In life last impression is the lasting impression

One thing I have learnt that first impressions is highly overrated.
No doubt first impression does matter. It matters in an interview. It matters during presentation. It matters during first appointment to clinch your sales deal.
But these are more of logistics of life.

Things which are really important in life, first impressions hardly matters.
What matters is what you are. So be careful if you are making very good first impression you might have difficulty in living upto him. So make right impression and not good impression. Actually why not start with a not so good impression so that you can bring surprises later.

Ofcourse all these matters only when you want to have a lasting relationship with someone.

Personally I have seen it again and again. I never thought I could go so wrong about people. I met some perfect kind of people. and then imperfections came with time. Thing go wrong when it comes in bulk.

So in short, You can not go with first impression at all. Do not try to make good first impression if you are on other side. Finally all you wants is a happy end. So its end which matters.
For people who are important in life, first impressions do not matter as slowly and slowly you will get to know the person. You might not be able to live upto your own first impression. Thats why make right impression and not good impression.

Being Eunuch!!

Today, while coming from swimming I stopped at a traffic signal and saw few eunuchs begging. Suddenly this made me think what fault of theirs brought them such life.

Eunuchs are not respected. Society does not accept them. I never accepted them. I don't know where they live. I don't know what they do beside begging. Did they attend any school? Does any education institute accept them? These are the questions I always wondered about.

I remember so many times I did not like them troubling us while traveling on Indian railways. I know they are abusive. Actually so many times I felt proud of not surrendering to their bad behavior and whisking them away. Now I am wondering whose behavior was not right. Mine or them. Actually now I am feeling ashamed.

If you are physically handicap, govt supports you, family supports you. Everybody looks at you sympathetically. I wonder how Eunuchs are different. Shouldn't they get same support if not more? God was unfair to them, we can be kind at least. Why can't we accept them? We accept criminals in our society to some extent. We forgive people. We forgive kids of their mistakes. What mistake a eunuch kid made? Is it unforgivable?

Who is responsible for abusive behavior of a Eunuch? Who is responsible for the profession of begging they are into? Who is responsible for their sorry state? Its me. Its us.

With these feelings I put hand in my pocket and took out Rs 5 coin. I saw that eunuch being whisked away by a couple in an auto just in front of me. She started moving away from me probably to avoid any futile attempt before I signaled her and gave him the coin. She put her hand on my helmet and left. I was overwhelmed.

Timepass

Recently for a change I saw lot of hollywood movies.
It started with Terminator Salvation ( very bad), Ice Age 3 ( my first 3-d movie so liked it ), Harry Potter ( my first harry potter movie in theatre ) and pulp fiction ( on laptop) and Atonement (skimmed through).

Frankly speaking none of them really impressed me a lot. I definitely liked pulp fiction especially samuel jackson and Bruce Willis acting.

Though I appreciate Pulp Fiction, I do not understand how people like Terminator Salvation kind of movie. To me it was another sci fi movie where somebody is trying to save the world alone or with little help. There have been 100 Hollywood movies like this since Independence Day, the first movie of this type ( atleast the one I saw).

Coming to my next interest Cricket, this Ashes series 2009 has been very exciting so far. Its difficult to pick any team. Its neck to neck battle. Australia has done really well inspite being laden with inexperienced players. I feel England is definitely lucky to be leading 1-0 in the series. It will be interesting to see how England performs without their top player Pietersen. Its sad to see Flintoff retiring from Test Cricket. I hope people appreciate Test cricket so that we can enjoy artist like Sachin, Lara, Ponting rather than musclemen like Yusuf, Watson, Gayle, Hayden.

Alibag June 2009

I had an awesome two day trip on one of the weekend June 2009.
I went along with five of my office colleagues/ex-colleagues.
We visited three beaches- 1. Kihim 2. Navgaon 3. Kashid.

We also saw murud-janjira fort from distance.

We played lot of cricket and volleyball on the beaches.

Rest of the time we played cards.

Have a look at photos here.

http://picasaweb.google.co.in/rishi.bhanushali/AlibagTripJune2009

Its me

 

Sach is the God

"If cricket is religion, Sachin Tendulkar is God", Mathew Hayden might have said it jokingly but I took it seriously.

In my earlier post I had written that I do not believe in God. That's correct.
I do not believe in God, the invisible power who controls everything in world and answers to our prayers. There is nobody like that. Still lets define God.

Can I say God is the one who brings smiles to lot of faces and who makes people happy? Actually personally thats how I measure success also. To me success is measured by number and extent to which one impacts people's lives in positive way. (Since this is difficult to measure I am OK with alternate, simpler and more measurable definition of success which is ' the amount of money you make ' ). Now the extreme case of success would be to impact significantly high number of people. Thats where you attain this status God ( the ultimate success). Refer the first line of this paragraph to check how I defined God just now.

