just for fun

Posting an article which I wrote after the successful WORLD NITCA MEET 2011, held at Cochin from Aug 12 to 14th.

I am not sure, how many from outside the NITCAA volunteers, can enjoy it... as many are based on events/incidents which took place during WNM

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Foreword:

Plz allow me to take freedom to jott down a few lines based on my experiences and observations during WNM.

I believe I have slightly crossed the border in a few cases, but NO SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS intended.

Plz feel free to scold me in case I have hurt you.

I just couldn't resist writing the following !!!!

Perhaps , Thallukollitharram aayirikkum

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> WNM Chairman studying for Kumbakarnan

After the successful megashow WNM chairman Mr Joseph Philip has been studying for becoming the next Kumbakarnon in marathon sleeping . Sources say that he is set to break the world record of continous sleeping and that is the reason he is not available in emails/telephones or SMS. Mrs Bava Philip , wife of Philip , however has given full support to him saying that every year in August he takes the leadership of a Magnum Opus, makes it successful and goes to bed for 72 hours. She says this has been his style for the last few years. Mrs. Bava Philip is anxious to know the project which Mr Philip is going to undertake in 2012 August.

> Santiago Martin and lottery owners are praying to God that Jakes( Mr Jayashankar) should not start a lottery company, seeing his energy and successful planning in conducting gift distributions.

> No hats available for sale in Ernakulam as 1968 batch has purchased them in bulk. Heard some of them purchased 365 hats each !!! These YOUNG ones were never seen without hats on first day of WNM.

> Tough race amongst CUSAT MTech students to become volunteers for the next NITCAA event. Apart from food and drinks, they also get HIGHER sessional marks. But what is heard in Cusat campus is that the reason for this overwhelming rush to become NITCAA volunteers is nothing mentioned above..... but that the volunteers get rid of the boring lectures and lab classes of their REC teacher in the week immediately after any NITCAA Event.

> PWD staff on strike !!! PWD staff have complained against their executive engineer that their boss should no more be involved with registration committee activities of any organisation in future.

> Rimmy Tomy learning "Hridayasarasile...". Jealous with the applause received by Dr Suresh Manimala, Rimy has started learning old songs. Last heard she will be performing only old songs in future.

> Every chapter representatives asking Bavasons Constructions to start a branch office in their cities so that they can make the executive director of Bavasons as their chapter president. But Fazalika is hell bent on continuing in NITCAA Cochin presidentship till NITCAA 2020 vision is achieved in 2020. Do we need elections in AGMs of cochin chapter for next 10 years ????

> Satyam Computers offered the CFO post to Mr Mohanaprasad

Hearing about his financial discipline and stringent but correct financial approach in handling funds in WNM, Mr Mohanaprasad has been offered a post in Satyam to turn around their badname in corporate world. Mr Prasad says he has greater roles to play and is leaving to US in September for talks with Obama to turnaround Uncle Sam and his country.

> Excise minister Mr K Babu allots BAR license to Sri Laligro.

Inspite of the stringent new Liquor policy which does not allow the alottment of new bar licenses, Sri Laligro has been given this license taking into consideration is LOOOONG standing service and experience in handling the liquor counter of a EVER-thirsty crowd of engineersfor the last few years.

> Manorama finds their next Marketing Head.

After a rigorous and tiring search for a Talented Marketing Chief across the globe, the Monarama group were finding it hard to get a marketing director for their publications. Their search has finally succeeded when they found their choice in a Marketing wizard currently idling his time as an engineer in Lakeshore hospital. Although, manorama group didnot reveal the identity of their new marketing chief, inside sources say that the new incumbent is someone named Paulose Mathew who brought in the most number of sponsorship to a magazine published by his almamater alumni group.

> KS Prasad says "No More Skits" in future !!!

> Ad agency at war with Prestige group

All the ad agencies in Ernakulam have petitioned against the real estate major - Prestige Group. They say that the company's CEO was unduly and unrealistically pressurizing them by releasing artworks at short notice and asking them to put BIG SIZE hoardings in 1 hour. Mr Thankachan Thomas, the CEO of the company, however says that such allegations from Ad agencies are baseless and that he had given 2 hours to them.

