Thinking Aloud...

Agile Project Management Tips

2011-02-26T02:04:00.003+05:30

15 step Guide to manage Agile Projects

Plan for weeks or small iterations and not for months. Basically the plan for the near time should be detailed and plan for the distant future can be very high level.
Excel sheets are perfectly fine or you can use some online collaborative tools like google docs, but avoid wasting so much of time in MS Project. High level Milestone planning is however fine
Team needs to have the authority. Allow them to pick the tasks they think they can do better and they can own and deliver. The concept of assigning tasks is changed to picking of the tasks. However a word of caution, team needs to be high performing team.
The role of a Project Manager is more of a mentor and he needs to make sure that the team is performing and that there are no impediments from outside.
The work needs to be organized into smaller timeboxes or iterations and the model of the ultimate objective should be visible from very early more like the working model and not a waste pilot. So the output needs to be a workable high quality software. This shall require involvement of business on a continuous basis so that they see how it is progressing, give continuous feedback and progress.
The requirements or stories need to be finalized in the beginning and changes can happen but a given story's scope remains fixed. If there are changes from the list of the stories, prioritization is the key. Requirements prioritization is also important because it has been proved that any system which is built, only 7 to 20% of the requirements are most often used and about 15% are used only sometimes and a major 45% are never used. So the idea is why should resources be spent on building those 45% of the requirements. In the rapidly changing industry scenario, the requirements change very fast and we never come across many of the requirements. Take for example the MS word which you may be using since years. What % of Word features you may be using ? So, understanding this concept is very important when you manage an agile project.
Division of the iterations and the stories linked to them have to be planned carefully. The more the iterations, the better
A daily 15 minutes meeting should be there at start of day to talk on the achievement of yesterday the plan for today and any impediments. This meeting is not a discussion forum or problem solver meeting but more to catchup on the quick status.
At the end of each timebox or the iteration, the presentation should be given to the business so that they see the evolving product.
Burn Down Chart - It is
The estimation of the work is done using the "bottom up" methodology involving the experienced team members. A +/- 30% accuracy level is fine in the starting of the project as there is high uncertainty. As we move forward, the uncertaintity decreases and the revised estimates may be +/-10% accurate. I would personally suggest using the PERT technique and avoid any other high professional techniques like FP unless it is a large project and has history of all the FP based statistics. Another important point to remember here is that these techniques like FP, COCOMO, etc, require you to understand the requirements in details and assume that the requirements are final which is a wrong assumption for an agile project.
Expect the estimates to change as the model of the Agile is based on 'Change'. The requirements can change, reprioritize, continuous visibility to business, evolving and so does the estimates. However the final delivery date for the overall project should remain same.
Work Management - The approach is to implement the highest priority work item first in every iteration. The work management is like a stack of blocks and any item can be added or removed or reprioritized. The scrum methodology suggests to freeze the current iteration so that the developers have the stability to develop the current iteration, whereas the XP methodology allows the requirements to change even in the current iteration as long as we reprioritize and remove some other piece of requirement from the stack as it shall have our final timeline not impacted. So we need to decide which model we want to follow !
Teams use flipcharts, whiteboards, cards and various other tools to keep everyone updated of the progress and track their own work. These serve as quick reference rather than waiting for status reports. So go ahead and use them.
Burn Down Chart - It is a graphical representation in a chart showing the work left against time. The work which can be in points, or effort in hrs or any unit is in 'Y' axis and the time is represented in the 'X' axis. This chart is used to predict when will the work be completed. A sample chart is shown below.

Additional Refrences:

http://www.scrumalliance.org/

http://www.scrum.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agile_software_development

http://www.agilemodeling.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_Programming

Buying Camcoder

2010-12-18T08:16:00.000+05:30

7 Tips before buying a Camcoder..

1. The most popular camcorders today are Flash and Dual Flash camcorders. These camcorders use flash memory cards (same as digital cameras) to store video, or have built in solid state flash memory. Without a tape mechanism or harddrive, these camcorders are generally smaller in size than other camcorders and have better battery life. The most popular memory cards for these camcorders are the SDHC Memory cards. Currently you can get them cards with up to 16gb at reasonable prices, and larger sizes such as 32gb have been introduced. (Best pic: CANON HFS200 Camcorder). The DUAL Flash Memory camcoders also have built-in memory other than memory cards.
HDD are the next best bet and then comes the DVD based camcoders. DVD based ones will write on the DVD in compact form and some quality may get lost. Also it is not easy to edit.

2. Performance in low light: As with video quality, a camcorder with a larger sensor will have better light gathering ability, and low light performance. Those camcorders with larger lenses will also help in low light situations. The above camcorders that have large CCDs will do well in low light, however only the professional camcorder will give you BOTH a larger sensor and larger lenses for excellent low light ability.

3. SD or HD : Today you have two choices in camcorders. Standard Definition, which is up to DVD quality or worse, or High Definition which greatly exceeds DVD quality. In the future, all camcorders will be high definition, as that is the way the industry is headed. Most camcorders sold today are high definition. With a high definition camcorder, you usually have the option of recording in either standard or high definition. Even if you record in high definition, you can still play it through your standard (non HD) TV set.

4. CCD/CMOS : 3CCD/3MOS Imaging Sensor - A 3ccd imaging sensor is a special sensor that is composed of 3 separate sensors. One for each color (red, blue and green). Most professional camcorders use the 3ccd sensor array. These type of sensors have generally been better than a single sensor. The advantage of a 3CCD sensor is that with the data from each of the three sensors, you can find out the exact hue, brightness, and saturation of each pixel, you're no longer interpolating (which is estimating). Most of the professional camcorders (above) have 3ccd.
3MOS Imagers: Panasonic for 2010 has released the latest version of this technology called 3MOS to consumer camcorders, which is designed to improve on 3CCD and give better low light performance.

5. ALWAYS LOOK FOR OPTICAL ZOOM and beaware of Digital zom.

6. Manual Features/Zoom - Automatic focusing is standard on all camcorders. However there are times when you may wish to manually focus your camcorder. Examples are low light, macro (closeup), shooting through glass, and indoor shots where automatic focusing is not as effective.

7. Image Stabilization (IS) - Image Stabilization is a technology that reduces the blurry video that you could get in low light, using a zoom lens, or riding in a car. (Sony camcorders call their image stabilization SteadyShot). This technology compensates for any movement of the camcorder you are holding to give you sharp video, even in low light. This is a very valuable and useful feature. Almost all camcorders now have this feature. This also helps when using your zoom out to its full magnification. As you zoom in, any shaking of the camcorder is magnified. Optical (as opposed to digital) stabilization is considered to be best.

The world of Android

2010-08-19T15:38:00.008+05:30

1. How to properly set your Task killer in Android
2. Complete guide to maximizing your Android Phone battery.
3. Using Geocoder and GPS
4. Android Developer Tutorials - Menus and others
5. Developing for Google Android OS
6. 10 Tips for developing Android apps
7. Android - OpenGL
8. Android Community Forums
9. Creating Sound Effects in Android
10. My favorite Android tutorial (Thanks to Lars Vogel)
11. Color example in Android
12. The DB for the Android or mobile devices
13. AppInventor - Shortcut to Android programming
14. Face Detector in Android
15. Race Game
16. Make your own Android Widget
17. Best set of tutorials from Developerlife
18. Rooting your Android Phone
19. The fun of Rooting your Android device (FAQ)

Resume of Gagan

2010-03-10T00:06:00.000+05:30

GAGANDEEP SINGH PMP

125, Parkway Forest Drive, Unit 1516, North York, M2J1L9, Canada • Cell: +(1)647-773-1647 •

E-Mail: thinkcomplete@gmail.com

Sr. PROJECT/ PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

Eager to contribute highly applicable senior management and business development skills especially for offshoring and ability to analyzing business needs and translating them into executable strategies for your firm, using various quality measures. No constraints in handling any type of projects. Maturity in handling client communication, people management and taking challenging business decisions.

Passionate about : ANDROID and Mobile technologies and forthcoming Google TV

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

¨ A certified Project Management Professional (PMP)

¨ Used PMP, CMM and Agile methodologies for managing projects

¨ Passionate about working on Android and mobile technologies. Have an application in google market and planning to host another soon.

¨ Above 15 years of experience in Project Management, Software architecture, analysis, design, development, testing, implementation and maintenance. Have extensive experience in Object Oriented Analysis, Design and Development on Windows and UNIX with a strong background in Software Architecture, Distributed Computing and re-engineering of legacy applications

¨ A 6 Sigma Black Belt, dedicated in implementation of processes in the routine work.

¨ Seasoned IT professional with comprehensive business/technical/communication skills and expertise in re-engineering, content management, Sales Force Automation, Finance, process improvement, systems integration, requirements analysis, workflow design, project management, leadership, process modeling, testing/quality assurance, software development, customer service, project management, estimating and vendor relationships.

¨ Strong skills in estimation techniques including FP, Cosmic FFP, PERT to help closing in opportunities from existing or new clients and maintaining better project metrics.

¨ Excellent record of on-time, on-budget project deliveries exceeding quality objectives.

¨ Demonstrated financial management skills, experience in budgeting, forecasting and reporting.

¨ Actively interacted with Clients & Prospects to explain the Product functionality, kick-start Project Initiations & for Implementation & development meetings.

Project Management

Programming Languages & Software Applications

o Specialized work in Offshore Project Management and handled team of more than 70 people.

o Re-engineering of the legacy applications at offshore and implementation at client sites.

o Resource management including goal settings

o Managing multiple projects involving distributed teams in India, US and UK.

o Planning of the tasks and deliverables

o Monitoring and controlling using dashboards

o Performance Measurement & team appraisals

o Critical Success Factors and risk management

o Implementing process oriented work culture in the projects.

o Tracking Reusable Components and ensuring their use across projects.

o Handled projects in Agile management methodologies

o UML, Design Patterns and using RUP methodologies

o Process Flow Analysis and Re-engineering

o Systems Development Lifecycle Methodology

o Release Management.

o Team Building and Mentoring

o Strong fundamentals in core programming languages like Java, J2EE

o IBM tools: Visual Age, WSAD, Rational Rose, Rational Clearcase, Requisite Pro, RTC

o Tools & Packages: MS Office, Visio, MS Project 2000 (Certified professional), Clarity (Niku) for PM, PVCS, Lotus Notes

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Global Customers

Some of the customers worked for:

o Fidelity Investments, UK

o Metlife Life Insurance, US

o Bank of Montreal, Toronto, Canada

o Bank of Nova Scotia, Toronto, Canada

o Orange Telecom, France

o Reed Elsevier Science, PA, USA

o LexisNexis, Dayton Ohio, USA

o Elsevier Science, London, UK

o Peace Corporation New Zealand

o Comdisco Risk Management Solutions, Chicago USA

o Reynolds & Reynolds, Ohio, USA

o Matthew Benders, New York, USA

o IKEA, Sweden

Role:- PROJECT MANAGER

IBM India Pvt. Ltd, Bangalore, INDIA

January 2008 to Present

Role and Key Accomplishments:

- Handling global team in India and Canada and direct interactions with customers for coordinating three different projects on Java and AS400 technologies. This involves replacing the existing Mainframe system with the new layer in Java using SOA and also updating some of the existing business in AS400.

