Monday, 18 October 2010
Innocent heart
Filled with selfless love
Exudes Serenity
For Haiku Heights
Monday, 11 October 2010
Tread a little slow
Stay away from dreadful acts
Trust in Lord to Win
PRAYER GETS YOU THERE
Trust in Lord to Win
Stay away from dreadful acts
Tread a little slow
For Naisaku Challenge
Thursday, 7 October 2010
I got so tense with the delay in October Indirank update that I pondered what makes me get excited about this! The result was this Acrostic, I am sure you will agree.
Inexplicable
Nascent
Delightful
Invigorating
Reticent
Alluring
Nagging
KickAss
An ODE to Indirank
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Advent of Monsoon
A gift which the yearning crops
Gratefully Rejoice
For Haiku-Heights
Sunday, 3 October 2010
The meet started without much ado, with the organizers getting into the act straightaway. The attendees were over 250 and Boy! did it look awesome!. Indeed it was well attended and the arrangements made by the sponsors are worthy of appreciation and gratitude as it was a very neat and tidy job. As usual when the self introduction by members began there were several gems which really entertained the gathering and were full of wit and humour. To our surprise gifts were announced for "Good Intros" and I was fortunate to receive a "HP Printer" as gift from the sponsors. The meet had very useful and socially relevant topics for discussion and it was well received by the audience. The technical presentation by HP on their latest mobile printing technology was very interesting and informative. A talk by a differently abled Blogger was very good and inspiring.
There was a discussion on whether there was any need for monitoring what should be shared in the Forum or can it be left free for the bloggers to decide. The sheer variety and types of bloggers present was a sight to behold. There were bloggers from outside Bangalore also which included a person from as far as Lucknow.We also had a blogger aged 14 years, the youngest among us, participating in the meet.The simple snacks served was just the right choice and was welcome. On the whole it was a very enjoyable meet which everyone liked.
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Portal of knowledge
Imparting priceless high skills
To share and prosper
Tuesday, 28 September 2010
சென்னை மைலாப்பூரில் பாகீரதி மாமியை தெரியாதவர்கள் இல்லை என்றே சொல்லலாம். அறுபத்தி ஐந்து வயதானாலும் சற்றும் பொலிவு குறையாத தோற்றமும், அந்த நாள் எம் ஏ ஆங்கில இலக்கியம் படித்த புதுமைப் பெண் என்ற பெருமையும் சேர்ந்த ஒருவர். அவருடைய பேரன் கணேஷுக்கு பாஸ்டனில் பெரிய உத்தியோகம் கை நிறைய சம்பளம். கணேஷின் பெற்றோர் பிள்ளையின் திருமணத்தை நடத்த வேண்டும் என்ற ஆவலில் கணேஷுக்கு கடிதம் எழுதி சென்னை வரும்படி அழைத்தனர். தாய் தந்தையரை விட பாட்டியின் செல்லமான கணேஷ் உடனே பாகீரதி பாட்டிக்கு தான் அமெரிக்காவில் ஒரு பெண்ணை விரும்புவதாகவும், அவள் அமெரிக்க பெண் என்றாலும் மிகவும் அடக்கமான குணமும் நம் நாட்டு கலாசாரத்தை விரும்பும் பெண் என்றும் எழுதி இருந்தான். கணேசனின் தந்தை சங்கரன் கடிதத்தை படித்து விட்டு பாகீரதியிடம் "பார்த்தாயா உன்னுடைய செல்ல பேரனின் காரியத்தை. இப்போ என்ன செய்யறது" என்று கோபமாக சொன்னான். சற்றும் கலங்காமல் பாகீரதி மாமி " சங்கரா, என் பேரனை எனக்கு தான் தெரியும். அவன் ஒரு காரியம் செய்தால் நன்றாக யோசித்துதான் செய்வான். சும்மா குதிக்காதே." என்றாள்.
பாகி மாமியின் காலேஜில் கூடப்படித்த ராபர்ட் என்பவர் இப்போது பாஸ்டனில் பெரிய தொழிலதிபராக இருந்தார். பாகி மாமி அவருக்கு உடனே ஒரு கடிதம் எழுதி, கணேஷின் அமெரிக்க பெண்ணை பற்றி விசாரித்து எழுதும்படி கூறினார். "Robert, my grandson is very smart and intelligent guy. He is my favourite too. He would not have chosen her unless she was really good, so I want you to do your research as confidentially as possible lest you hurt his feelings!" என்று கடைசியில் எழுதி மெயில் செய்தார். ராபர்ட் பாகி மாமியின் பரம விசிறியாக இருந்தவர். மாமியின் ஆங்கில புலமையில் பெரிதும் மதிப்பு கொண்டவர். இத்தனை வருடங்களுக்கு பின்னர் மாமியின் மெயில் கண்டு மிகவும் மகிழ்ந்த ராபர்ட் விவரங்களை சேகரிக்கலானார். கணேஷின் ஆபீசிலேயே அவனுடைய மேல் அதிகாரியாக அந்த பெண் வேலை பார்பதையும், டில்லியில் ஐ ஐ டி யில் படித்ததால் ஹிந்தியும் பேச தெரியும் என்றும் தமிழ் நாடு கோவில்களை பற்றி ஆராய்ச்சி செய்து கட்டுரை எழுதியவள் என்றும் அறிந்தார். மிக மகிழ்ச்சியுடன், பாகி மாமியை பல வருடங்களுக்கு பின்னர் பார்க்கும் ஆவலில் ஒரு சிறு ஐடியா செய்தார். மாமியின் ஆங்கில புலமையை நன்கு அறிந்தவராததால், பாஸ்டனில் உள்ள லோகல் யுனிவர்சிடியில் திராவிட மொழிகள் சம்மேளனத்தில் விரிவுரை ஆற்ற ஏற்பாடு செய்து விட்டார். தொலை பேசியில் மாமியுடன் தொடர்பு கொண்டு, முக்யமான விஷயம் சொல்லவேண்டுவதால் நேரிலேயே வருமாறும், பயண செலவிற்கு சம்மேளன கமிட்டி ஏற்பாடு செய்வதாகவும் சொன்னவுடன் மாமிக்கு தலை கால் புரியவில்லை. "அம்மா இது ஒரு நல்ல வாய்ப்பு , நீ நேரிலேயே போய் உன் பேரனை பார்த்து விவரம் அறிந்துகொள்ள அருமையான சந்தர்ப்பம், உடனே கிளம்பு." என்றான் சங்கரன்.
பாஸ்டன் ஏர்போர்டில் பாட்டியை வரவேற்க கணேஷும் ராபர்ட்டும் வந்திருந்தனர். பாட்டியின் இந்த திடீர் வருகையை சிறிதும் எதிர் பார்க்காத கணேஷ் மிகவும் மகிழ்ந்தான். அன்று மாலை யுனிவர்சிடியில் ஒரு நல்ல லெக்சர் இருப்பதால் பாகி மாமியை அதற்க்கு அழைத்து சென்றார் ராபர்ட், "Gods of India" என்ற தலைப்பில் பேசிய ஒரு அமெரிக்க பெண் எல்லோரையும் மெய் மறக்க செய்து இந்திய பண்பாட்டையும் கலாச்சாரத்தையும் பற்றி அவ்வளவு அழகாக விவரம் கூறியது பாட்டியை மிகவும் கவர்ந்தது. ராபர்ட் நான் இந்த பெண்ணை சந்திக்க விரும்புகிறேன் என்று பாட்டி சொன்னதும், புன்முறுவல் பூத்தவாறே, நான் எதிர்பார்த்தேன் என்று சொன்ன ராபர்டை ஒன்றும் புரியாமல் நோக்கினாள் பாகி மாமி. அந்த பெண்ணை அருகில் கண்ட பாகி மாமிக்கு அவளின் அழகும், நளினமும், அடக்கமும் மிகவும் பிடித்துவிட்டது. ஆவலுடன் கை குலுக்கிய மாமி , "My Dear, Whoever marries you is the luckiest guy on earth! You are a rare combination of exceptional beauty and a brilliant mind. God Bless you" என்று வாழ்த்தினாள். அருகில் இருந்த ராபர்ட், "Baagi do you like to see that Lucky guy, he is right here." என்றவுடன் மாமிக்கு ஒன்றும் புரியவில்லை. பக்கத்தில் நின்று கொண்டிருந்த கணேஷைக்கூப்பிட்டு, "Baagi, Meet Ganesh.B.Tech.M.B.A, the Fiancé of this brilliant Lady!" என்று அறிமுகம் செய்தார். மெய் சிலிர்த்து போன மாமி கணேஷையும், லாரா பார்கரையும் கட்டி தழுவி முத்தமிட அருகில் இருந்த அனைவரும் பலமாக கை தட்டி பாராட்டினார்கள்.
