Generally, I seem to have a low level of faith in fellow human beings…And once in a while there comes an example which acts as an antidote for this.



Kiva is one such example. I came across this site, www.kiva.org through a blog. Kiva is a new dimension in Microfinancing and an amazing one. The thing i like the most is, it is not about charity but about dignity…



Eventhough i liked it a lot,initially, i was slightly disappointed that there were no entrepreneurs from India. Still, an opportunity to help a fellow human being was too good to be passed…



So, during this festival season, it would be great if one can give a consideration in diverting some of the expenditure/firecrackers money towards this great cause. After all, at the end of the day, it can also make us feel immensely proud to be helpful :)



Here is the blog written by the CEO of Kiva. It seems to give an interesting insight into the happenings in Kiva.



Also, I think this site needs quite a few improvements in engaging the Lenders wholly and emotionally.

This post from a fellow blogger captures quite a few of the points to be improved.



And this is what Premal Shah - Kiva President had to say about the issue of Kiva in India.



“This is Premal — I serve as Kiva’s President. I wanted to provide an update on Kiva entering India. Kiva is required to apply for approval from the Reserve Bank of India before it can work in India. We are in the process of re-submitting an application with the help of a local field partner and their bank, HDFC. It is my hope that this application process can conclude by the end of the year. Many Indian microfinance institutions have contacted Kiva and together, we are just waiting for official government approval. Keep your fingers crossed!!”



Note: Over the past 1 week, the site is generally down for up gradation during afternoon hours of IST.

well the title says,”Nilaavum vasapadum” in Tamil :) (”Nila” means moon, “Nilaavum” means “Moon as well”)



It roughly means, “Even Moon is within the reach”… (meaning of “vasapadum” doesn’t seem to be translated correctly….if any of you get the perfect translation, please let me know)



I was lucky to watch the live telecast in DD today morning…it was quite a moment!



The best part was the speech given by the Scientists after the launch…They were happy and proud to have done a perfect job for the country. Here is the video of the same.







Hope, the pending 2 steps of this launch,(move to Lunar Trajectory and dropping of the probe on the Moon) succeeds in the coming days…

Here is a bbc link which explains the launcher and path in detail…



On this day, one can only hope that our politicians take a leaf out of ISRO’s book of dedication,mission,vision and do atleast 50% of their job perfectly!



btw, as per Wiki, Annual Budget of NASA is $17.3billion for 2008, European Space Agency is $4.26billion for 2007, Japan Aerospace exploration agency is $2.15billion for 2005, Russian Federation Space Agency is $2.215billion



And Annual budget of ISRO is $940 million for 2008!

“Out of sight, out of mind” is so true…This also confirms that few friendships go into a coma stage, which is different from death, as in death, there is nothing left!!



Often, we take few friendships for granted that we end up not communicating for a while…And this always leaves a huge gap thus making it really difficult to communicate later…



Almost all relationships in this world have a selfish motive behind it…It’s just that we tend to overlook this motive in few relationships.



There will always be inequality in this society in one form or other…Maybe, this helps the people to segregate the million population and come up with smaller groups for their own better understanding…



When one falls in love rationally, is it still love or an act of convenience?



Why do people have children? Is evolution so important for mankind?



Do children give the much needed stability for an unstable marriage that it forces even the ever quarreling couple to stay married?



Or is it the society which forces them?



Why is it the society, an indirect factor taken into consideration for many decisions taken in an individual’s life by an individual? Is it because we all are social animals?!



It is very easy to be a villain than a hero.



What is the purpose of our life? Studying, earning, getting married, increase country’s population by 2 and forcing those 2 to follow our footsteps of studying till marriage!!



Many times, it’s just better not to think and have a herd mentality!



Not many are real in this cloud(internet)…it’s often the projection of one the way one wants…and this want might not be same as the reality!!



(A post written in just 5mins!!!)