- Managing multiple teams across different locations in India and Canada.

- Monitoring and ensuring positive Business Success Metrics

- Responsible for facing various internal and external audits like CMMi, ISO, PMR

- Team appraisals, goal settings and people’s management. (Managed more than 20 Direct Reports)

- Managing the financials and reporting to the senior management

- Managing and tracking the risks and issues and communicating the same with the stakeholders

Responsible for managing the full development lifecycle (SDLC) and maintenance projects including requirements definition, design, implementation, testing, documentation, deployment and customer relationship management

Scotiabank Projects

(i) ACH Compliance is a new Service to handle S1(Teller based banking applications), Scotia Globe Host, IBP(Teller based banking applications) and ACH processing. This service has different handles which is managing vital transactions & transfer to related systems. It is a Service Layer to support whole Scotia Globe In-Bound & out-Bound Transactions.

(ii) Regular enhancements relating to term Deposits, Credits and Foreign Exchange handling in the bank.

(iii) Managing the maintenance initiatives to handle a project where the problem logs piled up for different systems are fixed.

(iv) Managing Production support project and handling various initiatives to increase the productivity of the team and presenting the metrics to the client to showcase the strengths of IBM team in handling the tickets and the fixes

Additional responsibilities handled at IBM:-

¨ Facilitated recruitment by taking interviews

¨ Taken PMP Study group sessions for two batches and helped the IBMers world over for PMP certification. Contributed to the knowledgebase in the IBM wiki for the same

¨ Handled reviews of various business opportunities for different clients (SOW / Proposals/ DOU)

¨ Member of the mentor database to guide new joiners to IBM, especially Managers and those who want to get certified on PMP

¨ Attended Android intermediate and advance trainings for 8 days in all.

¨ Member of the Banglore Android meetup.

¨ Prepared database application in Android as an extended activity

Role:- PROJECT MANAGER

Trilogy E-Business India, Bangalore, INDIA

November 2006 to January 2008

Role and Key Accomplishments:

- Handling global team in India and US (about $8 million account) and direct interactions with business and sponsors for the requirements for end-to-end implementation of the customized Insurance product. This involves replacing the existing Mainframe system with the new Distributor Channel Management.

- Managing multiple teams working for top Insurance companies of US, handling the planning, resourcing, revenue tracking. It involves Distributor Channel Management product and Commissions product (Java, J2EE, XML, Struts, AJAX) implementation for various customers.

- Vendor management and outsourcing of the development work for better revenue margins.

- Monitoring and ensuring positive Business Success Metrics

- Team appraisals, goal settings and people’s management.

Metlife Project - The project objectives were to design and implement a System for Institutional business that provides for aggregation of all calculated commissions into a consolidated compensation check or EFT payment to an Intermediary. It provides for the automation of the Incentive Compensation payroll feed to the HR Payroll System and automates, wherever possible, current manual processes in the various systems into one Consolidated Compensation System. It provides the business users a facility to model proposed Compensation Arrangements and Plans as necessary for changes to current or new lines of business compensation plans, arrangements, products, or awards. It also provides sales trend analysis capabilities to be used in conjunction with modeling future Compensation Plans and Arrangements. The functionality also involves needed security functions controlled by business users, such as Single Sign on and role-based access to functionality and reports. It enables the business users to create and run standard reports as needed for auditing and reporting purposes, including reporting of accepted and rejected records.

The technologies used are Java, J2EE, SOA, Oracle, Spring, Hibernate, BIRT, Unix, IBM Websphere, AJAX.

Role:- PROJECT MANAGER/Delivery Manager

Fidelity Business Investments, Gurgaon, INDIA

March 2006 to September 2006

(7 Months)

Role and Key Accomplishments:

- Handling global team in India and UK and direct interactions with business and sponsors for the requirements.

- Managing the web based secure site development under Agile – DSDM methodology. It uses J2EE, Hibernate, Oracle, Sybase, Corba, AS400, Interwoven Teamsite

- Part of SEPG group for taking initiatives in quality improvement and CMM.

- Team appraisals and goal settings.

Project Institutional Defined Benefits - The project handled involved development and implementation of a secure web site for use by Institutional Defined Benefits clients, intermediaries and prospective clients. Fidelity employees within Defined Benefits such as Institutional Support Services staff use the site. A secondary benefit is to provide some self servicing facilities for clients such as report retrieval, maintaining contact details and, in a later phase, on-line straight-through processing of deals. It also involved coordinating with third party vendors who were developing the public site and integrating the two sites.

Role:- PROJECT MANAGER

HCL Technologies Ltd., Gurgaon, INDIA

August 1998 to February 2006 (7 Years 7 Months)

Role and Key Accomplishments:

- Maximum team size handled was more than 70 persons with about 4 onsite coordinators.

- Managing multiple projects in different technologies, with four Technical Project Leads.

- Initiation and setup of the Offshore Development Center

- Responsible for managing the full development lifecycle (SDLC) and maintenance projects including requirements, design, implementation, testing, deployment and customer support for application development projects based on the CMM level 5 compliant corporate quality processes.

- Managed multiple projects simultaneously, with different architecture and infrastructure requirements.

- Responsible for grooming, mentoring and growth of team members.

- Responsible for creation of monthly metrics reports and present to upper management and also to take steps to contain the project costs.

- Prepared proposals, evaluated technical solution, estimated cost and resource for various client requests

- Faced audits for retaining CMM, ISO and BS7799 certification.

- Oversaw strategic account planning, business development, training and hiring of personnel various skills like Java, J2EE.

- Handled projects – design/development/testing/implementation, involving various technologies like Java, J2EE, XML, Documentum, Content@, Visual Basic, .Net, Oracle, Sybase, SQL Server Smart Client and Powerbuilder

Additional Responsibilities handled in HCL Technologies:-

¨ Facilitated recruitment for HCL Global Resourcing for conducting interviews across India.

¨ Conducted trainings in HCL for various subjects like - PMP Exam Walkthrough sessions for aspiring PMPs, trainings on various topics in Java, Configuration management, estimation techniques, etc.

¨ Member of Estimation council of HCL Technologies

¨ Member of Corporate Tools, Technology and Research Council group of HCL Technologies

¨ Preparing proposals and responses to the RFPs for pitching in new business.

Role:- Systems Engineer

Modern Technologies a.k.a Corbus,

NEPZ, Noida, INDIA

October 1997 to August 1998 (About 1 year)

Role and Key Accomplishments:

¨ Responsible for requirements management, design, coding, testing of various projects in Powerbuilder, Oracle, Sybase.

¨ Focusing on customer satisfaction, developed clear business requirements for individualized reports deployed standardized project-management processes and deliverables.

Role:- Systems Programmer

Computer Impact, Jalandhar, INDIA

November 1994 to August 1996 (About 2 yrs)

Role and Key Accomplishments:

¨ This was the start of the career with managing a contract of computer education and computerization of the Apeejay Education Society’s Jalandhar branch senior school and college.

¨ It involved setting up of about 50 computers through LAN, and preparing software packages for the school like Fees Management, Admission procedures and other administrative tasks using FoxPro and C.

Global Experience

¨ Traveled to US 8 times in different locations – Metlife, NJ; LexisNexis, Dayton Ohio; Matthew Benders, New York; Martindale Hubel, New Providence; Elsevier Science, Philadelphia; Michie Charlottesville Virginia; LexisNexis, Bethesda; Matthew Benders, Albany; and New Zealand for small to large assignments and building up relationship with the customers. This helped successfully gaining business from the unexplored areas of the acquired companies of the customer especially under the offshore model.

¨ Traveled to UK for starting up of an Offshore Development Center for Elsevier, London

¨ Currently hold a valid 10 year valid business Visa (expires 2013) for US.

EDUCATION

q Post Graduate Diploma in Management(MBA) with specialization in Systems, All India Management Association, New Delhi

q Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration, Andhra University, 1995

q Hons. Diploma in Information and Systems Management, APTECH, Jalandhar,

q Advance Diploma in Software Exports Technology, ASSET, New Delhi (Sep 1996 to Aug 1996)

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

v Project Management Professional (PMP)

v Taken session in PMI Bangalore chapter on Project Management.

v Financial Markets, Equity and Derivatives certification from NCFM

v ITIL Certification course

v Certified Agile DSDM Practitioner from RADTAC, UK (http://www.radtac.co.uk/)

v Sun Certified Java Professional (SCJP)

v Certified Internal Auditor by KPMG for ISO:9001

v Six Sigma Black Belt from KPMG

v Certification of Edward DeBono’s Six Hats Training program.

v Member of PMI, USA

v Member of PMI Bangalore Chapter, PMI North India Chapter

v Won Star Performer award in HCL Technologies twice.

v Awarded Certificate of Appreciation from the Customer (LexisNexis) for outstanding work for three consecutive years

2009-11-30T22:20:00.004+05:30

PMP Exam - What and How ?

What is PMP ?

PMP (Project Management Professional) is one of the prestigious certifications for Project Managers and it is the most sought after in the industry.
The certification exam is conducted online by PMI (http://www.pmi.org) through the prometric centres (www.prometric.com/pmi) .

