Information Unlimited!!!!!!

Skribit

2010-01-22T06:47:00.003Z

You always wanted to produce original, quality content for your devoted readers but you're all out of ideas.

Skribit helps you get suggestions for blog posts from your readers and the Skribit community.

Check out their website :

http://skribit.com

Fantastic blog about the company:
http://skribit.com/blog/

Pattie Maes and Pranav Mistry demo SixthSense

2009-11-05T13:46:00.002Z

I must say that I’m pretty amazed by this amazing invention of this device by Pattie Maes ,Pranav Mistry and the team.

It takes you completely in to a different world all together,to believe with your eyes check it out.

Scott Thomas Design Director for Obama's 2008 campaign shares his story

2009-08-21T19:05:00.002+01:00

Scott Thomas is constantly seeking the simplest answer to complex problems.check his talk @99% conference

Seth Godin: Quieting the Lizard Brain

2009-08-21T19:02:00.003+01:00

Bestselling author Seth Godin argues that we must quiet our fearful "lizard brains" to avoid sabotaging projects just before we finally finish them!!

Patient capital, markets that work and ending the endless emergency of poverty

2009-08-20T23:36:00.000+01:00

Patient capital, markets that work and ending the endless emergency of poverty: "

Multiply the population of the US by three. That’s how many people around the world live on about a dollar a day.

Do it again and now you have the number closer to $2. About forty percent of the world lives on $2 or less a day.

What’s that like? What happens to you when you have two dollars a day to live on. It’s almost impossible to imagine. I mean, $2 is the rent on your apartment for about 35 seconds. $2 buys you one bite of lunch at a local restaurant...

And yet, two billion people survive on that sort of income.

The key issue is ‘survive’. Subsistence income means that you have the barest possible cushion, that every penny is spent and you are on the edge at all times. It makes life an emergency.

If every single thing goes perfectly, then you and your family will go to sleep tonight healthy, not too hungry and fairly safe. But of course, every single thing almost never goes perfectly. If you are bitten by a malaria-carrying mosquito, you need to buy medicine and so there’s no money for food. If you need more water, you have to spend two hours walking to and from the nearest half-decent water spot, and those two hours are the two hours you were going to spend harvesting the food your kids need.

From a fundraising point of view, this endless emergency is exactly what a non-profit needs to find and close donors. A dollar donated today will save someone’s life. It will. One dollar, one life. That’s urgent. As urgent as it gets.

The problem, of course, is that it doesn’t save that person's life forever, it saves it for today. Tomorrow, there’s another emergency, and yesterday’s dollar is gone. So you need another dollar. Two billion people, two billion dollars. Every day. Today, tomorrow, the day after that. It’s an endless emergency, and it never gets better.

That’s where patient capital comes in. It starts with this belief:

The difference between being one penny behind and one penny ahead is profound.

If you’re one penny behind, then every day you fall further back. Every day, the emergencies get worse, the stress gets worse, your ability to survive (never mind thrive) gets worse.

If you’re one penny ahead, though, just a penny, then every day you build a reserve, every day you are able to invest in productivity or peace of mind, and soon you are two pennies or a dollar or five dollars a day ahead. And then you can send your daughter to college. And then you can buy something from the merchant next door. And then you can plant a better crop. And then you have a stake in the community, and then the world changes.

So, how to create this micro surplus? How to prime the pump of the system to improve productivity enough that things get better?

Markets.

When two people trade, both win. No one buys a bar a soap unless the money they’re spending for the soap is worth less to them than the soap itself.

When someone in poverty buys a device that improves productivity, the device pays for itself (if it didn’t, they wouldn’t buy it.) So a drip irrigation system, for example, may pay off by creating two or three harvests a year instead of one.

What does that do for the family that buys it? Well, if you have one harvest a year and you’re living at subsistence, it means your income is zero, or probably just a little below. If you can irrigate and get two or three harvests a year, though, your income goes up by infinity. Now, instead of making -1 pennies a day, you’re making 100 or 200 pennies a day. That’s a surplus of $700 a year. That’s enough to participate in other productivity or life-enhancing investments, like a well, or a roof, or health care. Now, the edge is a lot further away.

And what does that do for the family that sells it? When markets arrive, productivity increases and new innovations can be diffused more quickly, because change is brought in by the market.