The distance from my place to office is around 6kms and the roads are actually quite well maintained…ie, if there was a damaged portion of road due to rain, it can almost be guaranteed that the repair will be done within 2-3 days for major damages and a week for all the minor ones. This also implies that the road is quite heavily used by CM and other politicians.(so the damages get repaired soon)



Interestingly, this same distance shows a different perspective of India for me, depending on my travel mode.



When i really walk the complete path, i get to see the pavement dwellers at few places, spitting and paan marks along the pavements, complete absence of pavement for few distance and also feel the stenching smell along the road. One also faces the leering stares of few people and moments of fear as whether somebody would follow me and rob me. Well, i also get to see the “Rado” showroom, “Tommy Hilfiger” showroom, upcoming TGI Fridays restaurtant and quite a few posh shops!



When one travels by 2 wheeler, the view is different. One doesn’t really see many of the above things. There are only annoying moments of people trying to cross the road horizontally, cyclists trying out stunts, cab wallas driving rashly, slow maneuver of autowallas near bus stops and ofcourse the belching smoke from the buses.



When one travels by 4 wheeler, the view is still more different. Many times, there is only the annoyance of 2 wheelers.



When one travels by a chauffeur driven 4 wheeler with a tinted glass, the view is altogether different. Eventhough, one sees the commotion of traffic, one is relatively at peace. And i feel that there is not a huge difference as whether one’s in India or in US. (ofcourse, chauffeur makes a difference and there might be lot of greenery and cleaner air:))



But the point is, the same path looks so different based on one’s travel mode.



Now, this is a perspective from an Indian Road in an urban area. How many more different shades are there when semi urban and rural areas are taken into consideration?



Often (or is it always?), the voices one hears or the scenes one sees while walking on Indian roads is never projected and overlooked…These are considered as one of the worst case scenarios.



And the booker prize winner of 2008,”The White Tiger” is about a person from the worst case scenario in India. I was reluctant to even start reading the book with a predefined notion that the book is going to be one of the many scenarios in India and actually India is not all that bad.



But the thing is, whatever mentioned in that book is most probably true…it’s just that different people face different levels of that truth in life and hence many might not even be able to correlate with quite a lot in that book.



And, it really takes lot of guts, to actually walk the roads of India. One has to be completely oblivious of the other humans in the road and pursue with a single intent of reaching a place. And the book portrays an extreme case in this as well.



All in all, it is a book worth reading…I would highly recommend for a weekend reading.



btw, eventhough, this book is considered as a satirical novel, i didn’t find it like that though.

I once had a roommate who was a great fan of Tom&Jerry show. Every Sunday, she used to watch Cartoon Network for the “Tom&Jerry show”.



And i had 2 problems because of that :)



1. Most of the alternate Sunday afternoons (around 4pm) was the time to watch F1.

2. Thanks to my lack of humor sense or different humor style, i really couldn’t appreciate Tom&Jerry show or to put it frankly, i didn’t find it funny…i thought of it as an oppression of Tom, the Cat by the Jerry, the Mouse. (Not sure why this line of thinking though!)



First problem was a minor one..because, i tend to miss only the pre race events.

But the second problem was a huge concern…for me,in particular.



In general, when people find something funny, they tend to share it and expect the other fellows also to appreciate the same…My friend was no different. And unfortunately, i used to act out my role quite well.



Actually, i could’ve confessed i don’t enjoy Tom&Jerry… But didn’t. Because, one had a self doubt that maybe one completely lacked a real sense of humor. When everybody else finds Tom&Jerry show funny, the odd man out becomes an outcast rather than the show.

Btw, i am yet to meet somebody who doesn’t like Tom&Jerry show! (maybe, everybody is hiding like me :))



And i seem to like “Popeye show” a bit…Maybe, because my brother used to laugh so much for this program that the fellows around him tend to laugh looking at him :-D



Anyway, of late, i have discovered that i am able to appreciate Wit and Satirical humor :)

This revelation came mainly after reading the book “A case of exploding mangoes”… I actually laughed a lot on reading quite a few pages.

