Diet Diet Diet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of all the stuff in the world, the last thing i thought i would do (and also all those who knew me) was to go on Diet!!!!!! Well that exactly what i did last week. a friend and colleague of mine hooked me on to this diet called GM diet. it is a 7 day diet program which promises weight reduction and cleasing of the body's system.

on paper, this 7 day diet looked so easy as the best part was that there was no restricition on the quantity of food you could take during the entire program!!!!!!!! To top it, my friends were making fun of me saying that there is no food available in Abu dhabi since i started the program(the place where i am staying) and it made me wonder whether i am actually on diet?????????

Well anyways, the first 2 days of the diet were the most torturing days in my life. all i could think of was about the diet. i forgot about work, or entertainment and had headaches etc etc etc. At one stage i was almost dialling the number of the nearby hotel to order some subcontinent delicacy to relieve myself of this misery. But somehow i held on and completed the diet.

the result was at end of Day 7 i felt lighter and also very good. there was a sense of achievement. the feeling in those 7 days were actually comparable to that of a caged animal in a zoo. there is a limit within which u could move. i have seen animals in zoo, where quantity of food is not a matter but there is no choice. similarly in my case, quantity was not a matter but the type of food was. on any other given day we would not have bothered to have an all fruits/vegetables day (thats is day 1 & 2 of GM diet) for food. But when u r told to have only fruits that day then ur mind wants to rebel and say no to fruits.

so friends i think it is worthwile to undergo such a diet program once in a while to control your wild mind atleast from a food intake point of view.

This is my 25th post, i.e Silver Jubilee Post. So i have to write something special. So i decided to write on one of the worlds most beautiful relationship i.e Mother Child relationship!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a relationship which, i am sure all of us will agree, is a very very special one. it is said that generally male child are more close to the Mother and Female child is more close to her father. Well i dont think it is true. whether it a male child or female child they are close to the mother. So am I.

Well lets come back to this post. This is inspired by few events which took place revolving around a particular colleague of mine. this particular person who is a mother of two had a if u can call, a very harrowing time for the last 2 weeks or so. This is because her children had gone to their home country for their vacation. The pain, sorrow and lonliness was there written on her face for the entire time.

Today her children have come back. The expression on her face was tottally changed. There a hint of wavering in his voice and moistness in her eyes when she talked to her kids on their arrival. the way she went about making arrangements for welcoming them was all very touching and frankly it reminded me of my mother and to an extent made me home sick!!!!!!!

Anyways thats it. To end i would like to thank god for creating such a relationship. And for those people who are put their parents in old age homes, or forget abt them please remember that your parents have spent sleepless nights for u or ruined their days because they were just missing you when u r away. The life always comes a full cycle.

All cities live the same life!!!!!!!!!!!!

All these days I was wondering what to write in my blog. It really difficult phase of blogging life that I am going through!!!!!! As one of my cousins put it I am going through the phase called Writer’s Block. Well anyways today the block is cleared and I have decided to write.

My recent visit to Egypt and Jordan was a really good experience to me both professionally and personally. I was in Amman and Cairo, both capitals of the countries. These 2 cities though very different in layout and population have many things in common. Infact I have come to realize that most of the cities of the so called developing nations are similar and live a same life. They may be inhabited by different people, these cities speak different languages and follow different cultures and traditions but they as I said have many things in common.

All these cities have high density of population; people do not have time to relax and are always on the move. The people complain about the lack of water or basic amenities, infrastructure, the traffic, the corruption etc etc ……. But still love the place and would do anything to stay in the city.

I don’t whether you ppl will agree to it but definetly I have felt this. if there are any other opinions please let me. By the way the photo is that of a taxi in Cairo. The beauty of this picture I feel is that this picture does not have a propotion. Neither do we the car in full or the road in full. But somehow I fell this picture symbolizes a typical city in any part of the world, a bustling, dusty city with traffic jams and this somehow reminds me of the city Mumbai!!!!!!!!!.

People who influenced me!!!!!!!!!

Last week while returning from Dubai after work, me and my colleagues were spending time chatting. During this chat session, one of my colleagues was telling about some of the proverbs and persons who influenced his life. This got me thinking as to who all have influenced my life. I am putting down some of the people who have influenced me.

1. My Parents
Nothing to beat my parents!!!!!!!!! Whatever I am today, its because of my parents. They have really taken pains to raise me up and now as I look back at my childhood I realize the hardships they have undertaken to c me happy. My prayer to God is that I am always able to keep them happy.

2. My Grandfather
My mother’s father is whom I referring here. The characteristic that influenced me was his willingness to help others. I have seen him go to any extent to do a favour to another person, even if means angering his family!!!!!!!!! It’s a quality I feel is very rare in the present world.

3. My Economics Teacher
Now why I am influenced by this teacher, I don’t know to explain. I think to a great extent she was responsible for me becoming a CA. I clearly remember, she was the only teacher who congratulated me when I selected Commerce stream in 11th standard. All the other teachers actually asked me to select the science stream. Now looking back I wonder where I would have been if I had selected the science stream!!!!!!

4. My dear friend Vishnu
I am influenced by my friend’s strong mind. Despite undergoing a kidney transplant when he was only in 10th standard, he has recovered from this tremendous shock to become a successful professional. Now he is a partner in a CA firm. I still remember him dreaming to be an engineer (mechanical if my memory is right) during school days. For a person to recover from a shock, where all his dreams where shattered, that too in such an early stage of life is amazing.

