A tribute to my favorite songs & videos, and the memories they bring...

This is a random inspiration to write a blog that would be a poem / song that includes words from my favorite songs of all time. It’s sort of a tribute to a lot of people in my life and some of my favorite songs and videos!

I wake up to a “Tequila Sunrise” and I have become “Comfortably numb”. I wish I knew why, but “I believe I can fly”. Fly even higher than where I am and soar away….I dream that “I am leaving on a jet plane”, but I don’t know where to. There is a “Beautiful stranger” out there. She is a “Black magic woman” and she’s spun a web around me. I don’t know who she is, and I don’t know why she is there. All I know is she is “Taking my breath away” and “Nothing else matters”

“Now she is gone, I don’t know why, and till this day sometimes I cry. She didn’t even say good bye, she didn’t take the time to lie. Bang bang, my baby shot me down”
“It must have been love, but it’s all over now” and I have to “break free”. But I have no pain, and I still smile thinking of you. After all you are the “craziest diamond to shine”

There’s always hope and I don’t know any other way. There’s too much love at stake and there’s no more I can take. There are friends, and they are god sends. I miss ‘em all but one more than the rest. “How I wish, how I wish you were here. We’re just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year”

I wake up to the fragrance of a “Jasmine flower”. Sometimes you know life is a “Bittersweet symphony”, but still want only the sweet notes on the symphony. Doesn’t all the bitterness makes life sweeter? Everybody sees it their own way and no way is the only way. All it goes is to show “You never can tell”. There’s always hope and I don’t know any other way. The fragrance is from a “Beautiful girl” and I feel intoxicated with hope. She is just around the corner and I ask myself yet again if she will be mine? Am I asking for too much? Should I just whiff the sweet scent of this woman and die in this bliss? Oh the smells, sight, sound of her. The look in her mystic eyes, the melody of her child like laugh – I can never have enough. “You fill up my senses, come fill me again”

Oh “The way you make me feel, you really turn me on” and slowly but surely, “I am coming back to life”. Your words are poetry, and your “Sounds of your silence” is music beyond comprehension. All life I have been “Another brick in the wall”, but with you I have “Broken through” with you. Tell me what you need, tell me all. I know I can’t undo the past, but today and tomorrow is ours. Whatever it is, “I will try and fix you”

Life is a fight and I have an ally now. I know you will be there for me as much as I’ll be and I feel strong. I feel ecstatic and powerful. I wonder if I’ll feel the same without you. Together, we can live our dreams, and climb the mountains we see. Together we can take on the world and smile through it. Together, we look into the “Eye of the tiger” and see the stronger animal.

Come, come, come with me, and come to me.” Come as you are” , cos you are perfect as you are. Your coming will make me run, make me fly and make me touch the sky. I can see the other diamonds in the sky, everyone who has touched my life, but none brighter then you. I am on top and I am loving every second of this life. This is what life is meant to be – an “Ecstasy of gold”

Play list:
1. Carlos Santana – Black Magic Woman
2. Chuck Berry – You never can tell
3. Coldplay – Fix you
4. Eagles – Tequila Sunrise
5. Ennio Morricone – The Good, The bad, The Ugly – OST – Ecstasy of gold
6. INXS- Beautiful girl
7. Jim Morrison – Break on through
8. John Denver – Annie’s song
9. John Denver – Leaving on a jet plane
10. Kenny G – Jasmine flower
11. Kenny G – I believe I can fly
12. Madonna - Austin Powers OST - Beautiful stranger
13. Metallica – Nothing else matters
14. Michael Jackson - The Way You Make Me Feel
15. Nancy Sinatra - Kill Bill 2 OST - Bang Bang
16. Nirvana - Come as you are
17. Pink Floyd – Another brick in the wall
18. Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb
19. Pink Floyd – Coming back to life
20. Pink Floyd – Shine on you crazy diamond
21. Pink Floyd – Wish you were here
22. Queen – Break free
23. Roxette – it must have been love
24. Simon and Garfunkel – Sounds of silence
25. Survivor – Eye of the tiger
26. The Verve – Bittersweet symphony
27. Top Gun OST – Berlin - Take my breath away

Please use the YouTube links I have given for these songs in case you haven’t heard it before :)

A farewell we all would love to write....