>WNM Souvenir listed in Limca book of records

WNM souvenir has been listed in the Limca book of records.. No not for its EXCELLENT layout, content value, editorship and publishment on time. But Limca says that this is the only magazine in the whole world without an EDITOR's Message. In a world where everyone cravesfor media attention, publicity and stage presence, this EDITOR who likes to be called the "Chairman of Paper and Ink" is being appreciatedfor his perfection, task execution and project management skills. Editor Mr Thomas Chacko is happy that, although he had to run around everyone(especially the local chapter boys) to collect photos and messages/articles, everyone across the globe is accepting his efforts and output.

> Malayil Travels Inaugurated in Mulathuruthy, Cochin

Malayail Builders has diversified by entering into the travel and tourism industry with their new venture Malayil Travels. Mrs Neena Mohandas the CEO of the new venture told yours truly that the inspiration for their new venture was from their experience in successfully handling the travel desks of NITCAA and BAI( Builders Association of India).

> Blackberry Felicitates Fazalikka

Blackberry company has presented their BEST CUSTOMER AWARD to Mr Fazal Ali for having continously used their phone in the last 10 days without taking any break. Sources say that Mr Fazal's phone was continously engaged during the entire 10 days. Although everyone believed that Mr Fazal was making calls related to WNM, it was his son Mr Rizwan who revealed that Mr Fazal was talking to his wife during these times.

> NITC faculty rejects Medical leave of Shanas

The medical leave submitted by WNM volunteer Shanas for granting leave during Aug 1st to Aug 12th was rejected. Sources say the faculty saw him fooling around in Cochin with his college seniors during his medical leave period in the name of some World Meet.

> Ornithology Musuem started in Cochin Shipyard

Having tired of the continous pestering by their General Manager Mr Sudhakaran KK, the Cochin Shipyard has decided to start a museumfor displaying wonderfully shot photos and videos of birds. This GM who is always seen with a SLR camera is believed to be born with camera in hand during birth.

> Dr Kalam appoints new in-charge for his dream project of VISION 2020

Dr Kalam, impressed with the PPT presentation of his long time friend and ex-colleague's powerful presentation on VISION 2020 for NITCAA has appointed Mr Shilen in his personal taskforce. Mr Shilen is understood to have taken up the responsibility of Presenting Vision 2020 forEngineers in India

> Dubai King was about to issue a FATWAH but stopped

Sources from middle east say that the Dubai King was angered over the acts of some NRIs dressed in UAE's national dress during WNM. Although there is nothing wrong in wearing the national dress of UAE, what agitated the KING was that all these NRIs were smelling VODKA even from 500m far. However at the behest of Lulu Group's Allrounder Mr Babu Varghese, Mr Yousuf Ali The Lulu Chief interfered and smoothened the matter

> Manmissing

After successfully and appreciably handling the guests and VIPs in WNM, the reception committee head Mr Gokul Varma has been reported missing in Cochin. Family sources say that he has gone to Mumbai to get Premium Scotches and Whiskies to CELEBRATE WNM's success ( on the meeting to be held at Gokulam Hotel on 22nd August)

at the request of Fazalika

> Kalamadalam awards for Chakiarkoothu declared

The Kerala Kalamandalam award for chakairkoothu for this year will go to Mr KC Paulose from Perumbavoor.

Hearty Congrats Philip Sir !!!

Very very happy day for me...

My mentor and guide , Philip sir ( Mr Joseph Philip) has led his team , Kumarakom Town Boat Club to victory in the nationally renowned Nehru Trophy Snakeboat Race(58th edition) held at Allepey today. He had led the Jawahar Thaayankari Chundan( name of the snakeboat) comprising of a team of 150 oarsmen.

I feel an extra-ordinary sense of happiness today, as I saw the race live in TV channels..

Wishing Philip sir, loads of such laurels in the coming years....

India Shining !!!

Although “India Shining” was the caption promoted by Late Sri Pramod Mahajan to bring his party (BJP) back to power in the 2004 general elections, i guess now is the time this caption fits aptly. Not for any political reasons.. but for the fact that India and Indians are remarkably doing great in the global arena these days. While posterboys like Abhinav Bindra,Ustad Zakeer Hussain, Resool Pookktty, AR R, etc have individually contributed to bring glory to the nation recently, the fact that India is one of the few nations in the world with a positive growth rate adds to the glitter. In fact, India enjoys the second position behind China, in the league of high growth rate countries. (Incidentally, the same ranking figures in the list of most populated countries.. this make me muse if population has a correlation with growth rate.... he he ). Indian IT leaders are increasingly being sought after to be appointed as the IT advisors to presidents and prime ministers of countries including the developed ones. In matters related to spirituality and holistic approaches, the world has already understood India’s prowess. Yoga , ayurveda etc have already become synonymous to peace and healthy way of life. Hence, Its apt to conclude that India has marked its presence in the global scene.... such that the world has started looking once again towards India for answers... I am sure this is only a begininning and very soon we will be enjoying the reverence and accolades we have been receiving centuries back....
Let us strive to make that happen....