Infact sometimes,the laughter was followed by a deep regret for actually laughing at it.



One example for this…When Marriott Hotel was bombed in Islamabad, i was online trying to find out the details. It was a real shock to see the whole hotel burning. Somehow, i ended up in Youtube where the videos were uploaded.

It was really grim and i happened to read few comments. One guy had posted a comment which goes like this, ” I had bookings in Marriott. And my room is on fire.” Amidst the shock, this comment made me laugh. And even before the laughter stopped, a deep regret followed as how could i laugh amidst such a grim situation!



Now, on searching in google about Humor style, found this interesting and incomplete article from Webmd.

But i am not able to correlate myself with a single Humor style in the article though, even when i fully agree with this quip :)

“Fishing is boring, unless you catch an actual fish, and then it is disgusting.”



Maybe it’s time to read some more satirical novels and see whether my conclusion is true…



In Orkut, humor mentioned is “clever/quick witted, friendly” which was selected only based on the fact how nice it sounds, without any real thinking.

(this is yet another proof how moronic, Orkut profiles are ;))

I was filling up a form at my desk.



My colleague cum friend came to my desk. She enquired about the form. I replied that it was for Voter ID Card. Then i asked her whether she had a Voter ID Card. She replied,”I don’t believe in this voting and stuff. This is all junk”.



Immediately, i remembered our heated argument about Hindi Language. It was the same person who said that as an Indian one should know the National Language of India. And now as an Indian, she didn’t believe in Voting! I was tempted to question her with this comparison. Didn’t ask her so bluntly because i was sure it would be quite hurtful. Later during lunch,i asked her whether she had casted her vote anytime. And the answer was No. I then told her that even i couldn’t vote last time without Voter ID Card.



Frankly, i had quite a respect for her after she argued so much for National Language (it even prompted me to think about Learning Hindi from a Patriotic perspective :)). And now her reply about Voting did cast a doubt! Ok, it might be wrong on my part to quickly jump to a conclusion. But couldn’t help it!!



Anyway, i am prompted to write this after seeing a celebrity video about “(No) Vote” in US elections in a blog…



Even in India, TataTea has been supporting a similar campaign - Jaago Re! One Billion Votes

I am not sure to what extent this will motivate our fellows to cast their vote. Infact the number of registered users is also only in 5 digits in the site.



The ads are quite inspirational…but it’s not shown in all channels and also it is still not shown in regional languages in regional channels.(or is it shown and i haven’t seen?)



Below are the ads,

A Guy interviews the Politician,







My favourite- To awaken the non sleeping crowd :)







Swarna/ charlie|thotti, this Link, NRI Voting Rights is for you…



hmm…two years ago, i didn’t know that one day Swarna will come under NRI category :)

Hope the inevitable doesn’t happen!

I really hate coming back from hometown…but then, i am sure i’ll hate more if i stay there for more than 15 days at a shot. Not because of any particular reason, but not having a work life for a longer period is quite depressing!



So, everytime when i need to say goodbye, that too after reaching Railway station or Airport, i feel a sense of loneliness, sadness, grief and despair…at the worst of times, it also includes misty eyes! Yesterday was no different except the absence of misty eyes… Unfortunately, the other participants in this incident were all too aware of this and were in quite a hurry to leave the place!!



Anyway, i went into the airport, checked in, passed the security check and sat with a 700 page book. I have a strange habit of mocking(mentally,ofcourse) a few insane behaviors enacted by fellow human beings in the poshness of Airport. And one of the interesting personalities whom i saw was an ultra posh lady, in a sleek tops and a short capris, with a D&G engraved bag and i wondered at the probability of the fakeness of the bag.



Got into the flight and the lady with D&G bag was sitting on the other side of the aisle in the same row as mine. As per my findings till date, the probability of a person, whom you noticed in the airport waiting area, sitting in the same row as yours is quite less and sitting next to you is quite nearly zero.(well, till date, only once i wished for the later and as usual it didn’t happen;))



This lady had a 2-3 year old kid and her spouse was seated on the other side.