Sunday, 26 September 2010
Selfless sacrifice
Pristine expression of love
Sacred for worship
For Haiku Heights
Saturday, 25 September 2010
Perhaps as the Mahatma, who transformed the world
Fighting a lone battle without a shred of violence
Perhaps as Mother Theresa whose kindness cured
A million suffering hearts sans invasive surgery
Perhaps as Swami Vivekananda whose sheer brilliance
Stole a million hearts despite the untimely early demise
Perhaps as the great mathematician Ramanujam
Whose exploits stunned the world at such an young age
Perhaps as myself for the opportunity to avoid the mistakes
I committed in this birth and be a better Human Being
Which could perhaps make me raise up to the level
Of those illustrious examples albeit by a tiny percentage
For those of you who are not very familiar with Indian traditional methods of choosing a bride and the functions appurtenant thereto, here are some hints to follow. The prospective bridegroom visits the bride's house to see if she meets with his expectations and will give his consent to marry her if he is satisfied. This visit is a great occasion in the life of the bride and her parents make massive arrangements to welcome the prospective groom (with his army of relatives!!) with food and everything. Despite the enormous progress in technology and the views of younger generation, this practice is still prevalent among the orthodox section of communities! The welcome change that I see is the shift in Male Chauvinistic dominance and increased importance for mutual respect. Now read the article:
It was a fateful day in November and it was raining heavily in Chennai, erstwhile Madras, India. A costal region, Chennai had principally one season throughout the year, Summer, barring a few episodes of some rain which the people enjoyed greatly. As an eligible bachelor, Engineering Graduate with a good job in an MNC, I had everything a prospective groom would aspire for. Coming from a not so rich background my habits were well grounded and I did not care much about socializing or indulge in smoking or drinking.
Our family astrologer visited us on that rainy day with his inseparable umbrella which he always carried with him, rain or shine! My mom offered him a seat and enquired what was the purpose of his visit. When his breathing settled to some level of normalcy, after running in the rain, he said that he had found an excellent girl for me and that all the planets and stars in her horoscope perfectly matched mine, which is a rarity. Knowing the astrologer's habit of getting excited for anything, my mom did not show any visible signs of excitement. He was very hurt and hastily pulled a photograph from his bag along with a piece of paper containing the details of the girl's planetary positions at the time of her birth. My mom looked at the photograph and her eyes widened with pleasure and it was very obvious that whatever she was looking at pleased her enormously. He added that the girl had completed her MCA (Master of Computer Applications), she could sing and dance like a pro and trained well in all the household chores. Yes, it was a pity that despite a good education and artistic traits a girl was expected to be mainly a housekeeper attending to the needs of her husband and kids.
It was agreed that we would visit the girl on next Sunday at 6PM. Attired in a simple traditional style of Dhoti (White cloth measuring 8 cubits in lenth and about 6 feet in width) and a Shirt I set out on my journey not knowing the surprise in store for me. The girl's family comprised of her parents and a younger brother, a real devil, and an old grandmother. They had invited the entire neighbourhood for the function and all the ladies were looking radiant in their silk sarees and glittering jewels. After the traditional high tea and sweets the talk turned to specifics! My mom was boasting about my academic pursuits and how I was offered the job by the MNC in campus selection etc. The girl's mother politely asked my mom if she would like to hear her daughter sing. My mom said ok and Shreya, that is the girl's name, started singing. The entire gathering was stunned into silence with the exceptional quality of her singing and the gifted tonal quality of her voice.
Her father showed the innumerable certificates and accolades she had received during her academic life and everyone was satisfied that she was the perfect match for me. When my mom was about to say something, Shreya spoke in a clear voice saying that she would like to have a chat with me before she could give her acceptance. This move shocked my mother. She was brought up in a culture where no one bothered to know what the bride thought or felt about the bridegroom. It was the opinion of the bridegroom and his family that always mattered. Seeing my mother's embarrassment I volunteered to have a chat with Shreya and joined her in the next room.
Shreya asked me several questions about my views on Marriage, Gender discrimination, Raising Children and my religious views etc. I was so impressed by her vast range of knowledge and intelligence that I just kept answering her . As she finished questioning me, Shreya felt a bit uneasy about the way she shot so many questions and was very happy that I answered them clearly. Then she asked me if I had anything to say or ask. I asked her whether she liked me and would she accept me as her Husband. Hearing this tears rolled down her cheeks and she said "I Do, I Do"
Short Fiction
Friday, 24 September 2010
Check your Resolve
Please verify whether you have a deep rooted resolve to do something Exemplary in your chosen area of study. These exams are not for the 'also rans' or 'mediocre' students. They are meant to select the best of Talent;
Are you Ambitious enoughDo you have the fire in your belly to achieve the greatest of recognition. Thirst for doing something special or innovate in your chosen field. Well if you are not then this is not for you.
Are you willing for Hard Preparatory workThese exams call for really good standard and the aspirants are expected to put in substantial hours of study in preparing for the tests.As the questions are expected to be difficult, there is no way a student can try to solve it if he /she confronts it for the first time. What I mean is, he should have done enough exercise / preparation to have some familiarity with such type of questions.
Time Management
It is not only important to answer the questions correctly but also to do them within the time span. In case of difficult questions just move over to the next one and continue answering as quickly and as correctly as possible. You can always comeback to re-visit the difficult ones later because there are negative markings for wrong answers.
Social ResponsibilityIf you are the chosen one to get selected in these examinations, pursue your goal with your whole heart and come out with flying colours. Remember for every one of you selected there were thousands who did not make it and you have no right to fritter away your opportunity. A brilliant person like you can make a lot of contribution to the society. Do not neglect your responsibility by running away to a foreign land for greener pastures deserting your country.
What if you did not make itIt is perfectly alright if you could not get selected by these institutions. Celebrated they may be, they are not the only means to achieve your goals. After all there are very few Einstein's or Graham Bells in this world and still we go on!. Choose a line that is close to your heart. It is not as much as what you do that is important as how happy you are doing whatever you do. Remember there are several very successful businessmen among us who are Billionaires and they had never been to business school or even college! GO ON! Make your choice and give your heart out!
I wrote this for Ezine Articles
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
I still remember the day, June 20, 1957, the place, a tiny village near Chennai, erstwhile Madras - India, where a brilliant teacher was narrating the verses of the exquisite poem "Daffodils" written by William Wordsworth in his own inimitable style. His grasp on this wonderful Language, English, was so good that he virtually created a scene of those "Fluttering and Dancing Daffodils" right before our eyes. We could see William Wordsworth wandering lonely like a cloud getting spellbound by the beauty of the Daffodils swaying in the breeze. When one of the students asked the teacher what is the meaning of the word "Jocund" used by the poet the Teacher smiled and said that he would show us what 'Jocund' meant. For the next 10 to 15 minutes he made us all sing our favorite rhymes and sway to their tunes so that we got into high spirits and lively mirthfulness. He then asked us how we felt. All of us said that we felt heavenly. He then explained that we are in a JOCUND company!! Believe it or not, till this day we can recollect every single word of that poem along with the accompanying gestures and presentation of our teacher and it has left an indelible impression on our minds.
When we heard about his demise a decade later we felt very sad but were sure that he could now float over those Vales and Hills and enjoy the sight of his favorite daffodils in his bliss of solitude.
Here is a link to Daffodils
I wrote this for Ezine Articles
Further to my earlier post on the problem of tweets not appearing in the #inditweetmeet window due to low speed of internet connection, twitter has also confirmed that it could also be due to their own resource constraints. Still our tweets will appear in our account timelines as well as the recipient account timelines though not visible under the #Tag group only. Given below is the transcript of my interaction on this subject:
Are some of your Tweets in search?
First, please check to see if any of your Tweets are in search.
Go to Twitter Search and type "from:username" into the search box, but replace 'username' with your username. For example, here's how @ginger searched for her Tweets:
If some of your Tweets are showing up here, then your account is in Twitter search! Yay!
Still missing a few tweets? Due to resource constraints, not every tweet can be indexed in Twitter Search. Our engineers are always working to index more updates, but we can't force individual, missing Tweets into search. Rest assured that your followers will still see all your updates and @replies, and we'll update on this page as we improve this issue.
Sunday, 19 September 2010
What if I can't Blog anymore...!
I shudder to think.. God Forbid, what If I can't Blog anymore. The source of immense happiness, intellectually stimulating and keeping my grey cells from getting into dementia, Blogging has been a boon to me. It would cast a penumbra of despair over my life if I could not continue blogging. It has been a Mirror reflecting my thoughts and views and a medium through which I could paint my world the way I want it to be. It was my transport to travel to those far regions of my mind and an Elixir to all my worldly ills. It is my stage where I enact my stories and plays and it is my privileged club where I can meet my favourite authors like Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Tennyson or Peter F Drucker at will and savor their priceless creations. It is not possible. I shall go on for ever nonstop.