Prerequisites:

Refer the handbook in pmi site(http://www.pmi.org/PDF/pdf_pmhandbook.pdf). Use version March'09
PM Experience - About 3 years (or 4500 hrs of project management "role" for graduates)
Formal course - minimum 35 hrs of course from any REP (refer the list in www.pmi.org). Be aware that not all courses are certified for these 35 hrs.
Complete the application process and send the application to the pmi.

About the Exam:

Exam has 200 questions with only 175 gradable questions (for 25 questions marks are not considered as they are more of a survey kind or piloting new test questions)
Total hrs for the exam are 4 (This is sufficient time so don't be scared)
Here is the breakup of the percentage of question from the processes covered in exam :
IPECC (Initiating, Planning, Executing, Controlling, Closing)

Initiating process – 11% - 19 questions
-Planning process – 23% - 40 questions
-Executing process – 27% - 47 questions
-Monitoring and Controlling process – 21% - 37 questions
-Closing process – 9% - 16 questions
-Professional responsibility – 9% - 16 questions

Answer every question as there is no negative marking
Passing marks are 61% i.e. 106 out of 175 questions.

Fees:

For PMI members: USD 405
For non-PMI members: USD 555
PMI membership fee: USD 129
So you save USD 21 if you get membership first and then apply for exam. It is not a matter of 21 USD but more importantly you get access to PMI site where you have excellent material and free down-loadable PMBOK4. Also you get PM magazines with excellent case studies and articles. The membership is valid for a year.
Cost to retake an exam: USD 275
You can re-take upto 3 times

PMP Application Form

Some good practice exam sites

Recommended Books:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The PMI TIPS

How do I learn the Knowledge Areas ?
I                  -    Integration
Saw            -     Scope
Two            -    Time
Cows        -    Cost
Quietly        -    Quality
Having         -    HR (Human Resource)
Coffee &    -    Communication
Reading       -    Risk
Poetry         -    Procurement

More to come........

2009-11-13T22:45:00.001+05:30

Why Yoga?

Swami Anubhavanada

A talk by Swami Anubhavanandaji, July 2005, UK

Most of us live our life by 'Default settings'. Once we have set our PC to a certain setting, when we switch it on, all those settings manifest and there is nothing new. Living like this, makes life after some time boring, it's a struggle, we feel weighed down - life lost its quality of celebration. The reason is our mechanical life-style. To get out of this mechanical existence different ways have been suggested by many great Masters.

The way I like most is: "looking within". To 'look within' means evaluate and analyse your own experience. When we do that, we are able to see what exactly is happening in our life.

For example: we all have been attracted to something or other when we were young. We were so crazy for this item, that we asked ourselves: "how can I live without it?".

Time has passed. Looking back, we realise that although we thought, we can't live without that thing - we neither have the thing, nor are we dead! Evaluating and analysing our past, we realise that our existence is independent from the things around us. This independence is freedom. Let's look behind the scene.

Normally we imagine that this waking world is the only playing-field of our existence, which in turn is reflected as our personality: Hence we deduce: I am beautiful - I am ugly, I am educated - I am stupid, I am rich - I was poor. so "Mrs. Waker" is created.

But think, we also go through experiences in the dream state and then there is the deep sleep, but we don't make a personality out of these. Out of the "waking-state " we make a personality, out of the dreams we don't.

Isn't that odd? Either we should make a personality also out of the dream experience, or not make one out of the waking state! Reflecting on this idiosyncrasy, analysing this mistake - will change our life. We make both, waking and dream experience, through the mind. Yet one - the dream we write of as illusion, - the other we consider real and hold on to it. It's crazy!

See: I see you with my open eyes, and my mind is behind the eyes to interpret what I see. Yet sometimes I sleep or stare - with open eyes if you then come in front of me - I don't see you, why? Because the mind is not involved, is not engaged behind the eyes.

Let's look behind this phenomena.

For each of us, the world is images; we see it, but how do we see something? Our eyes are a lens, the object is inverted, an image is formed on the retina and that image is interpreted and comprehended by the mind. So what I am seeing of you, is not you - but only the image of you on my retina.

How is that? Imagine I sit in a dark room you come into the dark room and look at me ï but guess what? You don't see me at all. What you normally see is the light falling on me and bouncing off on to your retina; what we call seeing is light making images on our retina for the mind to interpret. So the mind is the interpreter of what our senses receive! How?

Think of looking at a mirror and the mirror is full of dust - what will the reflection be like? If the mirror is not just dusty but also shaking, what is the Quality of the reflection like? Similarly, if our mind is full of the dust of this world and it is constantly moving, i.e. extremely agitated then what will be the image of the world on the mind? The image will never be correct, because the reflecting medium is unsteady and dirty! Therefore what we see in this world is not what the world is - but, what my mind interprets, depending on its own quality.

Suppose you have a very nice meal in front of you and you are hungry. At that very moment you get the news of somebody close to you having died. Will you enjoy the beautiful meal? No! Because the joy has gone, you lost your appetite! That's why every religion has a practise of how to make the mind a fit instrument. So that we are able to see the divinity abundantly present in this world. See the beauty, which is always there - beyond ugliness; see life - more than death; see the positive, thriving in any phenomena - more than the negative and painful.

But we don't see this, why ?

This mind through which we come in contact with the world is never taken care of. Have you ever asked in your prayer, for a clear, pure mind, a mind that can see the beauty of the Lord in all of creation or simply see the world as it is? Instead we pray with a big list of wants connected to our 'dust-coloured imagination', we pray for a new car, a new house, an new husband.God becomes the means and the world becomes the goal; it should be the other way round, the world is the means - to attain Him, Reality.

To work on this process of purifying our mind, we need a healthy body as an instrument. But how much energy do we spend on maintaining the physical body and yet we spent none on mental health.

We need to pay attention to the quality of mind! Purify the mind so that we can see the Divine Presence in the Reality of Life; this is the ultimate goal of man, there is nothing else to attain! Left to itself the mind will only produce confusion, misunderstanding and eventually depression, dejection, helplessness, illness, loneliness and to drown it out, we choose all sort of distractions, i.e. noise; constantly surrounding ourselves with loud, blaring music - keeping the mind agitated; distorting rather than - purifying.

The moment we expose ourselves to the silence, we start to feel fear. We come across this problem in Meditation classes.As we touch silence, fear rises; then out of fear - we tighten up, create knee pains, back pains, click fingers etc.

Instead of becoming the master of the mind, the mind becomes our master and we remain its slave, mistaking its machinations for freedom.

The common phrase "I can do what I like" can be rephrased : "I follow the command of my distorted mind". This is not freedom!

For example: A father scolds his daughter because she wants to party, instead of doing homework. Immediately the mind of the daughter creates a horrible picture, where her father and all men are bad, oppressing women.just like men have throughout the ages. She sees Father behave like caveman! She won't listen and does "what I like"!

Dancing to the tricks of the mind rather than seeing the reality of the need to study for the immanent exam. To know that alcohol or drugs destroys us, we only need to observe others, we do not need to conduct the experience ourselves; others have already been the guinea-pigs, we just need to take the data and learn from it! But we feel: freedom is doing what I like doing; No! that is being en-slaved by the mind. And this is why Yoga does not start with Asanas! Unfortunately in this part of the world, Yoga means primarily either energetic exercises or putting your body into some unnatural posture; neither is Yoga!!!

In Yoga, first we have Yama and Niyama then we have asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi. one by one, we have to take care of all, we cannot pick out one item! That is like saying: my hunger is satiated by eating the 9th. slice of bread. Can I eat only the 9th slice of bread? No! All of the 8 limbs of Yoga are meant for one thing only: correcting the abnormality in the mind's conditions. If we are not taking care of the mind we are our own worst enemy. At the latest when we get old, we will realise our mistakes; when our minds will not co-operate and we feel depressed and disillusioned and desolate.

There is only one remedy, to become aware of - and train our mind.

When I look at Martin, do I really see him? Am I aware that what I see is my projection on him? My perception of his form is immediately followed by mental projections and this projection of my mind is what creates most problems in human interaction. We have to recognise this, and learn from it!

Those who live in awareness, alone can grow on the spiritual path. What is required is self-discipline, when discipline is imposed by ourselves - it's freedom; if we are doing something out of our own free will, we will enjoy it (if it is imposed by others we don't). Living a spiritual life really begins when we live in awareness! The first step to that is Yama-sadhana where we become aware of our interaction with the world.

This interaction is of two types. First: we get lost in worldly temptations and eventually become a miserable character because we can never have all we want! It is living like an indulging beggar; yes someone who constantly takes! We take with all "five begging-bowls" i.e. all five senses...taking and wanting constantly what we see, touch, taste, hear and smell. We beg for ever higher stimulus. Such a beggar can never be happy!

The second interaction is one of giving! Let's give, always the best we have if we live from that our mind becomes purer and purer. The Bhagavad Gita says: He who is not a burden for the world and for whom the world is not a burden is my real devotee. Such a one doesn't want, he only gives and who can do that? Only one who has! The most important we can give? AAh, happiness!

We look down on this simple gift, yet it's the biggest thing anyone can give. Be happy. Then there are no complaints! Normally we have lot of complaints because we have lots of expectation! We start every day with expectations; calculating what somebody else can give to me, do for me etc. Understand that the first step to living happily and cheerfully is to not expect anything from others! It doesn't mean walking around with a constant silly smile on your face that is just looking pathetic, even dumb but not happy.

No, give up expectations and discover the real joy of life; it comes from having zero expectations, not dependent on anyone our mind will stop reacting with fear, jealousy, depression etc. once it stops reacting we can take the second step!

The second problem is: we ourselves for ourselves.

We have these opinions of who we are, which eventually lead to see that we are quiet unimportant; life went on before us and will continue after us. At that point we become depressed (even suicidal); feel lonely and thus seek recognition. We do anything to get recognition from others for fear of facing ourselves, of being alone! The Way out?

Stop talking to yourself - when you are alone, instead observe your own mind! Yes, stop talking and simply observe what is going on in your mind. Once we become aware - we can change. Living in Awareness becomes a life-style!

When we start living in Awareness and see how we obsessively follow certain set patterns, our Default settings can be changed. Aware of our attachment to something, how we react unnecessarily, get involved in others unwanted, how we keep judging or evaluate people - we can correct these mental modifications. We learn to keep our mouth shut; aware of the machinations and quality of our mind, it itself becomes stiller.