I really appreciated her(mentally ofcourse) for maintaining herself so well, even with a kid.



Flight started rumbling and was getting ready for a take off.

And this lady started to pray and continued for the next 5 mins.



Well,nothing wrong in that..it was quite unexpected by me.



This made me wonder maybe even i should pray for a safe flight journey, after all it was a lowcost airline(quite a misnomer nowadays though) that too venturing out on an adventure at night…

And this made me realize that i still haven’t taken the Term Insurance to cover the homeloan!



And i ended up praying god to save me for this one flight journey so that i’ll make sure to have the homeloan covered before the next flight journey!!



Now, i hope nobody pounces on me or gets an assumption that no one will miss me on my departure…it’s just that i don’t want anybody to be burdened on my departure ;)

Of all the things Gandhi has done to this country, i want to thank him the most for his birthday ;):) that too when it falls on a weekday ;)



Anyway,nowadays i wish he were born again in India…Ofcourse, he seemed to have done too many good things to deserve Moksha ;)

Or maybe, is it better that he’s not here?



Or maybe, if he had born in US and if he had prevented a hegemonical US, i wonder how the world would’ve been?! I don’t know what was his thoughts on Capitalism! Well, even the thought of Gandhi being born again anywhere other than India doesn’t sound right though!!



btw, i am not a Gandhian…because, first one should know about Gandhian thoughts for that! Although, nowadays, i do wonder that maybe Violence can never really bring any change, it can only transform the existing problem into a different one… maybe thatswhy he resorted towards Non-violence!

Also i do believe in his thoughts of an individual being self sufficient,fasting (for a selfish cause ;)) and a spartan lifestyle (latest inspiration due to credit crunch ;))



And this is a very thoughtful line from him, although kind of inspired from Jesus…

“An eye for an eye and the whole world goes blind”



BTW, here is an innovative ad from Telecom Italia Gandhi,







The last few lines are “How would be the world now, if he could have communicate in this way? Telecom Italia. Communication is life.”



Concept is great…but the background music could’ve been better!



And here is the full excerpt of that Speech…It isn’t too impressive…

Still, maybe one can read it once, atleast for the holiday sake ;)



Also, got to know the below ad through a blog,

http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/morgenavisen_jyllandsposten_ghandi?size=_original



I didn’t find the ad impressive.

Because the ad doesn’t fit the tagline,”Life is easier, if you don’t speakup”.

If Gandhi was barbecuing and having Beer , he wouldn’t be dressed like that. Also, there is no need to resort to the fact that people won’t recognize him in anything other than Dhoti…his spectacles are enough…



From that perspective, i fully agree with the below comment mentioned in the site,

“This ad would be a lot more subtle (and powerful) if it showed Gandhi walking the streets of London in winter in a suit.”

So, US house has rejected the Bailout!



Several reasons are being mentioned in CNBC ranging from Nancy Pelosi’s partial speech to distrust over Hank Paulson to election fears!



Dow is down by 564 points now and there is going to be a collapse in Dalalstreet tomorrow!! (Markets had shiver today :))

By now, if any internet user hasn’t heard of Zardari-Palin encounter, then he/she might ought not to be called internet user ! :) Also, TimesNow channel tried its level best by showing the footage on a scene by scene basis!!



But,i felt more bad after listening to the Lavish praise given by our PM to Mr.Bush.



Firstly, it was uncalled for. Secondly, it is totally untrue. And here is the wonderful satirical article written on this point in TOI - Singh song : Love in the time of crisis.



btw, here is one of the points from Mr.Bush’s reply,



”India is a great country with an incredibly bright future, and it’s in the US interest to have a good, strong strategic relationship with India,”



Eventhough it is already known to everyone, hearing it from the horse’s mouth is quite something!!



I wonder why BJP or Left has not protested over these remarks!