Did you see it coming?

Assume you have come up with an excellent search algorithm which does better searches than Google, how do you compete with it? How do you acquire the market that has already been taken? How do you maintain the loyalty of your acquired customers so that you don’t loose out on the lucrative “internet advertising” space?

- Faced by Microsoft…

If you are a leader in a printing business and you slowly start realizing that people rarely print their digital photographs unlike earlier days, what would you do? People are happier uploading, sharing the snaps and using networking sites…
How do you continue to sell your product? What’s your plan for the future?

- Faced by HP printing business…

You ignore that gas prices will never touch $200 per barrel. You continue to manufacture guzzlers and expect people to continue to buy them. Suddenly you realize you are losing market share. You realize that people are going for fuel efficient and economy cars. You start losing profits, forcing you to sell brands, forcing you concede the top spots to Japanese manufacturers, coz they foresaw it coming!!!. What do you do next? How do you do damage control?

- Faced by US Auto manufacturers…

So what about YOU?? Are YOU doing things that will make sure that you are not caught napping? Are YOU willing to go that extra mile so that you are ahead of the competition? Do YOU fear change or do YOU relish change? Do YOU want to react or act? Are YOU doing the right things? Are YOU?

- Faced by Tom, Dick & Harry, Rita, Sita & Geeta…:)

U wanna be a writer?

I recently read Shashi Tharoor's “The Elephant, the Tiger and the Cellphone” thanks to my jeeju (read BIL- Brother In Law)…This is definitely not a book review nor am i trying to advocate the book…On the contrary, more than his style of writing and the book itself, I was amazed by the range of articles that someone could write…Yes, its an unusual kind of book which has a collection of columns that he had written on diverse topics based on India. Of-course when you write anything about India it naturally becomes diverse…One of his famous line "anything you can say about India, the opposite is also true"…

Writing books may require talent, loads of research and maybe sometimes wild imagination, and churning out columns may seem a minor or I should say easier cousin in comparison but it is nevertheless a demanding art form. It’s not easy to write in limited words on a subject and yet delight and provoke readers not only with the command over the subject but also with the flair for the lucidity of the language.

So what does it take to be a good writer…You should either have very good imagination (like J.K Rowling and some of the bloggers who write very imaginative and hilarious articles..:)) or you should have done some good amount of traveling, gain experience, and should have done some thorough research to write stuff, and be proud of it too… A combination of both the above characteristics would be deadly..:)

Now I was wondering if I have to write stuff that people would pay for reading than the only way I could achieve it is through travel, travel and more travel, soak in the experience to get enough material and then may be use my literary skills to write stuff that jantha would enjoy reading…:) This given the fact that my imagination is never my strong point…

So the question is firstly, do you wanna be a writer? And secondly, if you wanna write how would you go about achieving it??

Tagged!!!

I was forced into writing this, and then I thought why not?? All because of this guy who expected me to write..:)

1. Last movie you saw in a theater?

Theater?? What’s that?? :P I am still thinking…

2. What book are you reading

Games Indians play - Raghunathan, Losing my Virginity – Richard Brason.

3. Favorite board game?

“Chaukabara”..hehe Scrabble, Chess, Carrom etc.

4. Favorite magazine?

Blogs man…no other substitute for free entertainment and “knowledge”..:D

5. Favorite smells?
Ha….that smell which I cant disclose..:)

6. Favorite sounds?

The list is long, but I would love to hear myself playing the guitar again..:(

7. Worst feeling in the world?

Not getting what you want inspite of ALL YOUR efforts!! Who cares a Damm, I don’t give up that easily..Lets see who wins in the end...

8. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?

Let me sleep for 5 more min..!!!

9. Favorite fast food place?

My home…:)

10. Future child’s name?
Hmmmmm…Hmmmmm…No its not “Hmmmmm” :P

11. Finish this statement. “If I had lot of money I’d….?”
I would buy a Ferrari. Start my own company. Gobble up companies. Buy an island. Go around the world. Do philanthropy and do more than talk about how the world has to be improved to make it a better place to live..:)

12. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?

I sleep alone!!

13. Storms - cool or scary?

Cool..

14. Favorite drink?

Alcoholic or Non-Alcoholic?? :)

15. Finish this statement, “If I had the time I would….”?

Go hitchhiking around the world…

16. Do you eat the stems on broccoli?

Again, what’s broccoli? ;).

17. If you could dye your hair any color, what would be your choice?

Blond..:)

18. Name all the different cities/towns you’ve lived in?

Wonderland, Dreamland, Garland...I think I should stop here..

19. Favorite sports to watch?

Football, F1, Badminton etc…

20. One nice thing about the person who sent this to you?

Karthik – Hmmmmmm It will take me years to answer this.. :).

21. What’s under your bed?

It’s a mini library out there…Sometimes some monsters also hide there whom I have to duel with..

22. Would you like to be born as yourself again?

Definitely, all over again with some changes in the script though..:)

23. Morning person, or night owl?

Depending on the “motivation”, I can be what I want..

24. Over easy, or sunny side up?

Is there a choice as none of the above?

25. Favorite place to relax?

Anywhere with friend around..:).