Once we are aware of how we interact with the world, and how our mind is conditioned, we come to the third step asana. Asana is not simply 'posture' it refers to blissful stability of existence! Happiness not because of anything or anybody (any achievements, or the wife or husband)but simply by being, without effort! Yes, once we can exist effortless, we become happy or rather blissful. And when we are stable and effortless in this blissful state of being and can practice this again and again, we practise asana i.e. we sit easy and happy in one posture for a long period of time. Why is this necessary? Patanjali tells us "remain sitting blissful" so you can progress to the higher practices, and return to your original nature.

Many Yoga practitioners and teachers can't sit in one posture for more than five minutes without moving - forget even sitting cheerfully and happy. They move constantly from one posture to the next - and call that asana, this is not asana! Asana is being cheerful and still so that our prana-shakti (breath/life-force) automatically is calm and quiet, only then a quiet mind will follow and with that the divinity and beauty behind all the names of forms in this world can be reflected on it. He who can perceive divinity in this world, will never have any complaints, life is fulfilled.

When mind is slowly purified it does not move anymore to the whims and projections, fantasies and conjectures; the mind is no more a slave of its imagination but becomes a controlled instrument to work with, a pure mind. Pure mind is that mind, where the inquiry is kindled of who we are, to find our correct identity. Without establishing that, we can never have peace; we will go wondering: are we the body, the mind, the prana who is this ego-self? Who am I? In other words, when the mind has investigated the outer world, and the modifications and illusions of its own creation - the inquiry turns to evaluated the mind itself - and turns to discover who is working through this mind.

Until then all we do is being occupied with past impressions, past events - old files stored in the memory. We think of ourselves as the son of 'so-and-so', from this or that country, who went to school her and there, met 'so- and- so' who did this and that to me etc. etc. The past is dead, it stinks, it rots what ever your glorious life! Your personality is totally dominated by the past, your mind preoccupied with its imprints from where it projects the future, by passing the present! Yet you can only life in the Present! In the NOW, in the absolute presence there is only pure consciousness.

Consciousness with the impurity of past is called mind. Man with the impurity of the past is the husband, with the impurity of the future is the father; in the absolute presence there neither husband nor father, these are conditioned expression of pure consciousness. Living in pure consciousness, in absolute presence for long periods of time, opens a total new faculty: intuitive understanding.

When this faculty is inaugurated, we start living in that eternal conscious existence and discover, that I am not in the body, body is the contents - the prana is the container; furthermore the body and the prana are the contents, the mind is the container; then? Further even the body, the prana the mind are the content - consciousness is the container. This consciousness is functioning in and through everybody. When that consciousness is able to express through anybody as mind that body becomes enlivened, just like electricity expressing through a light-bulb becomes light. This consciousness expresses through every living being, man, rats and butterflies. But as mind it expresses through a human body, however the moment consciousness fails to express through this mind the body is dead.

Conscious reality is the essence of our existence, he who has discovered this, can not be the victim of relative existence, the world and its problem.

In consciousness there is no trace of relativity - in the mind there is nothing but relativity. Once this is understood, we recognise this One, non-dual, undivided conscious existence as the essence in which there is no I, thus also no I versus You !

Thus 'awakened' we are not touched by the joys and sorrows of this world - just like the gains and the loss of the dream experience does not influence the 'Waker'. Who lives in this Awareness, lives the fulfillment of existence.
This is available to all of us, through body-dis-identification, breath control, a mind that is perceiving but not reacting, a mind that is simply aware! The experience of homogeneous, undivided, conscious existence is the Truth! It is free from the fear of Death, the load of guilt and the torture of fear. Thus awakened, aware we don't have to change anything around us, a teacher effortless becomes an extraordinary teacher, a husband an extraordinary husband, a wife and extraordinary wife, a child an extraordinary child.Living in this Awareness is Yoga, is Spiritual Life, whether you walk, talk, sit, stand - or do anything. It's not changing external, but growing within, growing beyond relativity and remaining as the Absolute.This is the purpose of Yoga, Meditation or Spiritual life.

How to increase your immunity from any Flu (Swine flu, H1N1, etc..)

2009-10-16T22:33:00.002+05:30

Have five duly washed leaves of Tulsi (known as Basil in English; medicinal name Ocimum sanctum) everyday in the morning. Tulsi has a large number of therapeutic properties. It keeps throat and lungs clear and helps in infections by way of strengthening your immunity.
Giloi (medicinal name Tinospora cordifolia) is a commonly available plant in many areas. Take a one-foot long branch of giloi, add five to six leaves of Tulsi and boil in water for 15-20 minutes or long enough to allow the water to extract its properties. Add black pepper and sendha (salt used during religious fasts), rock or black salt, or Misri (crystalised sugar like lumps to make it sweet) according to taste. Let it cool a bit and drink this kadha (concoction) while still warm. It will work wonders for your immunity. If giloi plant is not available, get processed giloi powder from Hamdard or others, and concoct a similar drink once a day.
A small piece of camphor (kapoor) approximately the size of a tablet should be taken once or twice a month. It can be swallowed with water by adults while children can take it along with mashed potatoes or banana because they will find it difficult to have it without any aides. Please remember camphor is not to be taken everyday, but only once each season, or once a month.
Those who can take garlic, must have two pods of raw garlic first thing in the morning. To be swallowed daily with lukewarm water. Garlic too strengthens immunity like the earlier measures mentioned.
Those not allergic to milk, must take a glass of hot or lukewarm milk every night with a small measure of haldi (turmeric).
Aloe vera (gwarpatha) too is a commonly available plant. Its thick and long, cactus-like leaves have an odourless gel. A teaspoon gel taken with water daily can work wonders for not only your skin and joint pains, but also boost immunity.
Take homeopathic medicines — Pyrogenium 200 and Inflenzium 200 in particular — five tablets three times a day, or two-three drops three times a day. While these are not specifically targeted at H1N1 either, these work well as preventive against common flu virus.
Do Pranayam daily (preferably under guidance if you are already not initiated into it) and go for morning jog or walk regularly to keep your throat and lungs in good condition and body in fine fettle. Even in small measures, it will work wonders for your body’s resistance against all such diseases which attack the nose, throat and lungs, besides keeping you fit.
Have citrus fruits, particularly Vitamin C rich Amla (Indian gooseberry) juice. Since fresh Amla is not yet available in the market (not for another three to four months), it is not a bad idea to buy packaged Amla juice which is commonly available nowadays.
Last but not the least, wash your hands frequently every day with soap and warm water for 15-20 seconds; especially before meals, or each time after touching a surface that you suspect could be contaminated with flu virus such as a door handle or a knob or handle, especially if you have returned from a public place or used public transport. Alcohol-based hand cleaners should be kept handy at all times and used until you can get soap and warm water.

Note:.. The views expressed above are taken from different sources on net or from the television. Please take advise from your medical practitioner.

Energizing Word of Mouth through Social Media

2009-09-20T14:49:00.001+05:30

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Energizing Word of Mouth through Social Media

View more documents from Lee Aase.

Practical Examples of Social Media for Non-Profits

2009-09-20T14:46:00.001+05:30

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Practical Examples of Social Media for Non-Profits

View more presentations from Laura Lacy.

Power of Positive Talk

2009-06-20T13:45:00.005+05:30

Power of Positive Talk

I remember my dad teaching me the power of language at a very young age. Not only did my dad understand that specific words affect our mental pictures, but he understood words are a powerful programming factor in lifelong success.

One particularly interesting event occurred when I was eight. As a kid, I was always climbing trees, poles, and literally hanging around upside down from the rafters of our lake house. So, it came to no surprise for my dad to find me at the top of a 30-foot tree swinging back and forth. My little eight-year-old brain didn't realize the tree could break or I could get hurt. I just thought it was fun to be up so high.

My older cousin, Tammy, was also in the same tree. She was hanging on the first big limb, about ten feet below me. Tammy's mother also noticed us at the exact time my dad did. About that time a huge gust of wind came over the tree. I could hear the leaves start to rattle and the tree begin to sway. I remember my dad's voice over the wind yell, 'Bart, Hold on tightly.' So I did. The next thing I know, I heard Tammy screaming at the top of her lungs, laying flat on the ground. She had fallen out of the tree.

I scampered down the tree to safety. My dad later told me why she fell and I did not. Apparently, when Tammy's mother felt the gust of wind, she yelled out, 'Tammy, don't fall!' And Tammy did fall.

My dad then explained to me that the mind has a very difficult time processing a negative image. In fact, people who rely on internal pictures cannot see a negative at all. In order for Tammy to process the command of not falling, her nine-year-old brain had to first imagine falling, then try to tell the brain not to do what it just imagined. Whereas, my eight-year-old brain instantly had an internal image of me hanging on tightly.

This concept is especially useful when you are attempting to break a habit or set a goal. You can't visualize not doing something. The only way to properly visualize not doing something is to actually find a word for what you want to do and visualize that.. For example, when I was thirteen years old, I played for my junior high school football team. I tried so hard to be good, but I just couldn't get it together at that age. I remember hearing the words run through my head as I was running out for a pass, 'Don't drop it!' Naturally, I dropped the ball.

My coaches were not skilled enough to teach us proper 'self-talk.' They just thought some kids could catch and others couldn't. I'll never make it pro, but I'm now a pretty good Sunday afternoon football player, because all my internal dialogue is positive and encourages me to win. I wish my dad had coached me playing football instead of just climbing trees. I might have had a longer football career.

Here is a very easy demonstration to teach your kids and your friends the power of a toxic vocabulary. Ask them to hold a pen or pencil. Hand it to them. Now, follow my instructions carefully. Say to them, 'Okay, try to drop the pencil.' Observe what they do.
Most people release their hands and watch the pencil hit the floor. You respond, 'You weren't paying attention. I said TRY to drop the pencil. Now please do it again.' Most people then pick up the pencil and pretend to be in excruciating pain while their hand tries but fails to drop the pencil.
The point is made.
If you tell your brain you will 'give it a try,' you are actually telling your brain to fail. I have a 'no try' rule in my house and with everyone I interact with. Either people will do it or they won't. Either they will be at the party or they won't. I'm brutal when people attempt to lie to me by using the word try. Do they think I don't know they are really telegraphing to the world they have no intention of doing it but they want me to give them brownie points for pretended effort? You will never hear the words 'I'll try' come out of my mouth unless I'm teaching this concept in a seminar.
If you 'try' and do something, your unconscious mind has permission not to succeed. If I truly can't make a decision I will tell the truth. 'Sorry John. I'm not sure if I will be at your party or not. I've got an outstanding commitment. If that falls through, I will be here. Otherwise, I will not. Thanks for the invite.'
People respect honesty. So remove the word 'try' from your vocabulary.
My dad also told me that psychologists claim it takes seventeen positive statements to offset one negative statement. I have no idea if it is true, but the logic holds true. It might take up to seventeen compliments to offset the emotional damage of one harsh criticism.
These are concepts that are especially useful when raising children.

