Friday, March 13, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
The Army Man
I happened to read this in a Blog.
Loved it , and here it is to all of you.
Dedicated to the all my friends in the Defence.
The average age of the army man is 23 years.
He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer in the capital of his country, but old enough to die for his country.
He’s a recent school or college graduate; he was probably an average student from one of the Kendriya Vidyalayas, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a rickety bicycle, and had a girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away. He listens to rock and roll or hip -hop or bhangra or gazals and a 155mm howitzer.
He is 5 or 7 kilos lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting the insurgents or standing guard on the icy Himalayas from before dawn to well after dusk or he is at Mumbai engaging the terrorists. He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark. He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must.
He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional.
He can march until he is told to stop, or stop until he is told to march.
He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity. His pride and self-respect, he does not lack.
He is self-sufficient.
He has two sets of combat dress: he washes one and wears the other.
He keeps his water bottle full and his feet dry.
He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own wounds.
If you’re thirsty, he’ll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food. He’ll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low.
He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands.
He can save your life - or take it, because he’s been trained for both.
He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay, and still find ironic humor in it all.
He has seen more suffering and death than he should have in his short lifetime.
He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed to do so.
He feels every note of the Jana Gana Mana vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to ’square-away’ those around him who haven’t bothered to stand, remove their hands from their pockets, or even stop talking. In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful. Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom.
Beardless or not, he is not a boy.
He is your nation’s Fighting Man that has kept this country free and defended your right to Freedom. He has experienced deprivation and adversity, and has seen his buddies falling to bullets and maimed and blown.
And he smiles at the irony of the IAS babu and politician reducing his status year after year and the unkindest cut of all, even reducing his salary and asking why he should get 24 eggs a week free! And when he silently whispers in protest, the same politician and babu aghast, suggest he’s mutinying!
Wake up citizens of India! Let’s begin discriminating between the saviours of India and the traitors!
Loved it , and here it is to all of you.
Dedicated to the all my friends in the Defence.
The average age of the army man is 23 years.
He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer in the capital of his country, but old enough to die for his country.
He’s a recent school or college graduate; he was probably an average student from one of the Kendriya Vidyalayas, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a rickety bicycle, and had a girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away. He listens to rock and roll or hip -hop or bhangra or gazals and a 155mm howitzer.
He is 5 or 7 kilos lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting the insurgents or standing guard on the icy Himalayas from before dawn to well after dusk or he is at Mumbai engaging the terrorists. He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark. He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must.
He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional.
He can march until he is told to stop, or stop until he is told to march.
He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity. His pride and self-respect, he does not lack.
He is self-sufficient.
He has two sets of combat dress: he washes one and wears the other.
He keeps his water bottle full and his feet dry.
He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own wounds.
If you’re thirsty, he’ll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food. He’ll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low.
He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands.
He can save your life - or take it, because he’s been trained for both.
He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay, and still find ironic humor in it all.
He has seen more suffering and death than he should have in his short lifetime.
He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed to do so.
He feels every note of the Jana Gana Mana vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to ’square-away’ those around him who haven’t bothered to stand, remove their hands from their pockets, or even stop talking. In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful. Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom.
Beardless or not, he is not a boy.
He is your nation’s Fighting Man that has kept this country free and defended your right to Freedom. He has experienced deprivation and adversity, and has seen his buddies falling to bullets and maimed and blown.
And he smiles at the irony of the IAS babu and politician reducing his status year after year and the unkindest cut of all, even reducing his salary and asking why he should get 24 eggs a week free! And when he silently whispers in protest, the same politician and babu aghast, suggest he’s mutinying!
Wake up citizens of India! Let’s begin discriminating between the saviours of India and the traitors!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Innovative promotions
The ban of hoarding in TN has resulted in two things
1. The political parties get all the skyline in the state to project their loyalty by putting up hardings across the state.
2. The film producers/exhibitors becoming more innovative in reaching out to the people.
Apart from the regular wall posters , these days we also find even buffalos being used to promote the movies.
Recently when I was commuting to office on the local AC bus, I was given this ticket
I was pleasantly surprised by the unconventional medium used to promote the unconventional movie
1. The political parties get all the skyline in the state to project their loyalty by putting up hardings across the state.