For Sneha's What If....? - Indistream
Saturday, 18 September 2010
Ma Vie est bonheur
J'aime juste chaque moment
Vous vivez juste une fois
For Haiku-Heights
Il semble beau en français !
N'est pas?
Life is gift of God
Each moment is too precious
Savor divine bliss
For Haiku Heights
Monday, 13 September 2010
A pat on the back
Makes even John a Hercules
Encourage and see
For Haiku Heights
Saturday, 4 September 2010
Pristine Snow Blue sky
Twilight dawn and Dusk display
Nature's Beauty
For Haiku-Heights
I had faced the problem of my tweets not appearing in the #inditweetmeet window and was desperate to find a solution. When Experts like Mohan BN , Renie could not help I was going mad!! Then I thought perhaps it is just a simple case of my Internet connection speed doing the trick. To establish this I tried to check my connection speed using speed.io. When the connection was fast I got the following results:
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Presto! My tweets were appearing very nicely. So please check your speed and if it is slow get the speed increased by complaining to your ISP and chat happily everafter! You can see my tweets appearing in the indistream window with my speed data, if you log on to indistream now.
Wednesday, 1 September 2010
Nature's precious gift to Africa
Invaluable for livelihood of many
Longest river to cross land
Eternally flowing with bountiful grace
For Acrostic Only
Careless acts of revelry
Risking life and property
Asking for trouble
Zest for kick goes foul
Youth's view of liberty
For Acrostic Only
Utterly devoid of variety
Slog of daily routine
Usual acts of monotony
Aspiring for a change
Longing to be different
For Acrostic Only
Legal wizard
Able advisor
Wise guide
Yearns to win
Earns well
Raring to go
For Acrostic Only
Shun those bad habits
Harness your precious resources
Aim for lofty ideals
Make your life meaningful
Endeavor hard without shame
For Acrostic Only
Tuesday, 31 August 2010
Deft
Astute
Raring
Knight
Holding
On
Reign
Succeeds
Easily
For Acrostic Only
Be on your Toes
Smile on your face
Victory starts with V
Do not be negative
Be happy as ever
You get the Cake
For Acrostic Only
Work your heart
Aim to start
Losing your Weight
Kick that fat
Inchess off waist
Never give up
Gain health Walking
For Acrostic Only
Silent prayer reverberating in mind
Thoughts of near and dear at heart
Intrigued by the mystery of HIS blessings
Longing for the eternal moment of bliss
Life is a journey never stands still
For Acrostic Only
Monday, 30 August 2010
Mohan was a topper in Medicine and bagged the Gold Medal for his academic achievement. Coming from a poor family, Mohan had to struggle for basic amenities. He never allowed his poverty to come in the way of his achievements.
Overjoyed by his academic pursuits the University offered him a Honorary Chair for Medicine and provided him with the much needed facility for doing his research. Mohan, true to his form, was quick to embark on his projects and made rapid progress.
During one of his routine visits to the University hospital Mohan was introduced to a person suffering from cancer. He was a very rich Sheik from neighboring country who had come for his treatment to the University Hospital.
Encouraged by the results of his research Mohan began to use the findings in treating the live cases of Cancer at the Hospital. He chose the Sheik for his personal study as his case was the most complicated. As the treatment progressed the Sheik began to show quick improvements.
Soon the lab results performed on him began to show rapid deterioration of cancerous cells and his immunity against infection improved and Mohan knew that his efforts have succeeded.
Taking a cue from this success story several cases of such Terminal Cancer were referred to Mohan and he began to save these people from this erstwhile deadly disease. Meanwhile, the Sheik was discharged from the Hospital and offered a personal reward of $100,000 to Mohan as a Gift.
Yearning for a cure to this deadly disease and finding the solution had such an indelible impact on Mohan that he totally dedicated his life for the treatment of such terminal cases at the University. He requested the Sheik to donate his reward to The Hospital instead so that it could alleviate the hardship of patients who could not afford the treatment. Overwhelmed by Mohan's modesty, the Sheik donated an entirely new building complex for the treatment of poor patients at the hospital
For Acrostic Only
Characterised by urge to excel
Harnessing its resources very well
Imbibing cultural and traditional values
Natural instinct for hard work
Arise, awake, china is emerging
For Acrostic Only
Pangs of Sorrow
Adds to pain
Tough to handle
Hurt it does
One and all
Stay off sins
For Acrostic only
There's no hard and fast maxim
Keep on trying out till the brim
Never say die its a hard swim
Let your heart zoom! Let your heart zoom!
There are plenty who got the crown
Learn a few things and do not frown
After all their blood is not brown
You never groan! You never Groan!
Practice hard work will do the trick
Without a break you got to stick
I am sure it is bound to click
Go for your pick! Go for your pick!
It is not getting what you aim
It is just what you have to claim
Go on do it right and proclaim
You won the game! You won the game!
The MonoTetra is a new poetic form developed by Michael Walker. Each stanza contains four lines in monorhyme (the lines have the same end rhyme). Each line is tetrameter (four metrical feet) for a total of eight syllables. The last line contains two metrical feet, repeated. There is no limit to the number of stanzas.
Stanza Structure :
Line 1: 8 syllables; A1
Line 2: 8 syllables; A2
Line 3: 8 syllables; A3
Line 4: 4 syllables, repeated A4, A4
I found this beautiful form of poetry in the Blog by Ms.Vibhuti B at
the URL http://klishmaklaver.blogspot.com. I was fascinated by it and
decided to try my hand at it.
Sunday, 29 August 2010
Wherever you go seek the Truth
For Thursday Tales - Tale #22
Image: Rooster Wind Vane by Artist Leolajax DeviantArt
Adopt an Orphan
See the spring of joy exude
Your Resurrection
For Haiku-Heights
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
Ram,Rahim or be Robert
We parade them all
Invoking greedy blessings
For Haiku Heights
Monday, 23 August 2010
Need of hour as ever
Of orderly behavior
Restrain cutting trees
To make life risk free
Harness nature's reservoir
For Acrosticonly
Syllable count: 7-7-5-5-8
Rhyme:'aabba'
Treading along the forest
In search of wild life
Greedy poachers kill the
Ever enchanting beast Tiger
Restrictive laws needed instantly
For Acrosticonly
Meaty
Odour
Utterly
Tempting
Hastening
Waiting
Assembly
To
Eagerly
Rush
Imitating
Naughty
Glutton
For Acrosticonly
Sunday, 22 August 2010
Lofty
Erudite
Astute
Dutiful
Earnest
Robust
For Acrosticonly
Rich creamy scoop
Inducing instant appetite
Casting away inhibitions
Hearty lunge ensues
In earnest pursuit
Eager to appease
Ravenous taste buds
In delicious rapture
Care to share
Here try this
For Acrosticonly
Tactful Anchor
Alluring Setting
Lusty Cheer
Keen Participant
Subtle Questions
Hilarious Answers
Overjoyed Viewers
Watch Eagerly
For Acrosticonly
Candid Payment form
Always in demand
Safe to use
Has instant value
For Acrosticonly
Salubrious
Waterborne
Invigorating
Mesmerizing
Magnificent
Invaluable
Native
Grand Activity
For Acrosticonly
Basking in Glory
Inspired by Divine blessing
Radiating tremendous energy
Tantalizing with your looks
Hovering Angels wishing you
Delicious pastries around
A Happy Birthday to
You as always
For Acrosticonly
Speed Test your Connection
While surfing the net I stumbled on this wonderful site "Madras Geek" by G K Srivathsan, at http://www.madrasgeek.com/ which provides very valuable information on various things a blogger would like to know. The Speed Test tools listed therein are very good. I found this particular one to be very informative as it not only measures your speed but also evaluates the result for you. You may go to http://www.speed.io/index_en.html and see for yourself. For your ready reference hers is a screen shot:
Saturday, 21 August 2010
Men will come and go
Few stay in the memory
He made history
Brave men fight with sword
He fought just with his own words
Love thy enemy
Writers happy nest
Bee-hive of activities
Showcase rich talent
Tuesday, 17 August 2010
God gift to mankind
To coexist happily
with his creation
Bond to commit one
To a lasting agreement
To live and let live
Monday, 16 August 2010
Monday, 26 July 2010
Happiness is a mirage
You find
Only on your mind
Monday, 19 July 2010
Much awaited measure to discipline the activities of this huge NetWork! I am sure this would help to restrict the attempts of self promotion and spamming by a few over enthusiastic bretheren. Congrats to Rennie and his dedicated knights!