Ask yourself how many compliments you give yourself daily versus how many criticisms. Heck, I know you are talking to yourself all day long. We all have internal voices that give us direction.

So, are you giving yourself the 17:1 ratio or are you shortchanging yourself with toxic self-talk like, ' I'm fat. Nobody will like me. I'll try this diet. I'm not good enough. I'm so stupid. I'm broke, etc. etc.'

If our parents can set a lifetime of programming with one wrong statement, imagine the kind of programming you are doing on a daily basis with your own internal dialogue. Here is a list of Toxic Vocabulary words.

Notice when you or other people use them.
Ø But: Negates any words that are stated before it.
Ø Try: Presupposes failure.
Ø If: Presupposes that you may not.
Ø Might: It does nothing definite. It leaves options for your listener.
Ø Would Have: Past tense that draws attention to things that didn't actually happen.
Ø Should Have: Past tense that draws attention to things that didn't actually happen (and implies guilt.)
Ø Could Have: Past tense that draws attention to things that didn't actually happen but the person tries to take credit as if it did happen.
Ø Can't/Don't: These words force the listener to focus on exactly the opposite of what you want. This is a classic mistake that parents and coaches make without knowing the damage of this linguistic error.
Examples:
Toxic phrase: 'Don't drop the ball!'
Likely result: Drops the ball
Better language: 'Catch the ball!'
Toxic phrase: 'You shouldn't watch so much television.'
Likely result: Watches more television.
Better language: 'I read too much television makes people stupid.. You might find yourself turning that TV off and picking up one of those books more often!'
Exercise: Take a moment to write down all the phrases you use on a daily basis or any Toxic self-talk that you have noticed yourself using. Write these phrases down so you will begin to catch yourself as they occur and change them.

Bangalore Aeroshow 2009

2009-05-16T09:13:00.012+05:30

Standard NATO Phonetic letters.

2009-05-10T13:14:00.002+05:30

Do you feel loosing right words when spelling out your name on phone to somebody ?
Use them when spelling out the English letters when your pronunciation is not followed by the other party..

Letter	Phonetic Letter	Letter	Phonetic Letter
A	Alpha	N	November
B	Bravo	O	Oscar
C	Charlie	P	Papa
D	Delta	Q	Quebec
E	Echo	R	Romeo
F	Foxtrot	S	Sierra
G	Golf	T	Tango
H	Hotel	U	Uniform
I	India	V	Victor
J	Juliet	W	Whiskey
K	Kilo	X	X-ray
L	Lima	Y	Yankee
M	Mike	Z	Zulu

2009-02-23T23:15:00.026+05:30

Ashtamudi, Kerala - God's own Land....
Backwater Retreat Ashtamudi is located at Ashtamudi near Kollam, Kerala . It is a network of lakes canals and estuaries opening. The backwaters are a self supporting eco-system teeming with aquatic life. The canals are still used for local transport.
There are almost a dozen of such backwaters in Kerala of which Ashtamudi is the second largest. Ashtamudi means, eight-armed’, after the eight arms of the lake.

My Favorite Videos

2009-01-08T23:56:00.006+05:30

i) A Classical Punjabi Song

ii) Kali Teri Guth te paranda tera lal nee..

iii) Punjabi Tappe

iv) Chulle Ag no gade de vich pani

v) Saun da mahina

2008-10-17T19:52:00.003+05:30

Loving things..

While a man was polishing his new car, his 4 yr old son picked stone & scratched lines on the side of the car. In anger, the man took the child's hand & hit it many times, not realizing he was using a wrench.At the hospital, the child lost all his fingers due to multiple fractures. When the child saw his father....with painful eyes he asked 'Dad when will my fingers grow back?

Man was so hurt and speechless. He went back to car and kicked it a lot of times. Devastated by his own actions...... sitting in front of that car he looked at the scratches, child had written 'LOVE YOU DAD'. The next day that man committed suicide. . .Anger and Love have no limits; choose the later to have a beautiful & Lovely life....

Things are to be used and people are to be loved..........

But the problem in today's world is that - People are used and things are loved...........

My Favorite Lectures..

2008-08-05T21:00:00.014+05:30

2008-06-24T22:18:00.003+05:30

Useful Toll free numbers in India

Airlines

Indian Airlines - 1800 180 1407

Jet Airways - 1800 22 5522SpiceJet - 1800 180 3333

Air India -- 1800 22 7722

KingFisher - 1800 180 0101

Banks
ABN AMRO - 1800 11 2224
Canara Bank - 1800 44 6000
Citibank - 1800 44 2265
Corporatin Bank - 1800 443 555
Development Credit Bank - 1800 22 5769
HDFC Bank - 1800 227 227
ICICI Bank - 1800 333 499
ICICI Bank NRI - 1800 22 4848
IDBI Bank - 1800 11 6999
Indian Bank - 1800 425 1400
ING Vysya - 1800 44 9900
Kotak Mahindra Bank - 1800 22 6022
Lord Krishna Bank - 1800 11 2300
Punjab National Bank - 1800 122 222
State Bank of India - 1800 44 1955
Syndicate Bank - 1800 44 6655

Automobiles
Mahindra Scorpio - 1800 22 6006
Maruti - 1800 111 515
Tata Motors - 1800 22 5552
Windshield Experts - 1800 11 3636

Computers/IT
Adrenalin - 1800 444 445
AMD - 1800 425 6664
Apple Computers - 1800 444 683
Canon - 1800 333 366
Cisco Systems - 1800 221 777
Compaq - HP - 1800 444 999
Data One Broadband - 1800 424 1800
Dell - 1800 444 026
Epson - 1800 44 0011
eSys - 3970 0011
Genesis Tally Academy - 1800 444 888
HCL - 1800 180 8080
IBM - 1800 443 333
Lexmark - 1800 22 4477
Marshal's Point - 1800 33 4488
Microsoft - 1800 111 100
Microsoft Virus Update - 1901 333 334
Seagate - 1800 180 1104
Symantec - 1800 44 5533
TVS Electronics - 1800 444 566
WeP Peripherals - 1800 44 6446
Wipro - 1800 333 312
xerox - 1800 180 1225
Zenith - 1800 222 004

Indian Railway General Enquiry 131
Indian Railway Central Enquiry 131
Indian Railway Reservation 131
Indian Railway Railway Reservation Enquiry 1345,1335,1330
Indian Railway Centralised Railway Enquiry 1330/1/2/3/4/ 5/6/7/8/9

Couriers/Packers & Movers
ABT Courier - 1800 44 8585
AFL Wizz - 1800 22 9696
Agarwal Packers & Movers - 1800 11 4321
Associated Packers P Ltd - 1800 21 4560
DHL - 1800 111 345
FedEx - 1800 22 6161
Goel Packers & Movers - 1800 11 3456
UPS - 1800 22 7171
Home AppliancesAiwa/Sony - 1800 11 1188
Anchor Switches - 1800 22 7979
Blue Star - 1800 22 2200
Bose Audio - 1800 11 2673
Bru Coffee Vending Machines - 1800 44 7171
Daikin Air Conditioners - 1800 444 222
DishTV - 1800 12 3474
Faber Chimneys - 1800 21 4595
Godrej - 1800 22 5511
Grundfos Pumps - 1800 33 4555
LG - 1901 180 9999
Philips - 1800 22 4422
Samsung - 1800 113 444
Sanyo - 1800 11 0101
Voltas - 1800 33 4546
WorldSpace Satellite Radio - 1800 44 5432

Investments/ Finance
CAMS - 1800 44 2267
Chola Mutual Fund - 1800 22 2300
Easy IPO's - 3030 5757
Fidelity Investments - 1800 180 8000
Franklin Templeton Fund - 1800 425 4255
J M Morgan Stanley - 1800 22 0004
Kotak Mutual Fund - 1800 222 626
LIC Housing Finance - 1800 44 0005
SBI Mutual Fund - 1800 22 3040
Sharekhan - 1800 22 7500
Tata Mutual Fund - 1800 22 0101

Travel
Club Mahindra Holidays - 1800 33 4539
Cox & Kings - 1800 22 1235
God TV Tours - 1800 442 777
Kerala Tourism - 1800 444 747
Kumarakom Lake Resort - 1800 44 5030
Raj Travels & Tours - 1800 22 9900
Sita Tours - 1800 111 911
SOTC Tours - 1800 22 3344

Healthcare
Best on Health - 1800 11 8899
Dr Batras - 1800 11 6767
GlaxoSmithKline - 1800 22 8797
Johnson & Johnson - 1800 22 8111
Kaya Skin Clinic - 1800 22 5292
LifeCell - 1800 44 5323
Manmar Technologies - 1800 33 4420
Pfizer - 1800 442 442
Roche Accu-Chek - 1800 11 45 46
Rudraksha - 1800 21 4708
Varilux Lenses - 1800 44 8383
VLCC - 1800 33 1262

Insurance
AMP Sanmar - 1800 44 2200
Aviva - 1800 33 2244
Bajaj Allianz - 1800 22 5858
Chola MS General Insurance - 1800 44 5544
HDFC Standard Life - 1800 227 227
LIC - 1800 33 4433
Max New York Life - 1800 33 5577
Royal Sundaram - 1800 33 8899
SBI Life Insurance - 1800 22 9090

Hotel Reservations
GRT Grand - 1800 44 5500
InterContinental Hotels Group - 1800 111 000
Marriott - 1800 22 0044
Sarovar Park Plaza - 1800 111 222
Taj Holidays - 1800 111 825
TeleshoppinAsian Sky Shop - 1800 22 1800
Jaipan Teleshoppe - 1800 11 5225
Tele Brands - 1800 11 8000
VMI Teleshopping - 1800 447 777
WWS Teleshopping - 1800 220 777
Others Domino's Pizza - 1800 111 123
Cell PhonesBenQ - 1800 22 08 08
Bird CellPhones - 1800 11 7700
Motorola MotoAssist - 1800 11 1211
Nokia - 3030 3838
Sony Ericsson - 3901 1111

