Winash Times

I got this mail some years back ..but didnt realise then .... they feather you as calm Wind later...

Life is realy different after 25 ....

Not talking about Cortisol levels or Cerebellum receptors fading down...

It is knowing yourself..and searching within....

What the bleep Do I know...?

It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are many things about yourself that you didn't know and may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely
know where you are now.
You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have ever met, and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones.

What you don't recognize is that they are realizing that too, and aren't really cold, catty, mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.
You look at your job... and it is not even close to what you thought you would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a job and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and that scares you.
Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and are constantly adding things to your list of what is acceptable and what isn't. One minute, you are insecure,Coy and then the next moment Confident,Suave. You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do
but stay where you are or move forward..... You cant live in past ..:(
You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you. Or you lie in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent enough that you want to get to know better. Or maybe you love someone but love someone else too and cannot figure out why you are doing this because you know that you aren't a bad person.
your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision. You worry about loans, money, the future and making a life for yourself... and while winning the race would be great, right now you'd just like to be a contender!
What you may not realize is that everyone reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out.

Wasting our precious Time.. and then cripping about it .. At the end of Tunnel .. We are not that bad as we think ... but we seldom appreciate ourselves.....and fall in trap of Time and Tide...

But as everything else..this too will pass... and we would be in next stage of life, confronting nxt set of challenges....

But I feel, we are devoid of nous, restless and want things to happen in faster pace , in this transformation phase , than they really happen ..

Typical 20 something attitude...

Feel free to share if you see same facets in your journey...

Singapore ....

Even in this hard hitting times, If there are two things, where the moolah gushes, it should be IPL and our own elections .

The former is a yearly affair, whereas the later is once in 5 years, and is anterior to every citizen

After period of 5 weeks, we would know who would occupy the hot seat leading biggest democracy in the world .

Indian election commission is a great body, when it comes to conducting national elections, and other countries can certainly take a leaf out of its book

Even though the manifestos are just a gimmick , coalition government seems to be the answer for last decade or so.

This intelligibly shows we are short of confidence in one national party ,mainly due to lack of choice .

India needs a Obama, but unfortunately we are short of visionary leaders.Even one who aspires to be , will be mulled down by our old foxes .

The PM candidate from ruling party is 78 and the opposition is 81, and if they get selected , their cabinet ministers average age is around 65

Now Do we have a choice ..? more drama is yet to unfold in next 5 weeks , as regional parties,claim to be kingmakers ( jokers!!)

But Indian elections still holds all charisma and majo , to be free and fair one , as largest democratic exercise .

Hoping for terror free polls and great leader to lead our young nation in paths of glory .

Moving on to IPL, It has become more of Indian political league, having moved away from India .

The Buzz we had last year would be missing, as Eden gardens is no Bull Ring or Newlands,

The Home minister has very right to reject paramilitary forces,rightly so, during election time,but Lalit modi is too pragmatic a man to waste such a feast not to happen .

Good to see Shane warne, Mcrath back on action , My money is on Daredevils to win this edition , even though heart goes for Chennai .

Albeit Juvenile IPL is no F1 or EPl in $$$ terms, It is still a maiden exemplar for merging Entertainment with sport ,a Win -Win situation .

Lately, There has been too much negativity in media about this recession and credit crunch that,I feel that Ignorance is certainly bliss ,for some stages in Life .

Certainly It is apparent that We are in middle of Fizzy financial future ,but Life in itself is a Obscure journey .

And to add fuel to the fire ,Big Money czars like Madoff (They call Mad at madoff now) , Standford ,Satyam Raju ,and more to follow in coming days .

But there is always dawn after dark, The governments across world are taking up stimulus packages , cutting interest rates , making sure money reaches banks, markets, industries, Educational Institutions,health care ,creating jobs to thrust economy

Singapore , an active IMF member, has for first time in history has tapped its reserves .

As Financial pundits say, Stock markets might not always reflect country's economy on whole, it does give grave graph .In other hand GDP,Inflation and Consumer spending census by far is right tool to judge .

With Today's Economy so intertwined ,Media can help actually third world countries' reflecting whats the shrinkage level happening elsewhere across globe .

But we seldom see Media reporting Recuperating ways or measures for common man , to encounter till it gets better.

In India, Media has come off age, with so many news channels fighting for TRP ratings, any soul-stirring news is always RSS feed for them .

Print Media is always and will always be better than E-media, coz it is not instant news but a thought induced and verified information .

Page3, Sports and Healthcare news will more or less be soothing or boosting, coz they are always money spinners.

As we all know, AP,Reuters,AFP are premium providers of day today news , I read somewhere in a Reuters' Employer blog that there is a lot of tweak and pinch , from what they provide and what it is actually ,and underlying factor is the $$$ which flows in it .

The E- media (TV & Net) gets it from them (less officially and mostly unofficially) .