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
Trivial acts they are
Reaches out to people
Instils love and affection
Forever in one's heart
Lasting bond of friendship
Evolves from trifle "thanks"
For Acrosticonly
Monday, 5 July 2010
Pious soul in worship
Requesting peace for all
Amidst the myriad trials
Yearning for eternal salvation
Eager to attain moksha
Remembering HIS sovereign GRACE
For Acrosticonly
Realm of pure wisdom
Eternal source of information
Alluring journey to unknown
Destined to instill confidence
Invaluable trough of knowledge
Not realized by many
Gainful hobby for success
For Acrosticonly
Naive and silly thoughts
Utter foolish childish pranks
Insolent attitude and arrogance
Selfish acts for gains
Aimless way of life
Not useful for anyone
Continuous source of annoyance
Eternal nuisance for anyone
For Acrosticonly
Monday, 28 June 2010
The other day when I visited my Favourite blog, think aloud, I found this Astounding Story and was moved beyond words. Please clik this link to read this wonderful story: Father's Day - Story
Monday, 21 June 2010
The other day while browsing the list of top bloggers in Bangalore, I landed on a nice blog http://www.dollarshower.com/ by Ajith Edassery. Quite an interesting blog with excellent information besides links to some interesting things like this: An online tool that analyzes a blogger’s (or writer’s) personality based on his / her writings. You just enter the URL of your blog as input and it analyzes your way of writing, usage of words, emotions etc to come up with a report on your personality. I tried it and this is what it had to say about me!The gentle and compassionate type. They are especially attuned their inner values and what other people need. They are not friends of many words and tend to take the worries of the world on their shoulders. They tend to follow the path of least resistance and have to look out not to be taken advantage of. They often prefer working quietly, behind the scene as a part of a team. They tend to value their friends and family above what they do for a living.
It also outputs a Brain Map of you showing which part of your brain is active while you are writing. Shown above is my Brain Map as output by typealyzer!! To see yours goto http://typealyzer.com/
Saturday, 19 June 2010
Able but defiant
Irritable manners
Really kiddish
Healthy but lazy
Ever dreaming
Albeit dumb
Dear little snob
For Acrosticonly
Little Tiny Drops
Falling over Flowers
Shine with beauty
Rain Sweet Rain
Beauty with Shine
Flowers Over Falling
Drops tiny Little
Glorious Victory
With Loser killed
By the defeat
Thursday, 17 June 2010
There are so many realty and entertainment shows nowadays that we have a surfeit of music.Airtel Super Singer Junior2, however, was like a cool gentle breeze on a warm summer day! While the early episodes were just ok it slowly started picking up tempo and got to an electrifying climax that transfixed the viewers rivetted to the small screen. The sheer range and capabilities shown by the young singers were so good that viewers began to watch them with admiration. Yesterday's (17-06-10) fitting Finale was the icing on the cake! The results were so good that everyone felt happy and satisfied with the choices. Vijay TV deserves a compliment for their generous gesture in giving so many runners up awards for the other deserving kids who were so close in standard to the winners. Well done Vijay TV. To view the clips of Grand Finale, clik this: http://starvijay-ssj.blogspot.com/
Saturday, 5 June 2010
Another feather on Apple's Cap indeed! iPad is a very useful gadget any techie would love to have handy. The ease with which one can surf the Net, the crystal clear images that you see in the screen, the multiplicity of online applications that one can have access to are a real feast for any Gadget lover. Its popularity is already well known by the huge interest shown the world over besides the interest shown by customers queing to get their hands on it when Apple released it in their country. While it has greater features than an iPod Touch the sheer bigger size is welcome because it removes the strain to the eyes experienced by some in using an iPod! With its compact, easy to carry and exquisite design it sure belongs to a busy Executive's wardrobe.
Friday, 4 June 2010
Inimitable part of Anatomy
Regulates entry of Light
Invaluable gift of God
Stays immortal when donated
For Acrosticonly
Thursday, 3 June 2010
Favourite hobby of mine
Irrespective of any season
Sitting across the pond
Holding the fishing line
Its a unique experience
None can ever miss
Go fishing! to find.
For Acrosticonly
Safe and secure habits
Ensure peaceful happy life
Carefully plan and save
Old adage but true
Neither lend nor borrow
Destined to lend support
Chasing illusive wild pleasures
Harms more than help
Achieving anything in life
Never forget that Life
Can never be compromised
Else no second chance
For Acrosticonly
Wednesday, 2 June 2010
For all sinful acts
Aimed at ignoble gains
Careless way of life
Eternal pursuit of pleasure
Time for sincere penance
Heed HIS advice, repent
Ensure to get healed
Muster courage to surrender
Unmindful of ego, else
Shameful acts of greed
Is sure to hurt
Certainly, Face the Music
For Acrosticonly
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
Immaculate in its demeanour
Noble in all acts
Dutiful in spreading peace
Insisting on global harmony
Always helping the needy
For Acrosticonly
Worthy act of surrender
Of pride and ego
Reaching out to Almighty
Sustained attempt at penance
Hoping to attain peace
Inspired by His benevolence
Preempt and forebode evil!
For Acrosticonly
Ernest in one's pursuit of fame
Always keen to achieve a name
Good quality of effort
Ever ready to emulate
Raring to go and be at helm
For Acrosticonly
Vacillating and not steady
Ambiguous acts of uncertainty
Glaring gaps of clarity
Unclear form of expression
Elusive way of speaking
For Acrosticonly
Eluding attempt for detection
Stealthy move avoiding pursuit
Careful maneuver ensuring safety
Attempt to avoid trouble
Preventive measure for protection
Ensuring peace and freedom
For Acrosticonly
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
"Technological advancement throughout the world has really changed the way we live. Time and distance are no barriers to communication any more", roared Rakesh, who had just topped the IIM (A) results for MBA Graduates for 2010. His research and thesis on telecommunication stunned the world for its sheer brilliance and content.
Enraptured audience gave a thunderous applause after he finished his thanksgiving speech on receiving the Gold Medal.
Characterized by his academic exploits and extraordinary perception for human emotions Rakesh was an instant success in any gathering be it IIM Alumni or a local community meeting.
Happy with his achievements Rakesh went home to his mother who had raised him single handedly after the death of his father by running a foodstall of her own. Amzing lady with extraordinary capabilities, was very much the woman behind all his success.
Nearing his house, Rakesh began to recollect his future plans. He was very eager to start his own venture for making Semi-conductors for Telecom applications.
On seeing her son his mother was overwhelmed with joy and she started crying. Rakesh consoled her saying that her worries are all a thing of the past and the future is very bright.
Later on in the day his mother requested him to accompany her to the neighbourhood old age home, where she had been lending her hand for their rehabilitation activities. She wanted her son to see the Home.
On seeing Rakesh entering the Home with his mother, one of the inmates, a retired Senior Executive staying there with his wife, rushed to him. You are Mr.Rakesh, the Topper in this year's MBA right? asked the man. I heard your excellent lecture the other day and it was brilliant, he continued.
Gratefully acknowledging his compliments Rakesh asked him about the Home and its activities. When the inmate explained in detail about the lack of funds and amenities at the Home, he felt sad. Meanwhile another inmate approached Rakesh saying, "My son, while I heard about your lecture from my friend I was curious to know what these technologies and advancements you spoke of are doing to help us. We shall continue to suffer".
Yes, Indeed said Rakesh. These technologies and developments can also change the way you people live. He convened a meeting of all the members and was amazed to know about their talents. They were senior professionals in various fields while in employment. He identified some key persons in different fields like Education, Literature, Finance etc. Within a few months he arranged for some financial assistance from Banks and the Old-Age home was doing roaring businesses in the fields of "Publishing", "Tutorial College" for aspiring Civil Service candidates etc. The Home became a bee-hive of activities and the inmates were living luxuriously and most importantly with their heads held high!
For Acrosticonly
My days begin when the streaks of sunrays reach the earth and with the enchanting smell of incense sticks lit by my wife in the pooja room.
Yesterday's memories start fleeting away welcoming the new hopes for today . My prayers for the health, wealth and prosperity of everyone, conclude with the traditional Aarathi.
Sitting in my balcony with my cup of tea and the inevitable morning news paper, I saw my wife who looked as if she had something to say. When I said, "yes, what is it dear" she began to tell that my Grand Daughter's birthday was a month away and wanted to know if I had decided on the gift for her.
Utterly taken by surprise I said, "No". We decided to get her a lovely dress, skirt and blouse, along with a gold chain.