How does Acumen Fund create these markets? The answer is patient capital. The companies that are selling solar lamps to replace kerosene or water purification systems in tiny villages, or housing projects for peasants in Pakistan or even ambulance services in Mumbai fully intend to make a profit, but the venture capitalists on Sand Hill Road aren’t in a hurry to invest in them. The investments are a little too risky, take a little too long or a little too unproven to take a chance on.

So Acumen finds these entrepreneurs on site in the developing world, funds them, teaches them and pushes them to build really big organizations. A to Z has literally thousands of people in their modern factory creating malaria bed nets in Tanzania. And so it grows.

I’m thrilled at the work Acumen has done, and excited about where the fund is going. I’ve got some interesting fundraising ideas to share with you this fall, and I thought it was worth taking you through my reasoning as to why I chose this organization as the recipient.

Any entrepreneur or marketer can learn a lesson from how new systems create new markets, and how an infinite increase in income or productivity can change everything. Everything.

Happy Independence day!!

2009-08-15T10:22:00.004+01:00

Wow India celebrates 62 years of Indpendence !!

Seth Godin Presents Tribes (Video)

2009-08-13T10:30:00.000+01:00

History of internet

2009-08-10T16:37:00.001+01:00

This video provides a useful historical overview of the development of the internet from its inception in 1957,Thanks to derek wenmoth for the find.

History of the Internet from PICOL on Vimeo.

reBlog from Susan Villas Lewis: SAMBA Blog

2009-08-06T08:05:00.001+01:00

I found this fascinating quote today:

The Zen Habits guy - Leo Babauta - made a rather radical suggestion recently. One that came down to essentially working for just a few hours a day, then rewarding yourself with a nap. (Not Seth, obviously.)Susan Villas Lewis, SAMBA Blog, May 2009

You should read the whole article.

How to Inspire Your Team

2009-07-29T18:03:00.001+01:00

An Amazing article by Alyssa Gregory:

http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/07/30/how-to-inspire-your-team/

Four videos about noise, social and decency

2009-07-27T20:18:00.003+01:00

From my guru Seth Godin

Seth Godin & Tom Peters on blogging

Tom Peters & Seth Godin on decency

No One Cares About You

Seth Godin on Social networking

Billion Shades of India

2009-07-26T19:11:00.000+01:00

Billion Shades of India from Bhanu Sharma on Vimeo.

Dubai-Guided Tour

2009-07-24T17:49:00.002+01:00

London,England:Guided tour of the world’s most impressive cities without a passport

2009-07-24T17:42:00.001+01:00

Macau-Guided tour of World’s most impressive cities without a passport

2009-07-24T17:37:00.003+01:00

Yosemite, CA: Yosemite Falls-Nature’s most amazing locations

2009-07-24T17:34:00.002+01:00

Death Valley, CA-Nature’s most amazing locations

2009-07-24T17:30:00.002+01:00

The Yoga of Relationships

2009-07-24T17:28:00.001+01:00

Amazon goes shopping and buys Zappos.com

2009-07-22T23:19:00.009+01:00

Amazon and Zappos-Two of the best known customer service companies are becoming one family now!!

Personally i just loved and amazed by the customer service,innovation,ease of use of the websites these both great companies and really feel happy for amazon for having done an interesting and exciting deal.

Well done both Jeff Bezos and Tony Hseih:-)

Here is Giga Om's take on this merger @om:

http://gigaom.com/2009/07/22/amazon-goes-shopping-picks-up-a-807-million-bargain-called-zappos/

Interesting take on this merger by Clay Hebert @clayhebert:

http://dailysense.com/2009/07/22/amazons-new-shoez/

Mumbai terror attacks -Channel 4 Dispatches (UK)

2009-07-21T21:04:00.003+01:00

The untold story of 2008's terrorist attack, in the words of its victims and the gunmen!!

Channel 4 - Dispatches (June 2009) - Terror in Mumbai from Mskadu on Vimeo.

Zoho takes on Salesforce

2009-07-21T19:47:00.006+01:00

In an unprecedented move indian entreprenaur Sridhar vembu has decided to take on salesforce.com and is offering a Zwitch program for salesforce.com customers and here are the details!!

http://www.zoho.com/crm/zwitch.html

Bold move i should say!!! Sridhar is one guy to watch in this space and has built an amazing company which is taking on google,microsoft...Way to go!!!!