5. My Colleague- Prashanth Veeramangala
What do I say of him, we call him Mangalamji affectionately. This person is a walking encyclopedia (if I can say that), a man with lots of energy, enthusiasm and of course short temper ness. What has impressed me about this person is that despite him being so experienced and knowledgeable, he has no qualms in interacting with us. Infact he has this amazing ability to change his style according to the group which enables him to gel with all people. Hats off to him!!!!!!!

Well there are many more people whom I have met and have influenced me, but I just put down 5 of them.

Chartered Accountants

CA
Alphabets of Trust

2 simple alphabets that go well beyond professional status, to epitomize the finest tradition of ethics, transparency & accountability. Nurtured & trained at a hallowed institution that has kept the flag flying high for over 56 years- ICAI- four simple alphabets that stand for excellence, independence and integrity.

Yes, today we are celebrating the 56th Chartered Accountants Day. Well to be frank this is the first time that I have come to know abt this day!!! Anyways better late than ever!!!! It is while going through the CA journal (the monthly magazine for CA’s) that I came across full page ad, the words of which I have reproduced above. The sentences did actually made me proud of my achievement of being a CA. The statement has aptly brought out the importance of the Alphabets and the role of the CA Institute. So I thought why not pay tribute to the CA Institute in my small way by blogging my thoughts.

I have no doubt in my mind that the CA course phase was one of my best phase in life till now. It’s during the course that I made lots of friends, improved my skills and developed professionally. This course teaches all those who enroll in it, clear thinking, and loads & loads of patience :-) (those who have undertaken this course will surely vouch for that). It’s one of those or maybe the only course in which it is easy to enroll or get in but difficult to come through successfully.

The institute has recently launched a new logo for its members as a part of promoting the brand of the CA profession. the logo is given below:

Well to end, I would like to say my friends is that

I Adore my Profession
I Salute my Institute
I Respect my Council
I am proud to be a Chartered Accountant

Ads................

It’s really a long time since I have blogged anything. Actually my office work has held me up for the past several weeks. In fact it should be “holding me up” and not “held me up”. So today I decided what come may I will put down a post. The past may weeks as I mentioned earlier has been truly a learning experience in many aspects. I had the good fortune to visit a new country (Singapore), I shifted to a new premises and now have a flat all for myself. All this were actually materials for my posts but as usual work held me up.

The only relaxing moments amongst this hectic work schedules are the short chats with my colleague sitting next to me, the evening walk with yet another colleague and of course Cable TV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well it was during this one relaxing moment through Cable TV that I came across an advertisement. It was an ad from Bajaj Fans. What struck me the most abt this ad is the manner in which the idea of air speed was conveyed. This ad shows how an old woman can be made to look like a young lady because of the speed generated by the fan. The ad shows that because of the speed generated, the old lady’s wrinkled and sagging skin is transformed temporarily into normal skin. (I hope u ppl understood the meaning as I don’t know how better to describe the ad!!!!!!!!!!).

Well the point I need to make here was the manner in which advertisements have grown from a medium of just marketing the product to a medium of entertainment. Nowadays, advertisements are more of entertainment. They convey a lot of idea, lot of humor, lot of emotion apart from the outsmarting competition (as seen in the pic above!!!!!). Children and elders alike look forward to seeing such advertisements.

Since then I have been closely following the advertisements on TV (particularly Indian Channels) and I find that all ads can be categorized into 2 types
Ads which go straight into the product like the Reliance Insurance ads
Ads which convey the advantages of the product through an idea like the bajaj fans ad

I think it that advertisement industry has also carved out its place in the corporate sector and very soon we may have ad companies listing in stock exchanges and coming up with IPO’s!!!!!!!!!!!! Also I should admit that ad makers are a different class of artisits.

To end I will leave you with some of the ads that really impressed me and which I feel u ppl should check out

• Bajaj Fans


• Mentos


• Western Union


• Reliance Communications


• Dove


• Fevicol

Parent Strategies

If you think you have won when your parents agree to some of your requests then please be aware that a lot of thought and strategy must have gone into your request before they decide to heed to it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well this is my post after a fairly long interval. So I thought why not I share with you ppl my experience in a restaurant. It happened last week. I was alone that day and went for lunch at my usual restaurant. Since the place was crowded I sat alongside a elderly gentleman (hereinafter referred to as the “strategist”, sorry for the legal terminology). He was chatting with his colleague on several things. Normally I go out with my colleague for lunch (the same one abt whom I was referring to in my previous blog) and we chat abt various issues while eating. That day I had no one to speak with and I decided to listen to what our Strategist was saying. Both of them were talking abt there families who were back home. For the conversation I understood that both of them had college growing children.

The topic for discussion that day was the demand for a motor cycle by Strategist colleague’s son. Our strategist narrated the strategy he used when a similar request was put to him by his son. According to him the strategy for such a request should be two fold

1. Never dishearten your children by rejecting their request
He says never reject such request and accept them whole heartedly. This way you will make you children happy and the will never feel let down.

2. Transfer the entire responsibility of the request on your children
However he says that parents should make it clear that by accepting to the child’s request the responsibility of the parent is over. He says when his son asked for a bike, he immediately accepted the request. But he made it clear to his son that now it is up to him to find the bike he wanted and tell his father

Now the fact is that, as our strategist said, till now his son has not found a bike to his liking!!!!!!!!!!!! According to the strategist, whenever children are given the responsibility to carry out a decision they go on the defensive mode and are not able to decide on the best alternative. He says that it is always better to adopt such a strategy when it comes to deciding on uncomfortable requests from the children.