2. The film producers/exhibitors becoming more innovative in reaching out to the people.
Apart from the regular wall posters , these days we also find even buffalos being used to promote the movies.
Recently when I was commuting to office on the local AC bus, I was given this ticket
I was pleasantly surprised by the unconventional medium used to promote the unconventional movie
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Amaravian Alumni Association
my batchmates, Pad and Jags along with me infront of the Harvard, presented by the IAF.
This is probably the most photographed location in the school... this gate has become the identity for the institution
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
விருந்தோம்பல்
Being a student of marketing , I was time and again told "Customer is the king" and if I borrow a quote from Gandhi, he has said " Customer is the most important vistor in your premises"
Certainly its obvious that anyone who is in the service industry was of the same opinion as the about quote reveal.
My belief took a beating when I visited KARAIKUDI , an upmarket restraunt in Tiruvanmiyur , Close to where I stay in Chennai ,with my friends for lunch on the sunday. This was one decent restraunt , as the food was pretty decent than the restraunts nearby.
This is converstaion that happened between me and the waiter.
Me: (in hushed tone): Boss, both my previous experiences were not that great on the service part. But I have brought my friends here today,so please take care of the service.
Waiter(loud voice):Sir we cant assure you of the service, it can be bad as well, dont complain at the end.
Me: (in hushed tone):Boss, listen, dont shout , they are my guests, try and manage to provide a good service, so as not to disappoint.
Waiter(loud voice):Sir am again saying , we cant assure anything, its sunday and we are all busy
By this time I was frustrated to sit there any further and we all went to a ok type one which cared to take care of the service.
This was not only with us, while we were leaving we could hear an irrate customer shouting at the manager for making his family sit on a dirty table for half an hour.
Tamilnadu is known for treating guests, and Karaikudi an example for the virunthombal. Its quite disappointing to see such a name being slaughtered by irresponsible few.
Certainly its obvious that anyone who is in the service industry was of the same opinion as the about quote reveal.
My belief took a beating when I visited KARAIKUDI , an upmarket restraunt in Tiruvanmiyur , Close to where I stay in Chennai ,with my friends for lunch on the sunday. This was one decent restraunt , as the food was pretty decent than the restraunts nearby.
This is converstaion that happened between me and the waiter.
Me: (in hushed tone): Boss, both my previous experiences were not that great on the service part. But I have brought my friends here today,so please take care of the service.
Waiter(loud voice):Sir we cant assure you of the service, it can be bad as well, dont complain at the end.
Me: (in hushed tone):Boss, listen, dont shout , they are my guests, try and manage to provide a good service, so as not to disappoint.
Waiter(loud voice):Sir am again saying , we cant assure anything, its sunday and we are all busy
By this time I was frustrated to sit there any further and we all went to a ok type one which cared to take care of the service.
This was not only with us, while we were leaving we could hear an irrate customer shouting at the manager for making his family sit on a dirty table for half an hour.
Tamilnadu is known for treating guests, and Karaikudi an example for the virunthombal. Its quite disappointing to see such a name being slaughtered by irresponsible few.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Friday, October 05, 2007
Monday, October 01, 2007
Sethusamudram & Swami
It is strange that in the politically and religiously charged discussion on Ram Setu, nobody is talking of the (lack of) economic benefits of the project. Entire media seems to be following only one politician’s statements vs. the other. One good article listing out the economic reasons on why the project SHOULD NOT be carried out. Courtest Swaminathan Aiyar and his website
SWAMINOMICS
150-year dream for 150-year-old ships
SWAMINATHAN S ANKLESARIA AIYAR
Religion and history do not mix well. I shrug my shoulders at those opposing the :placeSethusamudram Canal because it will damage the remains of the bridge that Ram’s army used in the Ramayana.
Now, i too oppose the canal, but on economic and environmental grounds. Its rationale is more political than economic. It will become one more public sector white elephant.
The Palk Straits, between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka , are so shallow that only small boats can pass through. So, east-west coastal ships have to go around :placeSri Lanka . So do ships from Europe and Africa to the east coast.
