A pondering thought...

Dear friends,
A pondering thought...
Why do I get upset when my boss or a coworker corrects me?
If I were focused on results, wouldn’t I want information that would help me improve my performance?
If I were focused on solutions, wouldn’t I be grateful to learn of something that could be corrected?
§
Feel defensive when someone suggests something to me, and I know:
There is something more important to me than results and solutions…
(From Arbinger's The Choice at Work)

Sixthsense Technology by Pranav Mistry

Absolutely brilliant !!! This guy has been spent almost a decade to achieve his goals, no doubt he had done a marvelous job here. Must see.

Trip to Janjira

Guys, recently we visited to the one of the great fort of india, Janjira and Kashid beach. Attached is the slide show of few memorable moments we have enjoyed there.

Best quotes on Sachin Tendulkar

In series of features on Sachin completing 20 years in International cricket, MSN presented some of the best quotes that current and former cricketers have made on the master-blaster. Find what Don Bradman, Sunil Gavaskar, Dennis Lillee, Greg Chappell, have to say about Sachin Tendulkar. I just collected here.

Matt Hayden:
"I have seen God, he bats at no. 4 for India"

Peter Roebuck
"On a train from Shimla to Delhi, there was a halt in one of the stations. The train stopped by for few minutes as usual. Sachin was nearing century, batting on 98. The passengers, railway officials, everyone on the train waited for Sachin to complete the century. This Genius can stop time in India!!"

Dennis Lillee
If I've to bowl to Sachin, I'll bowl with my helmet on. He hits the ball so hard.

Glenn McGrath
I still think Tendulkar is the best batsmen in the world ahead of Steve Waugh and Lara.

Brain Lara
Sachin is a genius. I'm a mere mortal.

Sir Don Bradman
I saw him playing on television and was struck by his technique, so I asked my wife to come look at him. Now I never saw myself play, but I feel that this player is playing much the same as I used to play, and she looked at him on Television and said yes, there is a similarity between the two...hi compactness, technique, stroke production... it all seemed to gel! in reference to Sachin Tendulkar.

Andy Flower:
"There are 2 kind of batsmen in the world. One Sachin Tendulkar. Two all the others."

Allan Donald:
"Sachin Tendulkar has often reminded me of a veteran army colonel who has
many medals on his chest to show how he has conquered bowlers all over the
world"

Sunil Gavaskar
India's fortune will depend on how many runs the little champion scores. There is no doubt Tendulkar is the real thing.

Richie Benaud
He has defined cricket in his fabulous, impeccable manner. He is to batting what Shane Warne is to bowling.

Geoffrey Boycott
Technically, you can't fault Sachin. Seam or spin, fast or slow nothing is a problem.

Greg Chappell
He is a perfectly balanced batsman and knows perfectly well when to attack and when to play defensive cricket. He has developed the ability to treat bowlers all over the world with contempt and can destroy any attack with utmost ease.

Shane Warne
I'll be going to bed having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and belting me back over the head for six. He was unstoppable. I don't think anyone, apart from Don Bradman, is in the same class as Sachin Tendulkar. He is just an amazing player.

Viv Richards on Sachin Tendulkar
I think he is marvellous. I think he will fit in whatever category of Cricket that has been played or will be played, from the first ball that has ever been bowled to the last ball that's going to be. He can play in any era and at any level. I would say he's 99.5% perfect.

BBC Sports, on Sachin Tendulkar
Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don't know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their television sets and switch off their lives.

Navjot Singh Sidhu:
"India me aap Prime Minister ko ek Baar Katghare me khada kar sakte hain..Par Sachin
Tendulkar par Ungli nahi utha Sakte.."

Barry Richards
Sachin is cricket's God!

Ian Chappell
Harder he works, the luckier he gets.

Anil Kumble
"I am fortunate that I've to bowl at him only in the nets!"

Andrew Symonds
"To Sachin, the man we all want to be"
What Symonds wrote on an aussie t-shirt he autographed specially for Sachin.

