In Picture with Swaminathan and  Mani Shankara Aiyar

At  a function at kaveripoompatinam organized by MS Swminathan Research Foundation.  This function was to deliberate on fish for all and forever project for the sustainable development of the fishing community in this area.  If successful , this will tremendously boost India’s economy considering our huge coastline and elevate the standard of living of our fishing community that faced the brunt of tsunami.  

There is a vast similarity between Pranab Mukherjee and Sourav Ganguli.  As Sourav is acknowledged to be the best performing Indian captain so far, Pranab Mukherjee is also credited to be the most efficient union minister being in power right from Nehru’s time to till date.  He has occupied several portfolios like Finance, Defense and now External Affairs.  Whenever there is any crisis Pranab has been drafted into the same.  As finance minister few years back he was rated to be one of the best finance ministers  globally.  Now as external affairs minister too he has taken the country to a height where the US is lobbying for  India !

Not very long ago, we had Madam Rice, US Secretary of State  asking the NSG countries to clear the way for India.  Never before Indo-US relation was so cordial.  At the same time India is going ahead signing trade agreements in billions of dollars with other blocks of countries like  Russia, France. Even now with his astute diplomacy Pakistan is facing a  pressure from international community like never before. But still Pranab is not  trusted by the Congress high command as far as integrity is concerned and never got the opportunity to hold the post of the Prime Minister even when not many alternatives were available.

Similar is the case with Sourav Ganguli who inspite of his performance, ability and leadership skill was not given captainship during post Dalmia era because his integrity has always been under scanner  due to his being an outspoken guy.  So only astrologers can say if Pranab and Sourav have a similar planetary positions.  Or does it mean integrity rules over performance ?

Now look at Rahul Dravid.  In last 18 months he has scored  only 578 runs in 13 tests, in the last 5 innings he has scored only 21 runs at an average of 4.20.  Fifty one has been his highest score in the last 19 innings.  Does anyone cry over it - Media, BCCI officials, Other cricket pundits?  

Nobody is still asking Dravid to retire!  But imagine had it been Sourav’s name against this performance, how people would have reacted?  

Is it Dame luck or is it the Integrity alone that matters?

I wonder how the movie ratings are done. I delayed watching Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi seeing the lukeworm   response from the critics. I was wrong. I find RNBDJ to be one of the best films of 2008.

Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Vinay Pathak

This third directorial venture of Aditya Chopra reveals extraordinary love in every ordinary couple. Shahrukh as both Suri and Raj is awesome, at times was wondering if Shahrukh would come out of the screen and ask me “so, how was it?” He could involve the audience.The scene where he beats the Japanese sumo wrestler by getting him off the balance reminded me of the oft repeated study of corporate strategy: David Vs Goliath or how a new entrant into the market place can compete against the most established ones. Sharukh used his small body and agility against the weight and power of the sumo wrestler to topple him.

Good humour, comedy,songs made it a really entertaining one. But I felt the movie is a bit stretched one making it slow at times. Vinay Pathak is always interesting. However Anushka Sharma was a big  let down . Perhaps that  could be the  reason for  the lower rating .

There are a few take aways from the film. Rab ne bana di Jodi – our relationships are determined , you can always find your dream girl or man in your partner once you are awakened to it. Of course you need to make efforts!

My rating is 3.5 out of 5

Picture Courtesy : Google

Kaarthigai Deepam is a unique  festival of lights, and  is celebrated on the full moon day in the Tamil month of Kaarthigai.  If you are in Tamil Nadu , you cann’t miss this wonderful decoration in all houses around . I became curious to know more about this . As usual , I find all rituals in Tamil Nadu has a profound background   and significance .Irrespective of whether one believes in them or not , one can easily understand why Tamil Culture is  regarded to have evolved from a very ancient civilisation and is still retaining its rich culture and heritage  . On this day, people decorate their houses with beautiful kolams, offer special prayers to the divine and light lamps known as Agal (diyas) and place them  inside and outside their homes. 

The festival is celebrated in a special way in a temple town called Thiruvannamalai; Where Lord Shiva is worshipped in the form of Jyotir Linga. According to puranas, Lord Shiva takes a huge form and Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu set on a journey to determine the origin of lord shiva, and they return back defeated.  Lord Shiva then appears in the form of Jothi (Agni tatva or the fire principle) and blesses them.  Karthigai Deepam is celebrated on account of this, so on this day special pujas are performed and a torch is lighted on the hill which is known as “Annamalai Deepam”.

It’s a wonderful sight to see most of the houses and streets glowing with these lamps. Delicacies like Appam, Pori Urundai (Sweet made out of puffed rice and jaggery) are then shared with neighbours and friends. While festivals like Ganesh chathurthi, Janmashtami, Ram Navmi and Dusshera  promotes the worship of divine in a specific form , Kartikai Deepam is unique in a way  promoting  the worship of omnipresent and formless divine.

Our business group  in Satyam  had recently visited  Shelter ,a home for HIV infected  children who are not accepted  into the mainstream of the society and  deprived of the usual love and affection. Managed by Mr. Solomon, Shelter has nineteen children including a toddler, the staff members employed as caretakers who are also  HIV positive.  One  cannot physically differentiate these kids from the normal ones, but on seeing them you can sense their longing for care and affection.

Most of these children go to a nearby school and are not only good in academics, but also in extracurricular activities like singing, dancing, craft making. Indeed it was a surprise to see these children dance with full of energy and enthusiasm to a few popular numbers even though you would be surprised to know   that these children seem to be  well aware of the damocles sword of death hanging before them. Still in the midst of such sufferings the way  they  displayed  their  cheerfulness  was simply astounding.   We felt guilty of not being able to do much to alleviate their pain be it in terms of  inventing a cure for the disease or giving them a lifestyle that can partially make them forget their miseries.

Like us, many other corporates must  also be visiting them as a part of corporate social responsibility.   I was wondering whether such visits bring these children to the state of being a zoo animal where we only sympathize suffering or feed our curiosity to see how an aids infected child looks like.  It is almost similar to how  mentally challenged persons at times can become a subject of people’s curiosity.

The visit was mentally disturbing for some of us but we did leave behind some warm smiles and came back with a heavy heart.  We were glad that at least we could cheer them up even if it was for a very short time.