That is exactly what Sachin Tendulkar does. He makes people happy. He entertains them like anything. Its a treat to watch him. When you see him batting you forget your office work, students forget their exams, things come to halt ( though not any more). He has/had that power.

Now somebody can argue that even Bollywood actors like Shahrukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan does same thing. Yes they entertain people but Sachin does more than that. Sachin brings pride and self respect to billion Indians and sub-continent people while Bollywood actors are pure entertainers.
How about Pele, Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali etc? Yes They might be. I dont know. They might be God for community they represent. I never said there is just one God. My another idol MK Gandhi is I feel another form of God.

Lot of people have tough time to understand that a how a sportsperson can be God. I can understand that. Typically we associate God helping needy, poor people. If I say for example 'Mother Teresa is another form of God' people might agree to some extent. I feel this is totally unfair. Godly act is not about just helping dying people. Its also about bringing every day small happiness to common people. Sachin definitely has provided lot of smiles and happiness to billion people numerous times in the last 20 years to attain the God status.

To summarize, I do not think there is God but If He is, its people like Sachin Tendulkar and MK Gandhi otherwise there isn't any.

Happy Birthday Sachin!! I hope you serve us for many more years.

Please: I totally understand that my views are extreme and your view most likely might not match mine. That's OK. Thanks for reading the post.

Chennai Mumbai Drive

Route:
Chennai - Bengaluru - Hassan - Bellur - Chikmaglur - Dutta Peeta - Mullayangiri - Chikmaglur - Balehunnur - Kalasa - Kudremukha - Sringeri - Koppa - Teerthalli - Sagar - Jog Falls - Honavar - Karwar - Goa - Ratnagiri - Mumbai.


Date: 11th April 2009 to 16th April 2009
Distance covered: 2000 km.
Car: Fiat Palio Dec 2001 Model 1.2 ELX.

Ground Rules we laid for ourselves
----------------------------------
1. Avoid temples ( Everywhere in India there is famous temple. We did not want to end up visiting temples)
2. Avoid commercial places. For example prefer virgin beaches like Karwar than Goa. Prefer a small hotel in small town than a fancy hotel.
3. Have local food. In south India I always preferred Meal. Thats the most local you can get.
4. Travel not more than 400 km in a day.

Note: My car broke down at Rajapur, 60 Km before Ratnagiri and 400 km before Mumbai on 16th April 09, 9:30 pm. Got it towed to Anand Motors (TASC) at Ratnagiri and took a lift to Mumbai.

Here is day by day details
---------------------------
Day 1: I took Palio around 10:00 am on 11th April Saturday. Got insurance done and couple of other fixes and started for bengaluru around 3:30 pm. We reached at my brother place in BTM Layout at 9:30 pm sharp. We took NH4 and had to pay toll tax around 5 to 6 times. For one way it ranged from 25 to 50 Rs. For both ways it was just 30% more. We paid around RS 200 as toll. The road from Chennai to Bengaluru is amazing and we touched 120 km/h easily. In Bengaluru we were caught by police( and not traffic police) and we showed that we are tourist and showed toll tax receipt and he allowed us to go.

Day 2: We left Bengaluru next day 12th April, Sunday and took Kanakpura road and then a right towards Nice Road. This meets NH4 again and its super 4 lane road. There were some tolls here too. We took left turn for Hassan. This road is very bad for some 5 km stretch. We dropped my brother and sis in law there and took SH for Bellur. This road is just amazing from scenic beauty point of view. You will see windmills, lakes and ghats. Took a break at Bellur. There is an ancient temple there at just 1 km diversion. 5:15 pm we left Bellur. We crossed Chikmaglur and took small road for Kemmengundi. This is very bad road as road per say but provides some breathtaking view. This is also very steep road. Now here comes our first shocker of tour. Around 6:30 pm we got flat tyre when were still good distance away from Kemmengundi and it was dark outside. We changed the tyre and decided to stay in first hotel we will find. We did some bargaining and found a resort by name 'Holiday House' on Duttapeeta road. Its a good place to stay.

Day 3: We went up to Duttepeeta. Its among highest point in Babubudangiri. It looks like a famous religious place for Muslims. We looked like only Hindu in the region. We decided to return back to Chikmaglur as we were behind schedule and we wanted to fix our stepney asap. Kemmengundi was still 25 kms away. While returning back we took right turn (7km) for Mullayan Giri, the highest point in Karnataka. You need to take your car to the top and then climb couple of hundred stairs. I would recommend this big time. This was major highlight of the whole trip. While returning to Chikmaglur we realized that horn has gone down, flashlight not working, and fuel indicator also showing tank empty. We took it to garage and got things fixed. It took 5 hours. We left for Balehunnur around 5 pm. Route to Balehunnur is good. Dont miss Badra Coffee Works shop on the right. You get coffee directly from coffee estate. Took a left turn from Balehunnur for Kalasa. Stayed at Kalasa in the night.