Mark Taylor:
"We did not lose to a team called India...we lost to a man called Sachin" -Mark Taylor, during the test match in Chennai (1997)

Current opennings at SpiderLogic Pune.

Hi all,
We currently have openings for :
• Senior Developers in Java and .net (4 -6 Yrs)
• Java and .Net Architects(7+ yrs)
• QA Architect.(7+yrs)
We are looking at people who are hands on development and really passionate about coding and technology. If you have any friends or ex colleagues who would be interested in working with us kindly send me their resumes at rnikam@spiderlogic.com

website : www.spiderlogic.com

Micheal jackson

Love him or hate him, you are unlikely to forget Michael Jackson.From the Jackson 5 to Thriller and even his dramatic untimely death yesterday, he made his mark on pop culture.

Palkhi festival

Celebration of 1000 years old Tradition
2 Palkhis Sant Tukaram Palkhi from Dehu and The Sant Dayaneshwar Palkhi from Alandi.
Duration around 20 days
In the month of Ashadh (June - July) and Kartik (November - December)
Palkhi, a unique feature of Maharashtrian culture, is a 1000-year-old tradition followed by the warkaris (people who follow the wari, a fundamental ritual). People collectively go singing and dancing, chanting Dnyanba-Tukaram in what are called as Dindis (organised group of warkaris) to the holy town of Pandharpur in Hindu months of Ashadh (June-July) and Karthik (November-December).
The Palkhi starts in the month of Jyeshth (June) and the whole process lasts a total of 22 days. Every year on the eleventh day of the first half of the month of Ashadh, the Palkhi reaches Pandharpur. Every saint, right from Sant Dnyaneshwar to Sant Tukaram was following the wari tradition.

The History
In the year 1685, Narayan baba, the youngest son of Tukaram was a man of innovative spirit and decided to bring about a change in the dindi-wari tradition by introducing the Palkhi, which is a sign of social respect. He put the silver padukas (footsteps) of Tukaram in the Palkhi and proceeded with his dindi to Alandi where he put the padukas of Dnyaneshwar in the same Palkhi. This tradition of twin Palkhis went on every year, but in 1830 there were some disputes in the family of Tukaram, concerned with rights and privileges. Following this, some thoughtful persons decided to break-up the tradition of twin Palkhis and organise here after, two separate Palkhis - Tukaram Palkhi from Dehu and the Dnyaneshwar Palkhi from Alandi.
From that time till date, both the Palkhis meet in Pune for a brief halt and then diverge at Hadapsar to meet again at Wakhri, a village nearby to Pandharpur.
Along with times, the popularity of this ancient tradition has soared immensely. A total of approximately 1.5 lakh devotees proceed along with the Sant Tukaram Palkhi from Dehu village, while a total of 2.25 lakh devotees march along with the Sant Dnyaneshwar Palkhi. At present a total of 43 Palkhis including the above two visit Pandharpur every year.

Keep The Spark Alive......

 one of the BEST Article I ever came across (really its worth reading).... By Chetan Bhagat

 

 

Today I am going to talk about keeping the spark shining. Or to put it in another way, how to be happy most of the time.

Where do these sparks start? I think we are born with them. My 3-year old twin boys have a million sparks. A little Spiderman toy can make them jump on the bed. They get thrills from creaky swings in the park. A story from daddy gets them excited. They do a daily countdown for birthday party - several months in advance, just for the day they will cut their own birthday cake.

People whose spark has faded are dull, dejected, aimless and bitter. Remember Kareena in the first half of Jab We Met vs the second half? That is what happens when the spark is lost. So now the question is how to save/alive the spark?

Imagine the spark to be a lamp's flame.

The first aspect is nurturing - to give your spark the fuel, continuously.

Second is to guard against storms.

To nurture, always have goals. It is human nature to strive, improve and achieve full potential. In fact, that is the key to success.

