If Lifelihood is for life, what is life for?

My this post is dedicated to these two individuals

1. Satyendra Dubey

2. Manjunathan Shanmugam

Among them I will focus on the later, not because the former's contribution was meager or lesser by any means but only because the later is chronologically neare to date, and as is said in Julius Caesar, "The Public have a very short memory".

Finally one mainstay newspaper did carry a report on Manju. Always believed that ET was the better of the two sibblings for Benett&Colman, TOI being the more popular one. My belief got another feather on its cap with this article.

May his soul rest in peace and may his efforts not go in vain.

Makes me believe that there is, what can be called a relapse Salman Rushdie's "Midnight's children"; children who were shaped on that fateful midnight, sandwiched between 14th and 15th August of 1947; 'as the stroke of Midnight hour, when the world sleeps India will awaken to life'.

Truly! How Prophetic! India is truly awakening to life, reminds me of Prince 'Kumbhakarna' form the Indian mythology. Waking up from his numerous years of prolonged sleep due tu the hustling-jostling of all the perturbed sepoys.

Its not that hydra headed demons of red-tapism, adultery, bribery and so on and so forth which plague our day to day lives have just popped up from nowhere. They were there and thriving peacefully and amicably. Its now that we have taken notice and the current effects are but manifstations of the expected Withdrawl Symptoms due to counter-meaures taken. Its indeed good ews. The fact that a boy, a mere boy had the strength in his upbringing in small town of Kolar to stand up against much more than a bribe of 1 crore, to face the bullets and perish with his values shrouding him in honour in his final abode. Indeed good news. Imagine the INERTNESS of his value-system that even walking in to an elite B-School did not stop him from walking out of this unscrupulous deal.

His teacher at IIM-L Prof. Chatterjee remebers discussing this question in one of his classes 'If Lifelihood is for life, what is life for?'. As expected from most such politically correct discussions involving future managers; this remained INCONCLUSIVE.

Prof. Chatterjee goes on to say, with Manju saqcrificing his life in the altar of truth he has been able to answer this critical question effectively, LIFE if for the COUNTRY. Indeed so!

Remain grateful to both these two ordinary folks who rose above ordinary circumstances, with ordinary handicaps (ones that we all come across day-to-day) to set an example with their extra-ordinary belief in themselves and their extra-ordinary conviction to do what it takes to pursue what they thought was righteous.

In a line, they bring back reminisences of this famous line,

"As dark is the night, as colorful will be the dawn ~ Rabindranath Tagore'

Adieu my fried, Adieu. May you rest in peace.
~Chirantan

Sharing the ~ SHARE KARMA ~

Everybody seeks happiness! Not me, though! That's the difference between me and the rest of the world. Happiness isn't good enough for me! I demand euphoria! ~  Calvin

Wow ! Is life a roller-coaster ride! Life’s been pretty much on the rocks for the past month or two. With substantial investments in the market and all of them loosing money, I was almost scheduling the filing of my Chapter11. The past couple of days the market has revived but not my shares; and just when it seemed that the wheel might actually come a full circle, it stopped the turn and went back spiraling down.

Today however was a different ball game. After witnessing volatile trading, the markets gathered momentum and rallied further as the Sensex surged over 100 points. The bounce back was led by heavy buying support from operators on the back of sustained and increased FII inflows. The BSE 30-share index settled at an all time high of 9284, up 114 points while the Nifty closed at 2813, marking a gain of 45 points.

I am hoping against hope that the upswing will continue so that I can actually undertake redemption of my curiosity fuelled investments.

As far as I'm concerned, if something is so complicated that you can't explain it in 10 seconds, then it's probably not worth knowing anyway. ~ Calvin

Why I got into the market in the first place is a separate story altogether. I have always (atleaset for quite a few years) have dreamt of becoming an Investment Banker (I Banker). Always felt ashamed of even admitting the same to myself even as I did not know even an ‘I’ of Investment. So with my meager paying job, I decided to skip some frills of life in order to make the ends meet with some spare moolah to pump into the market. Now the terms ‘moolah’ and ‘pump’  are crash gross overstatement/criminal exaggeration. Anyways, that was me saving my pennies every here and there and saving it diligently to make my foray into the market. Amusing as it seems now in retrospective analysis, those were the days I had just finished ‘Kane and Abel’ and the hangover of prodigy of William Kane was still to pass.