Talk of the nation - Slumdog

Thanx to the continous persistence of my bro, I landed up in the balcony of Sridhar Cinemas to watch the much acclaimed Indian(?) movie …. Slumdog Millionare.

I must admit I had a lovely time enjoying the movie . The brilliance showcased by the film’s creators in its visual, audio and technical craft is indeed commendable. The movie maintained an optimum pace all along, thus ensuring the full attention of its audience, throughout its length. The director was brilliantly successful in displaying his skills in the art of filmcraft. Since I don’t intend to convert the crux of this blog into a canvas of flattery, I would rather sum up my appreciation to the technical crew by giving credits to the director, script writer, music director, the young cast and others. However, I would be insulting my conscience if I don’t  make special mention of AR Rahman who gave out yet another best in the form of the background score, to the extend that  it made me think, if Indian directors were ever successful in extracting music out of him for BGM. As is believed that talents cannot be hidden for long, I firmly believe that AR will get his due credits very soon from the global arena. Mimicking Kollywood, which is famous for giving sobriquets to film personalities, the international media has started showering praise on AR with the catchphrase ‘Mozart of Madras’. I am sure he will live upto his reputation.

But I have a strange feeling after watching the movie- Is there a single Indian in the movie other than the hero and heroine, who is portrayed positively leave alone characters with zero negatives. ( those of you, who are good at numbers would definitely wonder at this usage ‘zero negatives’, but then I am reminded of a friends dialogue to me – this is how new usages are created-Well I just wanted to convert ‘nil traces of bad character’. ) How else could you explain the exaggerated negativity in all characters ranging from the school master to the TV Host played by Anil Kapoor.  Sans the kids from the slum, I challenge the reader to point out  a character with a positive tint, in the film.

 It may be a coincidence (although, I find it difficult to believe so) that all movies portraying India as a nation of mere slums, brothels, imperialist colony etc are magnanimously appreciated by the Oscar jury and other better ones don’t find a place, even in nominations. Or is it that Oscar jury is blind at large to the tons of masterpieces from the rest of the world outside the US boundaries, for fear of… (well  I don’t precisely know fear about what, since the Yankees are ridiculed to be fearful of anything and everything ).

As the grand evening at the Oscar venue is nearing, I am sure there will be greater visibility of the movie in the media … Lets keep our fingers crossed till Feb22nd….

Time to expand the basic needs???

It was the house warming ceremony of one of my dear friends, yesterday...
He was bold enough to construct a house having a contemporary design dipped in striking colours. I had great respect for his boldness, considering the fact that these days , the aesthetic requirements of a majority in Kerala is the same.... beat the neighbours' house in looks and aesthetic appeal, even if it means tearing own pockets...
This guy had the guts to create an abode that suited his likes and he did not worry about the average appreciation levels of the society. I was happy for him. Happy coz I could feel the sense of pride and euphoria extra-ordinarily radiating from his face. It sure must be a great feeling to own a house, for I have seen this feeling in many faces during housewarming ceremonies. (Unfortunately in spite of designing 250+ houses, I still couldn’t enjoy the luxury of that pride till now. Hope that day comes along soon). I am reminded of the sentences in most of the vastu scriptures, where it is said that owning a shelter is one of the best blessings , a man can have in his lifetime. How true, it is..
All we work and toil is after all to meet the three basic needs(viz food, clothing and shelter ..if u missed the lesson in your primary classes). Though, these days most of us work not just to own these, but to increase the QUALITY of these needs.
This tempts me to think louder whether our basic needs are increasing? Perhaps, the so called ‘fast pace’ in modern life, can be attributed to man’s thirst to increase and improve the quality of his needs outside the basic need bracket.
I may not be totally wrong, if I identify a new set of needs which have emerged as ‘basic’ in the contemporary world.