Most of us are from middle class families. To us, having material landmarks is success and rightly so. When you have grown up where money constraints force everyday choices, financial freedom is a big achievement. But it isn't the purpose of life. If that was the case, Mr. Ambani would not show up for work. Shah Rukh Khan would stay at home and not dance anymore. Steve Jobs won't be working hard to make a better iPhone, as he sold Pixar for billions of dollars already. Why do they do it? What makes them come to work everyday? They do it because it makes them happy. They do it because it makes them feel alive. Just getting better from current levels, feels good. If you work hard, you can improve your performance. If you practice, your cricket will get better. You may also know that you cannot become Tendulkar, yet. But you can get to the next level. Striving for that next level is important.

Nature designed with a random set of genes and circumstances in which we were born. To be happy, we have to accept it and make the most of nature's design.

Are you?

Goals will help you to do that.

I must add, don't just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order.

There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.

You must have read some quotes - Life is a tough race, it is a marathon or whatever. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of those races in nursery school, where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it, if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die.

One last thing about nurturing the spark - don't take life seriously. One of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One student asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga practice. The teacher said - don't be serious, be sincere. This quote has defined my work ever since. Whether it's my writing, my job, my relationships or any of my goals. I get thousands of opinions on my writing everyday. There is heaps of praise, there is intense criticism. If I take it all seriously, how will I write? Or rather, how will I live? Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It's ok, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices.

I've told you three things - reasonable goals, balance and not taking it too seriously that will nurture the spark.

However, there are four storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the flame. These must be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration, unfairness and loneliness.

Disappointment will come when your effort does not give you the expected return. If things don't go as planned or if you face failure. Failure is extremely difficult to handle, but those that do come out are stronger. "What did this failure teach me" is the question you will need to ask. You will feel miserable. You will want to quit, like I wanted to when nine publishers rejected my first book. Some IITians kill themselves over low grades - how silly is that? But that is how much failure can hurt you. But it's life. If challenges could always be overcome, they would cease to be a challenge. And remember - if you are failing at something, that means you are at your limit or potential. And that's where you want to be.

Disappointments take you to the frustration level, the second storm. Have you ever been frustrated? It happens when things are stuck. From traffic jams to getting that job you deserve, sometimes things take so long that you don't know whether you chose the right goal or not. After books, I set the goal of writing for Bollywood, as I thought they needed writers. I am called extremely lucky, but it took me five years to get close to a release. Frustration saps excitement, and turns your initial energy into something negative, making you a bitter person. How did I deal with it? A realistic assessment of the time involved - movies take a long time to make, even though they are watched quickly, seeking a certain enjoyment in the process rather than the end result - at least I was learning how to write scripts, having a side plan - I had my third book to write and even something as simple as pleasurable distractions in your life - friends, food, travel can help you overcome it. Remember, nothing is to be taken seriously. Frustration is a sign somewhere, you took it too seriously.

Let's be grateful for what we have and get the strength to accept what we don't. I have so much love from my readers that other writers cannot even imagine it. However, I don't get literary praise. It's ok. I don't look like Aishwarya Rai, but I have two boys who I think are more beautiful than her. It's ok. Don't let unfairness kill your spark.

Finally, the last point that can kill your spark is isolation. As you grow older you will realize you are unique. When you are little, all kids want Ice cream and Spiderman. As you grow older to college, you still are a lot like your friends. But ten years later and you realize you are unique. What you want, what you believe in, what makes you feel, may be different from even the people closest to you. This can create conflict as your goals may not match with others, and you may drop some of them. Basketball captains in college invariably stop playing basketball by the time they have their second child. They give up something that meant so much to them. They do it for their family. But in doing that, the spark dies. Never, ever make that compromise. Love yourself first, and then others.

There you go. I've told you the four thunderstorms - disappointment, frustration, unfairness and isolation. You cannot avoid them, as like the monsoon they will come into your life at regular intervals. You just need to keep the raincoat handy to not let the spark die.

Heart touching....

I was walking around in a Big Bazar store making shopping, when I saw a Cashier talking to a boy couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old.

The Cashier said, "I'm sorry, but you don't have enough money to buy this doll". Then the little boy turned to me and asked: "Uncle, are you sure I don't have enough money?"