In case you guessed it, you are right. I am posting yet another unoriginal piece on my site, a forwarded message at that, but it was simply too irrresistable. There are too many things happening, that have prevented me from writing on some key topics as regularly as I would have liked. I thought I woudl share masterpiecses like this once in a while to remind me to write frequently on my site.

So, without further ado, here is a mail an employee wrote on his last day. Not sure how true this is - he either actually did do it, or had it on his drafts and shared it with friends. All said and done, it would have made Dilbert proud :)

Dear Co-Workers and Managers,

As many of you probably know, today is my last day. But before I leave, I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know what a great and distinct pleasure it has been to type "Today is my last day."

For nearly as long as I've worked here, I've hoped that I might one day leave this company. And now that this dream has become a reality, please know that I could not have reached this goal without your unending lack of support. Words cannot express my gratitude for the words of gratitude you did not express.

I would especially like to thank all of my managers both past and present but with the exception of the wonderful Saroj Hariprashad: in an age where miscommunication is all too common, you consistently impressed and inspired me with the sheer magnitude of your misinformation, ignorance and intolerance for true talent. It takes a strong man to admit his mistake - it takes a stronger man to attribute his mistake to me.

Over the past seven years, you have taught me more than I could ever ask for and, in most cases, ever did ask for. I have been fortunate enough to work with some absolutely interchangeable supervisors on a wide variety of seemingly identical projects - an invaluable lesson in overcoming daily tedium in overcoming daily tedium in overcoming daily tedium.

Your demands were high and your patience short, but I take great solace knowing that my work was, as stated on my annual review, "meets expectation." That is the type of praise that sends a man home happy after a 10 hour day, smiling his way through half a bottle of meets expectation scotch with a meets expectation cigar. Thanks Trish!

And to most of my peers: even though we barely acknowledged each other within these office walls, I hope that in the future, should we pass on the street, you will regard me the same way as I regard you: sans eye contact.

But to those few souls with whom I've actually interacted, here are my personalized notes of farewell:

To Philip Cress, I will not miss hearing you cry over absolutely nothing while laying blame on me and my coworkers. Your racial comments about Joe Cobbinah were truly offensive and I hope that one day you might gain the strength to apologize to him.

To Brenda Ashby whom is long gone, I hope you find a manager that treats you as poorly as you have treated us. I worked harder for you then any manager in my career and I regret every ounce of it. Watching you take credit for my work was truly demoralizing.

To Sylvia Keenan, you should learn how to keep your mouth shut sweet heart. Bad mouthing the innocent is a negative thing, especially when you’re talking about someone who knows your disgusting secrets. :)

To Bob Malvin (Mr. Cronyism Jr), well, I wish you had more of a back bone. You threw me to the wolves with that witch Brenda and I learned all too much from it. I still can't believe that after following your instructions, I ended up getting written up, wow. Thanks for the experience buddy, lesson learned.

Don Merritt (Mr. Cronyism Sr), I'm happy that you were let go in the same manner that you have handed down to my dedicated coworkers. Hearing you on the phone last year brag about how great bonuses were going to be for you fellas in upper management because all of the lay offs made me nearly vomit. I never expected to see management benefit financially from the suffering of scores of people but then again, with this company's rooted history in the slave trade it only makes sense.

To all of the executives of this company, Jamie Dimon and such, despite working through countless managers that practiced unethical behavior, racism, sexism, jealousy and cronyism, I have benefited tremendously by working here and I truly thank you for that. There was once a time where hard work was rewarded and acknowledged, it's a pity that all of our positive output now falls on deaf ears and passes blind eyes. My advice for you is to place yourself closer to the pulse of this company and enjoy the effort and dedication of us "faceless little people" more. There are many great people that are being over worked and mistreated but yet are still loyal not to those who abuse them but to the greater mission of providing excellent customer support. Find them and embrace them as they will help battle the cancerous plague that is ravishing the moral of this company.