SAMBA

2009-07-18T14:25:00.005+01:00

Seth Godin's alternate MBA,this comes from my guru Seth who is a highly influential thinker,marketer in the world and has changed the way i or millions of people like me(tribes as seth would call it) think,act and say.

SAMBA is a very unique program of it's kind in the world where certain group of peope are brought together and are taught real life lessons , and were asked to start building prototype or in some cass real businesses.

Check out this amazing blog by SAMBAer's and also theri graduations speech:

http://www.sixmonthmba.com/2009/07/six-month-alternative-mba-recap.html

Breaking News Online: How One 19-Year Old Is Shaking Up Online Media

2009-07-18T00:50:00.003+01:00

Check Breaking news online here:

http://www.bnonews.com /

Michael van Poppel is the guy who has started this service,its quite amazing.check out his story here:

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/breaking_news_online_how_one_19-year_old_is_shakin.php

Trueroots - Why do we do this?

2009-07-17T12:04:00.001+01:00

Because we are Indians,that's the way we are :-)

Creative Advertisements from around the world

2009-07-17T10:24:00.004+01:00

Very Innovative!!

http://www.hemmy.net/2006/10/15/creative-advertisements-around-the-world/

Chris Anderson's FREE (full book)

2009-07-07T13:18:00.000+01:00

FREE (full book) by Chris Anderson

Superb advertisements

2009-05-26T22:24:00.000+01:00

http://www.toxel.com/inspiration/2008/05/27/14-creative-advertisements/

A Brain Drain In Reverse, Back To India

2009-05-19T18:46:00.013+01:00

A stage comes in lots of people especially Indians who are out of the country for pursuing highereducation,good employment or for good money to leave the homeland and go to US of Americaor UK or other countries.In a typical indian software services company it is purely for onsite experience, people desperatelywait for one just to see what the other world is like :-)

But after say 2 or 3 years living outside, people start comparing everything to India and Start realising/dreaming that things are very good back home and there are lots and lots of oppurtunities,Interesting take on the subject:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104252712&ft=1&f=100

New computational search engine!!

2009-05-18T15:42:00.003+01:00

http://www.wolframalpha.com/

Good search engine for statistical computation or mathematical calculations or demographics or Company overview and comparision

Eg:

Try India,Uk and get the immediate calculation of demographics,distance etc

Try 56+6-8+3

Collection of good posts

2009-05-10T12:46:00.002+01:00

Check this site out for collection of all fantastic posts:

http://my.alltop.com/mekala

Amazon announces new kindle,a pricey pleasure

2009-05-06T18:31:00.003+01:00

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/05/amazon-announces-large-format-kindle-dx/

Good website of How to ??

2009-04-28T17:39:00.001+01:00

How to ?

Enough is Enough Indias 9/11?

2008-11-30T22:21:00.002Z

Check this interesting discussion on NDTV by Burkha Dutt

My Country attacked ...but we won and will fight back these bloody terrorists any time..no body defeats us...

2008-11-30T22:06:00.001Z

Check the story

Courtesy:
Arun Shanbagh

Google Chrome

2008-09-02T21:47:00.001+01:00

Download via this link:

Google Chrome

Apple ipod 32 GB

2008-02-07T16:04:00.000Z

100 Great companies to work for!!!

2008-01-31T17:31:00.003Z

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2008/full_list/index.html

Seth Godin Video

2008-01-22T15:11:00.000Z

Nice interesting piece of talk from Seth Godin!!

By the way Happy New year to readers of my blog!!

Microsoft Answer to Cap Gemini Google Tie up

2007-09-11T15:08:00.000+01:00

Microsoft offers its take on CapGemini-Google deal by ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley -- Microsoft has been noticeably quiet whenever we bloggers/press folk ask them for comments on Google various announcements. Today's CapGemini-Google partnership must have struck a nerve, as Microsoft sent out a lengthy and unsolicited response on the deal. Check it out.

Dabbawallah's Consultancy business

2007-08-22T10:52:00.000+01:00

That's a great news to hear:

http://specials.rediff.com/money/2007/aug/22dabba1.htm

Indian Outsourcers

2007-08-21T15:50:00.000+01:00

Is party over for indian outsourcers?
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/aug2007/gb2007086_988535.htm?chan=globalbiz_asia+index+page_top+stories

India Emerging-Statistical Evidence!!

2007-08-17T15:35:00.000+01:00

Wow!!A country in making and ever growing:

http://www.time.com/time/2007/modern_india/

Word of Mouth!!!

