, worldspace and Laptop when you're not using them.

-if you have the means to plant a tree, start digging.
(presently no means).

-Help promote community carpooling.
(office is 1o mts from my home..I go walking ....).

-Take public transit whenever possible.
(Always take Auto Rickshaw....).

-Avoid plastic bags as much as you can .
(hardly follow this ......But try to work on this)

Fight For Survival ....

2006-11-24T05:09:00.000-08:00

24th Nov, 8:30 a:m - Time to get up and get ready for office. Prepared Tea ..took the News paper and switched on MTV .Songs didn't seem to be interesting anymore so started flipping the channels and Landed on NAT GEO . That seemed little interseting as "Predators: Relentless Enemies" was coming . They were showing how lions are strategizing their attack on a herd of Bulls .

Bulls were trying their level best to defend themselves from these ferocious creatures and whenever they used to move towards the lion in a group....Lions had to recede .I thought its gonna be a different ball game today..Bulls empowering "The kings of the jungle" and the very first thought which struck my mind was the same old one "United we can do anything".

But Alas things were never like that. We all know that lions will never give up so easily.They are too aggressive and too Determined . Whenever the flesh is near how can they simply let it go. In their 15-20 mts jostle, lions could make out which one was the weaker(older) among them all and easy to attack. At one point, bulls managed to move to the other side of the lake and lions on other side. Again I felt game was all over..God saved poor bulls. But buddy..its a fight for survival...and again lions did not give up .

All lions except one started moving towards bulls again and started roaring at the top of their voice . Bulls also turned towards lions and got ready to face . Lions strategy was working ....they wanted to divert their attention because in the meantime one of the Lions had crossed the river from the other part of the lake and was ready to attack from behind. They attacked ..brutally injured the weaker bull but still all the bulls together managed to rescue that bull from them.....GR8..I was too happy for the poor bull .Lions kept gazing at them and bulls started moving far away from them.Again I took a sigh of relief that at last bulls managed to escape.

But all of a sudden something strange happened . There was something going on in the minds of one of the bulls. He thought that Lions are never gonna give up so easily and one of them had to succumb . That bull suddenly turned violent and started hitting the poor injured bull towards the lion and then wat ..it was a direct invitation to the lions ... please come and have your prey . This time none of the bulls could rescue him and finally he became a treat for the lions. The sight was too alarming rather daunting .Story was over !! But I could not forget the way that poor bull was howling....... Finally the cries were all over and there was left only the carcass.

It was indeed a fight for Survival......for the lions to get the food which they got it.....for the selfish bull which served the poor bull to the lions and saved himself from their claws and for that poor bull which finally succumbed to the injuries...........and finally for me..to get ready ASAP and go to the office and fight for my survival !!

Bengalooru......

2006-11-03T06:48:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Bengalooru....Don't get amazed its not a new state which has cropped up ..but its our own Bangalore which got renamed as Bengalooru on Nov1, 2006.The reason - it sounds more in the spirit of Kannadigans.
Well its nthg new. We have already witnessed Bombay changing into Mumbai and
Calcutta getting renamed as Kolkatta.....I happened to ask few of my friends from Bangalore that did they like the change . Majority of them said its a political stunt but some of them were in favour of it and said that it should have been done much before . But what I personally feel is that in this tech savy part of the globe where u have people from almost all part of the globe , some section of people are feeling ignored in their own state and just to make their presence felt there will be some stunts like this .
For me... whats in a name but for others it might be a great thing which I fail to perceive . When we know something from so many years then why all of a sudden we should change its name.When the whole world is looking at Bangalore as its preferred destination then why don't we spend our time and energy in improving its infrastructure which is in a pathetic condition rather then getting into something which has only an emotional impact or rather political stunt to get votes.
The Biggest shock was that when the govt. of karnatka gave a notice to 1400 schools to shut down as they were violating a language policy " Imparting education through English instead of Kannada". When the countries like China and Japan are making special provisions for people in their country to learn english by any means ....our so called silicon valley ..Bangalooru is going to witness its young children getting deprived of that . I don't know whats the status of the above case but If our respected politicians and policy makers think this way then the dream of "India -2020" is going to get shattered . I really felt sorry for the sweeper who works in Infosys and once told Narayan murthy that she wants to send her kids to english medium school so that they can work in his company.
Thomas L. friedman , the author of the famous book "world is flat " coined the title in the conference room of Infosys in bengalooru when he saw people from different part of the globe , sitting thousands of mile away but able to do discussion using Video Conferencing.I think one of the thing which connected everyone out there was English . But if such political stunts continue to get implemented this way then its not late that someone will come with a new book titled " World is Flat with some dents ".The biggest repercussion of such policies is that poor people will never be able to take the advantage of economic revolution and hence the gap between the rich and the poor will only widen up.
When the whole world is busy growing globally .....we are spending our time and energy in seeping locally ...
Enjoy Madi.............................

Manthan Unleashed......

2006-09-17T00:29:00.000-07:00

In Hindu Mythology Manthan refers to the famous episode of "The churning of the ocean of
milk" . But here Manthan means "The churning of thoughts " .

I dedicate this space to all the thoughts which keep gushing in my mind whether its related to the Country....job..technology..family...friends..foes...on nybody and nething ....Finally, the time has come when we should start working on it...

"The thought manifests as the word. The word manifests as the deed. The deed develops into habit. And the habit hardens into character. So watch the thought and its ways with care. And let it spring from love, born out of concern for all beings. ."
Buddha