To end this post, as put in by one of my colleagues this may not hold well in all the cases. I look forward to hear from all the readers’ abt whether the 2 pronged strategy of our strategist is effective or not.

random thoughts

There r times when we r excited or worried abt something we tend to notice the thing wherever we go. Confused right? Well I am not able put it in any better words. But let me explain it using 2 situations one of excitement and other of depression.

Excitement
Whenever u r planning to buy a valuable asset like a house or car a lot of planning goes into it like if it’s the house then the area or the structure etc etc or in case of a car it is the model, the colour etc. While u r planning this exciting purchase, I don’t know whether u have realized that, u tend to notice these things whenever u r out traveling. For eg if u have decided to buy a particular model of a car u will feel that most of the cars on the road are the one u r looking to buy.

Depression
Similar is the case with a person who is depressed. Now this is a situation which involves my friend. He is little upset abt as he has fractured his leg and is taking bed rest. As a result he is forced to walk on crutches whenever he moves. The situation is obviously depressing. Now this friend of mine is finding that whenever he is watching a television (which is the only visual contact with the outside world for the past 2 days) he sees ppl in situations similar to his i.e. ppl lying on beds with fracture or walking with crutches.

Now this got me thinking. Why is it that we c such things when v r excited or depressed. Well the only reason I can think of is that, these situations are always around us but when we r excited or depressed on a particular thing, we try to find out whether the same phenomenon is there elsewhere also. In short we end up concentrating and seeing only those situations around us and missing the other things happening around.

Well I think I have already confused u a lot and that too on April fools day!!!!!!!!!!! But believe me this is not any April fool prank. Just that I was not able to explain my thoughts properly. Well that’s all ppl. Do let me know if there is any other explanation to this.

Rasam

Hmmm…… even the mere thought of the word “Rasam” brings water in my mouth. Well why I selected this topic is bcoz today I was having lunch in one Kerala restaurant and I commented that the rasam served there was too watery. My friend said that rasam is supposed to be watery and I opinioned it ought to be a little thicker. This sparked a thought process about the “Rasam” the manner in which the same dish is made and eaten in different parts of South India.

Rasam is typically a watery dish taken along with rice (for those who hav not heard of it!!!!!!!!) but don’t ask the recipe pls!!!!!!! J . In Kerala and Tamil Nadu it is called “Rasam” while in Karnataka and Andhra it is called “Saaru”. In Kerala, TN and Andhra, Rasam is taken in the end while in Karnataka it is taken in the beginning!!!!!

Each place there is a sequence in which the meals are taken. In Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra, the sequence is Rice, Sambhar, Rasam and then Butter Milk while in Karnataka it is Rice, Rasam and Butter Milk. It is when I wrote the sequence that I realized why Rasam is thicker in Karnataka and watery in other parts. Being the first serving in Karnataka the dish has to be obviously thick so that people can eat them while in the other 3 states, the dish is used more as a drink after the main course!!!!!!!

If you think this is the only difference, then u r wrong bcoz the preparation is different in each state. Now I don’t have the details on that, but u hav to believe me that it’s true. Maybe some one can comment on how the preparations are different.

It is really fascinating to note that a dish having a similar name has different versions and different ways in which it is consumed. The best of part of this entire story is that the name Rasam is a Persian word. Can u imagine!!!!!!!! And till now I thought it was an Indian word. That is one of the reasons why India is such a diverse country. For more details on different types of Rasam u can visit wikipedia- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasam

Anyways whether is in Chennai Rasam or Kerala Rasam or Karnataka Saaru it’s the same for me, another one amongst the long list of mouth watering dishes.

Jebel Ali Airport

Well guys don’t be confused. This plot of barren desert that you c in the picture is the site for one of the biggest international airports in the world. Here u c the site of Jebel Ali Airport which has been christened as Dubai World Central International Airport. It is targeting to be the World Largest Airport. This comes right behind the construction of the Worlds Tallest Building i.e. Burj Dubai (I had referred it in my previous post).

Well my posts are become a sort of an advertisement for Dubai isn’t it!!!!!!!!!!!! Well its becoz I am finding it hard to get a suitable subject for posting. So I thought why not share with u some of the developments in the country especially Dubai as people don't know UAE but they recognize Dubai (its the way they have marketed Dubai).

Sometimes, as I mentioned in the earlier posts I wonder if there will be any desert left in the country. Though it is a real marvel to c such buildings rising in this desert land, but sometimes I feel is it really worth it. just like world leaders are meeting for discussing issues of Global Warming and melting of icebergs, shouldn’t they also b concerned with the dwindling desert (sounds crazy isn’t it!!!!!! :-) ).

Well its up to the leaders to decide. Before I end the post find below an artists depiction of this barren land after the construction is completed.

Sky Scrapers

Its been a while since I have written a post. This post is for the skyscrapers of Dubai. The photo I have put features the world’s tallest building, Burj Dubai. Its the tall one in the left side of the photo (like my friend mentioned similar to Statue of Liberty!!!!!!)Though the building is still under construction it is the tallest building in the world at the moment. The coast line of Dubai is dotted with sky scrapers. The peculiarity of the city is that there are very few high rise buildings in the heart of the city. This is because the Dubai International Airport is situated bang in the middle of the city. So all the high rise buildings are in the outskirts like the one in the picture.