The above quoted saying of Calvin can summarize the total  erudition from the Securities market.
The ‘Guru Mantras’ so to say

1. Investment is ALWAYS for the long term


2. NEVER try to predict the market.

These are the two basic lessons that every ‘wannabe’ investor comes across while doing his homework and he chooses to ignore much to his peril. Finally after a hell’uva cuts, bruises and tears realizes the truth in the prophecy.

I too have got my cuts, and its high time to ‘Band-Aid’ them !

So long Speculative Trading …

Yeah, come in Analytical Investment !

~Cheetos

The Market Today : At a glance

Heart vs Head

Heart vs. Head

“But Calvin is no kind and loving god! He's one of the old gods! He demands sacrifice!”

Many a times I. feel I talk more from my heart than from my head . Today got into an argument with a person at a traffic crossing. It was right in front of Madhapur petrol pump and the full traffic was waiting for Chief Minister to pass by. The frenzied traffic cops were uttering some gibberish in Telugu and as expected most people(including myself) were not getting a clue as to what he was trying to say. After a while I got irritated and asked him why he was not talking in Hindi, to which an irate passenger dressed in all black, with naked foot and carrying the ‘pious’ mala replied as to what business was it mine which language the traffic cop uses. I replied by saying that just in case he is not aware, Hindi and Telugu is the official language of India. Must admit that I might have invited serious trouble for myself, knowing the volatile and capricious nature of the cop constables on the prowl.

I get this recurring feeling that more than anything else; it is this obstinacy to not learn anything common to the rest of the country, that keeps southern India still disconnected from mainstream India and hence the aptness of the term, “South Indian”.

Moving to something most ’Junta’ can connect to: Cricket. The way Ganguly has been left out of the team in spite of doing a ‘at-par’ performance speaks volumes about the reigning captain, Rahul Dravid. According to me, Sharad Pawar is the worst thing that has ever happened to Indian Cricket. Its like getting La’loo Prasad Yadav to head NASA. Tragic at best! People should start expecting Maharashtria-kars and mumbaikars to make it to . : clowns like Ajit Agarkar). The icing to the cake is that there are are characters like Raqj Singh Dungarpur and Bhishen Singh bedi who played mediocre, subsistence level cricket in their Hay-days deciding the fate and future of the most successful captain this country has ever had. The gluttony never Ends!

L'amour Toujours

One of the SEXIEST Numbers I came across
i still believe in your eyes
i trust don't care what you've done in your live
baby i'll always be here by your side
don't leave me waiting to long
please come back
i still believe in your eyes
there is no choice
I belong to your life
because i live to love you some day
you'll be my baby and we'll fly away
i fly with you (3x)
everything and everynight
i always treat back
you are by my side
oh baby, everything and everynight
we are so laughing
things gonna be all right
and i fly with you (3x)
I still believe in your eyes...
i fly with you (3x)
everything and everynight...
i fly with you (3x)

November 20 : is CAT Really that big a deal ?

NOVEMBER 20
A big day for most Indian students aspiring to the Inidan Institute of Management (IIMs). It is a very sad day for me and not the least becauseof a pitiable performance in the examination. I have after all a Computer Science & Engg. degree from one of the top colleges in India to back me up and a very civilized and polished job to fend for me. Today is a day when one of INDIA's honest and Spirited soul reached martyrdomin Lakhanpur Uttar Pradesh. With passage of time there are these three states i India I really believed do far harm than good to the cause of the country. These are Uttar Pradesh Bihar and 'Waste Bengal'. I have a strong feeling that these trulky deserve to be 'NUKED' in order to prevent the contagious toxic enclosement from spreading.
"HIS decision to seal a petrol pump in Lakhimpur district cost Manju Nathan, a 27-year-old sales manager with the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and an IIML passout, his life"
And the worst part of it is that the stink of Joiurnalism or rather so called 'journalism' . Only Inidian Express had the 'Courage of Journalism'. Times of India & Hindustan Times were busy licking the ass of all the Page-3 and the feudalistic politicians.
What a sham of a system we have!
~ Chirantan