2007-05-17T20:20:00.000+01:00

Cliche isn't it??

Check this nice article on the subject

Word of Mouth

Enjoy!!!

Welcome Back!!!

2007-05-17T20:14:00.000+01:00

Well it took me 5 months to realise that i have actually posted anything on my blog and lots of things happened since then ,personally i got married and blogger is updated to new version :-)))

I can't promise that i will be blogging like before but lets see!!!

In mean while guys you have a nice life and future ahead!!

Wise advise hey

Wish all readers of my blog a happy New Year!!!

2007-01-03T18:35:00.000Z

Thankful to some of the people/blogs that made me really inspired and have learnt a lot.

Special thanks to Phil and Rajesh:

Phil Gerbyshak from http://makeitgreat.typepad.com/

Rajesh Setty from http://blog.lifebeyondcode.com/

I recommend to all the people who are on my site to visit these blogs as they rock !!!

Some more Blogs which i enjoy are:

http://battellemedia.com/
http://blog.outer-court.com/
http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/

Have a Fantastic new year !!!May it be better than lasy tear :-))

Its a new year and new Search engine!!!

2007-01-03T18:29:00.000Z

http://hakia.com/

Whats Different:
Unlike the "Ranking mechanism" which many of ths sites like google,yahoo,live does.This is based on ranking as done by major search engines,search results on this site are returned based on "meaning" similar to human brains cognizanitive skills.

Enjoy browsing!!

Whats happening with much awaited Microsoft Player Zune?

2006-12-28T23:21:00.000Z

Whats the status of Zune?Apple's Ipod Still seems to be the killer gadget considering the volume of sales!!!

Visit the Zune website for more information on Zune!!Loooks Good!!

http://www.zune.net/en-US/meetzune

Best Honda Commercial!!!!

2006-12-24T00:20:00.000Z

Merry X'mas!!!!

2006-12-23T14:00:00.000Z

Hello Viewers of Coolfundaes,

Wish you a Merry X'Mas and wish you all nice winter :-))))

Won a book by Rajesh setty for leaving some good comments

2006-12-11T23:10:00.000Z

Very Happy to share that i have won a book named "Life Beyond code" by famous author in making Rajesh Setty.

Here is the link for the same:

http://makeitgreat.typepad.com/makeitgreat/2006/12/remarkable_winn.html

Wow!! felt excited after seeing some one is really caring for my comments!!

Google-Unusual!!!

2006-12-08T18:08:00.000Z

This is something unusual on google's Home page :-)))))

Emerging India!!!

2006-12-05T00:44:00.000Z

India awakening!!

Hats off to My Country which is evolving every day!!!

Its just 60 years of independance but going very strong!!

Enjoy the Video

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=6396442282412236785&hl=en-GB

Dhood Dhood Piyo Glass Fulll!!!

2006-12-03T12:20:00.000Z

Rememeber This!!

Amul-taste of India

2006-12-03T12:09:00.000Z

Iam feeling a little bit nostalgic,how abt you?

Guy kawasaki!!!

2006-12-01T22:46:00.000Z

Iam not talking abt Kawasaki Bajaj!!!!
This guy seems to be interesting and is a full time blogger making good money!!
Very good site and good source for inspiration!!

http://blog.guykawasaki.com/

Enjoy Reading!!

Source:From My friend Raghu

Very nice advertisement of Sony Ericsson!!!

2006-12-01T18:07:00.000Z

I love and also get inspired from this advertisement!!

http://www.sonyericsson.com/product/walkmantvc1/video/WMP_broadband.html

Not My Job!!!

2006-11-30T18:28:00.000Z

Classic Picture and truth Hey!!

Good Site

2006-11-21T22:39:00.000Z

I Found this site by chance and impressed by author Rajesh Setty,

He has written a book named "Life Beyond code" which seems to be quite popular,i have n't read it yet and would be doing once i complete the books in my queue :-))

In mean while Enjoy rajesh Setty Blog @:

http://blog.lifebeyondcode.com/

Do not ponder over some questions which may potentially waste your time??