I wonder whether there is demand for so many of luxury apartments in Dubai as most of the population cannot even afford the rents of Dubai. Any ways it is for sure that if construction is at this rate there won’t be any desert in Dubai within the next 10 years!!!!!!!! Well this is not the case of only dubai. This is the scenario in most of the gulf countries. Its becoming more of a concrete jungle nowadays.

Before I leave here is a forward I received from a friend about gulf. Enjoy

This is GULF

* Local calls are free

* Petrol is cheaper than water, Payment for drainage too

* Any building construction finishes in 3 months

* Unqualified get more salary than Qualified

* Show-off matters more than real quality & performance

* Laborers are paid less than what they can earn back in their own country

* Companies can kick out their employees without any reason

* Wastas (recommendation) are more powerful than money

* Cleaners have more Wasta than officers

* Watchman has more Rights than the Building Owner

* Office boy & Drivers have more influence on Boss than Manager

* Gulf climate changes so fast, in one hour u can see raining, dust storm, hot / humid / chilling weather

* Gulf is located in desert, still u find greenery everywhere

* If u can't earn money in the Gulf, u can't earn anywhere in the world
* In Gulf, time goes very fast, Friday to Friday comes u never know, its sooo fast

* Every bachelor has a dream of getting married and buying a house in India

* U love your parents, friends, relatives 100 times more than when you were together

* Being at home is more painful than being at work

* Indians appear/pretend to be more religious/God fearing than they really are

* Theatres are full of Arab nationals whenever there is a movie of Salman / Sharukh

* Gulf girls sing Hindi songs but don't understand anything

* Prostitutes available, but cheaper than beggars

* Dance Bars and Pubs more than that in B'lore

* A ladies hair saloon every 5 meters

* Food/Grocery delivery to the car

* A Starbucks every 10 meters

* Hard Rock Cafe with no alcohol

* A Shopping Mall located every 5km

* Highway lanes differentiated for slow & fast drivers

* Getting a license is more difficult than getting a car

* Smashed cars are more than bugs

* Parking charge: 2 Dirham for 1 hour - 5 Dirham for 2 hours & so on

* No Queues for women

TRAFFIC SIGNAL IN GULF:

* GREEN : Signal to go for Americans, Europeans and Indians

* YELLOW : Signal to go for Egyptians and Pakistanis

* RED : Signal to go for Kuwaitis, Saudis & Palestinians

Spiderman is Back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well this is not the blog which an Acrophobic would like to read. Not that this post is against this phobia or am making fun of them but its about a “Spiderman scaling new heights” would remind them of unpleasant memories. Well u must have already have seen the picture, the person is Alain Robert nick named Spiderman for his passion for climbing tall buildings like the one in the picture.

The Spiderman scaled the 38 storey Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (the one in the picture). This was the third building he scaled in Abu Dhabi (I think he is really liking this place!!!!!!!). I was really wonder stuck when I read about this person. He has scaled around 70 such building in various parts of the world and has also been arrested once while attempting to climb the Petronas towers.

But the most interesting part is that this man is legally considered disabled at 66 per cent. Among other handicaps, Spiderman cannot rotate his wrists normally. He has a metal plate in his thigh, and he suffers from extreme vertigo due to a skull fracture he sustained during one of his stunts. Yet he has defied all medical expectations and continues to climb dizzying towers, with his body as his sole equipment, and a truckload of passion as his motivator.

It seems his heros are Zorro and Robin Hood. I sometimes wonder it the handicap which brings out the best in the people. May be it is that these people are trying to prove to the world that the handicap has not hindered their life in any way.

Sharda vs Bhavna

Don’t me mistaken ppl!!!!!!!! these are the names of 2 competing restaurants in Abu Dhabi. Both these restaurants serve Gujarathi food. I am just trying to blog my thoughts on these 2 restaurants. There is no conclusion that I am going to draw on the performance between the 2 hotels.

The very thought of a hotel will remind u of a menu book rather than a menu card running into several pages!!!!!!!. Well here u need not expect a lengthy menu card when u land there. people who donot like choices would like this place. Their menus are more or less fixed. There is this roti subji which has 4 rotis and a subji or there is this standard thali. They also have some chat items in the menu as well. I and my colleague whom I have referred to in my previous blogs is frequent in fact daily visitors there.

I have always wondered what differentiates these 2. They serve the same food, more or less the same taste, they charge the same price and both have a rigid menu. Then what is the difference between the 2??????? Well what I found was that in Bhavna the waiters are really silent. There is no confusion and absolute peace while we eat. They go abt doing their tasks efficiently while in Sharda it is total chaos especially during the afternoons where there is the maximum rush. Sitting in one table u will b able to know what sabji is being ordered by the other people in the dining hall!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The waiters are running around shouting at top of their voices carrying the subji containers. During the entire course of the meal u r gripped by the fear one of the waiters may slip in his hurry and the whole subji would be on u!!!!

Now inspite of all this there is no dearth of customers in both these hotels. Both are crowed during the peak hours. Sometimes I feel it is a corporate strategy adopted by the hotels to show their differentiation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyways whatever be their competition we will still like having their hot rotis and the subjis.