Financial Clinic

2008-06-21T19:02:00.008+05:30

Financial Clinic For You

Define your cash flow: This can be done by maintaining an expense sheet for 6 months, clearly maintaining day to day expenses. This indication shall give you your surplus investible cashflow.
Financial Foundation: Secure your risks first, mainly health, personal accident and life risk for at least 5 times the amount of your annual salary. If you have annual salary of 10 lac, you must be covered by a risk of 50 lac. So if you have taken an insurance policy of 2 lac or 4 lac sum arrured, you are being fooled by the agents.
Channelize 25% of your surplus cash flow towards your retirement, because at this point in life you require a small amount of money to create good retirement corpus. Moreover most you do not work in public sector or govt. company that you shall get pension. 10 or 20 years down the line or may be more you never know your kids shall support you looking at the new generation styles, and you will not get pension and inflation shall be skyrocketting. So, there is nothing wrong in living in today and believing in today but you must plan for future.
All surpulus cash flow must first be channelized to create a fund for at least 18-24 months in a balanced portfolio, which would form the foundation of your future plan.
Where to invest: If your age is x years, you must x% of your wealth in your saving or liquid cash. Have 100-x/3 in less riskier investments like mutual funds and the remaining in Equity market. e.g. if your age is 34 and you have 1 lac as your wealth, save 34 thousand in saving account or FD or cash in hand. The remaining, 100-34 = 66/3=22 thousand you can invest in mutual funds. And 44 thousand you can invest in the equity market.
Do not invest in more than 5 to 6 mutual funds.
Do not invest in more than 10 stocks in equity and try different sectors to diversify your portfolio.

Spend wisely, invest wisely and live happily :-)

Let me know if you want to discuss further..... I am open to discussions.

Self Massage and pressure points for Healthy body..

2008-05-22T23:11:00.008+05:30

2 Images with details on Pressure points on hands for accupressure and for self massage
Click the images to enlarge them.

2008-05-04T18:44:00.006+05:30

Veggie Quesadillas

Type of recipe: Appetizers

Preparation Time (min): 16

Cook Time (min): 5

Prep Tool: Microwave

Recipe Ingredients: 6 Soft Wheat Flour Tortillas4 Tbsp. Italian Dressing1 large Red Onion diced1 large Tomato diced2 Anaheim Chiles seeded and diced1 tsp. Chile Powder1/4 cup Coriander(Dhania) chopped, 3 cups Cheese(made from skimmed cow's milk), grated Salsa, Guacamole and Sour Cream
Recipe Instructions:

1. Combine 1/2 of the Italian dressing, onion, tomato, chilies and chili powder in a microwave proof bowl or casserole.

2. Microwave at full power, uncovered, for 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender and mixture is thickened, stir in cilantro. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese on 1/2 of each tortilla and top with 3 tablespoons vegetable mixture.

3. Fold tortillas in half and brush with remaining Italian dressing. Place 3 filled tortillas on a wax paper lined plate and microwave on High for 1 minute or until cheese is melted; repeat with remaining tortillas.

4. Cut each quesadilla into thirds. Garnish with salsa, guacamole and sour cream if desired; serve immediately.Enjoy this delicious quesadillas!

____________________________________________________________

Vegetarian Fajitas

Type of recipe: Vegetarian

Preparation Time (min): 10

Cook Time (min): 20

Prep Tool: Stovetop

Recipe Ingredients: 2 Tbsps. Oil, 1 Green Bell Pepper sliced, 1 Yellow or Red Bell Pepper sliced, 1/2 medium Onion sliced, 1 large Tomato chopped, 8 eight inch Soft Taco sized Flour Tortillas, Guacamole, Sour Cream and Salsa as desired
Recipe Instructions:

1. Heat oil in large skillet or wok over medium-high heat until hot.

2. Add bell pepper and onion

3. Cook and stir 2 or 3 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender.

4. Add tomato, salt and pepper; cook until thoroughly heated.

5. To serve, place 1/2 cup of the vegetable mixture in center of each warmed tortilla with desired toppings. Fold or roll up.Enjoy this delicious vegetarian fajitas Mexican recipe!

Is this what I want in Life ? Am I happy ? Satisfied ?

2008-04-28T09:38:00.007+05:30

Good salary, good status in the society, or may be you are struggling to catch up with the social barriers and live a good life in society. Frustration, and vacuum in life is always there in everyone's life. I have seen people in various offices working throughout the day till late night - why - to meet the goals, to meet the targets, to earn more money so that kids can have better life..... There are 1000 reasons to put yourself in tough situations and make your like miserable. How many times have you actually made yourself or others happy ? To make yourself happy and to feel the bliss of joy you need not have the luxury of big bungalows and big luxury cars. Try a few minutes of meditation and see the effect. I don't say follow my words. Just give it a try. And you don't need to practice tough exercises - just sit and relax in silence close your eyes and concentrate on your breath going in and out. It is so simple. Some people complain that during this their mind tend to wander - it is totally normal that happens. Let it wander and then again gently bring it back to your meditation. In a few days you shall be able to control it. 10 minutes of meditation and you shall free like you have taken rest or as fresh as you are after 2 hrs of afternoon nap ! I am telling from my experience. Try it and if you have any doubts ask me - I shall try to help (thinkcomplete@gmail.com) or go through the links I have suggested.

All the Best - Wish you Happiness and Good Health

Links for those seeking spiritual bliss:
http://www.sivananda.org/
http://www.divyayoga.com/

2008-04-18T23:48:00.004+05:30

A Nice Article about Love by Swami Vivekananda

I once had a friend who grew to be very close to me. Once when we were sitting at the edge of a swimming pool, she filled the palm of her hand with some water and held it before me, and said this:

"You see this water carefully contained on my hand? It symbolizes Love."

This was how I saw it: As long as you keep your hand caringly open and allow it to remain there, it will always be there. However, if you attempt to close your fingers round it and try to posses it, it will spill through the first cracks it finds.

This is the greatest mistake that people do when they meet love...they try to posses it, they demand, they expect... and just like the water spilling out of your hand, love will retrieve from you .

For love is meant to be free, you cannot change its nature. If there are people you love, allow them to be free beings.

Give and don't expect.
Advise, but don't order.
Ask, but never demand.

It might sound simple, but it is a lesson that may take a lifetime to truly practice. It is the secret to true love. To truly practice it, you must sincerely feel no expectations from those who you love, and yet an unconditional caring."

Passing thought...
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take; but by the moments that take our breath away.....

Life is beautiful !!! Live it !!!

2008-04-18T23:39:00.008+05:30

Solution to my Confusions

I just finished watching a movie on star movies, “Ladder 49”. It was a story of a fireman and his duty towards the community. I felt - saving a life of someone means a lot. I was really impressed by the way these people serve the nation. Then I thought about my profession. Am I just into money minting and white collar job, or is that traffic policeman in the morning near the crossing, contributing better to the society? Are the soldiers on the borders of Srinagar, Rajasthan, Punjab or anywhere serving the nation much more than me and that too at a lower salary? Are those security guards and policeman who have to stand in the sun on hot summers serving the community better than I am in centrally air condition environment sitting on imported furniture ? I am not sure if such thoughts come into your mind or may be I am one of those few eccentric ones! But then another voice within me spoke out in a shrewd manner, “I am paying good sum of tax to the government, my buying power is increased with the salary I get and there is a lot of rotation of money. So in a way I am contributing to the economy of the nation.”

I once read in one of the biographies, “If every individual does his work with sincerity, the nation will prosper.” Imagine, every driver on the road driving with the right speed and within traffic norms, imagine every sweeper cleaning the area he is allotted with sincerity and commitment, imagine if every shopkeeper sells the goods with sincerity – the answer is obvious – moving towards a better organized, cleaner and less cunning nation and making the world a nice and happy place to live in. What I am saying in these few words is nothing new and is same what Japanese called ‘Kaizen’ or Americans called Six Sigma or different scholars gave it different names along with some good statistical calculations. I think the concept is quite straightforward. I concluded finally that the simple thing to remember is “I need not worry about changing the whole world around me. But what I need to remember is that I shall do my job with sincerity and commitment.” I have taken that first step towards it. Have you ?

Author ...... GAGAN

My Vacation in Goa

2008-04-15T21:45:00.006+05:30

Trip to Goa

I stayed in Club Mahindra Resort - a wonderful place, a life time experience. It is in South Goa.
The resort is about 20 minutes drive from Madgaon, about 3km away from the Varca town. it is more suitable for families who want to relax and have fun at a nice decent place.
The have all the activities including the Water support activities at the private Varca Beach, the cultural nites, the kids fun zones, the indoor and outdoor games, the shakes at the beach and the dining places with variety of food, four nice swimming pools - 2 for adults and 2 for kids, excellent hospitality by the staff. It is rated as a 'Gold Crown' property by RCI.

Picture above - This is the resort's beach area where you have places to relax. it is next to the shack which serves delicious food.

Picture above - This lady with the king is my queen, playing the giant chess and taking a giant leap.

Picture Above - "तारा ज़मीन पे " - गगनदीप

Picture Above - At the Arabian Sea. Ohh ! Actually I forgot it was a Sunrise - no no sunset. Can anyone help ?

Picture Above - Some smarties never grow old you know :)

Above - I am sitting infront of her, but she is not bothered - priorities change on the beach ;)

Picture Above - We guys at the Colva beach. We had the skyrocketting parasailing experience, a salty wet water boat experience on the high tides and nice snacks at the shacks on the sand.

Test for Color Blindness

2008-03-30T21:49:00.005+05:30

What number do you see below ?
Any one of 2,3,4,6 12, 15, 8,9,5,23, 20 ?
If not - Well, you may be Colorblind !!

Akshardham Hindu temple - New Delhi, INDIA

2008-03-22T19:50:00.005+05:30

My London Trip

2008-03-22T19:26:00.005+05:30

Photographs taken by me in London at London Eye, Kew Gardens, Near Thames.
Photographs were taken by Canon Rebel SLR Camera.

