General Elections-predictions

This is the third time , i’m showing my index finger with pride and satisfaction to the world.Even i voted this time , i was pessimistic about the polling percentages in the state . but very surprised and happy to see it jumped to 68% from late 50 % mark .

only  less than a day left to know election results , but it’s my time to predict the results

Tamil nadu

with no major wave – would ealam tamils wave against congress make a difference? – flowing towards any alliance , it seems as the contest of the votebank arithmetic and compaign power of the star campaigners . with arithmetic working in favour of  the AIADMK alliance and jayalalitha’s whirlwind campaign(Karunanidhi’s campaign being curtailed to hours ) drawing huge crowds , AIADMK expected to get about 25 seats , but with voting percentage increased considerbly-people who voted in excess doesnot belong to any votebanks - and and vijaykanth’s DMDK  eating into AIADMK’s opposition votes.  25-15 in favour of DMK may be the verdict . but what ever the results are , they would closely contest one .

        DMDK wont be winning any seats as expected but it would get good number of votes in kallakurichi ,cuddalore ,virudhunagar and kanyakumari . but even if it able to get same 8.33% as prev assembly elections , it would be a  big achievement

 BJP would be holding on to traditional vote bank but it is no way seem to get more votes than it. it to wont get win any seats but it may even threaten a second place finish in kanyakumari and ramanathapuram( purely due to thirunavukarasur’s charisma )

apart from that , i’m eagerly waiting for sarath babu’s votes (contesting in south chennai, where i live ) some youngsters seem to have voted for him and trichy’s results ( where i vote)

INDIA

it is simple as that , it is hung parliament . but with both NDA and UPA expected to win around 200 seats but with fourth front (SP-RJD-LJP) expected to atleast 35-40 and left front getting a another minimum of 35 . it is most likely a non-bjp government . but would manmohan singh would continue to be the PM , this is tricky question thought NCP would be getting only 15 + seats , sharad pawar may likely to be a  option for PM with fourth front and left may pinch for non-congress PM  , with shiva sena to support for a marathi manoos . 

can sharad pawar achieve what he is denied in early nineties ? can Mamohan singh can hold on to the unexpected gift for another term ? but with my prediction going to dust and can L K advani jumping on the highest seat in his last and only chance ? but this is the one last time ,these 3 can aspire to became PM , there is no  second chance for them . though Sharad pawar has age on his side , situations may not be this fruital in the future.

NOTE 1 : even you would be reading this , this prediction may be un comparable to the results declared . but it may declare that i too join the elite number of  people who can’t predict the pulse of people in advance.

 

Let Us Vote

Finally D-day has arrived ,the decision is in our hands .Let us participate in this mass festival -not for the well being of others but for ours- . Let us go to polling booth and vote for  whomever we think the best or atleast not the worst. if u feel noone is elgible to get your vote , go for  49 0 form but Let us make sure that we exercise our right . Let us vote

 

India Unbound

                             I always belive “money has NO value attached to it, unless it has been properly invested “. One of the finest investments (excluding gifts to relations & friends) ,  is buying a  book – ‘INDIA unbound by guru charan das ” -.  I did that on my first month salary. I took more time than any other book to finish it, partly due to my training and partially due to my prejudice on some matters which made to constantly argue/discuss with myself.

                                   Author takes us through the events of India from the independence till the new millennium in his perspective. The book is essentially about why and how, the highly productive India became poor and how it would gain became rich. We can have a close insight of nehruvism socialism /democratic socialism-as called by this author – or mixed economy ,with which the Nehru dreamt of building the new India . The author is highly critical  of the bureaucracy and license raj -only particular enterprise having particular license can produce certain products- which were responsible for the chances   India missed from 1960’s until the markets opened in 1991.he came with numerous case studies to prove his point like aditya birla leaving India and building a empire on foreign soils , TATA group refused numerous projects while late dhirubhai ambani being the lone exception to create a business empire –result of blend of shrewd intelligence and ability to bend laws – . From 1991,s when the economic blockade is removed, it waved for the new hope for millions of Indian where playfield is level and new group of enthusiastic young Entrepreneurs started developing..

                                    Author, former CEO of P&G is a unmistakable flag bearer of capitalism and highly critical of socialism . I would like to know his views on present state of economics of biggest exhibitors of capitalism ( USA ).