Party!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yday I added one more day to my list of most memorable days. We had our Annual Get Together and we partied from 7 PM in the evng to 12 in the night. The event was named as Achievers Day 2007 paying tribute to the Company’s Achievers of 2006. The theme for the event was “Colours”. All were asked to come wearing colorful dresses. The party was preceded by a formal meeting where our Managing Directors addressed the attendees and gave away prizes to the achievers. Afterwards all the people were ushered into the party hall were DJ Ricky was waiting for them with loads of feet tapping music. As soon as the MD left the party, all the quiet stalwarts jumped into action. Rest was as u call it History. Dancing, Drinking, Singing, Games and the howling!!!!!!!!! :-)

All people right from the most senior people to the youngest members participated in the dance and games. The DJ was mixing the songs of all languages. There was Tamil, Hindi and English. These fast paced numbers and bottles of beer bought out some of the best dancing steps out of the people. It would have been a paradise for any Choreographer if he/she was present as they would have got some many new steps from the participants!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The best part of the entire party was that the sense of togetherness that was reflected . It was enjoyed by one and all as no one was left out of the celebrations. At the end of the party as it happens with me at end of most of the good days, I felt sad that it was over :-(

Well but that’s life and I am sure there are more such parties and memorable days coming my way in future. But the experience which all of us had while arranging this event was really wonderful. The happiness increased two fold when we felt and saw the happiness and enjoyment in the faces of the attendees.

Well that’s it. I am leaving u with a picture of all the volunteers posing before the banner of the party just few hours before the party started and I should say it is one of the best pictures I have been in.

Cloud Nine

How does it feel like when u r traveling in a car without anything to do? U don’t have anything to say to the driver and ur co passengers are asleep. This is what hpnd with me 2 weeks back when I was traveling back to Abu Dhabi from Dubai. I did not know wht to do, how do to spend the 1.5 hrs trip. I have seen the Sheikh Zayed Road (the one which connects Dubai to Abu Dhabi) hundred times and nothing much to c expect for the sand dunes and barren lands!!!!!!!!!!!!

Its while staring outside that day I noticed the sky. I have never noticed the beauty of the clouds. Ever since I have purchased my digital camera (one of my favorite things) I was always trying to shoot landscapes, mountains and other beauties of nature. I wonder how I missed this nature’s wonder. That day there were clouds of different kinds and shapes. The one which I liked the most was one where the rays of the setting sun were filtered through the cloud and was forming a channel of light. How I wished I had my camera that time. However I was fortunate enough to get another photo of a very similar cloud formation. It’s this photo that I have uploaded in this post.

For those people who think I am being a little cranky by writing this post, here is a shocker. I put a word search in google with “clouds” and what I found was that, there is a society of cloud spotters and appreciators. It came as a surprise to me as, before I saw this, I myself was thinking that I was going overboard with this cloud thing. This society has a website of it own and boasts of over 7400 members. Those who r interested can visit their site http://www.cloudappreciationsociety.org/ and find a lot of information on clouds.

Well for me this lonely car ride has given a new avenue for photography and it features as one the ingredients in making good outdoor photo.

Namaskar, Namaskaram, Namaste, Hello, Vanakam, Namaskara!!!!!!!!!!!

Has anyone wondered how many different languages we speak in a day? If I take my example, in a day I use words from as many as 6 different languages i.e. Konkani, Malayalam, Hindi, English, few Tamil words and one question in Kannada to my colleague asking him whether he is leaving for the day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been really interested in studying new languages, though I have not succeeded so far in learning anything new since the ones I studied from my school days!!!! The question now arises is what is a language? The explanation given by Wikipedia is

“A language is a system, used to communicate, comprising a set of arbitrary symbols and a set of rules (or grammar) by which the manipulation of these symbols is governed. These symbols can be combined productively to convey new information, distinguishing languages from other forms of communication.”

Too confusing, isn’t it. Well language is a means of communication. It need not necessarily be spoken. Even signs or symbols can be a language if they can communicate information. There are about an estimated 4000 to 6000 languages in this world. Each language made up of different words, sounds and even symbols.

Then can we say that small infants have their own language. Last weekend I had visited my friend’s house and we were playing with his son. His son’s is less than a year old and was making some sounds which I mimicked. To my amazement I saw the child responding to this mimicking as if it was understanding and replying. Now whether he understood something or not only he and god will be able to say, but I felt that there is certainly some communication effort from him. I don’t know how many of u hav tried communicating with babies through sounds!!!!! May be people can try that. Who knows it may be the start of a research on a totally new language!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Coming back to grown ups speaking different languages, in earlier times, we would not have imagined speaking more than 2 or 3 languages. Why this change? Is it that instead of cities becoming metropolitan/cosmopolitan, the world has become one big city? People are learning more and more languages. I know a colleague who is proficient in 8 languages!!! We have been working with people from different cultures and languages. By constantly interacting with them we tend to share our languages and cultures.

All this makes me think whether we are witnessing the /contributing to the birth of a new language which combines all the languages of the world? Well do tell me if it so.

Thank You Everyone!!!!!

Yesterday was one of the most memorable days in my life. Though I have had many, I would like to add the 2nd of February, 2007 also amongst them. The reason is because this is the day when my CISA results were declared and I am happy that I have cleared (CA terminology for pass!!!) the exam. I am still not convinced that I have become a Certified Information Systems Auditor (well that’s what CISA stands for!!!!!!). I checked my result notification countless times at the internet café (am stilling going through mail again and again!!!!!!!) as I wanted to make it sure that the result notification read “We are pleased to inform you that you successfully PASSED the exam with a total scaled score of 75”.The happiness that I experienced was so great that I am not able to express it. Sometimes u become so happy that u do not know how to express it.

