off to God's own country

For a few days..will be off blogs....so see ya all next week...until then, tata and cheerio!!!

The Sea Inside

Got to watch nearly three-fourths of the movie, but the DVD played truant. So waiting to see the rest later. Must say it is well shot.

read this ye all who work late!

This came as an email forward, supposedly Narayana Murthy telling his employees on work etiquette!!!

It's half past 8 in the office but the lights are still on...PCs still running, coffee machines still buzzing...And who's at work? Most of them. Take a closer look... All or most specimens are something male species of the human race... Look closer... again all or most of them are bachelors...And why are they sitting late? Working hard? No way!!! Any guesses? Let's ask one of them...Here's what he says... "What's there 2 do after going home...Here we get to surf, AC, phone, food, coffee that is why I am working late...Importantly no bossssssss!!!!!!!!!!!" This is the scene in most research centres and software companies and other off-shore offices.Bachelors "Time-passing" during late hours in the office just bcoz they say they've nothing else to do...
Now what r the consequences... "Working" (for the record only) late hours soon becomes part of the institute or company culture.With bosses more than eager to provide support to those "working" late in the form of taxi vouchers, food vouchers and of course good feedback, (oh, he's a hard worker... goes home only to change..!!). They aren't helping things too... To hell with bosses who don't understand the difference between "sitting" late and "working" late!!!Very soon, the boss starts expecting all employees to put in extra working hours.So, My dear Bachelors let me tell you, life changes when u get married and start having a family... office is no longer priority, family is... and that's when the problem starts... bcoz u start having commitments at home too. For your boss, the earlier "hardworking" guy suddenly seems to become an "early leaver" even if u leave an hour after regular time... after doing the same amount of work. People leaving on time after doing their tasks for the day are labelled as work-shirkers...Girls who thankfully always (its changing nowadays... though) leave on time are labelled as "not up to it". All the while, the bachelors pat their own backs and carry on "working" not realizing that they r spoiling the work culture at their own place and never realize that they would have to regret at one point of time. *So what's the moral of the story?* Very clear, LEAVE ON TIME!!!* Never put in extra time " *unless really needed *"* Don't stay back un-necessarily and spoil your company work culture which will in turn cause inconvenience to you and your colleagues. There are hundred other things to do in the evening..Learn music...Learn a foreign language... Try a sport... TT, cricket.........Importantly Get a girl friend or boy friend, take him/her around town...* And for heaven's sake net cafe rates have dropped to an all-time low (plus, no fire-walls) and try cooking for a change. Take a tip from the Smirnoff ad: *"Life's calling, where are you??"*
Please pass on this message to all those colleagues and please do it before leaving time, don't stay back till midnight to forward this!!!
IT'S A TYPICAL INDIAN MENTALITY THAT WORKING FOR LONG HOURS MEANS VERY HARD WORKING & 100% COMMITMENT ETC.
PEOPLE WHO REGULARLY SIT LATE IN THE OFFICE DONT KNOW TO MANAGE THEIRTIME. SIMPLE !

Kindle for readers

in ten years, people who read and those who pretend to do may forget there were even such things as books. kindle from amazon may just be just that spark that will produce more and better ways to e-book. till such time, i will continue to invest in all my fav bookstores in town!

andrei rublev

it is a period flick, set in 15th century Russia, even before the first Tsar. it deals with the iconic painter andrei. but it is a touch bizarre as the action weaves in and out. but a realistic movie by tarkovsky. looking forward to catching Baran, by Majid Majidi. this will be my third majidi film. 

blogger's block

it's been nearly a week since i wrote to you all. things happened meanwhile of which i am still quite wonky. a former colleague passed away. no one knows if he took his own life or if he was killed. in goa. he was found drowned. and he was quite an excellent journalist, very informed, with a deep interest in many things, both current and past. and he was quite a movie buff. must have seen all the good classic stuff. he was a storehouse of info on the show biz. could quote entire passages from movies like it were poetry. his death seems almost godfather-like. "it's not personal. it's business." may his soul rest in peace.

becoming a fan of majidi's

Majid Majidi touches my heart with his simple, lyrical and longing stories. while bergman, tarkovsky and others make me think, majidi hits me where it hurts the most. and thus, i look at his work with a certain rapport, although his stories are set thousands of miles away. have just got hold of Baran. waiting to see it.

met a dear friend after ages

and remembered the good ole college days, when she had dropped me to the exam hall and back to a sane place where i could board a bus from. both of us discovered we had changed, rather mellowed with age, and exchanged notes on that. 

back...got to catch up on sleep

hectic week the last was. now i sound like the Jedi master in start wars. be back soon

do read this issue of Fortune

the cover story is about the confession of a CEO, who neglected family for work and what it did to his life. for all our desi business mags used to hyping our biz netas, this should be made mandatory reading, not just because of its content, but because this is how ideas can drive magazines and how great mags are driven purely by ideas.  

Paki bashing

it's  time they cleaned up the place. mushy boy seems to have lost control with the mullahs calling the shots. in a way, serves him right for cosying up to them earlier. but seven years ago, he seemed like the best bet for our neighbour. benazir bhutto has come across as a sham, a self-seeking politico wo is willing to sup with the devil once it became clear that her arch-rival, sharif, would be put out of the way. and the US, as always is left groping for answers.

ex-ET reunion

should likely happen the day after. that should be fun. 

been a long six days

broadband conked when the phone line came online after a studied silence of a week. so, left with measly dial-up data card left little choice. had a blog relapse. things have been going on sedately, excepting i have finished reading that wonderful book, KA. wow! the things the ancients discussed, metaphysical queries that will make your head spin. and the sheer erotica of Indian myth. lovely. just bough the Mahabharata by Ramesh Menon yesterday. still superstitious about keeping it in-house. anyway, let's see. have to read the rest of from the holy mountain, by dalrymple. and waiting in the wings is a thriller by baldacci, history of the sikhs both volumes, and a pc hardware book. that should take up until year end. hopefully before that. my mag's website is up. the url is on top of this post. check it out and let me know what you guys think.