I counted his cash and replied: "You know that you don't have enough money to buy the doll, my dear." The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand.

Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll to. "It's the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much. I wanted to Gift her for her BIRTHDAY.I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there." His eyes were so sad while saying this."My Sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister."

My heart nearly stopped. The little boy looked up at me and said: "I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall." Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing. He then told me "I want mommy to take my picture with her so my sister won't forget me." I love my mommy and I wish she doesn't have to leave me, but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister." Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly..

I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy. "Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll?"

"OK" he said, "I hope I do have enough." I added some of my money to his with out him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money.

The little boy said: "Thank you God for giving me enough money!"

Then he looked at me and added, "I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that mommy could give It to my sister. He heard me!" "I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn't dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose. My mommy loves white roses."

I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when Istarted. I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind. Then I remembered a local news paper article two days ago, which mentioned a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little girl. The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining machine, because the young woman would not be able to recover from the coma. Was this the family of the little boy?

Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the news paper that the young woman had passed away.. I couldn't stop myself as I bought a bunch of white roses and I went to the funeral home where the body of the young woman was exposed for people to see and make last wishes before her burial. She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest. I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling that my life had been changed for ever..

The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine. And in a fraction of a second, a drunk driver had taken all this away from him.

Please DO NOT DRINK & DRIVE.

Zoozoo: new Vodafone brand 'endorser' for IPL

Zoozoo ROCKS man! they are amazing their expressions, movements, body language simply great. Hats off to makers of this creature.

No, they aren’t animated characters. They are human beings who were made to wear body suits. “The design of the characters is such that one gets fooled into thinking it is animation,” shrugs Rao, which was indeed the very illusion that had to be created. “In a sense, it is ‘live’ animation!” he quips, referring to the fact that it was all shot live.



Prakash Varma, ad filmmaker, Nirvana Films, has directed the commercials, and reveals that the Zoozoos were a big challenge to create. The practical aspects of how they will move, talk, gesticulate and emote were very important. Essentially, costume design and artwork were crucial elements.

“It took me three weeks of pre-production to understand how it will work,” says Varma. There were two fabrics that were considered for the body suits, and one was rejected for it had too many wrinkles and was shiny. The wrinkles would have shown when the characters moved, thereby shattering the illusion of animation. “So we chose the more practical, thicker fabric,” Varma explains.

The production team divided the outfit into two parts: the body and the head. The body part of the outfit was stuffed with foam in some places, while the head was attached separately. To make it look bigger than a human head, a harder material called Perspex was used, which in turn was stuffed with foam (with scope for ventilation).

If one wishes to understand the size of this head, here’s a fact: a human head would typically reach up to the mouth level of this giant Zoozoo head. “We kept the hands and legs thin, which is why we cast women – and occasionally children – wearing the costumes,” says Varma. The thin limbs, contrasted with big bellies and a bulbous head, all add to the illusion that these creatures are ‘smaller’ than humans. Sets were created to suit the size of the Zoozoos.
Cinematically, this ‘size’ was a trick: the creatures look smaller than they actually are on screen, to portray a different world of sorts. For this, the speed of shooting was altered: Nirvana shot it in a high-speed format to make them look the size that they do.
Furthermore, simple sets/backdrops were created and spray painted with neutral Greys – a colour of choice so that attention isn’t diverted from the main characters. For a supposedly ‘outdoor’ shot, even the shadow of a Zoozoo was kept ‘live’ and not done in post production: it was painted in a darker shade of grey on the ground. An even lighting was maintained throughout.
There was virtually no post production work done.
The films were shot by Nirvana in Cape Town, South Africa, with the help of a local production house there, called Platypus. Incidentally, the same combination of people also worked on the ‘Happy to Help’ series last year. When asked whether Cape Town is fast becoming a tourist spot for Vodafone and Nirvana, Varma laughs, saying, “Oh no! It’s just that we are very comfortable with the team there and know what sort of work to expect from them.”
Nagpal adds here that the production cost had to be minimal for unveiling such a large number of commercials. “Otherwise, our production costs would exceed media spends,” he quips.

via : www.afaqs.com

Book tata nano

Living up to his commitments Ratan Tata created history with his worlds cheapest car "Nano".