Ooty, Cunoor, Mysore trip

2008-03-15T20:47:00.021+05:30

OOTY

Heritage Hotel at Ooty:

Ooty is a nice hill station in South India but the actual beauty lies in Cunoor where you enjoy watching the tea plantations. I loved to actually visit the tea factory and really appreciated the series of steps which are taken for tea fermentation.
A wonderful cottage in Ooty - Value for money and excellent sceneric beauty. Infact when we were there, there were stars from Hollywood staying around for some shooting.

_______________________________________

The Cunoor Tea Factory.
A place must to see. And if you like tea, you can also get excellent quality of Tea - Fermented, Green or flavored

________________________________________

The Mysore Palace
An eye into the Indian culture and the Maharaja of Mysore's living style.

________________________________________

2008-03-12T23:14:00.010+05:30

Top 10 Project Management Challenges

by P. W. Ford

Whether you are a new project manager, or an experienced leader, project management will continue to reveal itself as part art, part science, and part major headache! The list below highlights some of the top project management challenges, along with suggested solution ideas to help overcome those challenges:

Unrealistic deadlines - Some would argue that the majority of projects have "schedule slippage" as a standard feature rather than an anomaly. The challenge of many managers becomes to find alternate approaches to the tasks and schedules in order to complete a project "on time", or to get approval for slipping dates out. An "absolute" time-based deadline such as a government election, externally-scheduled event, or public holiday forces a on-time completion (though perhaps not with 100% of desired deliverables). But, most project timelines do eventually slip due to faulty initial deadlines (and the assumptions that created them). Solution: Manage the stress of "the immovable rock and the irresistible force" (i.e. the project deadline and the project issues) with creative planning, alternatives analysis, and communication of reality to the project participants. Also determine what deadlines are tied to higher level objectives, or have critical links into schedules of other projects in the organization's portfolio.
Communication deficit - Many project managers and team members do not provide enough information to enough people, along with the lack of an infrastructure or culture for good communication. Solution: Determine proper communication flows for project members and develop a checklist of what information (reports, status, etc.) needs to be conveyed to project participants. The communications checklist should also have an associated schedule of when each information dissemination should occur.
Scope changes - As most project managers know, an evil nemesis "The Scope Creep" is usually their number one enemy who continually tries to take control. Solution: There is no anti-scope-creep spray in our PM utility belts, but as with many project management challenges, document what is happening or anticipated to happen. Communicate what is being requested, the challenges related to these changes, and the alternate plans, if any, to the project participants (stakeholders, team, management, and others).
Resource competition - Projects usually compete for resources (people, money, time) against other projects and initiatives, putting the project manager in the position of being in competition. Solution: Portfolio Management - ask upper level management to define and set project priority across all projects. Also realize that some projects seemingly are more important only due to the importance and political clout of the project manager, and these may not be aligned with the organization's goals and objectives.
Uncertain dependencies - As the project manager and the team determine project dependencies, assessing the risk or reliability behind these linkages usually involves trusting someone else's assessment. "My planner didn't think that our area could have a hurricane the day of the wedding, and now we're out of celebration deposits for the hall and the band, and the cost of a honeymoon in Tahiti!" Solution: Have several people - use brainstorming sessions - pick at the plan elements and dependencies, doing "what if?" scenarios. Update the list of project risk items if necessary based on the results.
Failure to manage risk - A project plan has included in it some risks, simply listed, but no further review happens unless instigated by an event later on. Solution: Once a project team has assessed risks, they can either (1) act to reduce the chance of the risk occurrence or (2) act or plan towards responding to the risk occurrence after it happens.
Insufficient team skills - The team members for many projects are assigned based on their availability, and some people assigned may be too proud or simply not knowledgeable enough to tell the manager that they are not trained for all of their assigned work. Solution: Starting with the project manager role, document the core set of skills needed to accomplish the expected workload, and honestly bounce each person's skills against the list or matrix. Using this assessment of the team, guide the team towards competency with training, cross-training, additional resources, external advisors, and other methods to close the skills gap.
Lack of accountability - The project participants and related players are not held accountable for their results - or lack of achieving all of them. Solution: Determine and use accountability as part of the project risk profile. These accountability risks will be then identified and managed in a more visible manner.
Customers and end-users are not engaged during the project. Project teams can get wound up in their own world of internal deliverables, deadlines, and process, and the people on the outside do not get to give added input during the critical phases. Solution: Discuss and provide status updates to all project participants - keep them informed! Invite (and encourage) stakeholders, customers, end-users, and others to periodic status briefings, and provide an update to those that did not attend.
Vision and goals not well-defined - The goals of the project (and the reasons for doing it), along with the sub-projects or major tasks involved, are not always clearly defined. Clearly communicating these vague goals to the project participants becomes an impossible task. Some solutions and ideas to thrash vagueness: Determine which parts of a project are not understood by the team and other project participants - ask them or note feedback and questions that come up. Check the project documentation as prepared, and tighten up the stated objectives and goals - an editor has appropriate skills to find vague terms and phrasing. Each project is, hopefully, tied into to the direction, strategic goals, and vision for the whole organization, as part of the portfolio of projects for the organization.

Project leadership is a skill that takes time to develop in a person or organization. Achieving success requires analyzing setbacks and failures in order to improve. Focusing on each project's challenges and learning from them will help to build a more capable and successful project management capability.

Courtesy : Gantthead
..

2007-08-12T23:27:00.000+05:30

CNBC interview with Warren Buffet
March 15th, 2007

There was a one hour interview on CNBC with Warren Buffet, the second richest man who has donated $31 billion to charity. Here are some very interesting aspects of his life:

(1) He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he started too late![SIO] Encourage your children to invest!!!

(2) He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers.

[SIO] Encourage your children to start some kind of business !!!

(3) He still lives in the same small 3 bedroom house in mid-town Omaha , which he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence.

[SIO] Don’t buy more than what you “really need” and encourage your children to do and think the same !!!

(4) He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him.

[SIO] You are what you are!!!

(5) He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world’s largest private jet company.

[SIO] Always think how you can accomplish things economically!!!

(6) His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only one letter each year to the CEOs of these companies, giving them goals for the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis.

[SIO] Assign the right people to the right jobs!!!

(7) He has given his CEO’s only two rules. Rule number 1: do not lose any of your share holder’s money. Rule number 2: Do not forget rule number 1.

[SIO] Set goals and make sure people focus on them!!!

(8) He does not socialize with the high society crowd. His past time after he gets home is to make himself some pop corn and watch television.

[SIO] Don’t try to show off, just be your self and do what you enjoy doing!!!

(9) Bill Gates, the world’s richest man met him for the first time only 5 years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with Warren Buffet. So he had scheduled his meeting only for half hour. But when Gates met him, the meeting lasted for ten hours and Bill Gates became a devotee of Warren Buffet.

[SIO] Don’t make presumption and be open to all possibilities.

(10) Warren Buffet does not carry a cell phone, nor has a computer on his desk.
[SIO] See 3 & 4 above!!!

(11) His advice to young people: Stay away from credit cards
[SIO] Avoid bank loans) and invest in yoursel

2007-05-16T22:46:00.000+05:30

Its an article written by R Gopalakrishan ( Executive director of Tata sons)

There is a Thai saying that experience is a comb, which Nature gives to man after he is bald. As I grow bald, I would like to share my comb with your people, about their career ahead.

(1). Seek out grassroots level experience:

I studied Physics and Engineering at University. A few months before graduation, I appeared for an HLL interview for Computer Traineeship. When asked whether I would consider Marketing instead of Computers, I responded

negatively: an engineer to visit grocery shops to sell Dalda or Lifebuoy? Gosh, no way. After I joined the Company and a couple of comfortable weeks in the swanky Head Office, I was given a train ticket to go to Nasik. Would I please meet Mr. Kelkar to whom I would be attached for the next two months? He would teach me to work as a salesman in his territory, which included staying in Kopargaon and Pimpalgaon among other small towns. I was most upset. In a town called Ozhar, I was moving around from shop to shop with a bullock cart full of products and a salesman's folder in my hand.Imagine my embarrassment when an IIT friend appeared in front of me in Ozhar, believe it or not! and exclaimed, "Gopal, I thought you joined as a Management Trainee in Computers". I could have died a thousand deaths. After this leveling experience, I was less embarrassed to work as a Dispatch Clerk in the Company Depot and an Invoice Clerk in the Accounts Department.

Several years later, I realized the value of such grassroots level experience. It is fantastic. I would advise young people to seek out nail-dirtying, collar-soiling, shoe-wearing tasks. That is how you learn about organizations, about the true nature of work, and the dignity of the many, many tasks that go into building great enterprises.

(2). Deserve before you desire:

At one stage, I was appointed as the Brand Manager for Lifebuoy and Pears soap, the company's most popular-priced and most premium soaps. And what was a Brand Manager? "A mini-businessman, responsible for the production, sales and profits of the brand, accountable for its long-term growth, etc., etc. I had read those statements, I believed them and here I was, at 27,"in charge of everything". But very soon, I found I could not move a pin without checking with my seniors. One evening, after turning the machine handle through various calculations, I sat in front of the Marketing Director. I expressed my frustration and gently asked whether I could not be given total charge. He smiled benignly and said, "The perception and reality are both right. You will get total charge when you know more about the brand than anyone else in this company about its formulation such as raw material, production costs, consumer's perception, distribution and so on. How long do

you think that it will take?" "Maybe, ten years", I replied, "and I don't expect to be the Lifebuoy and Pears Brand Manager for so long"! And then suddenly, the lesson was clear. I was desiring total control, long before I deserved it. This happens to us all the time - in terms of responsibilities, in terms of postings and promotions, it happens all the time that there is a gap between our perception of what we deserve and the reality of what we get. It helps to deserve before we desire.