                                     Though I have some reservations about how the author look at certain issues , I love reading this book. Simply because it has kindled my appetite for reading books on contemporary   history .and i strongly recommand you to read this one .

 i have zero in on some of the books which i would be willing to read in the near future

* “India after gandhi” by ramachandra guha

* “my life ,my country” by LK advani , i really wanna know what this rightist politician-who has a  significant  influence  in dividing the people on religion – (sorry , if I’m wrong J ) , have to say about the last 50 years

*”discovery of india” – jawaharlal nehru , to knew his viewpoints

 

My Encounters with Reality

                                            This is one of the rare day – i seldom buy chocolates for 200 bucks – I’m starting my bike finishing the purchase in a departmental store. Just then, I noticed a man- in his early fifties, bright eyes, lean looks, not so neat clothes – standing in front of me . At first I mistook him for a person searching something there. Then he spoke to me with the sense of urge ‘romba pasikuthu , romba romba pasikuthu , ennaku …. ‘(I’m hungry, very hungry……). We are used to this kind of pleading but when he asked me looking straight into my eyes. I was emotionally moved and opened my purse to give him a 10 rupees note and took the vehicle back to my home. This incident made me thing again and again, he is not a real beggar, IMO he is not a person who seemed to deserve Nor I’m a person who is very kind enough . I’m witnessing more disadvantaged persons in my daily life in chennai railway stations. Even witnessing more people with special abilities –unlike normal beings- selling various range of things – instead of begging – there but I hardly ever bought a product. Only thing that made me give away some rupees is the way he expressed his situation evoked my emotions. After seeing “naan kadavul”-definitely one of the must see movie on Tamil – whenever I see a people with special abilities begging , it evokes a sense of urge in me to look into their lives and know the reason behind their ill being . is there anyone who milks the sympathy in people using these people ??.After thinking these all , why did I give him without giving a second thought ?? After some thought process – my traveling time is killed/utilized by this activity- ,I can picture what is there is my mind . There are so many things happening around me , I have been keeping mum controlling my senses just living my life as silent observer  . There are times, when I have thought to myself “ I would earn then I would change things ‘ but in reality , I too *now* a ‘yet another ordinary person ‘ , so one of the easiest things I can do now is giving away some money and to feed not only them but also my inner self’s appetite .

                                   2 years back , I was visiting a young doctor for my ligament issues . in that hospital I happened to see his Dr dad –who is the son of late Dr KAP -consulting patients for a meager 5 rupees in his old ages and seen the gratitude of the patients in their eyes . On that day, I understood the nobleness of medical profession but there is always a flip side .I have heard lots of story about money savvy hospitals but I have never had a personal experience . recently I happened to visit a hospital urgently with my friend –who needed immediate attention- when I expected them to take care ,they promptly asked me to pay the fees and coolly said “rest is next “ . I had a mix of emotions running through my mind mostly annoyance and anger but I know it won’t help my cause so I just replied “u take care , I would take care of this bill ‘ .when this matter run through my mind again and again , I thought I’m overreacting to a simple day to day issue .after all, it is their business . day in ,day out they are seeing patients in pain and ‘money they pay’ to cure is their business model . I too knew they are not here for doing any service , but what I expect is minimum business ethics-since they are engaged in a business- in it , I have no clue whatsoever why they wanna charge us before treating ? they don’t belive though I’m wearing my ID card – license to be robbed in day – . this is not a matter of money but a matter of customer satisfaction in business terms :(

 

B’days

                          ‘B’days are occasions ,just to remind that I’m getting older ‘ This is the view ,i had for B’days once I jumped out of my childhood days and magic date feb 12 (obviously my B’day) never seem to interest me anymore .it is just a occasion for wearing new dresses , but this impression broke as my life moved on . in hostels , we were used to celebrate the b’days as a grand event . it started as place ,where we friends mingled as group ,started looking outside our ROOM ,and introduced to new people who eased into our lives as friends . Hostel B’days have 12′0 clock cake cutting ceremonies , back breaking slaps with lights switched off ,bed sheets all over on you ,playing hide and seek to escape cakes being pasted upon our face, buckets of water being spilled upon you and last but not least photo session ( I liked this part ,very much) . another interesting part is waiting for people to wish you @ midnight . whenever I think of B’days , feb 12 ‘08 is a special one.. that is my last one in my collage life and we celebrated both in hostel and my class room . it came within the last one month of our college life , so it had more emotional attachment to it .