This happiness is increased two fold when u feel the happiness of ur family members and friends on hearing this news. Though right now I am staying far away from my family, the feeling which I shared with my parents while delivering this news is something which I cannot explain. The relief and the happiness in the voice of my parents were celebrations enough for me. It gave me a feeling that yes I have done something to achieve my parents dreams. Parents have lots of dreams and ambitions for their children and it’s our duty to fulfill them. Though I had taken the decision to go for this course, I know the pain and tension which they have undergone and are still undergoing for my well being. I would also thank all my family members and friends who have shared this happiness with me.

Last but not the least; I shall never forget the role played by GOD in my passing the exam. Without his willing, I would not have been writing this post regarding clearing CISA. I thank him for blessing me. I would take the rains which drenched the city (a rare phenomenon in a desert) yesterday afternoon as a blessing from Almighty. I pray to him that he continues to bless me and lead me in the right path.

Roads

This is a picture that I took while I was traveling to Ras Al Khaimah, one of the 7 emirates of UAE. I was traveling through a road which was diagonally opposite to this road and as u c in the picture, the road is going downwards. Because of the distance I was not able to make out as to where the road was leading to. All I could understand was that it was sloping downwards. If u carefully observe the picture, the road under scrutiny has been laid on red soil. It is typical desert sand, slippery and smooth.

However I am not writing this post to describe that road. What I want to highlight is the importance which the Government of the country has given to the development of roads. Roads are a very important infrastructure of any country. They connect cities across the country, enable the movement of goods and commodities and indirectly facilitate the growth of the economy. The quality of the roads in UAE is excellent. The entire stretch of the road from Abu Dhabi till we reached RAK had no damage and the journey was really smooth. There was no need for the driver to slow down for any kind of bumps or dumps on the road. What needs to mentioned here is that the national highways are more frequented by heavy trucks which would mean more chances of wear and tear. I personally feel that one of the biggest contributor to the growth of this middle east country is the presence of such well maintained roads.

Our country has a long way to go when it comes to the quality of the road. Though there are few very good highways, expressways in the country this proportion is very small. Not only should the road connectivity be increased, the maintenance of the existing roads needs to be proper. The Golden Quadrilateral project by the erstwhile BJP government was a right step in this direction. It aimed at connecting the 4 regions in through a series of roads. However due to political reasons, the project has been stalled. Such stalling of projects will not help the country in its progress at a time when it is poised to grow.

Anyways I hope that more projects like Golden Quadrilateral are conceived and implemented.

Temples

After the last post in my blog, I was not able to select a topic for my next post. I was wondering what to write when I read a blog written by one of my friends. This friend is a new entrant to the blog business and had chosen to write about her favorite God in her very first blog. Then it struck me as to why not write about temples!!!!!!

In my short life I have been fortunate to visit many temples in South India. During most of my Vacations I used to visit temples outside Kerala along with my parents, Tirupati being the most favored destination. In those times, though i liked to go to temples I have always wondered why it that we go only to places where there are temples. Why not other places? Though I have not asked this question to my parents, now I feel I have got the answer to all those questions which kept creeping up in my childhood.

In my words Temple is a Hospital, School, Gym and last but not the least a Restaurant in one place. Readers please do not misunderstand me as I have used these words to explain a temple. I will be explaining how the features of the 4 are present in a temple!!!!!!!!!!

Hospital
Most of the people come to the temple to express their sorrow/vows to the almighty and seek his blessings/ remedy from the misery they are undergoing. Each person having a darshan of the God comes out of the temple relieved and with the belief that God will take care of his/her problems. I am trying to compare God to a doctor who cures all of health problems. The sandal paste that we get from the temple can be compared to that of medicine. Sandalwood is said to possess medicinal values and has been proved scientifically to heal many ailments.

School
Each temple that we visit has something to tell us. It may be history which is depicted through its architecture or the place’s culture. Each temple is unique in itself. To mention a few temples whose architecture has greatly influenced me are

• Tirupati -for its sheer size


• Madurai Meenakshi -for its corridors and Gopurams


• Rameshwaram- for it famous wells

There are scores of temples in India which depict the architecture of the period in which they were built.

From the point of view of the culture, its worth mentioning that in India each state has its own culture and it is reflected in the manner in which the temples are run. The temples in Kerala do not function in the same manner as that of Tamil Nadu or Karnataka. Similarly South Indian States have a totally different rituals at their temples compared to that of the North India. This is despite the fact that people worship the same gods/goddesses. What I meant to say was that temples are places where different cultures can be learned studied and understood.

Gym
Well its sounds a little modern and out of the way for a temple to be called a Gym!!!!!!! I agree, but friends have we ever thought that the “namaskarams” and “pradakshinas” that we put/make in a temple are an exercise in itself, though we don’t realize it. If u have noticed people who go to the temple regularly stay healthy and fit. One of the reasons may be due to what I have explained above.

Food
Last but not least how can one forget the tasty “Prasadam” that we get from the temples. For Konkani’s the “samradhan” (a feast) is an event which he/she would not afford to miss. The temples in Karnataka offer food all day long. I personally have visited many temples in Karnataka and have been fortunate enough to have tasted the “prasadams” there. One particular temple which requires mention is the Annapoornaswari Temple in Dakshin Kannada district where as per the tradition no person, who comes searching for food, is sent back without offering the prasadam.

Well I think it is the lengthiest post I have written so far. For those ppl who are reading this sentence a sincere thanks for giving a patient reading.