(3). Play to win but win with fairness:

Life is competitive and of course, you play to win. But think about the balance. Will you do anything, to win? Perhaps not. Think deeply about how and where you draw the line. Each person draws it differently, and in doing so, it helps to think about values. Winning without values provides dubious fulfillment. The leaders who have contributed the most are the ones with a set of universal values Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King for example. Napoleon inspired a ragged, mutinous and half-starved army to fight and seize power. This brought him name and fame for twenty years. But all the while, he was driven forward by a selfish and evil ambition, and not in pursuit of a great ideal. He finally fell because of his selfish ambition. I am fond of referring to the Pierre de Coubertin Fair Play Trophy. It was instituted in 1964 by the founder of the modern

Olympic games and here are two examples of winners. A Hungarian tennis player who pleaded with the umpire to give his opponent some more time to recover from a cramp. A British kayak team who was trailing the Danish kayak

team. They then stopped to help the Danish team whose boat was stuck. The Danes went on to beat the British by one second in a three-hour event! What wonderful examples of sportsmanship! Play to Win, but with Fairness.

(4). Enjoy whatever you do:

Sir Thomas Lipton is credited with the statement, "There is no greater fun than hard work". You usually excel in fields, which you truly enjoy. Ask any person what it is that interferes with his enjoyment of existence. He will say, "The struggle for life". What he probably means is the struggle for success. Unless a person has learnt what to do with success after getting
it, the very achievement of it must lead him to unhappiness. Aristotle wrote, "Humans seek happiness as an end in itself, not as a means to something else". But if you think about it, we should not work for happiness. We should work as happy people. In organizational life, people get busy doing something to be happy. The more you try to be happy, the

unhappy you can get. Your work and career is all about your reaching your full potential. Working at one's full potential, whether it is the office boy or the Chairman, leads to enjoyment and fulfillment. A last point about enjoyment. Keep a sense of humour about yourself. Too many people are in danger of taking themselves far too seriously. As General Joe Stilwell is reported to have said, "Keep smiling. The higher the monkey climbs, the more you can see of his backside".

(5). Be Passionate about your health:

Of course, as you get older, you would have a slight paunch, greying of hair or loss of it and so on. But it is in the first 5 - 7 years after the working career begins that the greatest neglect of youthful health occurs. Sportsmen stop playing sports, non-drinkers drink alcohol, light smokers smoke more, active people sit on chairs, starving inmates of hostels eat rich food in good hotels and so on. These are the years to watch. Do not, I repeat do not, convince yourself that you are too busy, or that you do not have access to facilities, or worst of all, that you do this to relieve the stresses of a professional career. A professional career is indeed very stressful. There is only one person who can help you to cope with the tension, avoid the

doctor's scalpel, and to feel good each morning - and that is yourself. God has given us as good a health as He has, a bit like a credit balance in the bank. Grow it, maintain it, but do not allow its value destruction. The penalty is very high in later years.

(6). Direction is more important than distance:

Every golfer tries to drive the ball to a very long distance. In the process, all sorts of mistakes occur because the game involves the masterly co-ordination of several movements simultaneously. The golf coach always advises that direction is more important than distance. So it is with life. Despite ones best attempts, there will be ups and downs. It is relationships and friendships that enable a person to navigate the choppy waters that the ship of life will encounter. When I was young, there

was a memorable film by Frank Capra, starring James Stewart and Dona Reed, and named IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. It is about a man who is about to commit suicide because he thinks he is a failure. An angel is sent to rescue him. The bottom line of the film is that "No Man is a Failure Who Has Friends".

Conclusion:

My generation will never be twenty again, but when you are older, you can and should be different from my generation. Ours is a great and wonderful country, and realizing her true potential in the global arena depends ever so much on the quality and persistence of our young people. Good luck in your journey, my young friends, and God be with you and our beloved

Movie Reviews by Gagan

2006-10-24T12:16:00.006+05:30

Movie Reviews

A Wednesday (My Rating *****)

"A Common man", "aam aadmi's" empathies taken out of R.K. Laxman's caricature and presented in a beautiful manner with message that shall leave you thinking, at least till you leave the hall. Nasserudin Shah and Anupam Kher have proved that Theatre artists are unbeatable and nobody can bring a movie or acting to life as close as them. Every minute of the movie shall keep you on the edge of your chair.
After a long break - since I saw Aamir's "Tare Zameen pe", this is a movie which touched my heart.

The Dark Knight (My Rating ****)
"Let the concept and ideology of Truth and belief win rather than the person - doesn't matter if they call this person as a 'Dark Knight' "
A very good movie with a nice mix of action and emotion. An intellectual piece of a philosophy from the villain who comes from a different school of thought but a point to ponder.
English movie watchers should not miss it.

Apna Aasman (My Rating ****):
"A good human being is better than a genius child."
The concept not much different from Aamir's "Taare zameen par" but a great movie which touches the heart and leaves a wonderful message especially for the parents.

RACE (My Rating **) :

A full "Masala" movie with violance, sex, excitement, suspense !! Remember if you are looking for a moral in the story, you need to add a tilda(~) I mean negate what you are watching ;) Not even a single person in the movie is a "Sharif Aadmi". But not bad for an entertainment and nothing more than that.

"Tare Zameen Pe" (My Rating *****): Aamir Khan - the genius has proved that he means perfection when it comes to his work ! He has proved that he can not only be a good actor but also a successful director. "Every Child is Special", a simple, yet powerful message said in such a superb manner - that is the class of an artist. A must watch for everyone.

Main Kabhi Batlata Nahin
Par Andhere Se Darta Hoon Main Maa
Yun To Main ,Dikhlata Nahin
Teri Parwaah Karta Hoon Main Maa
Tujhe Sab Hain Pata, Hain Na Maa
Tujhe Sab Hain Pata,,Meri Maa

Bheed Mein Yun Na Chhoro Mujhe
Ghar Laut Ke Bhi Aa Naa Paoon Maa
Bhej Na Itna Door Mujkko Tu
Yaad Bhi Tujhko Aa Naa Paoon Maa
Kya Itna Bura Hoon Main Maa
Kya Itna Bura Meri Maa

Jab Bhi Kabhi Papa Mujhe
Jo Zor Se Jhoola Jhulate Hain Maa
Meri Nazar Dhoondhe Tujhe
Sochu Yahi Tu Aa Ke Thaamegi Maa
Unse Main Yeh Kehta Nahin
Par Main Seham Jaata Hoon Maa

Chehre Pe Aane Deta Nahin
Dil Hi Dil Mein Ghabraata Hoon Maa
Tujhe Sab Hai Pata Hai Naa Maa
Tujhe Sab Hai Pata Meri Maa

Main Kabhi Batlata Nahin
Par Andhere Se Darta Hoon Main Maa
Yun To Main ,Dikhlata Nahin
Teri Parwaah Karta Hoon Main Maa
Tujhe Sab Hain Pata, Hain Na Maa
Tujhe Sab Hain Pata....Meri Maa

"Om Shanti Om"(My Rating **): After watching this movie, I realized, not every movie of SRK can be worth watching. A cracked version of a fabulous oldie of Rishi Kapoor "Karz". First half is totally crazy with funny Bollywood movie maniac styles. The best thing in the movie is some excellent picturization of songs and good music. One time watch only for those who have time and money to spare and are big fans of SRK. But SRK should be selective like Amir and take only good movie. If you are listening SRK, give us more "Chak De" and other Karan Johar hits and leave such stories for the new comers.

"Sawariyan"(My Rating ***): A musical drama with a one line story and excellent picturization. I must say Sanjay L Bansali (SLB) is a philosopher and I must appreciate his imagination. It felt like a fairy tale, as if "Galib's"(urdu poet) street has been picturized in a roman - typically Venice style. Difficult to digest but thats what I felt. Cute couple and amazing songs. The picturization of "Dekho chand aaya.." was simply superb. But if you are looking for action, sex, masala and the regular Bollywood go for that 'OSO' thing.

"Chak De"(My Rating ****): Some people take big story lines to make movies and some directors take a simple concept and make masterpieces. If you want to know how a simple and predictable storyline can create such a wonderful effect - watch this movie. One thing I have observed is that even though our country is very sensitive when it comes to religion, but there is no comparison to any feeling when it comes to 'Nationalism'. Another thing which I felt that it movie conveyed was the age old saying - "Chadte suraj ko salam..." ('Salute to the rising sun') . Salute to King Khan !

"Gandhi My Father"(My Rating ***): Not a commercial 'masala' movie but a movie with a difference. If you are a person who have a taste of that genre of movies, you shall enjoy it. I never knew about the family of Gandhiji and his son before this movie. Bitter realities of the past. Father of a nation who was always looking for an ideal person in his son, who could never be, due to the harsh realities of fate which nobody can change. I liked it :)

Partner(My Rating **): My expectations were more from a David Dhawan's Govinda and Salman movie. But after watching it felt that it was good to watch just on the DVD at home but not worth 500 bucs of an evening in the PVR. The charismatic duo could have been used in a more creative way by David Dhawan.

Die Hard 4(My Rating ****): An amazing action movie. If you like those movies with Hi-tech gadgets and keeping the US FBI on its toes, this movie is for you. It shall keep you on the edge of your seat. But if you are one of those sensitive hear ladies who only like love movies with hero-heroine kind of story, keep away.

Cheeni Kum (My Rating ***):A man marrying a girl - rather a lady who is age of his daughter is the main story. But,along with this is a second storyline running in parallel about a little girl whom he equally loves being suffering from cancer. But then it is true as the song from Deva Anand's movie "Hum Dono" goes, "...Kaun rota hai kise aur ke khatir hai dost, sabko apne hee kise baat pe rona aaya...", that when you need something from from God you ask your happiness. So did he - asked for his love and not about the little girl. I think that was what caught my mind. But if you are not an open minded person and just believe in what is decided by society is right and cannot digest the fact of the age difference marriage - you can still enjoy the light humor across the movie. I shall say it was a sweet movie.

Jan-e-man(My Rating ****): Not bad. If you are a fan of 'Pretty Zenita' like me or like the style of Salman and love to watch Akshay in funny character, do not go out of the theatre at interval. The reward of sitting in the first half is there in the second half. Nice entertainment and gals - Salman is looking great ! Guys - Preity is always pretty and shall be - may it be any movie. She is simply superb.
Worth watching once - and that one famous song '...tum ko maloom hai, ishq masoom hai...' - thanks to Gulzar - touching one which runs throughout the movie.

LAGE RAHO MUNNA BHAI(My Rating *****): A fanta fabulous movie. It made me laugh, it made me cry in the hall and it touched the heart. I rate it a great movie which you can watch with your friends, parents, grandparents, kids. Entertaining, emotional and motivating movie.
I'll say a very successful sequel.