Rushing with the daily chores during rest of the day I tried to recollect the days when my first child, my daughter, was born. She was such a beautiful tiny angel that we had called the entire neighbourhood for the anniversary. She had grown so fast, got married and now we are planning for the birth anniversary of her daughter. Time flies indeed.
Visiting them abroad every now and then, though heart warming, was getting to be difficult for the sheer exertion it entailed.
In spite of of the old age we continue with the fellowship meetings at the neighbourhood orphanage and do our little bit for the betterment of the needy children.
Vast resources and wealth owned by the people are of no avail if they cannot help to eradicate the poverty of that orphaned kid who wails for support.
Awed by the crowd that clamors for buying Gold and Diamond jewelery at the newly constructed "Mall" while the News Paper headlines were screaming at me about the increase in people below the poverty line. A real life Anachronism, perhaps.
Lingering on everyday, we move along like a chugging train as I am aware of the norms of 'My Survival".
For Acrosticonly
पूचो न कुछ मुझसे यारों
में तो मरा हुआ हूँ
जीते ही मार दिया था मुझको
बहुत डरा हुआ था में तो
कमाल का वक़्त था वह जब
तुम और में मिले थे
बेकार लगती थी सब कुछ
सिवा प्यार की वह बातें
पता ही नहीं था , प्यार होता क्या
तब तक, जब तक में तुझे खो चुका था
तुम्हारे बिना जीना भी क्या जीना है
अच्छा हुआ, में तो मरा हुआ हूँ
Poocho na kuch Mujse Yaron
Mein to maraa hua Hoon
Jeete hi maar diya ta mujko
Bahut dara hua ta mein to
Kamaal ka waqt tha wo Jab
Tum aur mein mile the
Bekar lagthi thi sab kuch
Siva pyaar ki woh batein
Pata hi nahi thaa, pyar hota kya
Tab tak, Jab tak mein tujhe ko chukaa thaa
Tumhare bina jina bhi kya jina hai
Achcha hua mein to maraa Hua hoon
I wrote this for Writers' Lounge
Monday, 22 March 2010
Do you know your near and dear well enough? We often take for granted, the acts, sacrifices and gestures of our close relations as a part of normal day to day activity that we fail to notice the intent Love, Affection and Care that is behind such things. For eg: your wife neatly arranging the things that you have to carry with you to office, like your Blackberry,Laptop,Spectacles,Purse and the inevitable Lunch Box containing fat free food! You always got your important message on time, you never missed your credit card payment,Your eye check up was not needed before a good three years gap,you could buy that gift for your boss on time and thank God your cholestrol and BP were under control thanks to this simple habit of hers which you never bothered even to acknowledge.
When you planned that trip to USA to meet your children, after your retirement, for a long Holiday the arrangements your Son made to send a “Bouquet” through the Cab driver who came to fetch you and your wife from the Airport along with a Flask of homemade coffee, which he knew, you loved was not just an ordinary gesture. It shows the deep love and affection he had for you and his desire to ensure that you never missed your favourite drink. The extra length your son-in-law went to arrange a full fledged office room complete with PC,wireless Keyboard,Broadband and webcam etc for you during your stay with them to ensure that you never felt bored and got your share of intellectual activity that you were used to was no ordinary act. Remember, he knows how you miss that Exquisite Office of yours. The video clip, which your daughter sent from USA showing your 4 years old Grand Daughter singing "Happy Birthday" on your birthday with her inimitable American accent was not just an ordinary mail. It was meant to tempt you to make your trip earlier to see your Grand Daughter and give them the pleasure of your company.
There was this friend, who just happened to stay in the same neighbourhood with you, that volunteered to finance your son's foreign education efforts till you got your Bank Loan sanctioned, was not just an ordinary friend. His timely gesture, without and expectation from you, was pure act of friendship distilled and deserves your gratitude for life.
Fortunate are those who are blessed to have the company of their parents with them during their own old age! They can very well appreciate the feelings and desires of the poor old souls and would do well to take good care of them. You cannot forget how your Dad never wanted to buy a car because he wanted to finance your studies or the special food your Mom prepared for you to fortify your strength for withstanding the rigours of Competitive Academic pursuits! The least you could do is to keep them with you instead of sending them to the most advanced “Old-Age Home “.
Saturday, 20 March 2010
Clandestine research to develop
Harmful chemicals for destruction
Evil designs need condemnation
Mass annihilation of humanity
Irreparable damage to ecology
Culminating in arid earth
Across the globe famine
Loss of atmospheric protection
Withered plants and Lagoons
Atrophying in aimless destruction
Restitution to normalcy, mirage!
Fact , not any fiction
Awaits us as price
Ready to face reality?
Encourage efforts to prevent.
For Acrostic
Insensitive acts of violence
Non conformity to ethics
Harassing the helpless person
Usurping a rightful claim
Menacing acts of insurgence
Alienating the nation’s wealth
Needless forms of aggression
Insidious nature of enemy
Treacherous behavior of criminal
Yes, list is endless
For Acrosticonly
Never did they Lie
Explain they always did
Great souls of wisdom
Languishing in lonely life
Eschewing their past moments
Caring for little kids
Trying to spend time
Eagerly needing the affection
Daring death to come
Enormous is their contribution
Lasting for everlasting time
Diligently carved for generations
Enshrined in their tales
Religiously shared with children
Save them from neglect
For Acrosticonly
Searching for the salvation
Unknowingly falling a prey
Instigated by religious beliefs
Causing an untold misery
Igniting young minds aflame
Detrimental to the society
Endless acts of violence
Blowing up even themselves
Oblivious to the agony
Mayhem and enormous Loss
Behind such abhorring acts
Eternal peace, they want
Regardless of wanton massacre
Sordidly done, left behind
For Acrosticonly
Policy to protect
Obviously a fact
Legality wee-bit compromised
Induces to ponder
Cases of brutality
Ensuring resultant clarity
Baseless allegations apart
Real-life instances on
Unprotected vulnerable citizens
Trace the history
About needless violence
Law enforcers inflicted
In performance of
Their sacred duty
Yesterday and before
For Acrosticonly
Friday, 12 March 2010
With the abounding influx of blogging, we are fortunate to get so much to read and enjoy on a variety of subjects. While the contributions on Technology, Literature, Poetry or other related subjects are doing wonderfully well it is the area of “Humour”, “Satire” etc that worries me a little. Humour, according to me, is a very sublime emotion that has the unique quality / power to entertain both the person who initiates it and the person to whom it is addressed. The result being a good laugh that is good for the Heart!, literally.
Unfortunately this art of making humorous posts / articles is quite a challenging task in that, very often one ends up by making a poor joke or making himself look ridiculous. This excellent tool of merriment was expertly handled by Authors like George Bernard Shaw, Robert Lynd etc who produced such wonderful works like “Pygmalion” and our own inimitable R K Narayan , whose stories like "Malgudi Days", "Financial Expert" etc were in a class of their own. I read somewhere that even Bernard Shaw had a taste of his own bullying nature once. He was walking on a narrow lane in the London suburbs when he saw a poor farmer coming towards him from the opposite direction. One of them had to get closer to the side wall to let the other pass. Bernard Shaw, not in his finest of moods, barked “I don’t give way to fools!”. The farmer politely stepped aside to let him pass saying, “I do Sir.” Well that is what I call a good repartee! Adroitness and cleverness in reply, not necessarily abusive or even sarcastic.
Do write about comical situations and funny episodes of people, no problem. Just ensure that everyone laughs. I know, it is the fashion nowadays, to make a dig at someone and make funny remarks about the mannerism or idiosyncrasy of that person. Well they are fine up to a stage. You may find that you start losing your popularity sooner or later, if you depended ONLY on this kind. Well, before I begin to sound like a social reformer , I want to end this post. This is not a criticism or complaint against the excellent Humorous Blogs. Just an appeal to excel and enjoy with everyone.
Another season of IPL is here again and there will be virtual feast for the die-hard fans of the participating teams. Whatever may be the Politics, controversies or issues regarding this mega event, one cannot deny the fact that this provides the pristine joy of competitive cricket from the world's best cricketers which the fans can savor without any inhibitions whatsoever!!
What is more, one team has opened their own website/fan club to entertain their fans and the fans would get hefty discounts on match tickets! Two teams have changed their Jersey colors to stunning styles and if you want to read all about this, go to this url: http://cricket.yahoo.com/cricket/news/article?id=item/2.0/-/story/cricket.yahoonews.com/highvoltage-glamour-jamborees-opening-night-20100312/.
Eager to see the Schedule of Fixtures! Go to url: http://www.iplt20.com/fixture.php and watch the matches for non-stop action!!
Eager to see the Schedule of Fixtures! Go to url: http://www.iplt20.com/fixture.php and watch the matches for non-stop action!!