~ The Last Calvin & the best one ~

Complete Calvin and Hobbes for download

The lik above leads to a philanthropist' server containing the complete collection of calvin ad hobbes available free for download. All for you to download and enjoy! ~C

~ People who try never fail ~

An Ethics Lesson for MBA Wannabes

An Ethics Lesson for MBA Wannabes: "Instances have also been uncovered at Stanford, MIT, Duke, Carnegie Mellon, Dartmouth, and possibly others. Using instructions posted by anonymous users on several Internet B-School bulletin boards, including at BusinessWeek Online, many of the hackers were able to discover their acceptance status weeks before decision letters were sent." The following are the excerpts from a very interesting news which has just come in. "ApplyYourself, Inc.", Web site had some bug which when exploited, allowed students to get a peek inside the university internal documents detailing about the application Acceptance/Rejection status. The B-Schools have hit back rejecting the applicants who tried to find out their app status. Harverd Dean Kim B. Clark says, "This behavior is unethical at best--a serious breach of trust that cannot be countered by rationalization."; he continues "..Our mission is to educate principled leaders who make a difference in the world .." and "..Those who have hacked into this Web site have failed to pass that (integrity) test..". Pretty sad for those candidates. I think the Harvard line is so typical OLD SCHOOL Dogamtist approach. A much more balanced line is taken by Kellog who say that they will evaluate each applicant found guilty of this breach on a case by case basis "In the best case, what has been demonstrated here is a lack of judgment; in the worst case, a lack of integrity". The counter argument would be something like "Ethics" is something than cannot and should not be compromised on. The worlds future leaders should not be the ones who digressed the line of righteousness , sometimes out of only greed and being unable to control the temptation. Well, two sides of the story, quite an involved one at that actually. The better part of the Harvard 'punishment' is that they would not share the list of students who have been rejected for this purpose with other B-Schools.
~ Chirantan

Titletracks of the most popular STAR PLUS Serials

Index of /kunal/music/star
The link will lead to a page from where you can download all the title tracks for STAR PLUS Serials (at least the popular ones at that ..)

By the way went to give mock of an exam, was in true sense a mock. Pathetic performance! Felt sorry for my examier, which in normal course would be an unflinching Optical character Recognizer link to.. what an ORACLE Database!
You never can get quite enough of technology, can you ?
It is an everlasting Obsession.

Then so be it ! Ending with an ODE to that obsession, Chirantan

My Old and Faithful IBM Thinkpad R 32

The Onset of the New tends to push the old-faithful to Oblivion
Not in this case.

My old and so faithful IBM Thinkpad which has served me so flawlessly is still given its due honour inspite of the new Toshiba Centrino already taking its slot! 

My Dear Friend's Wedding Party

That's one friend with whom I really hang
around with, more outside office than
inside, along with his newly wedded wife
on his wedding party at RESTOPub TWISTER.

Wishing you all the best for the road Ahead !

 

My New Laptop

Site Feed in RSS 2.0 Format

For those of you innocent souls who think that RSS is a new reciepie and the "2.0" indicates the time to be set in microwave to prepare it, here's the enlightener. RSS is a Feed layout (Now, don't ask me what that means, just listen and pretend to understand) and is a more popular one at that than the default ATOM layout supported by Blogspot.Chick here to learn more about RSS. Click on the header of this post if ATOM is not your cup'o tea and you prefer good'ol fashioned RSS.
~ Cheetos

Lovely Anti Smoke Campaign

For all you puffing Chimneys out there. Check out this wonderful flash animation detailing about the HAZARDS of smoking. Believe me even if you thing that the end lesson "Smoke Kills" sucks you will love this campaign if not for anything else, for the sheer creativity of its conceptors.
Being a non-smoker and a non-Boozer myself it makes it easier to Pooh-Pooh all the "High"s that Smoking is supposed to give.
Chirantan.
P.S : Still waiting for my new laptop to come over

BBC - Science & Nature - Human Body and Mind - Body - Senses Challenge

Sense Challenge
A superb application curdling the scietific temper which is cornered and hidden in each one of us. Makes us know human body and the tremendous science it emplys a lot better. Absolutely must "check-out" stuff.