More on temples will continue in my subsequent posts. Till then I pray that all the living things be happy and live peacefully.

`Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu'

DEMOCRACY- BY THE PEOPLE, OF THE PEOPLE, BUT NOT FOR THE PEOPLE

Today’s page is dedicated to the nation.

Sometimes I wonder whether we are actually patriotic. As another Republic Day passes by what is it that we as Indians do to say we are patriotic? Is urging Indian Cricket team or any other national team patriotism? Is it because we are a democratic and secular country that we have so many reservations and communal riots? R we really patriots as we call ourselves? For non resident Indians, like me, it is even worse. We have left the country, for a better life, better pay, etc etc. What r v doing to contribute to our nation’s progress?

India was in the international news very recently as victims of “Racism”. Have we ever wondered why these remarks have been made? Why is it that in spite of being a country with over a billion population and abundant resources we have still got the image of a poor country?

In the film “Swades” Sharukh Khan stars in a very beautiful scene where he gives the reason why the country is not developing. Though the dialogues were from a movie, the content was realistic and I feel it is the most apt reason why we r labeled as a poor or developing country. In his dialogue, the actor says that we as Indians blame each other for whatever difficulties we face. The public blames the government authorities. The authorities blame the politicians, the politicians blame the public, etc etc and the blame game goes on. Actually who is to be blamed? The answer is we!!!! We have to examine what r we doing to improve the country. Are we not still throwing garbage on the roads, are we not still giving bribes to the authorities even though we curse them, r we not still searching for loopholes in the tax laws to evade tax?

Well I am not saying that these things can be changed overnight. But there has to be some way to change this. One of the best ways is to improve our education/ literacy levels. Knowledge would bring in enlightenment and the country would head in the right direction. There may be other ways also to lead the country to progress.

While traveling back to my place yday I heard on the Radio that Goldman Sachs, one of the leading consultants, has projected that India’s economy would be overtaking USA’s economy in a decade. So friends, everything is not as bleak as it seems. Whether the glorified Indian democracy,the 57th year of which we r celebrating tmrw, is really “by the people, of the people” and “FOR THE PEOPLE” is something which is preposterously in the hands of every fellow Indian. The onus of making this vision a reality in the near future is something which generations of future Indian diaspora would cherish, and there is no better day than tmrw to take a pledge to start changing those little things which could put India on top.

Jai Hind

Snakes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Does mere thought of snakes run a chill down your spine? Well it’s not abnormal or strange as this is the same with millions of people across the globe. Last weekend (I mean Friday as this is the weekend in the gulf world) I had an opportunity to put a snake around my neck. Well it’s not any usage or saying but I meant each word literally. I have always been fascinated by snakes. The way they crawl, catch their prey, the swaying etc etc. However that does not mean I am a person of Steve Irwin mould!!!!!!!!!. I am equally afraid of snakes as all of u r, but I don’t mind the adventure if it is in risk mitigated or controlled conditions. By risk mitigated or controlled conditions I meant adventure with trained people present.

This is exactly that happened last weekend. I had visited the global village with my colleagues. Global Village is a huge exhibition conducted by the Dubai Government as a part of the annual Dubai Shopping Festival. The village hosts stalls of different countries. It was my second visit to the village this year. During my first visit, while roaming around, I had visited a stall which housed small wild animals and reptiles from the Amazon. Amongst them was a python. The person was holding the python in his hand and was letting people take photographs with the snake. At that time I did not take the risk. But this time I did not wish to lose the opportunity and went for it. My partner in this adventure was Vilas (my roommate whom I have referred to in my previous post on “silence”!!!!!!!!!). Vilas role in the adventure was to take photographs as he had made it clear that he would not be taking the risk.

The snake which I put on the neck was a lazy bone I guess as it hardly moved except once. Even before u knew, the photo was taken and the snake was taken off my neck. But the feeling of a snake around the neck was big and I can clearly remember that my mind was blank at that time. I was thinking of only the snake on my neck. Was it moving or not. Will it strangle me?????????

Anyways, to conclude I think the poor snake was not knowing what’s happening or it was too dazzled by the constant flash of the cameras!!!!!!!!!

Before I leave I am inserting the picture which has paved way for this post. Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CA Results

Today is a very special day for thousands of people in India. Some would want to remember this day for ever and some would want to forget this day for ever. Today is the day when CA results have been declared. This event happens twice a year. Such days fulfill or destroy the dreams of many.

At this point, I would like to congratulate all those who have earned the permission to add the initial “CA” before their name (I have deliberately termed the word as “earned” because these 2 letters have to be earned and cannot be bought). It is similar to earning a Doctor degree. I would also like to wish all those who have not been able to come through ‘All the best” for the next attempt. I would advise them not to get disheartened (though it is hard) and strive hard to come out victorious the next time.

The worst part of this entire thing, I would say, is the waiting for the results. The tension and frustration starts a week before the ‘D’ day. You don’t know what to do, u brain doesn’t work and if u have a broadband connection at home or u have access to internet at office, then u have had it. You would be refreshing the results site every 5 mins, a week before, just to check if the results are out though u know that it will not have come. But that’s the way it is, how much ever u try the tension gets the better of u.