26. Favorite pie?

yuppie..:)

27. Favorite ice cream flavor?

Scotch-ButterScotch…:)

28. Of all the people you tagged this to, who’s most likely to respond first?

I don’t want to trouble anyone like someone did to me..hehe..Unless of course this too comes with those threats which are part and parcel of those dreaded FWDs, in which we are forced to FWD it to 10 others within the next 10 min…otherwise we will burn in hell until eternity…:)
Anyway let me take the risk...
People who read this can Tag themselves if interested..:))

A Day that was - A roller coaster ride…

What a day it has been…:(
Had to work from home for reasons not in my control…
More work came in as e-mails, first thing in the morning…
More crashes reported…
Enough time spent pondering…
Slept for sometime in the afternoon…
Felt really really down in the evening…
Depths I had never explored before…
I see what I have to do staring on my desk…
For the first time ever, there is no motivation to go near it…
Went for my usual 4 km jog…
Other than the calories burnt nothing much was achieved…
Came back, My desk and everything around it was mocking at me…
Even after all this time the task was unfinished…
It was something that I always WANTED to do…
But……..hmmm…Why is the But then???
Silently started conquering…
Surprisingly sleep eluded me…
Watched the last half an hr of ManU vs Barcelona at 2.30 AM…
Win dodges either of them…
Wrote this post at 3.30 AM, still not satisfied…
Long way to go…
AND GO I WILL…

Revived passion!!!

I was in my fourth year of engineering when my cousin decided to bestow his bike to me for “safekeeping”… He was traveling for a year and wanted someone to ‘take care’ of his bike…It was a Bullet and how could I have refused? :)

What a bike!!! If you want the real experience of riding a bike, then this ONE you should never miss!!!

It was an experience that I would never forget. I still remember how many of my friends used to come to the college parking-lot to watch me ride this 350cc behemoth. You just have to ride this once and you will see why people go gaga over it. People spend a fortune to have one of these machines and it’s worth every penny.

Thanks to my friends who arranged for a bike ride to Nandi hills, I got an opportunity to ride this bike again. I didn’t want to miss this opportunity even though, it’s been more than 3 years since I had driven a two wheeler. My cousin readily agreed to give the bike again.

I have no words to describe the experience that you would go through…Especially when you are riding long distances, there can be no better bike…It was one hell of a great ride all the way, reigniting the lost love…The company of my friends made it even more memorable…

What’s Cooking??

Tell me what do you want to do in life?? I meant professionally…:) Are you happy with what you are doing? If you are not then it’s never too late to change…Is it a case of simply getting bored with what you are currently doing or is there really something that you want to do in life?? If it’s the former then you will pretty soon get bored with the next one too…So know what you want from life and work towards it…

Being in a product company in India and that too in the networking field its very difficult for someone to get to see the combination of development of a product and actually selling it to a customer from the same location in your lifetime of the project..:)

If being part of the development of a new product gives you a kick, just imagine how it might be actually selling these products…I am lucky to be part of a company which does a lot of sales and marketing…When I interact with a group of sales and marketing folks I see a different kind of energy level…It’s a great feeling just to be amidst these guys with all the tensions, temptations and killing competition from within and from the competitors. The stakes involved are very high, everyone trying to exceed their targets, please their managers and inturn keep the shareholders happy every quarter with outstanding performances quarter on quarter beating your own previous record…Wooowaahh!!! Imagine the adrenaline flow…

Every time I walk past my floor, I see these guys always running around the floor talking through their handsfree. Half the people don’t use their seats and the other half will be preparing some kind of presentation…I have hardly seen anyone without an handsfree and believe me they use it to the maximum. I mean they don’t even spare the loo…Its an absolute contrast when I compare this team with the rest of the folks on the floor.

Do you think you have it in you to be part of such a team? Do you dream of being part ofsomething that is unique, dynamic and constantly on the move? Do you have it in you to be innovative almost as a norm rather than as an exception? Do you want to be “There”???
Imagine the expectations, the returns, the achievements, the tension… If your answer is Wooowaahh!!!
Then you know your next move…..

My Love

There I was in the middle of the night,
Holding her hand, lost in her alluring sight.
The stars above, rain below, the amazing spectacle fades,
When her beauty strikes like spades.

The purity of her voice gives her the fame,
Her agility and grace puts any model to shame.
I had dreamed of her, fantasized her,
The time I set sight on her, loved her.

She stands tall amidst most,
Going on long drives titillate me utmost.
One day I will say she is mine,
And the world will witness how we get along, very fine…




PS: Dedicated to my would-be Red “Ferrari” car..;)

A special message

A special message....Very aptly sent on the given day...
Thanks to you...

Misc...

1) Do you always have a plan B?? If you do then don’t you think you will never give your 100% to plan A??
2) Have you wondered ever, “What’s next??”
3) Where do you see yourself five years from now??
Oops, now where did that come from!!!
4) When you close your eyes and try to sleep, what do you think??
(we all know what happens after we sleep…Absolute bliss!!..:))
5) When was the last time you played your favorite sport - badminton, TT…hmmm…what’s that? :)
6) When was the last time you had a vacation or traveled with your friends??
Is reciprocation the necessary and sufficient bond in a relationship??
7) Soooo…Did you become the “cat” that you wanted to be in the “rat race”?
8) Now that I am writing this post at this hour…when was the last time you slept early??
9) Hmmm…how can this be possible?? Am I already running out of questions..:)


PS: This was just a way to get back to prose..Though I had to prove a point to myself regarding my poetry(My previous take on prose & poetry!!) ..;-)

Chase Your Dreams

Sometimes our dreams brew our world
Othertimes the world spawn our dreams
Its the former that we always crave for
Making both match is what one strives for

Conviction and Courage, Passion and perseverance
You are born with some, others you hone,
The will to win is all that it takes,
Separating us from the rest of the souls

Lets take action, Lets take measures
Every small step leading us to our treasures
Lets chase our dreams, living life to its fullest
Coz its this lifetime and this one alone is all we will get…