Day 4: Got the tank full, had breakfast and left around 8:30am for Kudremukha. This route is again awesome. This passes through tea estate. Don't miss tea at Sri Ganga tea shop. We went inside tea estate and took some good photographs. Move to Lakya Dam
in Kudremukha. This Dam has been closed for three years. Not much there. This road is again awesome and we found couple of water falls Kadmba and Srigoonthi on the way. From here it was straight drive to Jog falls. We also got chance to see a big black snake on the road en route to Sringeri. We reached jog falls around 4 pm. Initially, We got very disappointed looking at water. It was very thin stream. We talked to local people and and hired one guide. He showed us some good points and made the journey memorable. So A big recommendation for first timers, HIRE A GUIDE otherwise you would definitely miss some cool stuffs. We moved from there around 6 pm. This road is again awesome as it moves along Sheravati River and hills. We reached Honavar around 7:30 pm and decided to stay.

Day 5: Started from Honavar around 6:20 am for Karwar. Its a straight 90 KM on NH17. Its an amazing route as roads run parallel to Konkan railways. You can see valley on one side and sea on the right hand side. There are lot of rivers which cuts through or runs parallel to this highway. Roads are mostly 2 lane. We reached Karwar around 8 am and had heavy breakfast at Udupi restaurant. I liked the breakfast and I would recommend it. From there we went for Devbagh beach. We reached some beach but I don't think it was Devbagh. There was no water sports there. So we started asking people and reached the tourism office and on our request they gave us half day package for Devbagh Beach Resort. We had to request as Half day package starts at 1:30 pm but we were in hurry and it was just 10:30 am yet. Manager was good to accommodate us so early. From there we took the motor boat ride to resort and we had great time. The island was beautiful. It had 5-6 cottages and equal number of tents. You could count number of people there. Beaches were very clean and untouched. We left the place after having good lunch. We started for Goa around 3:00 pm. NH17 at Goa was disappointing. It looks almost like city road. Whole Goa looks like one city. Our speed here was slow. We didn't stop in Goa and moved further into Maharashtra.

I would like to mention one incident. When we entered Goa, the state border police stopped us for papers. I showed all the papers (RC book, insurance and Karnataka pollution check certificate). Car was in my friends name. After finding all my papers fine he asked me for 50 Rs. When I asked what for he said its entry fee. I checked if I will get receipt he said no. I did not move for a minute and another vehicle driver comes in. On seeing my reaction the police asks me to go :).
I think its my another small win against corruption. So people beware. DO NOT PLAINLY GIVE AWAY BORDER ENTRY FEES.

Our plan was to halt at Ratnagiri but around 100 km before car started giving cranky sound every time clutch was used. We stopped at Rajapur but by that time it started giving smoke and smell. We showed it to local mechanic and he said clutch plate is gone and car can't run. It has to be lifted or towed. That was a big shocker and we were not prepared for that. We decided to stay in hotel nearby and handle problem next day. We stayed in Foodland hotel. I would not recommend it.

Day 6: We woke up around 8am and I started making calls to movers and packers. Initially, they quoted around 4 to 8 K. Then same people revised their quote and minimum quotation was 5.5 K. Also earliest they could pick the car was next day. Also since car cant be driven there was no question of point to point delivery. I had to pick it from Panvel. Then we dropped this idea. I talked to Fiat and Tata guys and found there is one authorized center in Ratnagiri. So We thought of taking it to Ratnagiri somehow. I stopped a Tata Indica and requested for towing. For my surprise he got ready. We bought a nylon rope tied to cars and started towing. Ropes could last for only 5 kms and gave way. Then we went back and got a metal rod for towing. My Palio was smelling even on neutral so we decided to leave the car there and go to Ratnagiri and found proper tow vehicle. We reached Anand Motors, Ratnagiri. I gave him key, got the estimates and left in Indica for Mumbai. I confirmed with Anand at 6 pm that my car is safe with them. Finally I reached home 10:30 pm and I thanked the Indica guy for his help and gave some cash as a token of appreciation.

Thats my first travelogue and I sure had some good and bad memorable moments.
I will provide link for pictures soon.

2005 - Amway and BWW Year

This was that time of my life when I was completely dedicated to this networking business. I was crazy about this business. I was core. I was attending meetings, using Amway products, selling it to people, selling the business by hook or by crook. Most important I was sold to this business completely.