So, in parting, if I could pass on any word of advice to the lower salary recipient ("because it's good for the company") in India or Tampa who will soon be filling my position, it would be to cherish this experience because a job opportunity like this comes along only once in a lifetime. Meaning: if I had to work here again in this lifetime, I would sooner kill myself.

To those who I have held a great relationship with, I will miss being your co-worker and will cherish our history together.


Please don't bother responding as at this very moment I am most likely in my car doing 85 with the windows down listening to Biggie.

The Ant and the Grasshopper

OLD VERSION
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The shivering grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold.

NEW VERSION
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The shivering grasshopper has no food or shelter and calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.

NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table laden with food.The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house.

MedhaPatkar goes on a fast along with other grasshoppers demanding that grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter.

Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticize the Indian Government for not upholding the fundamental rights of the grasshopper.

The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the grasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for prompt support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance).

Barkha Dutt hosts a talk-show spread over two weeks on the disparity.

Opposition MP's stage a walkout.

Left parties call for "Bharat Bandh" in West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry.

CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law preventing ants from working hard in the heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among ants and grasshoppers.

Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian Railway trains, aptly named the 'Grasshopper Rath'.

Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the Prevention of Terrorism Against Grasshoppers Act [POTAGA], with effect from the beginning of winter.

The ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA. He has nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, so his home is confiscated by the Government and handed over to the grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV, Aaj Tak & Star News.

Arundhati Roy calls it "a triumph of justice".

Lalu calls it "Socialistic Justice".

CPM calls it the "revolutionary resurgence of the downtrodden".

Koffi Annan invites the grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly.

*****************************************************

Many years later...The ant, who has long since migrated to the USA, sets up a multi-billion dollar company in the Silicon Valley.
1000s of grasshoppers die of starvation somewhere in India ...

- Source Unknown.

A grand welcome for new employees

Check out this welcome given to new employes by Aditi technologies, Bangalore!

Workplace madness

Found a very interesting article on Fortune by Stanley Bing.
(Link: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/06/11/100082884/index.htm?postversion=2007060506)


He had earlier written about how bosses are crazy and I won’t go into that, since there is enough literature on that, the best being Scott Adams’s Dilbert cartoons.
He talks about how for ages we have been researching authoritative behavior of bosses, but not paid enough attention to the tantrums thrown by employees.
It is indeed true that some times employees are as crazy as their bosses!
To quote Bing: “Because we are nuts, you know, we who work for those who go insane above us. We're crazy and incompetent and lazy and churlish and occasionally stupid and cowardly and disloyal. And it's time we all sucked it up and stopped blaming our bosses for everything. “
The full article is too long to be posted here, so I am providing the link and would stop with the six points of employee behavior that drive bosses crazy:

1. We don't listen.
2. We show up late.
3. We leave early
4. We squabble.
5. We need to be loved.
6. We leave.

I guess there is enough ammunition for Dilbert’s boss to start his own comic strip :)

And then it rained...

On an unusually hot and dry Sunday evening for Bangalore’s standards, I decided not to venture out further and confine myself to the cozy comforts of the new house I had moved into.

I decided to watch a movie and picked up “Guide”, from my ever expanding movie collection.
I had got the movie ling time back and saw it once, but was half asleep that day and did not give it its due attention. I was in a better frame of mind for this profound movie, this time around.
For those who haven’t seen it or don’t know about it, Guide is based on the novel of the same name by R.K Narayan, and was made into a commercial film in Hindi and English by Dev Anand.
I remember a very funnayfunny narrative by Narayan in one of his books, about how the book and the films are so different from each other, and he never accepted the film! In his own imitable style, he talks about how the book was set in the sleepy southern town of Mysore, which was integral to the story, but the film was set and shot in the North. And when you add aspects like S.D Burman’s haunting music, you get a fairly romanticized version of the book.