Sethusamudram will be a furrow dredged in the sea-bed of the Straits, deep enough to accommodate ships of 20,000 DWT. The canal will save ships both distance (saving fuel) and time (saving daily charges for chartering ships). So, it should be able to charge ships for passage, like the Suez :City and Panama Canals . This revenue is supposed to make the project economic.
The project is a political gift for Tamil Nadu. It will hugely help Tuticorin port, which today can receive ships only from the west, and not the east. It will improve the viability of existing and planned minor ports in the state. Hence, Tamils call the canal a 150-year dream about to come true (it was first proposed around 1850).
Dreams are costless, but canals are not. Project documents claim that the canal will save ships 36 hours of time and 570 nautical miles of distance. But a recent study by Jacob John in Economic and Political Weekly exposes these claims as highly exaggerated. Up to 70% of the traffic through the canal is projected to come from Europe and Africa . And John estimates that the time saving from Europe to Kolkata will be only eight hours, and the distance saving 215 nautical miles. From Africa to Kolkata, the time taken will actually increase by 3.5 hours (being piloted through the canal is a slow process), and distance reduced will be only 70 nautical miles.
John calculates that ships could lose up to $4,992 per passage if they are charged the tariff laid down in project documents. In which case ships will find it cheaper to go round :placeSri Lanka . If the government cuts the proposed tariff to attract traffic, John estimates that the project’s rate of re turn could fall to an uneconomic 2.5%. I expect that the project will also suffer cost overruns in capital and maintenance dredging, and hence be in the red.
The canal is supposed to be ready by November 2008, not far off. So why has the project not been able to sign up potential users? The finance mini ster has appealed to private shipping companies to participate in a project that will benefit them, yet no shipping company has come forward. The economics of the canal look much too dicey.
The Suez and Panama Canals save ships thousands of miles, and that makes them profitable. Sethusamun daram is not remotely comparable. It is designed for small ships (the project documents talk of 20,000 DWT), whereas the Panama Canal takes ships of up to 65,000 DWT and Suez takes ships up to 150,000 DWT.
The Suez and Panama canals were dug through land corridors, and once dug stayed dug — they did not face sand inundation from the sea. However, Sethusamudram will be a furrow in the sea-bed, at the constant mercy of currents bearing sand.
The government’s environmental assessment has cleared the project on ecological grounds. Yet, much of that assessment was not about sand incursion, but about fears of possible damage to coral reefs, coastal erosion, oil spills, and changes in ocean salinity and temperature. Besides, the ecological studies were done from the Indian side of the Palk Straits, and not the Sri Lankan side, and so are technically incomplete.
My major fear is not so much that the project will ruin the environment, but that the environment will ruin the project. I fear that ocean currents will keep dumping fresh sand in the furrow of the canal. The Palk Straits are shallow not by accident but because sand-bearing currents have made them so. Combating the full force of nature is perilous, expensive and sometimes impossible.
The project envisages maintenance dredging of two million cubic metres per year, infinitely more than required by the Suez and Panama canals. Jacob suspects (and so do i) that actual maintenance dredging will far exceed project projections, rendering the canal uneconomic. An extreme event (like the 2005 tsunami) could dump enough sand to close down the canal.
Finally, global shipping is shifting to ever-larger vessels. Bulk carriers and tankers often exceed 200,000 DWT, and those under 60,000 DWT are being phased out as uneconomic. Old general cargo vessels have been replaced by container ships, which started small but now exceed 35,000 DWT, and may soon touch 75,000 DWT. Such vessels cannot use the canal. So, Sethusamudram will be unsuitable for the large vessels of the 21st century. It is a 150-year-old idea for 150-year-old ships. That may be its epitaph.
SWAMINOMICS
150-year dream for 150-year-old ships
SWAMINATHAN S ANKLESARIA AIYAR
Religion and history do not mix well. I shrug my shoulders at those opposing the :placeSethusamudram Canal because it will damage the remains of the bridge that Ram’s army used in the Ramayana.
Now, i too oppose the canal, but on economic and environmental grounds. Its rationale is more political than economic. It will become one more public sector white elephant.
The Palk Straits, between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka , are so shallow that only small boats can pass through. So, east-west coastal ships have to go around :placeSri Lanka . So do ships from Europe and Africa to the east coast.