I still remember clearly the days when I was waiting for the final results. I had got through the 1st group in the first attempt and was hoping to get through in the second attempt. All the result hopefuls were huddled together in a separate room in our Chartered Accountant office. We had not done any work for nearly a week before the results. The principals must have understood our plight (I guess!!!!!!) as they did not ask us to go for work. The results were expected to be declared at 2 pm on the‘d ‘day and it was like 2 PM would never come. The every 5min checking of the site was reduced to every 2 mins. Finally the results came and by God’s grace I got through. It was a day I would never forget. I called my parents and gave them the happy news. As much as I was happy on my clearing the exam, I was equally sad as some of my friends were not able to get through.

So friends, the moral of the story is that CA course is a package. It’s a course which is easy to enter but difficult to exit. It gives u happiness and sorrow and by the time u r thru with course, u come out as a tough, mentally strong human being.

Silence

SILENCE

Now if you want to me to explain why I have chosen this topic to post, then here is why. It all started yday when my room mate and myself were in the kitchen making tea. As usual I was on a high, blabbering away in Malayalam, Hindi, English and occasional Konkani (to the great discomfort of my roommate!!!!!!!!!). So he requested me to keep my mouth shut for 5 min. I heeded to his requested and kept quiet for around 6 min. It’s those six minutes of silence that has prompted me to write this post.

What is silence?

• The condition or quality of being or keeping still and silent.
• A period of time without speech or noise

These are some of the definitions which I got when I browsed through Answers.com. But this was not the case with me. Even though there was no noise outside there was no silence in my mind. It was really difficult for me to keep myself from speaking out loud. I was feeling like a balloon, inflated beyond its capacity, ready to burst. I don’t remember what all thoughts went through my mind in those few minutes. No hand signals or head shakes could remove or pacify that feeling. After around 6 to 7 min, it was unbearable and I started speaking. But to my amazement, instead of speaking loudly and frantically, I was speaking softly for the next few minutes.

Well this is what answers.com has to say about the phenomenon that I experienced:

“Prolonged silence can often affect a person's state of mind, causing them to hear things and talk to themselves to break the silence. Most people find silence uncomfortable, and to the extreme, unbearable. In modern society, especially in the western society, when people are meeting and talking to each other, people often start talking nonsense to skip moments of silence. People seem to have the same feeling all over the world, “

I wonder how it would be for people who are dumb. What would they be experiencing? Anyways, I thank god for whatever he has given me and also pray that no one ever passes through such a situation.

Well I know its not the kind of posts which u would like to read, but I thought I had to express my views somewhere and so this post.

Friendship

FRIENDSHIP

Yes that’s my topic for the day friends. Why I took this topic is that it was the engagement of one of my best friends. I would like to have attended it but as everyone in this world are, I was also held up with my work in some part of the world. So I thought why not write a few lines abt friendship.

Well u have all these beautiful messages, mails and of course the most happening communication medium at the moment- "scraps" about friendship but to me it is all about knowing and caring for each other. As far as my short life goes, according to me I have a very small friends circle and a lot of acquaintances. Fortunately I have not made any enemies.

Now abt the statement “Friendship is about knowing and caring for each other”. To me a person who understands and cares for the other person is a friend. There is nothing like people of the same age or sex should be friends. A person who is elder to you can be your friend or vice a versa. Similarly a boy can be a girl’s best friend or vice versa. As long as the people understand the feelings and care for each other there is friendship between them. In my life, I have come across such people who are like that.

Well I am losing my patience, I will write about friendship in detail later. Till then its goodbye!!!!!!!!! But before I leave I would like to introduce my friend who got engaged today. Her name is Ramya and she is one of the members of the Nutsnbolts gang (I have referred abt the gang in my earlier posts). A detailed post on the gang will be there in future where I will write in length abt each and every member. I congratulate Ramya on her engagement. I pray that all happiness be bestowed on her by almighty.

Me

hello everyone (its for those who might read this post!!!!!!!!!!) i am back. As i progress through my 2nd year in the gulf as well as 2nd year away from home, i would like to look back at the changes which have come in me, the occassions i have missed and the moments i have enjoyed.

This post is about me for those people who have not known me or seen me but are reading my posts. Friends this is the first time in my life that i am writing about myself apart from writing in interview forms!!!!!!!

Starting from my school days, i have been an introvert person, which i guess comes from the fact that i am a single child. But this can be argued as i have come across people who are the single child of their parents and are extroverts. Anyways thats what i was ( i mean "am "still to a large extent). Until joing Varma & Varma for pursuing my CA studies, my life was normal with not much of hoolah or blasts. My friends circle was limited and had got the tag of book worm ( though i personally feel i am not that voracious a reader to get the tag!!!!!!!).
But Varma & Varma changed the course of my life. its what u can say the turning point of my life. the people who joined along with me were a great bunch and we gelled together as a great unit right frm day 1. At this point i would like to address them only as nutsnbolts. A proper intro and post of nutsnbolts will come later.
i personally feel that i have shed my introvertness to a great extent since joining varma. i am not sure whether the credit for this change has to go to Varma or My nutsnbolts.
After my stint in Varma, my next venture was a small tenure of 5 months in Tyco as a accounts officer. The next change was flying to UAE for a job and thats where i am at the moment.
this experience has gone a long way in shaping up my professional career and personal life. Well there will be more about that in the next post as i am tired of typing.

My first Blog

Well this is my first try at blog. this blog is inspired by the blog frm my Bhabhi- Divya. Its been a while since i have been hearing abt blogs. But i never felt the need/ urge to have/write one. but today after reading Divya's blog i felt that it is a good way to put down your views or express your feelings. well i have nothing much to write in this blog but u can expect more frm me in the days/months/years to come.