Images :







Booking details :

Official site : Tata nano

Online booking : http://tatanano.inservices.tatamotors.com/tatamotors/

Warren buffet's advice for 2009

We begin this New Year with dampened enthusiasm and dented optimism. Our happiness is diluted and our peace is threatened by the financial illness that has infected our families, organizations and nations. Everyone is desperate to find a remedy that will cure their financial illness and help them recover their financial health. They expect the financial experts to provide them with remedies, forgetting the fact that it is these experts who created this financial mess.

Every new year, I adopt a couple of old maxims as my beacons to guide my future. This self-prescribed therapy has ensured that with each passing year, I grow wiser and not older. This year, I invite you to tap into the financial wisdom of our elders along with me, and become financially wiser.
Ø Hard work: All hard work bring a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.
Ø Laziness: A sleeping lobster is carried away by the water current.
Ø Earnings: Never depend on a single source of income.. [At least make your Investments get you second earning]
Ø Spending: If you buy things you don't need, you'll soon sell things you need.
Ø Savings: Don't save what is left after spending; Spend what is left after saving.
Ø Borrowings: The borrower becomes the lender's slave..
Ø Accounting: It's no use carrying an umbrella, if your shoes are leaking.
Ø Auditing: Beware of little expenses; A small leak can sink a large ship.
Ø Risk-taking: Never test the depth of the river with both feet. [Have an alternate plan ready]
Ø Investment: Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
I'm certain that those who have already been practicing these principles remain financially healthy. I'm equally confident that those who resolve to start practicing these principles will quickly regain their financial health.

With Best Regards,
Warren Buffet

Slumdog delighted India

Slumdog Millionaire overwhelmed with 10 Oscar nominations and country is now in euphoric mood. Indians are thrilled with the film's success. Have you seen it boss? Its really cool man. The bitter truth is, Slumdog Millionaire could only have been made by westerners. The talent exists in India for such movies: much of it, like the brilliant actor Irrfan Khan, contributed to this film. But Bollywood producers, fixed with making flimsy films about the lives of the middle class, will never throw their weight behind such projects. Like Bachchan, they are too blind to what India really is to deal with it. Exception Madhur Bhandarkar's Traffic signal. While watching this film I found this bit similar to Madhur Bhandarkar's Traffic Signal (not the script but overall).If you ask me, I will give more points to Traffic Signal than slumdog for sure. Then may be you argue with me saying how realistic films is they showed right ? but look at any of Madhur Bhandarkar's creation's either its his débutant Chandani Bar or the recently launched Fashion. and you never forget about the Page 3. Don't you think these are more realistic. Don't you think 'ye Oscar ke takkar ka banda hai?' I think language is the barrier in these cases, he never launched his films worldwide in English. Well let it be I keep my view with myself.
I am really really very happy for A. R. Rehman, no one doubts about his talent, he is simply awesome!! Not only for Slumdog but for all.This guy can work out with any kind of instruments old new doesn't matter for him. He went few years back in history for Lagaan and even more than 200 years for Jodha Akbar(you never forget kwaja mere kwaja).Even with all his talent, he had never won an international award of such standing before. It had been a long time in coming, but he deserve it. Well done man well done!! keep it up.

Happy Republic Day to all. Jai Ho !!! ;)

Phenomenal mind power

Today in the morning I got a mail from one of my friends.It looks very strange, wondering what the hell is this why this guy torturing me in the beautiful morning but guys when I read this. yeah I have read it, believe me!!. Its really strange , wanna try? go ahead ..

" fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid, too.Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe tuo fo 100 anc.
i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg.The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I
awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!"

this is really amazing huh? I wish, (Grrr...)my high school teacher must see this, he had beaten us lots of time when we were failed to recollect spellings.

Happy New Year 2009 !!!

Wish You very Happy and prosperous new year. Hope it will bring lots of happiness,wealth to your life.