Thursday, 11 March 2010
IMPACT OF CHARITY
Have you ever wondered what impact the act of charity produces on the beneficiary. Well if you haven’t, then you are missing something. I have been making my little bit of contributions to deserving charities, like children’s home, destitutes home etc. While I was making one such donation I had an unforgettable experience. I was waiting for the caretaker of the Children’s Home, that housed about 200 kids, and I saw some young kids playing there. One of them got curious and came over to see who was standing at the office. Spotting me, the kid enquired what I had come for. I just said I was paying some money to the Home to defray their expenses. The kid started running towards his friend shouting “Hey Ramu, I told you na, the Home will not be closed. See here is an Uncle who takes care of our needs.” This really shook me because the fear of losing the support of the Home, was so deeply buried in their hearts.
EFFECTIVENESS
Another issue that crops up is the need for organized collection and distribution mechanism which ensures that the donations reach the ultimate beneficiaries as intended by the donors. It is in this aspect that GiveIndia scores exceedingly well. Their fool proof system of screening deserving NGO’s which include checking Governace,Operations, Management, Human resources, Accountability and transparency. Exhaustive indeed! They also get an independent assessment from sister organisations about the NGO’s prior to induction. When I wanted to ensure personally about the background of GiveIndia I checked their website and would like to share just one example of their “conditions” for enrolling an organization. It says, I quote,
“The organisation must disclose in its annual report the total cost of international travel by all its personnel (including volunteers) - segregating those incurred on organisational expense and those that were sponsored, along with the name and designation of the person(s) who traveled, and the purpose(s) of travel.”
Well you cant ask for more!
SELECTION OF BENEFICIARY
The choices of beneficiaries that you would like to help are also neatly categorized into causes, like Children, Disabled, education, elderly, employment etc which makes your decision simpler. There is a saying in Tamil regarding Charity. Translated into English, it says, “Check the beneficiary prior to making your charity”. GiveIndia takes adequate care to do precisely that and one need not have any inhibitions to donate under their Aegis. Conceived by Shri.Venkat Krishnan, an IIM-A Graduate and supported by a team of dedicated professionals ,the organization is said to have involved over 75000 donors to impact over a million lives through 200+ organisations . Amazing indeed.
“The organisation must disclose in its annual report the total cost of international travel by all its personnel (including volunteers) - segregating those incurred on organisational expense and those that were sponsored, along with the name and designation of the person(s) who traveled, and the purpose(s) of travel.”
Well you cant ask for more!
SELECTION OF BENEFICIARY
The choices of beneficiaries that you would like to help are also neatly categorized into causes, like Children, Disabled, education, elderly, employment etc which makes your decision simpler. There is a saying in Tamil regarding Charity. Translated into English, it says, “Check the beneficiary prior to making your charity”. GiveIndia takes adequate care to do precisely that and one need not have any inhibitions to donate under their Aegis. Conceived by Shri.Venkat Krishnan, an IIM-A Graduate and supported by a team of dedicated professionals ,the organization is said to have involved over 75000 donors to impact over a million lives through 200+ organisations . Amazing indeed.
TAX ON DONATION - CAN IT INFLUENCE
Yes, Indeed. In a country like India, despite the fact that a good majority are below the poverty line, there is no denial of the fact that lot of people have enough money at their disposal over and above their needs. You just visit a Jeweler’s shop and you will be amazed to see the crowd that is clamoring to purchase Gold. The crowd comprises of all stratas of society and not necessarily from the affluent alone. While marginal Tax incentives, like current I.Tax provisions, may induce them to make some donations because of the Tax saving, it will not bring the desired effect of making people give substantial sums as donation. In my opinion, the Act should provide for “Weighted Deductions” (like what we used to have for Export Promotions etc..earlier) that would give twice the amount of donations made as the deduction from taxable Income. This I am sure would result in greater quantum of Donations. The Government can think of introducing some recognitions like “Golden Heart Donor” plaques, for people who make donations exceeding certain amount and publish their names on a “Govt. Roll of Homour”along with "Padma" awardees!
To visit the site of GiveIndia, clik this link: http://www.giveindia.org/t-abtus_whatwedo.aspx and open up your hearts and make that donation you always wanted to give.
To visit the site of GiveIndia, clik this link: http://www.giveindia.org/t-abtus_whatwedo.aspx and open up your hearts and make that donation you always wanted to give.
Wind flowing gently
Kissing all plants
Sweet smell Roses
Dance baby Dance
Roses smell sweet
Plants all kissing
Gently flowing Wind
Kissing all plants
Sweet smell Roses
Dance baby Dance
Roses smell sweet
Plants all kissing
Gently flowing Wind
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
MEANDERING HERE AND THERE
YEARNING FOR LOST HAPPINESS
SHADES OF PAST MEMORIES
USHERING IN SOME SOLACE
RAPID PACE OF LIFE
VARIED FORMS OF INCIDENTS
INDUCING MIND TO THINK
VISTAS OF UNEXPLORED SPACE
ADDING MUCH NEEDED HOPE
LEST I FORGET SURVIVAL
For Acrosticonly
It was almost 25 years since the Rahuls were settled in USA, migrating to a different country, different culture and perhaps different perceptions. Rahul was the President of a leading Software Giant in LA and had everything one would aspire for. Excellent Job, Adorable wife, Priya, and a cute daughter, Sanjana, who was so very smart and intelligent for her 16 years. Having been brought up in USA from birth Sanjana grew up acquiring all the native habits, qualities and the manners of a typical american child.
Right from her 5th year Sanjana’s mother did try her best to imbibe some Indian culture, habits, language etc., into Sanjana but to no avail. Though Sanjana was very good at school and other academic exploits she developed a kind of vanity and a haughty nature which Rahul and Priya could not understand. She would want to do things in her own way unmindful of the fact as to how it may affect others. Her dressing style, although within limits of decency, was so bold that it worried Priya. There was a silver lining in the form of Robert Junior, who was a friend and classmate of Sanjana, with an exceptional maturity and good upbringing for his 18 years! Priya always felt comfortable when Sanjana was in the company of Robert and began to like him.
During the summer holidays Sanjana wanted to go for the “Wild Life Camp” with her friends. The camp was in a forest area far away from LA and not a well developed one. Priya found out that the other members of the team were four boys aged between 20 and 24 and 2 of them were drop outs from school. There were no girls in the team. Priya requested Sanjana not to go for this trip and promised her a trip to Florida. Sanjana threw a tantrum saying, “Mom this is the problem with you people, you do not understand the feelings and desires of a youngster and try to force the kid within the confines of your unfounded tradition and beliefs which are outdated. I need some space of my own mom please understand.” After this outburst she rushed out to meet her friend Robert,
Seeing Sanjana leaving to see Robert, Priya rang up Robert and explained in detail the entire episode and pleaded with him to dissuade Sanjana from going to the Camp. Sanjana narrated the details to Robert and said how frustrated she felt that her Mom would not understand her feelings and need for freedom. After listening to her patiently, Robert started explaining to her that the issue needed more detailed look. For example, the camp was at a far off place from LA and was not in a developed area. Even basic facilities like a Police outpost or medical facility was 50 miles away. There were only 4 boys and out of them two were drop outs without any care. Without another girl being there in the team, would Sanjana feel at ease to spend 7 whole days. While Robert agreed that Sanjana had every right to have her “Freedom and Space” , he explained that Priya’s genuine concern on the above issues and her fear for her daughter’s wellbeing was fully justified. Listening to his matured analysis with rapt attention Sanjana realized her mistake and felt ashamed for her behaviour, She understood that she had all the “Space” she needed which was perhaps filled with so much Love and Affection that it appeared to exert pressure!!
Gopi and Madhu’s families were living in Adyar, Chennai for over 25 years and were very close to each other. It is no wonder that Gopi ,a budding Doctor doing his final year Medical Degree, and Madhu a very pretty girl doing her Masters in English Literature became thick friends. Being a brilliant student Gopi was a topper in his college and Madhu was equal to the task by obtaining a Gold Medal in her Masters from University! They were very fond of each other that they spent a lot of time together discussing about everything under the sun. They fell in love and decided to get married after Gopi completes his M.S.
After completing his M.B.B.S with Honours, Gopi was selected for M.S in tune with his ambition of becoming a top notch surgeon. Gopi’s father, who suffered from cancer, died on the operating table and this left an indelible impression in his mind. He completed his M.S with flying colors and promptly married Madhu. Soon after marriage Gopi got an offer for a Job in the leading hospital in Washington. He and Madhu were happy to go to USA and Gopi liked his Job. The hospital boasted of having the top surgeons on their rolls and was very famous for its capabilities.