The Positive Vibe has to start from here ,but I guess there is no Single Boss(editor desk) to gauge what is correct and what isn't and it all boils down to Collective Loyal Journalism .

ARR has finally won something which was due for his hardwork and quality music...The Oscar

I was watching all Live the event in office ( Courtesy : Media 5 in our Cafeteria ) !!!

This means a lot to his fans all over the world , His sales records' speak for themselves , surpassing all combined Madonna's , Spears', and other solo performers of this generation.

ARR has evolved over last 2 decades, re-inventing himself , presenting to larger world new refreshing music, blending technology with Tasteful soul stirring music .

A true Genius , The Mozart of madras , thoroughly deserved this honour,for all his perseverance ,hardwork and Quality of music,which he never compromises .

As Always, He is down to earth and dedicates award to his mother and God . He always mentions "God is great " , sure his divine connection and simpleness always keeps him grounded , but his aura has reached dizzy heights .
'
My personal favorite ARR song is "Yeh jo Desh hai mera" from Swades .

He has put Indian Music Map in the Oscar limelight and and day is not far, when a true Indian Film bags one Oscar , needless to say it will have ARR in it.





JAI HO !!!

Offlate, I have been reading books at a pace, which I have never done in my life.

Books are filling in space left by my good friends,to blush boredom .

To add my Zeal, Singapore hosts many Second Sale Book Shows, and every locality has huge lending Library.
Even though I m a ardent Archer follower, I m going through some biographical books lately which are mind blowing.
Chetan Bhagat is also fast becoming an Indian Icon in space (Shelfari,Google,biblio) ,I still feel
"5 point" had more freshness,pristine thoughts and a feel good factor.
He then moved on to "Call center World and then to Cricket,Religion in " 3 Mistakes" . The former was made into a Bolly Flop, while I guess the later is also script worth of masala flick .
A IIM passout, No Candy, he knows how to sell his Words,but his Lingo is quite good Urbanite humor, catering Gen Y and Z .
Zoya factor is another one worth for money-An Adwomen's view of marketing Cricket.
Nine on Nine , by Nandita Puri, has been rated as one of the Pioneer in modern era , has more feminine flavor , but TOI Experience helps her heal it, to present it in a sweet manner.
Debono,Stephen Covey,LouisGerstner,Spencer Johnson,..........They all belong to special list in my mindspace, as they always help in reinventing/F5 my memory cache, albeit they are strangers :(

For a movie, which recieved standing Ovation at BAFTA and Gloden globe , SDM(not my manager) is really on Medal bagging running spree ,enroute to Oscar.
Another movie which is in contention with our own SDM (its become ours since its made on India and has ARR) is " Curious case of Benjamin Button "
I did watch both movies, and both movies are poles apart, and I m not sure who said Universal themes gets nominated ..:(
The former is a normal rags to riches story, with someone from Slum goes on to win Huge money, in popularised tele Quiz Show hosted by Anilkapoor(?)
Danny Boyle (some of his earlier movies are even better) is too pragmatic a man to waste Vikasswarup's Q & A .He really saw Gold in it and presented to First and Second World , and then finally brought to Thirdworld .
Mumbai, even though has enough Chobadpatti's , is limned as desperate ugly city which has people who will dwell anything for money.
The Idea was clear for boyle, as he envisioned Westerners could connect to three things in film , apart from some good acting by Brit actors.
Callcentre Chaiwala's Love for latika, Millionare program (way It was connected to real time scenarios) & AR Rehman
ARR, in my opinion and n many Indians' eyes maynot have given his best music,in his standards, for this film, but it was used effectively by Boyle and culmination song JAIHO was Icing on Cake for the film.

The Later , Benjamin Button , is eccentric movie in its very thought.It encapsulates the life of a person from childhood to oldage ..
Seems normal..nahh... just think upside down ... A baby born old grows and dies young ....
A great thought spilled sporadically by some good scenes,and has Bradpitt giving stellar performance , is good enough to contend for Academy awards.
The Film is moving in slow pace...but individual life stories needs that at times ...
Even though Daisy was looking beautiful(Kid and Teen)in the film, the Aunt and Lightning man brought more cheers to the story

And the whole story , as in Titanic, is in a diary,being told in a Windy katrina twilight time by leading Lady to her daughter.
The Award goes to "The curious case of Slum Dog " - I guess Jury would prefer the latter for some obvious reasons known to them .