 the period in between the feb 12′08 to feb 12′09 would easily be the most *happening* period of my life time , I slowly translated from college student to a vetti guy (nearly spend half an year in that) then I’m slowly building my professional career. But then this year , I know that my family members wouldn’t be around as in my school days , i know that a good chuck or most part of friends who were greeting wouldn’t be near you and surely I miss numerous hand shacks I had before but then one of the things that make life beautiful is , unexpected turns and twists it brings to you . it is great that new friends have stormed(?) to your life so soon than u hope and gave u a ray of hope on life . It would always feel great to hear old friends(sometimes ,even across from across the Atlantic ocean) , especially their parents and someone’s whom you don expect to wish , wish u ‘Happy B’day ‘. But with *this* type of B’days , u tend to expect more. and with expectations sky high tend to get disappointments and it is part of the parcel , I’m used to move on ,with the disappointments  .

PS  :my colleagues/friends poured with gifts I had a good number of wardrobes and 8 books.. I’m looking forward to read that books as soon as possible and return back my comments , but travelling nearer to 3 hours per day in public transport make things harder for me

 

Whats So Special on NOV 28th 2008

nov 28th 2008

6 25 am
i had 5 mins, i just checked my cell so that i can get from bed in time for my office .
chandru  woke me up and asked me to see the street . i walked towards our balcony ,telling to myself “what was so spl in our street ,only 3 or 4 stray dogs there” . but what i saw ,shocked me .  our home was like a island and our area  like a mini-venice . i cant find a sq ft where i can see a slightest of  sand .  rain is in no mood to let the situation  get better , it  started pouring again. too soon , too many questions popped in my mind ‘ohh god , how can i get my bus @ 7 55 ?” , “ even if i applied for an   leave  , how do i get my breakfast ?”  i started to discuss  our next course of action with my collegues. to our relief,  i recieved a text message  ” today holiday” . we were happy and started to pass that info to other collegues and started to discuss  water levels in various parts of chennai(velachery in particular ,thats where i stay ).once we are done with that , we  decided to start to our hometowns and catch vaigai express by 12 25 pm . we thought that train would be better option than bus in rainy/morning  conditions(is that so !!! )  and our plan is ready , we decided to go to velachery MRTS station and from there to egmore to catch vaigai. we decided to start by 9 am.

        once we started to pack , a sudden valid question popped in our minds , won’t they  cancel vaigai(amount of rain and flood is such that ,most parts of chennai  were virutually floating ) we all called  various friends for help , but none replied back with a  answers which would help us to decide . so we decided to follow our instinct

9 00 am

we were ready with our gears for the adventure  . we slowly started walking into the flood waters , rains has been taking a short break. flood waters stood around knee high for us ,it is not easy to walkin that waters but we had no other option left with us . our neighbours are busy taking photos of floods and occasionally us . then we too decide to capture our adventures in digital  ,so we all had a brief photo session . and then we started moving towards the main road . whenever something brushes my legs , i had some weird feelings .i had reasons for that ,  i witnessed a snake in that  road hardly few days back . and i tried to walk fast but i was keeping a constant watch on waters for some snakes . after walking for a KM or so ,we reached the mainroads .but the mainroads seem like perfect waterways ,where constant movement of vehicles threaten our dress  with muddy water. when i was  about to reach velachery mrts station, i witnessed the boats are being assembled to resue people. I entered the station sending a text msg “GOD BLESS velachery “

10 00 am

our train started and i thought that surprises for the day  were over , but there some more to come . we reached fort railway station  and waited for electric train to take us to  egmore . even after 20 mins of waiting , no train seemed to pass us in either way ,we decided to check the status of train with information center  and we heard him say that ” all trains from tambadaram cancelled ” we scolded our fate and got a auto to egmore.. just while moving in egmore , we realised if trains from tambaram were cancelled how would they opperate  trains from egmore via tambaram !!!!??  OMG !!!