1. gadgets(the i-pods, the i-phones, the laptops , etc). You are brutally counted as a primitive amongst the generation, if your celphone doesn’t claim 2MP camera, Bluetooth and MP3player and a host of other features. Lucky and wiser are you, if you are able to ignore such benchmarks and able to take judicious decisions based solely on your requirements.
2. Travel- Travelling in buses/autos can take you to your destination, but you have better gains if it is on your own sedan. Not just travel, but the class and type of travel mode that you select , i believe, has become a need(just like the difference between being clothed and being clad in a Tommy Hilfiger outfit)
3. Entertainments - taking a vacation at an exotic location, enjoying a movie at a multiplex, enjoying a glass of wine with frndz at the happening place in town, dining at a premier restaurant with family/relatives , having membership in the town’s social clubs.... the quality and frequency of all these entertainment options is decided chiefly by one thing.... money[ another major factor is time.. I know a handful who have money to enjoy these but sadly don’t have time(or they r disastrously failing to find time)]

May be, the list is incomplete. But isn’t it the right time to think of expanding the repertoire of basic needs.. You have the say.

Another historic blunder, Mr Prakash Karat???

It had been boiling in the pot for quite some time.
Yes, I am referring to the 123 agreement, the nuke deal, the IAEA, the UPA , the left front, the external support, the G8 summit and all related keywords that took the lion’s share of print space in the front pages of all the leading dailies in the country. Perhaps, more prominent was the coverage in the television channels in which over-energetic reporters were vehemently vying with one another to get the tele -bites of national political leaders about the current political developments and their possible repercussions.
The enthusiasts and observers of political India were keenly and deeply analysing the happenings and speculating on the various permutations and combinations likely to arise. But i guess, most of them were cunningly bowled out by the Samajwadi Party(SP) when SP (from nowhere in the scene) ,came to support the UPA. It must definitely have insulted the political intelligence of these observers and the common public. After all, SP was the forerunner in visibly displaying their bitter animosity towards the Congress and the UPA. The altercations between Mr Amar Singh (national spokesperson and front end of SP) and the Congress leaders are still ringing fresh in my ears . Now, I am better convinced of the cliché that ‘there are no permanent friends or foes in politics’ ( I was first reminded about this when Ms Jayalalithaa joined hands with Mr Subramanian Swamy after ending their decade-long war with words).
Being a person who is emotionally and politically concerned (motivated as well as crestfallen although the latter mood is often repeated these days) with the happenings in the political domain, I was all eyes and ears to the dramas and the role plays of the left and right leaders. It came as no surprise to me when I learnt today afternoon that the Left front has decided to withdraw its support to the UPA govt. The decision was declared by Sri Prakash Karat at a packed media conference, marking an end to political forecasts and 50 months- long UPA-left friendship. The whole episode was celebrated in a sensational manner by the media. (Of late, the media has become obsessive about sensationalism... be it a teenager’s murder, a godman’s mischief or a bollywood star’s jailterm, the electronic media seems to enjoy every bit of the action)
Although I am unqualified to comment on the merits and demerits of the nuke deal, I understand from the statements of our beloved leader, Dr Kalam and his fraternity of scientific experts, that this deal is very essential for the development of our country in the nuclear front.
So it pains me when a section of India’s political leadership refrains from acting positive, at a critical juncture of India’s progress towards attaining developed nation status. I hope I will not be mistaken when I attempt to unearth (any) possible ‘hidden motives’ of the communists in breaking relations with the govt., citing nuclear deal as the crux. Is it that the communists are forced and compelled to part ways with their coalition partners? Especially, with the Parliament general elections looming in the atmosphere, the communists cannot be seen smiling with the leaders of Congress and their allies, before their followers and voters. The fact that the main opponent of the communists in their strongholds ( viz Kerala, W. Bengal and Tripura) happens to be Congress should definitely be a compelling reason for Mr Prakash Karat and his colleagues to end the matrimony of political alliance with the Congress. I am of the firm belief that the communist leadership has strategically come out with a seemingly idiotic, but well rehearsed explanation, for snapping their ties with the UPA. Having ‘exhibited’ their ‘differences’ with the UPA, the left parties can now vigorously fight with the Congress and their allies in the states of Kerala, W. Bengal and Tripura and try to repeat their stupendous performance as in 2004 elections. But I believe the people of these states are not stupid enough to overlook the well crafted pre-poll strategies of Mr Karat and party.
What pacifies my intellect is the tradition followed by the Communists. Throughout history, they have consistently acted in a weird fashion during events/incidents, only to repent about their political stupidity and seek public apology at a later date. This was evident right from their non-participation in Quit India Movement in 1942, citing it as anti-national movement. They continued to exhibit their traits by supporting China in the India- china war of the sixties, opposing the LPG(Liberilsation, Privatisation and Globalistaion) initiated by Dr.Manmohan Singh in early nineties and by opposing the use of tractors in farmlands & computers in offices. It is a paradox that the CPI national secretary travels in a foreign car(Honda City) and more than half the youth of the country is directly or indirectly utilising the computers presently for breadwinning.
I wonder if the nonagenarian mentor of CPI(M), Mr Jyothi Basu,[incidentally he celebrates his 95th birthday today] will again have the ill-fate to speak out at a later date that the decision to withdraw the external support to UPA govt in July 2008 was a historic blunder(like he confessed earlier)...