There has been the absorbing sport all last couple of weeks , be it the Steelers steeling the show in the Superbowl for the third time, or gimmicks over Chelsea in EPL, or Who's the Biggest Dollar cat in IPL (for a change lets spare Dog)
If its going be Jan/Feb, You gotta be down under , Aussie dominance mozzie finally sucking its own blood under pressure , having lost to SF in test series and in Onedayers. Cricket wont be onesided anymore :(
But the real treat to all sports lovers was marathan match between Rafa and Fedex ....
" God Its killing me " uttered the champion, who just sees Big Nadal Wall between him and history ..
For somebody who has reached grandslam finals from 2004 till date , the excellence & execution is unmatched .
He is certainly in History and will remain in Open era for more years to come .
Fedex has seldom been pushed to final set, and his odds in fivesetter are not as good as the man who beat him the most.
Lets not forget the Zealfull Nadal, who is at his pinnacle of his career , even bettered the longest Semifinal match in the Open , against his Davis cup mate, to keep something special for Fedex .
Erstwhile ,there has been various best of clashes in Open era, Sampras vs Agassi , Beckar vs Edberg , but not as quite as quality of tennis as these two blokes consistently provide .
We l have to wait until the greenish month('m sure Fedex will slip n Rolland garros),to see these two greats battle it out again

Talking about Change , Change actually conquered the Throne finally..
Black man in White House ... Obama deserves everybit of this and all re now hoping for the better in this bitter recession .. its time for Action more than Words , as half the planet's economy is coupled under Black brother..:)
Hope Obama lives upto his expectation and fulfills reminiscent of American dream of Luther King .
Hailing the president , thee was another hero last week in Hudson River.... "Sally" , the great Pilot who saved many lives by floating a Plane in Hudson river, for a flight bound for Charlotte,NC
Two birds once agian caused flight to lose control, but it requires lot of mettle in handling the situation.
Something about Sally, My friend in Mclean, Roger told me that Sally,57, is no new to these situations as he is running a private Jet suite training , and He has enough experience of landing in water . Executing your excellence at right time doesnt come to all... Hail the Hero !!!!

Today is Lunar New year.. chinese new year.. Its huge festivity here in Singapore, more so in locality I live..
This is the year of Ox ... Im getting lot of Yin-Yang flavour these days ....
Wanna chck ur luck this year... www.proastro.com . Myns not that bad... :(
Chinese horoscopes are composed with 12 Animals: Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig and Rat
They respect a lot these animals...Its a Long weekend here in Singapore, and includes 2 official holidays .. (Wish new year for various nationalities recur often ..heee)
All shops are closed, and it wears a "bandh" or deserted look . I m sure all roads lead to Shanyang, guangshou, bejing and Shanghai , this time of year...
The first day is for the welcoming of the deities of the heavens and earth, officially beginning at midnight. Many people, especially Buddhists, abstain from meat consumption on the first day because it is believed that this will ensure longevity for them. Some consider lighting fires and using knives to be bad luck on New Year's Day, so all food to be consumed is cooked the day before.
Most importantly, the first day of Chinese New Year is a time when families visit the oldest and most senior members of their extended family, usually their parents, grandparents or great-grandparents(trust me their mean life span is 85 ! )
Lion dance or beats , in red couplets are famous during this time , where people carry big drums and make sounds , the reason which dates bck to some 14th century .
The History says that there used to be a Mythical devil called "Nian" ( Year in mandarin) , which comes during New year destroys all crops , fields and attack smal children.
So to encounter that, a Old person in a village suggested to wear Red couplets and weed of the beast by making huge noises in drums . This trick seemed to have worked and henceforth people display Red lanterns and Shalls in front of their house , symbolically meaning to weed off all bad things.
Mandarin oranges ( Jin Ji in Pinyin) also play an important role in this week long festival. People exchange oranges to their peers and relatives,
They elucidate Good luck , because the homophone of Jinji means good fortune..I ve heard many people say this to me , until I know I was also blinking..:(
So much has happened over last few weeks , and its only 25 days into new year(English) .
I was shocked as everyone else in Satyam Debacle and our Media is not projecting this good either.. Employees must be having horrid time not only in their projects, but also with all this Hype..
As All say Time will heal the problems, Hope new board takes some legitamate decisions and takes care of some 50 K families.
Change was always expected, but a rude change or Shock in this manner totally glooms the rising Indian IT Industry .

So another Year has gone by... Another one to Beckon.... Shud be an interesting Year...
Just for a thought , Looking back last year, I didnt do any fruitful things for society.. been all selfish... working around moving to diff places.. learned a bit... wasted a lot.. a typical
20 something attitude..:)
Some resolutions I m taking in this new year...( Last year I didnt fulfill some .. any way atleast an occasion to take some...)
Some pragmatic achievable R'solutions ..:)
Contribute something to society , so as to engulf that 'Feel Good factor'
' Information is wealth' -- Browsing/Reading more and more useful things and most of all collating as document , so when we look back/Share shud be useful .
Keeping this Blog Alive ,Completing some certifications ....

Pray Almighty.. ...This shouldbe peaceful year and Loads of Happiness and Kindness be seen in people, with no natural calamities....