Madhu spent her time attending to household chores and doing some on-line teaching assignment for a local polytechnic. She gave birth to a healthy and pretty girl. Gopi soon became very famous and a sought after surgeon for his excellent skills in performing complicated Heart Surgeries with 100% success record. However his continued fame and expertise made him stay more and more at the Hospital and he came home hardly for a few hours in a day. This began to take its toll on Madhu who felt very lonely despite the time she had with her kid. Small quarrels began to surface when she accused Gopi for not spending quality time either with her or the kid. Gopi’s efforts to make her understand the need for his extended hours at the hospital were in vain. With her frustration Madhu fell into a depression and Gopi began to virtually reside at the Hospital not wanting to hurt Madhu by entering into arguments.
On a Sunday when she felt the baby lying next to her, she was shocked to notice that the baby was having high temperature and was getting convulsions. In panic she grabbed the baby and drove to the hospital and asked for Gopi. The staff, who knew the Gopis well, immediately admitted the child in ICU and started the treatment while sending word to Gopi about it. After 3 hours the baby was brought back to normal ward when its condition was stable and Madhu was fuming since Gopi had not come till then.
Madhu lulled the baby to sleep and asked the nurse where Gopi could be reached. She was told that he is busy doing a most complicated heart operation of the rarest congenital defect. The nurse also told her that four such cases in the past 10 years were unsuccessful, all surgeries ending in failure. This news made Madhu more angry and she set out to reach him in the surgery wing. When she was nearing the post operative ward area, she heard Gopi telling a woman that the Heart Operation was a success and the woman was saying something to him. She went closer to the half open door where she could hear the conversation clearly.
The woman, whose child was being operated for congenital heart defect, was saying, “Doctor, when they told me that Sam’s case was terminal and they had no known cure by way of surgery, my heart sank and the whole world came crashing down. I ran to our church and cried before Jesus Christ and begged HIM to save my son. The Father told me that HE would always help those who were helpless by sending his Angels. I am sure he was right because he has sent you to save my son when everyone else had given up. You are so very special to us and we will add your picture in our Altar of worship. May you have a wonderful life with your beloved family”
Madhu was stunned into silence listening to this outburst and the words of that woman kept ringing in her ears. Yes indeed, Gopi was very special and was needed by the helpless patients more than by her. She felt so proud of being his wife and drove back home with the kid. She prepared “Kheer” to celebrate his historical feat and called him on phone to congratulate him. Gopi was pleasantly surprised to hear Madhu congratulating him and sounding like the bride he knew when she invited him to come home for the celebration.
Story I wrote for Indimag
Story I wrote for Indimag
Summer rain pours down
Pitter patter on the roof
Hmmm… I could smell sand
SUMMER RAIN POURS DOWN
Hmmm… I could smell sand
Pitter patter on the roof
Summer rain pours down
My desperate attempt at Naisaiku
Syllable count 5-7-5 Title 5-7-5
Sunday, 7 March 2010
Use IndiBlogger forum
The Forum provided by IndiBlogger for the bloggers to showcase their products among the community through Indivine, assessment and ranking of the blogs scientifically through Indistats, providing a variety of subjects for discussion to educate budding bloggers are really unique and praise worthy. Renie Ravin and his dedicated young team of engineers are doing a great Job. Please make full use of this excellent facility and improve the overall rating of your Blog.
My Blog roll of Honour
http://nimbupani.com/
http://techblissonline.com/
http://digitalelectronics.blogspot.com/
http://krishashok.wordpress.com/
http://blog.mahindrahomestays.com/
http://tnmg4u.com/
http://www.kamalascorner.com/
http://mohanbn.com/
http://narendrashenoy.blogspot.com/
http://www.chutneycase.com/
http://musememoir.blogspot.com/
http://nalinihebbar-poetry.blogspot.com/
http://zeenatsyal.wordpress.com/
http://zillion2ndinnings.blogspot.com/
http://www.indimag.com/
Keep Blogging and have fun!
My Blog roll of Honour
http://nimbupani.com/
http://techblissonline.com/
http://digitalelectronics.blogspot.com/
http://krishashok.wordpress.com/
http://blog.mahindrahomestays.com/
http://tnmg4u.com/
http://www.kamalascorner.com/
http://mohanbn.com/
http://narendrashenoy.blogspot.com/
http://www.chutneycase.com/
http://musememoir.blogspot.com/
http://nalinihebbar-poetry.blogspot.com/
http://zeenatsyal.wordpress.com/
http://zillion2ndinnings.blogspot.com/
http://www.indimag.com/
Keep Blogging and have fun!
Friday, 5 March 2010
Part-2 Technology
The most important item is the choice of a suitable Blog skin for your Blog. The templates are distinctly made for various kinds of subjects from Culinary blogs to High tech blogs. Wrong choice of the template could kill a blog even if it has a decent content. For a good selection of templates my suggestion would be to see the popular blogs on the subjects and choose the right one for you. If it is a standard template then you will have no problem in customizing your content in it otherwise you may have to study the design of the template by viewing its source HTML / XML code and writing your own template code. Examples of Simple no frills Marketing Blog Designs:
http://tnmg4u.com/, http://www.ceveni.com/, http://marketerskaleidoscope.com/, http://www.msigeek.com/ Examples of Culinary blogs: http://www.kamalascorner.com/
Designing of the layout into 3 column or 2 column type would depend on your basic aim of blogging. For example, if you are intending to make some money as part of your objective then you need to provide spaces for fielding advertisements and sponsored logos etc and perhaps a 3 column design would suit you. For a simple blog on poetry, family, etc a 2 column design without much clutter would be ideal. Again there is no hard and fast rule for this selection. It is upto you to choose the correct design in tandem with your subject.
Feeds are the most essential part of your blog. An interested reader would like to subscribe to your posts so that he does not miss any new posts in future. Ensure that your feeds are properly configured by joining agencies like "Feedburner" etc and test your feeds for coverage of content. As people prefer to read them at leisure it would be advisable to provide a email link also.
When you post some pictures, videos etc from internet do provide the information as to its source to give credit to original authors/owners.
Speed of loading of your Blog content is very vital for sustaining viewer's interest in your blog. Too much of widgets, CSS, Pictures (not optimized), java scripts, etc would tend to slow down your page loading time considerably. After selecting the most essential ones be sure to compress the CSS code by using suitable CSS Compressor. I am using CSS Compressor at this url:
http://www.cssdrive.com/index.php/main/csscompressor/ as recommended by my fellow blogger Shri.Karthikeyan and my loading time is between 0.11 to 0.17 seconds which is quite good. For guidance on compression please go to this url: http://technoalley.blogspot.com/2009/12/reduce-loading-time-of-your-blog.html
Meta Tags are the important portion of your blog template / source code because they make the Title, Description etc appear in a way that best describes your blog.
What are Meta Tags
These are information placed in the <head> area of your html code, mostly for instructions regarding how the information about your page has to be displayed. Title meta Tag however displays the title of the page. Examples of Meta Tags:
<head>
<title>My Musings</title>
<meta name="description" content="Saras blog, post and musings on human values, life, childhood, acrostic, poetry, short stories" />
<meta name="keywords" Content="Saras blog, post and musings on human values, life, childhood, acrostic, poetry, short stories" />
<meta name="auhor" content="Saras" />
</head>
</head>
<body>This is my First HTML file!</body>
</html>
Save the above into a file called "my file.html". The file extension "html" or "htm" is very important because it tells the browser that it is a HTML file. Clik it to run in your browser! This is just a simple HTML file and you need to learn more codes for making it robust and add more types of content like Pictures, Tables, Sub-Routines etc.
Posting articles in your blog should be done with care. Instead of writing long and tortuous content continuously split them into neat paragraphs and always format them by using html "justify" format so that it looks neat. You can do this by choosing the html option in your posting tool (I am talking about Blogspot domains) where all the html codes can be used and check the output in "compose" mode before publishing the same. You can also use the Justify button in compose tab to do this formatting.
It would be a good habit to use online dictionary to run spell check on all your articles before publishing them. The readers love well written articles with a good command over the language. Incidentally Blogger tools provide you with an opportunity to write in various languages, like Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil by just using the drop down button for languages. For example: வணக்கம் नमस्कार ನಮಸ್ಕಾರ were all produced using this tool!
Adding widgets
When adding widgets ensure that you put only the essential ones like "About You", "Feed", "Archive", "Labels", "Email-Subscription" etc besides display of your Pagerank and Alexa Rank perhaps. Unnecessary widgets could affect the page loading time and scare the visitors away! Blogger provides a very convenient tool for adding a lot of widgets. Clik the layout button and goto "Add and Arrange Page elements" page and clik on "Add a Gadget". See pictures below:
Choose HTML/Java Script from the gadget popup and paste the code for your gadget.