Though I could not make this profitable, this business really changed me for better. I was a very shy person. I was not good in talking to strangers. This business brought me confidence so that I could talk to anybody. It was a good learning experience. I could understand life better.

Changing habits

I remember reading an article(Spam) few days after 26 November Terrorist attacks in Mumbai. I dont exactly remember how it related to incident but I clearly remember its recommendation to use Indian products. It talked about some good Indian brands which I could use but never bothered to look at just because its Indian (local, cheap, inferior).

I made it a point then onward to try and follow the recommendation. Since then I did few one off kind of purchases and bought Indian brands. For example I bought two deos, one Cinthol and another Park Avenue. I am more than satisfied with both my purchase. I could have easily picked up BRUT, Gillette, Nivea etc but I resisted and allowed myself to experiment.

Today I kind of bought various small products. I would like to mention my changed brands.

Toothpaste- I changed from Colgate to Dabur Meshwak.
Hair Shampoo- Wanted to buy HLL's sunsilk but moved to Dabur Vatika.
Hair Oil- Bought Bajaj Brahmi Amla oil.

Foreign Brands
Toothbrush- Only Indian brand I could find was Binaca whose bristle I didnt like So had to buy Oral B.
Shaving Blades- Gillette. I dont know any Indian competitor.

One thing I observed about Indian brands is most of the times they are equal priced or cheaper.

I hope it would help some fellow Indian.

My company (US MNC) has started focusing on localization then why not me?

So next time you go for shopping, ask yourself this question before you buy anything, why not Indian.

Doha

Putting down couple of my favourite lines--

Mai bhi sharafat se jeeta magar, Mujhko sharifon se lagta tha darr.
Sabko pata tha mai kamjore hoon, Isliye aaj mai kuch aur hoon.. kuch aur hoon.

Om Namah Shivaya

Finally, Another long weekend is getting over. This three day weekend started with a lazy Saturday where I almost broke my record of sleeping. I woke up by 5 O'clock in the evening. Sunday and Monday was not much different either. Good thing was atleast evening was somewhat eventful. While on Saturday I watched couple of good movies on my lappy (The insider and The Darjeeling Limited), Sunday was adventurous as I explored different places like SwamiNarayan temple in Dadar and Alfa market in VileParle. Today I joined MahaShivratri celebration in Hanuman Temple. It was good few hours for change. Good thing about such gathering is you feel part of a family.

Another short but important week is getting started. Last week I heard the bad news that my team size would be reduced. This might be the week of lay off. I hope its not that bad.
I am excited of coming weekend as my mother would be coming. She would be here for couple of weeks and I hope to have nice time.

Forgot to mention that I am very happy to see some fellow Indians on the world stage for Oscar. Hollywood movie based on Mumbai won eight oscars. Jai Ho!

Year 2007

This was year of travel.
Here is the list-
January - Bangalore
February - Ahemdabad
March - Chandigarh
April - New York City, Washington
May - London
August - Muzaffarpur, Hajipur, Patna, Gaya, BodhGaya. Devghar.
September - Bangalore, Chennai
November - Muzaffarpur

Movie Track

I have decided to track each and every movie I see going forward.

Billu - 14th Feb 09- OK
The Indsider - 22 Feb 09 - Excellent.

Kala Ghoda

Today was Kala Ghoda day for me. I went to this festival as it was last day.
It was good start of the day unlike other sundays. Woke up pretty quickly, got ready, left the house and joined my friend in town. Had good lunch and proceeded to the venue. It was good for change. Some wierd stuff was exhibited there in form of art.
Highlight of the day was Amol palekar who was seen as in crowd with noone noticing him. Day ended on a Kala note with me not jelling quite well with my friend's friend.

Another week starts tomorrow.

Food for thought

Why educated Indian do not want to speak in Hindi even with fellow Hindi speaking Indian in completely Indian environment?

Do or Die

It seems like this is what I did. Do or Die step. or may be Fire or Keep.

Some background. Today I came to know that rumors which I heard yday was not a rumor. On Tuesday Morgan Stanley fired lot of people from Operations Department.
Now its the turn of IT.

In the env its advisable to play safe. I think my decision would be made on one of the project which developed and in UAT /Prod parallel stage ( sorry for IT jargons).
If I take take it to prod I think I will be saved for sure. If not, my job is at risk. so all depends on User of my new app. My other lead in NY has been trying to follow up with users but not getting response. Finally, I sent out an email to all users to please give their acceptance so that I can take it to prod and save my job :).


This mail ofcourse was cced to my manager. Now I am waiting for his reaction.
I hope he does not mind it.

I am worried for tomorrow if I would be having my job.