Sethusamudram will be a furrow dredged in the sea-bed of the Straits, deep enough to accommodate ships of 20,000 DWT. The canal will save ships both distance (saving fuel) and time (saving daily charges for chartering ships). So, it should be able to charge ships for passage, like the Suez :City and Panama Canals . This revenue is supposed to make the project economic.
The project is a political gift for Tamil Nadu. It will hugely help Tuticorin port, which today can receive ships only from the west, and not the east. It will improve the viability of existing and planned minor ports in the state. Hence, Tamils call the canal a 150-year dream about to come true (it was first proposed around 1850).
Dreams are costless, but canals are not. Project documents claim that the canal will save ships 36 hours of time and 570 nautical miles of distance. But a recent study by Jacob John in Economic and Political Weekly exposes these claims as highly exaggerated. Up to 70% of the traffic through the canal is projected to come from Europe and Africa . And John estimates that the time saving from Europe to Kolkata will be only eight hours, and the distance saving 215 nautical miles. From Africa to Kolkata, the time taken will actually increase by 3.5 hours (being piloted through the canal is a slow process), and distance reduced will be only 70 nautical miles.
John calculates that ships could lose up to $4,992 per passage if they are charged the tariff laid down in project documents. In which case ships will find it cheaper to go round :placeSri Lanka . If the government cuts the proposed tariff to attract traffic, John estimates that the project’s rate of re turn could fall to an uneconomic 2.5%. I expect that the project will also suffer cost overruns in capital and maintenance dredging, and hence be in the red.
The canal is supposed to be ready by November 2008, not far off. So why has the project not been able to sign up potential users? The finance mini ster has appealed to private shipping companies to participate in a project that will benefit them, yet no shipping company has come forward. The economics of the canal look much too dicey.
The Suez and Panama Canals save ships thousands of miles, and that makes them profitable. Sethusamun daram is not remotely comparable. It is designed for small ships (the project documents talk of 20,000 DWT), whereas the Panama Canal takes ships of up to 65,000 DWT and Suez takes ships up to 150,000 DWT.
The Suez and Panama canals were dug through land corridors, and once dug stayed dug — they did not face sand inundation from the sea. However, Sethusamudram will be a furrow in the sea-bed, at the constant mercy of currents bearing sand.
The government’s environmental assessment has cleared the project on ecological grounds. Yet, much of that assessment was not about sand incursion, but about fears of possible damage to coral reefs, coastal erosion, oil spills, and changes in ocean salinity and temperature. Besides, the ecological studies were done from the Indian side of the Palk Straits, and not the Sri Lankan side, and so are technically incomplete.
My major fear is not so much that the project will ruin the environment, but that the environment will ruin the project. I fear that ocean currents will keep dumping fresh sand in the furrow of the canal. The Palk Straits are shallow not by accident but because sand-bearing currents have made them so. Combating the full force of nature is perilous, expensive and sometimes impossible.
The project envisages maintenance dredging of two million cubic metres per year, infinitely more than required by the Suez and Panama canals. Jacob suspects (and so do i) that actual maintenance dredging will far exceed project projections, rendering the canal uneconomic. An extreme event (like the 2005 tsunami) could dump enough sand to close down the canal.
Finally, global shipping is shifting to ever-larger vessels. Bulk carriers and tankers often exceed 200,000 DWT, and those under 60,000 DWT are being phased out as uneconomic. Old general cargo vessels have been replaced by container ships, which started small but now exceed 35,000 DWT, and may soon touch 75,000 DWT. Such vessels cannot use the canal. So, Sethusamudram will be unsuitable for the large vessels of the 21st century. It is a 150-year-old idea for 150-year-old ships. That may be its epitaph.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Campus Interviewing
Lightning Strikes Everyday: Campus Interviewing
this is taken from one of the blogs i read everyday.... just felt like sharing this with you all... wonderful read... and how true the article is
this is taken from one of the blogs i read everyday.... just felt like sharing this with you all... wonderful read... and how true the article is
Monday, May 07, 2007
Digital Art: Yahoo - Microsoft merger?
Digital Art: Yahoo - Microsoft merger?
RK has been doing quite some interesting stuff on his blog....
RK has been doing quite some interesting stuff on his blog....
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