PS: if at all, the reader identifies this blog as a political inclination against communism, it is only imaginary. these are the outbursts of a nuetral patriot.

Mentors r a blessing

What was Krishna 's role in Kurushetra war??? A mere chauffer? A companion?? A brother???

According to me, the role of Krishna in Mahabarath war was much greater than all these put together, and that is the role of a mentor for Arjuna. It was Krishna who motivated Arjuna to perform to the latter's best. (you see, lack of motivation was a problem even in the olden days. no wonder that the neo-generation management gurus look upon the scriptures for better HR tips n practices).

U might wonder why am i quoting the history(some say mahabarath is only a story and not history. well i don't intend to argue by agreeing or disagreeing upon that) out of blue, when the present itself has ample ingredients to trouble us. Quite valid a question indeed.

I was tempted to think about this scene in the epic, after i had some great moments with an accomplished leader today afternoon(incidentally, today happens to be a harthal in kerala ....for some trivial international issue ,of course. we keralites are always the forerunners when it comes to 'celebrating' harthals. we had harthals when saddam was executed, when israel bombed palestine n when karnataka didn giv water to TN. you see, how concerned we mallus are always. Even if we loose the ace level in literacy percentage, we will show all vigour to celebrate our state festival with great enthusiasm). Anyways, Since i didn want to spend my afternoon like an average mallu watching a movie(although, all channels were vying for TRP ratings by telecasting the best film in their kit) or taking a nap, i thought it wise to meet a guru of mine.

it turned out to be a very positive decision indeed...

very much a refreshing experience it was... i had a feeling of re-inventing my own self.

Well, in the wake of my experiences, i would seriously vouch for this phenomenon called mentoring. Its a brilliant(and time tested) recipe to receive priceless lessons in a capsule form. You have the advantage of receiving the best principles coupled with gameplans and how-to's from a person who has either experienced it first hand or observed it closely. Mentoring will always save you time and effort by nullifying the troubles required to re-invent the wheel once again. You just have to finetune the principles acquired from your mentor, into your context and there you are... you emerge as a wiser guy.

But please don't confuse being mentored and being advised. I believe, advice is something you recieve from every corner without asking for it...(something like mosquito bites in cochin) . Very often, the person adorning the advisor's role seldom introspects his merits to do the sacred act of advicing. Contrary to this, mentorship is usually received from people qualified to speak words about the topic in question. ( by qualification i am not referring to the ABCD degree.. I have not heard of Krishna being conferred a DLit or for that matter even attending school. So mentors are, basically, people who are very wise on a particular subject due to their experience or talents in scholastic, academic or practical domains)

I believe you have to be choosy when picking up a mentor. Don't run into a person who is famous(or infamous) for speaking about anything under sun. Be aware of what you want to be informed or briefed upon. This can range from anything under the sun to beyond the sun. (some examples include how to crack GRE/CAT, how to apply for a immigration visa, how to start a company, how to get entry into Renji cup or any such sundries). Once you have the topic, identify and locate the right guy. Get his appointment and open up to him. Get his feedback or the million dollar tips and start implementing them. Get your doubts cleared from him. And before you leave never forget to acknowledge him/her for his time and effort. It is your primary duty to inform him about the result obtained after the metor-mentee meeting. The visit can prove to be

much more rewarding if you constantly get updates from him on the related topic.

i fear that i have crossed the boundaries from the bloggers arena to that of a spoon feeding elder... but if u are reading this line , i am content for the fact that this blog could grab your attention throughout its length.

well , before you find your mentor let me say it aloud.. Thank you mentors ,, for being kind to me!!!