But what else do you expect in a bollywood movie? I am not complaining though, as the film manages to entertain and engage, especially the lead stars. In spite of all the criticism – right or wrong, what stands out about Dev Anand the movie maker is the excellent themes he chooses. Some of my favorites are Des Pardes and Hare Rame Hare Krishna.
In Guide, what turns out to be a story of a happy go luck charmer, changes in the later part to a deep philosophical message, conveyed in the form the Indian audience is likely to understand.
That they did not and the movie bombed, in spite of a series of awards, is more a reflection of our inability to understand complex movies and prefer the masala movies. This trend, though is changing with some excellent recent movies that are non conformist doing well commercial as well. (My favorites in the recent past are Page 3, Rang de Basanti, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer)


In the meanwhile it is getting hotter outside and I am sweating in spite of having the fan blowing at full speed and with all my windows open. I wish it rained today…

This is turning out to be a movie review, and that was not what I intended.

While I would like the readers to go and try this movie , I want to focus on the aspect of faith that is played out in the climax of the movie. Raju, on ordinary guy, runs away from the harsh realities of life, and by a strange twist of fate, becomes a Swami in a remote village. The village is hit by sever drought, and the villagers start believing that their Swami would undertake a fast until it rains. Raju is unable to escape this situation and slowly starts accepting the reality.
The villagers are rock solid in their faith that it would rain, and although Raju is an educated man, he slowly starts believing that it may be his chance to redeem himself and ensure their faith is not shattered.
Raju undergoes a tremendous spiritual transformation and leaves you with many questions that are the basis for Indian philosophy:
“Is the entire world, the people and the events, one large illusion or Maya”.
“If you have thousands of people collectively believing and praying it something would happen, would it indeed happen?”.
There is an unmistakable similarity to Paulo Coelho’s assertion that if you strongly believe something would happen and want it to happen, the entire universe would conspire to ensure that it does.
In the process Raju realizes that the soul or “athma” is higher than anything else and it is always pure. Raju realizes the god in himself and if we all do that one day I am sure it would be pouring good will all over the world.
I would not out it in my list of must watch films, but do g0 ahead and watch it if you get a chance. I have heard the book is much better – so I am certainly going to try it out!

Mean while, I looked out of my window and felt the lovely smell of earth…and then it rained…

Pepsicide controversy…

I recently found this article in Business week on Pepsi and its challenges in India given the “Pesticide controversy”. For those who are not familiar with the issue, please read this article at:

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_24/b4038064.htm?chan=rss_topStories_ssi_5

The article appears to be highly patronizing towards Cola firms especially Pepsi.
There are a few aspects of this issue that I want to do a balanced analysis on:

1. How healthy are these drinks, irrespective of whether they have pesticide content or not.
2. How good is the quality of water we consume in India?
3. Is it enough to expose the pesticide content in these large cola offerings? What are the results when tested on “staple” drinks such as water, milk, fruit juices, and other bottled drinks in India?
4. What are our awareness levels on these topics?
   

My contention is that aerated / carbonated drinks are unhealthy in the first place. It is fairly well known that they have no nutritious value and tat regular consumption has long term health effects. While the West is fairly aware of these and the harmful effects of the fast food that goes with these drinks, the same cannot be said about India. Thus, India serves as huge growth market for these firms given the high levels of education on health in the west may lead to a drop in cola consumption.

This leaves them in a position to go all out and attack the Indian market with expensive ad campaigns, sponsorships, but with zero or very little education on the effects of consumption of their products.

This should not however, divert attention from the fact the quality of water and other drinks we consume are abysmal. We have no clue how good the water used in restaurants, juice and coffee shops is, and we consume more from here than from the cola majors. This leaves us exposed, unknowingly to tremendous health hazards. So while a fruit juice is a healthier alternative to Pepsi, we have no idea how good the water used is.

This is where institutes like the Centre for Science & Environment (CSE), and its activists like Sunita Narain, need to play a much more critical role. Granted the scope is big and the challenged are enormous, but they should not be content with “exposing” the cola majors.

Our awareness levels when it comes to health and environment are painfully low, predominantly due to lack of quality education, and the lack of pro active messaging from the media. For all you know, there must already be reports from CSE on other drinks, that are never publicized, simple because it’s not as good a story as a Sunita Narain vs. Indra Nooyi one.

Unless we have increased awareness levels through multiple channels, we continue to kill ourselves silently.