One of the very few BBC stuff which is upto the mark!

Chirantan

Funny ATC Quotes, Peoplesoft & World renowned Blogs

funny air traffic controllers quotes: "From an unknown aircraft waiting in a very long takeoff queue: 'I'm f...ing bored!' Ground Traffic Control: 'Last aircraft transmitting, identify yourself immediately!' Unknown aircraft: 'I said I was f...ing bored, not f...ing stupid!'"
The hyperlink goes to a page having some ATC (Air Traffic Controller) quotes/Converstions which had me rolling on the floor. Have come across them for not the first time yet still it did evoke quite a magnificient effect. Do go there, especially if you are a jet setting traveller.


By the way I am on the verge of working with Peoplesoft. After the hostile takeover by ORACLE don't quite know if I should leave the comfort zone of Business Intelligence with/without due diligence. Waiting for a better sense to prevail and till that time holding on to what I have.


Came Across a publication detailing about the have/have-nots in terms of achievers in DOT.COM startups. One of the trends which have survived and thrived is that of BLOGS In fact in the 2004 Presidential elections in USAbloggers were invited along with normal press reporters from traditional media for briefings.
Some Nick Denton has been figured in one of most powerful men in US Media for his widely seen blogs : Gizmodo - the gizmo Blog, Wonkette - the Political Blog and Fleshbot - the porn Blog


I checked out one of these (guess which one ;) and found them to be quite good. For one, lemme help you with a taster for the stuff. Click Here

Rocking as Ever,


Chirantan "Cheetos"

Nikon Small World - Gallery

Look through a Microscope.
This reminded me of the days of Scientific Temperament days when I had that uncanny urge to Question "Why & Why not".
This made me a perfect fit in the 'creatures' whose (over) inquisitiveness forces them to get behind the microscope to understand everything. Clearly a highly unsuitable candidate for IITs !

So Re-arouse that dormant temperament and Bon-Voyage on the journey of thrilling Science.

~Cheetos

What was the number one the day you were born

This day in Music ::
An Ideal Blog for a Music fReAk
This site tells you the number one song on the UK/USA pop charts the day you were born. Guess which one is mine ? Its "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor. Could easily Identify with this as have heard the Re-mixed version of this in the hindi movie "KAAL"
Cheers ~C

Lovely Email Lesson

Got this rather fun email lesson from the net the other day. Quite informative and I thought I would send it across to all my buddies who keep forwarding such "get rich by forwarding" chain emails. But decided to exercise restrain.

By the way gave IIFT exams today. Was siiting on the same bench with a girl who was very gorgeous., to say the least. And surprise, she was actually flirting a lot with her low neckline! Unfortunately wanted to focus more on the Qpaper, which as it is was quite an arduous one, so had to cod shoulder her. Had it been any other day I would have gone ga-ga over her!

Life is definitely not without a sense of I-R-O-N-Y

~C

Music Stars Real Names

Music Stars Real Names. Just stumbled on this site. This gives the true names of all the different singers. Quite a revelation actually to find the following (Better known Name - Actual Name):
1.) Jon Bon Jovi - John Francis Bongiovi Jr.
2.) Bono (U2) - Paul David Hewson
3.) Eric Clapton - Eric Patrick Clapp
4.) Alice Cooper - Vincent Damon Furnier
5.) John Denver - John Henry Deutschendorf
6.) Kenny G - Kenneth Gorelick
7.) Elton John - Reginald Kenneth Dwight
8.) Madonna - Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone
..

The list goes on & on !
Check out the site for more details.

Adios

Unconquerable Soul

OUT of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

 

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

 

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

 

 

Bargain Bites - Top 16 Cheap-Eats Under Rs.50!