11 20 am

we reached egmore , luckily !!!! vaigai wasnt cancelled . we were discussing why so much people were staying in platform 4, just then we came to know that it was the queue for unreserved seats in vaigai express   some of our guys stayed there and some of us went to fetch tickes for the train . we started calculating our probability of getting seats , just then i felt the butterflies in my stomach .. oh god , i’m starving  . we cant have our food and come to catch the seats ,we decided to get food during our journey. a sweet announcement told that train is delayed by an hour , i was happy and we all utilised that time to have our lunch

2 30 pm 

Train arrived later than expected but in the mean time queue has grown thrice and we all got a seat but where ??  when we entered the train no seats were vacant ,but we found that luggage grils were empty so we jumped and climbed there . it is such a nice place ,i cant sit erect (train’s ceiling wont  allow me to do so) , i cant allow my legs  to free down(i pity for co passengers sitting in usual seats), i cant relax lying ( since three of us were sitting ,then  one of them would be kissing the floors) but as the time passed on , i felt myself lucky compared to people standing. there were no space to breathe and as stations passed on , numbers keep on mutiplying . though my legs started paining due to walk in waters and my back and neck started aching due to  my postion , i was able to sleep(keeping my record of sleeping in extreme conditions  ) for some time. during tambaram or chengalpattu ( i cant see out of train, all i can see is ceilings ,fans , some human heads ) some fight took place and disturbed my sleep.. i was searching for 2 or 3 min , where was it taking place . then only i  noticed it is happening right below us . our situation never improved but we al somehow killed the time but chatting about our college and corporate stories..

    

8 30 pm

i somehow managed to jump to floor from my seat(in the meantime , landed on someone’s foot ) and said a bye to my friends . when i get down at railway station and started walking towards the  entrance ,i had a weird doubt .. Am i in trichy junction or got down prematuraly @ srirangam itslef.. i asked a person and confirmed that this is trichy only. i scolded myself  ” staying in trichy for 21 years ,you still dono whether you are in  trichy or in srirangam’. my alter ego replied ,you can expect anything in this day .why not ?? !! 

i was waiting for my dad and thinking. is there nothing really good on this day !! why not ??  there is something to cherish  “my first month salary is credited today !! “ i wished myself ” GOOD job young man “   and all my pains from morning went to nowhere

 

The wait ends ..

After a wait of more than 5 months , i joined cognizant,chennai officially on oct 30 . it has been very interesting/boring/different period of my life . i went through different phases in this period .In the first month , i have been busy visting various friend’s homes and receiving friends to my home . in the next month too ,i never get out of college mood . though physically away , i was in constant touch with friends . i also used this time to find my old friends from school times and share our memories . i read quite a number of books too.. but once friends one by one started moving towards their new journey , i started feeling the pressure. The Question of when would DOJ would come ? and life moving without any target made my life very monotonus .
Then i wanted to search for some new things that would make my life move on. i started learning swimming and see lot of movies . i saw a lot of variety of movies from award winning classics,actions ,adventures ,oldies to romantic comedies. but i lost interest of films too in one point of time ,same goes with the swimming too (but anyway , i finished my swimming course ) .
then my search started again , i was seeing one documentary in NAT GEO at that time . it rekindled my passion for seeing documentaries . i started to download and see variety of documentaries . now i have a video library that would run atleast for one day .jus when my passion for seeing documentaries were rising day by day , i got a call (from cognizant) from no where and joined the company within a week.frankly, i never expected a call and even doubted it as a prank call

5 things which made my life easy in that 5 months

* taxi taxi song from sakarakati and kangal iradal from subramaniyapuram , there was not a single day i slept without hearing these days in this period. i loved the visuals of kangal iradal song to the core

* call from the friend :
a call from a friend is always spl to me . that too in this period , whenever i get a cal from friend that would be very happy moment for me it is natural to be happy , whenever u knew someone remembers u even in their busy schedule . there are days when i have looked @ my college photos till mid night and thinking of those beautiful memories . but i learnt that , i need to move away from past and live in the present ( when others are doing that to perfection ,i’m trying my best)

*gtalk

*srichu ( my sister’s son)

*computer and my friend sam (he has been with me since our kinder garden times )
atlast my vanavasam ended and my new life @ cognizant and chennai began

it is always nice to have new friends and learn new technologies ,this is something like having a feel of cool breeze and exploring places. i’m right now doing both

 

BLAST !!