To change the "Fonts", "Color", "Size" etc of the content, clik on "layout" in editor and choose the "fonts and Colors" Tab which will open a window with options to make all the changes.
Part-3 Promoting your Blog
In the initial phase of your Blogging do not feel dis-heartened by the lack of visitors or Traffic to your Blog. There are so many of them that it takes lot of efforts to woo the audience to your Blog and greater efforts to retain them! Please visit other Blogs relating to your interest and read the posts sincerely and give your considered views on them as comments with a backlink to your Blog. A well drafted comment will surely attract the author to visit your blog as a reciprocal gesture. Apart from the Author, even other readers who are impressed by your analysis will start visiting your Blog to see your posts. Do list your Blog in "Yahoo", "Google", "MSN", "AlltheWeb", "AltaVista" etc which are popular search engines. Reasonable backlinks to your Blog will get a good Pagerank for your Blog.
Submit your Blog to "Webmaster - Tools" Google, "Alexa" etc to get the advantage of receiving Vital statistics about visitors to your Blog, their Location, type of browser, pages viewed etc etc. Google, Yahoo and MSN normally give you a code and request you to put them in your Meta Tags Area for their verification and authentication of your ownership of the domain. Ex:
Google Verification code
STOP PRESS!
Blogger has introduced a great feature in the form of "Designer Templates Design" in the layout option from where you can choose various designs of templates, layouts, size, width etc., It is amazing, Folks! Hold on before you rush to see it. It will not show up in your existing Blogger Dash Board yet as it is in draft mode. To use it follow this guideline. go to http://draft.blogger.com and log into your blogger. You will find a message "Choose to make this your default dashboard" with a radio button. tick the radio button and you are done!!
Exhaustive info on this is posted by Sri.Karthikeyan in his "Technoalley" Blog at this url:
http://technoalley.blogspot.com/2010/03/blogger-template-designer-new-feature.html
http://www.cssdrive.com/index.php/main/csscompressor/ as recommended by my fellow blogger Shri.Karthikeyan and my loading time is between 0.11 to 0.17 seconds which is quite good. For guidance on compression please go to this url: http://technoalley.blogspot.com/2009/12/reduce-loading-time-of-your-blog.html
Meta Tags are the important portion of your blog template / source code because they make the Title, Description etc appear in a way that best describes your blog.
What are Meta Tags
These are information placed in the <head> area of your html code, mostly for instructions regarding how the information about your page has to be displayed. Title meta Tag however displays the title of the page. Examples of Meta Tags:
<head>
<title>My Musings</title>
<meta name="description" content="Saras blog, post and musings on human values, life, childhood, acrostic, poetry, short stories" />
<meta name="keywords" Content="Saras blog, post and musings on human values, life, childhood, acrostic, poetry, short stories" />
<meta name="auhor" content="Saras" />
</head>
While Title Tag displays your Title on the screen, the other tags are for instructions for the browser to display information on a search being made about the webpage. Ensure that your description gives full information about your webpage to the viewers upon a search made. Please be careful to see that you do not include any "prohibited words" like "Marijuana", "viagra", "porn" etc which are looked upon with askance by many search engines and your page will be ignored.
HTML Primer
HTML or Hypertext Markup Language is a simple way of writing your content to be read by a Browser and displayed on the computer screen through Internet. The syntax is so very simple and user friendly that even a school kid can master it. Example of a Basic HTML file:
<html>
<head>
<title>
</title>
<meta />
<meta />
<meta />
..............
</head>
<body>
</body>
</html>
The above codes are called "Tags" and are used to instruct the browser what to do with the content included between them. In order for the Browser to know that it is a HTML file it starts with the Tag <html> at the beginning. Tags are always enclosed between "<" and ">" for the browser to understand. Each Tag begins with "<>" and ends with "</>" containing some content in between. Note how the "html", "head", "title" and "body" Tags begin and end. You begin to add content now as follows:
<html>
<head>
<title>My Musings</title>
<meta name="description" content=",,,,,,,,, ......., ......" />
<meta name="keywords" content=",,,,,,,,, ......., ....." />
<meta name="author" content="your name" />HTML Primer
HTML or Hypertext Markup Language is a simple way of writing your content to be read by a Browser and displayed on the computer screen through Internet. The syntax is so very simple and user friendly that even a school kid can master it. Example of a Basic HTML file:
<html>
<head>
<title>
</title>
<meta />
<meta />
<meta />
..............
</head>
<body>
</body>
</html>
The above codes are called "Tags" and are used to instruct the browser what to do with the content included between them. In order for the Browser to know that it is a HTML file it starts with the Tag <html> at the beginning. Tags are always enclosed between "<" and ">" for the browser to understand. Each Tag begins with "<>" and ends with "</>" containing some content in between. Note how the "html", "head", "title" and "body" Tags begin and end. You begin to add content now as follows:
<html>
<head>
<title>My Musings</title>
<meta name="description" content=",,,,,,,,, ......., ......" />
<meta name="keywords" content=",,,,,,,,, ......., ....." />
</head>
<body>This is my First HTML file!</body>
</html>
Save the above into a file called "my file.html". The file extension "html" or "htm" is very important because it tells the browser that it is a HTML file. Clik it to run in your browser! This is just a simple HTML file and you need to learn more codes for making it robust and add more types of content like Pictures, Tables, Sub-Routines etc.
Posting articles in your blog should be done with care. Instead of writing long and tortuous content continuously split them into neat paragraphs and always format them by using html "justify" format so that it looks neat. You can do this by choosing the html option in your posting tool (I am talking about Blogspot domains) where all the html codes can be used and check the output in "compose" mode before publishing the same. You can also use the Justify button in compose tab to do this formatting.
It would be a good habit to use online dictionary to run spell check on all your articles before publishing them. The readers love well written articles with a good command over the language. Incidentally Blogger tools provide you with an opportunity to write in various languages, like Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil by just using the drop down button for languages. For example: வணக்கம் नमस्कार ನಮಸ್ಕಾರ were all produced using this tool!
Adding widgets
When adding widgets ensure that you put only the essential ones like "About You", "Feed", "Archive", "Labels", "Email-Subscription" etc besides display of your Pagerank and Alexa Rank perhaps. Unnecessary widgets could affect the page loading time and scare the visitors away! Blogger provides a very convenient tool for adding a lot of widgets. Clik the layout button and goto "Add and Arrange Page elements" page and clik on "Add a Gadget". See pictures below:
Choose HTML/Java Script from the gadget popup and paste the code for your gadget.
To change the "Fonts", "Color", "Size" etc of the content, clik on "layout" in editor and choose the "fonts and Colors" Tab which will open a window with options to make all the changes.
Part-3 Promoting your Blog
In the initial phase of your Blogging do not feel dis-heartened by the lack of visitors or Traffic to your Blog. There are so many of them that it takes lot of efforts to woo the audience to your Blog and greater efforts to retain them! Please visit other Blogs relating to your interest and read the posts sincerely and give your considered views on them as comments with a backlink to your Blog. A well drafted comment will surely attract the author to visit your blog as a reciprocal gesture. Apart from the Author, even other readers who are impressed by your analysis will start visiting your Blog to see your posts. Do list your Blog in "Yahoo", "Google", "MSN", "AlltheWeb", "AltaVista" etc which are popular search engines. Reasonable backlinks to your Blog will get a good Pagerank for your Blog.
Google Verification code
<meta name="google-site-verification" content="LwS2kdSvejWNEJJR-63juUlmZPrbp_aqyKvhHlZrxOo" >
Once you register with webmaster tools you can get a lot of information about sites linking to you, pages indexed by search engine, details of subscriber to your feeds, crawler data of webbots from search engines etc.
You can organise your promotional activities based on these vital inputs for better chances of success.
Once you register with webmaster tools you can get a lot of information about sites linking to you, pages indexed by search engine, details of subscriber to your feeds, crawler data of webbots from search engines etc.
You can organise your promotional activities based on these vital inputs for better chances of success.
STOP PRESS!
Blogger has introduced a great feature in the form of "Designer Templates Design" in the layout option from where you can choose various designs of templates, layouts, size, width etc., It is amazing, Folks! Hold on before you rush to see it. It will not show up in your existing Blogger Dash Board yet as it is in draft mode. To use it follow this guideline. go to http://draft.blogger.com and log into your blogger. You will find a message "Choose to make this your default dashboard" with a radio button. tick the radio button and you are done!!
Exhaustive info on this is posted by Sri.Karthikeyan in his "Technoalley" Blog at this url:
http://technoalley.blogspot.com/2010/03/blogger-template-designer-new-feature.html
(to be contd....)