	Bargain Bites - Top 16 Cheap-Eats Under Rs.50!

		Baker's Inn For the absolute best in all things baked and beautiful, you must visit this most popular of Amrutha Mall's attractions. Baker's Inn, 23 Amrutha Mall, Somajiguda, Hyderabad - 500082 (040) 5561-7700 Map
		Chicken 65 Bandi All discerning diners within a five-mile radius of Ramakrishna Theatre know that this is where you'll find the best plate of chicken 65 in town. Chicken 65 Bandi, Near Ramakrishna Theatre, Abids, Hyderabad Map
		Corn Club CC does such amazing things with the golden kernel that you'll have trouble believing this stuff is actually healthy for you. Corn Club, No. 2A, Ground Floor, Manjeera Square, Blue Fox, Minerva Lane, Ameerpet, Hyderabad - 500038 (040) 5536-9900
		Paradise Food Court They paved Paradise. But it remains one of the twin-cities' busiest food centrals. Paradise Food Court, Adjacent to Paradise Persis, MG Road, Secunderabad - 500003 (040) 2784-3115 Map
		Pick 'N' Move Anything dipped, swirled, tossed or generally smothered in chocolate is great here. Pick 'N' Move, Amrutha Estate, Himayathnagar Main Road, Hyderabad - 500029 (040) 5561-9999 Map
		Vac's Pastries It's out of the way for most of us, but news of the freshest, most scrumptious pastries in town has made its way around. Vac's Pastries, Plot No. 22, New Vasavinagar, Karkhana, Secunderabad - 500015 (040) 2774-0233
		Sandwich Stall - Convenio Almost everyone who works the midnight-shift is familiar with the sandwiches at Convenio. Sandwich Stall - Convenio, Convenio Petrol Station, Next to Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet, Hyderabad Map
		Sarvi Bakers & Confectioners Of all the grub-hubs in the area, Sarvi's will do the most good for your stomach with the least harm to your pocket. Sarvi Bakers & Confectioners, Road No. 1, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad - 500034 (040) 5563-1113 Map
		Tibbs Frankie Hyderabad is descending in droves. Yes, we'd say it's been a success. Tibbs Frankie, White House Building, Next To Lifestyle, Begumpet, Hyderabad - 500016 Map | email
		Country Oven Country Oven proves that old real-estate adage true - it's all about location, location, location. Country Oven, Greenlands, Main Road, Ameerpet, Hyderabad - 500016 (040) 2340-9241 Map | email
		Big Byte No matter how many swanky new fast food joints come up in between, people are still finding their way to this large bakery that according to some, serves the best desi burgers in town. Big Byte, 8-3-978/3, Srinagar Colony, Hyderabad (040) 2374-2471 Map
		Midways One of the few places in Banjara Hills that will leave your wallet unscathed, Midways is an old favourite with many foodies of the area. Midways, Opp. JVR Park, Road No. 1, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad - 500034 (040) 5550-5000 Map | email
		Sarovar Coffee Shop You can see why people keep coming back. Good food, reasonable prices and a little peace if you want to work or have some reading to catch up with. Sarovar Coffee Shop, Sarovar Plaza, Secretariat, Saifabad, Hyderabad - 500063 (040) 2323-7299 Map
		Step-In Anyplace that's replaced the much adored Shanbhag restaurant has some serious living up to do. And fortunately Step-In does more that just live up to expectations. Step-In, 6-3-883/9, Ibrahim Khan Estate, Punjagutta X-Roads, Hyderabad (040) 5534-5488 Map
		Checker's Cafe The next time you're tired of the same old same old, give Checker's a shot. Checker's Cafe, Opp. Minerva Coffee Shop, Himayathnagar, Hyderabad - 500029 (040) 5582-7102 Map
		Outside Shoppers' Stop Ever since Shoppers' Stop's food court has gotten obscenely expensive - and it never was cheap to begin with - people have preferred to skip the fifth floor altogether and get their bites at the main gate instead. Outside Shoppers' Stop, Shoppers' Stop, Begumpet, Hyderabad - 500016