i heard a big sound, when i was just entering a bank along with a friend .we 2 look each other frightened and just then noticed that most of the people in the street were concerned like us. this happened 2 days after the serial blasts in bangalore and Ahmadabad. this just showed the impact of panic , blasts have created in the minds of ordinary INDIAn. with another serial blast now in delhi.no more terrorism is on the tv and papers . they are knocking the doors of all of us . situation has arrived , as nation we need to take some hard decisions, we are peace loving country -no doubt in that – but we are facing a war on innocent people ,if we don’t react soon, we are about to get more pounding and our reputation as a sovereign nation in the international arena would be questioned. we need to prove all the world that we are a country which is capable of providing security to its citizens. these acts should be answered in the right way and hard way. those people who were responsible should be punished rightfully. but punishing them only , wont fulfill the cause . we need the curtail the roots of these organisations.. political gains should be no longer stand before the nation .

can we called this as the complete failure of our intelligence agencies ?? i don wanna get into a debate in that but in the present situation we need to back our agencies fully for further investigation and future welfare of us. what the terrorists have achieved by this blasts apart from creating panic and claiming innocent people. they have created hatred for certain section of people. that only they want ?

if they claim this , as a revenge for Gujarat riots. don’t they know ?? due to some of the power hungry and religious mad BIG people most of the people have been used in the situation of panic and over reacted . in NO WAY , i support what happened in there but we need to move on. don’t they know ?? where majority of the indians across the country and globe felt shy of what happened then .. don’t they know ?? due to their activities only innocent people shade their blood ,who once shed their tears for what happened then..

Actions against the terrorists and extremists should be no longer seen as action as against their religions.we should be hard in taking actions against these terrorists but only making security tighter and punishing people would not solve the issue.. we need to wipe away the ignorance of all people . we need to educate them the fruits and proud aspects in living as a multi-cultural society .we need to wipe out the common misconceptions of other religions within people’s mind . politicians and religious HEADS should not be searching for any political gain in all matters,in the US INDiA 123 nuclear deal too , some political parties claim that this deal as against indian muslims. how ??? if it is against indian muslims , it should be against indians too .. how ?? this is one of the worst of the politics we were seeing here

Dear blood thirsty terrorists , religious (MAD) heads and power hungry politicians
we may belong to different races ,languages and religions but we are proud in our diversity , we are proud to have ashoka ,akbar and raja raja cholan as our ancestors.. we are happy to have cake on chirtmas , biryani on ramzan and pongal on pongal .. kindly let us and our future generations to live happily on this religious harmony society where the only enemy for the people is the poverty,illiteracy and ignorance and not our neighbours from other religions .

 

The 3 mistakes of my life

“The 3 mistakes of my life” is the third book by chetan bhagat . i like the way this

author presents his books.His way of presentation is pretty simple . i loved his

previous works. and decided to read this one too and  i have been trying for sometime

to get this book, but in trichy it  has been out of stock . and  At last i got this

one  via e-shopping .

Author narrates the story via hero(govind) like his previous book (one night @call

center) . The plot  is about govind and his  friends ishaan , omi and his 3 mistakes

which make a big impact on his life . They open a cricket shop and incidents aftermath

decide their fate . The story has a cricket ,business,romance and religious

politics too . The  story is tied to realistic incidents which make the plot much more

interesting towards the end and make us visualize the calamities  .Though This book is

a  pure entertainer genre  ,author has touched some critical incidents and different view points using the characters

few lines from the book

” i hate a display of emotion more than emotion itself”

” it’s ok i don’t become a player,but it’s not ok if i am not an Indian”

” The great thing about girls is that even during pauses in conversation  you can look

at them and not get bored”

 

Gold Atlast :)

abhinav bindra’s first medal is not only on this Olympics games for india but also the

first individual gold medal in 112 years . No doubt that bindra has made all indians

proud but we should think , why should we need 112 years to earn a single individual

gold medal.shooters has always provided us with a rich haul of medals in commonwealth

and other games. i see, shooting has been a potential field for many more medals in

the years to come for us. with rathore winning the sole medal in last games and bindra

winning the gold now , government ,corparates and nation now need to back the shooters

though big names like anjali bhawat , samero jung and rathore failed to succeed in

this games . Another field ,where we may expect a medal in near future is Archery .

though , they have disappointed us in this time, they would come with flying colours

in the coming years

Apart from this saina came very near to a medal but unfortunately lost in quaterfinals

. Another notable performance is by 2 swimmers who failed to qualify for the finals

but in the process they broke the national record

Eventhough i’m not lucky enough to witness the bindra’s gold cliching event , i was

lucky to hear the INDIAn national anthem to be aired for the first time in olympics (i

hope , i’m correct)