2006-11-21T22:35:00.000Z

I think there are some questions for which it is hard to find "good enough" answers. . I am not suggesting that you should not think about them (if those areas are of your interest) or avoid them. If you are getting carried away by these questions during your prime time, please be aware that you are knowingly engaging in this activity.Here are some sample questions:

1. Is there GOD?

2. How was the universe born?

3. What is success?

4. Is there life after death? (an oxymoron there)

5. What could have been different in <>?

6. What would I have done differently if I were the <>?

7. How could I have solve the <>?

Source:http://blog.lifebeyondcode.com/

Dove -Real Good Campaign for Self Esteem Fund

2006-11-16T00:10:00.000Z

Its an Awesome Advertisement

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-7743520687496668049

Improve your website rank!!!

2006-11-15T00:04:00.000Z

Have Learnt and Discovered four ways to improve the ranking of your site:

1.No of outbound Links to the site
2.No of Inbound links to your site
3.How Frequently you update the site
4.Keywords that match the criteria on your site

So the purpose of updating this information is to keep this site at top!!

Wishful thinking hey :-))))))))

London From Air

2006-11-08T08:38:00.000Z

Fantastic view of London from Air

Have you Checked This Site?

2006-11-01T08:58:00.000Z

Its Really Funny!!

http://www.msdewey.com/

Its another search engine with a difference,you have got a young beautiful lady talking while the search goes on...

Apparently its from Microsoft!!

Try Some Words like Police,Channel 9 ..its really cool :-)

A place to see in a single glance all the interesting things that are happening around you

2006-10-26T20:23:00.000+01:00

Good Site Seems Promising,apparently it has been launched Yesterday!!!
http://outside.in

One Stop Website for all needs in UK

2006-10-25T18:55:00.000+01:00

Got this From my friend Prasad and its Quite informative:

http://www.bhagavan.co.uk/

Wish Everyone a Happy Diwali

2006-10-21T12:13:00.001+01:00

Deepavali Subhakankshalu
Diwali ki Shubh Kamnaye
Deepavali Nalvalthukal

Some of the Finest Advertisements from past

2006-10-21T12:13:00.000+01:00

http://niceadsindia.blogspot.com/

Good Site for Clear Instructions on How To Do (just about) Everything

2006-10-16T23:01:00.000+01:00

http://www.ehow.com

Diwali Celebrations "Trafalgar Square-London

2006-10-12T23:33:00.000+01:00

Date:15th October,Sunday 2006
Where:Trafalgar Square

Check this out:

http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/diwali/index.jsp

Why Do People Change Jobs!!!!

2006-10-11T23:38:00.000+01:00

May Be this is the Answer????
I dont Know!!!

http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/oct/11inter.htm

Lalus Management lessons @IIMA Video

2006-10-10T00:02:00.000+01:00

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2531965025870205795&q=iim&amp;amp;hl=en

Wah!! isko Bolte hai Real Indian/Bihari touch to IIM curriculum!!!!

Tirumala Tiupathi Devasthanam Virtual Tour

2006-10-06T23:00:00.000+01:00

Good 3D Animation of TTD!!

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=7249407348378423262&hl=en

Edu Kondala vada venkataraman govinda govinda

Mekala Buys Google!!!

2006-10-06T22:40:00.000+01:00

Confused !!

Check this out:

Lets Come to reality!!
There is a funny website where it is possible to replace Google with your name on it!!
Check this site
http://speaker219.6te.net/customgoogle/

Exclusive for Batchelors!!Really Coooool

2006-10-02T23:31:00.000+01:00

Some Indian recipes(With Videos)..

I have come across this site and found it really cool as it not only gives recipe preparation but also video to prepare the same!!

A Video Speaks a thousand Words!Indeeed Yes!!

http://nighi.com/food_videos.php

Any one out there ready to invite me :-)))

Wish you a Happy Dussehra and also Happy Bday to Mahatma

2006-10-02T23:30:00.000+01:00

For All you people out there:
Wishing you a Happy Dussehra!!

Happy B'Day to Mahatma Gandhi!!!

Gandhi Giri Zindabad!!!!!

Corporate

2006-09-28T22:55:00.000+01:00

No Iam not givin any philosophical corporate culture lecture!!!
Its actually abt a hindi movie named "Corporate" Starring Bipasha,Kay Kay,Raj babbar,Rajat Kapur!!

I have watched this movie and it has entered in to one of my favourites now!!

Corporate is about the vicious circle of ambition in the private sector, and how human emotions and life have no significance in it but the story, situations and the treatment of the narrative cannot be compared to any Bollywood flick witnessed so far.

Chit Chat with "Hyderabad Nawabs" Director

2006-09-24T10:09:00.000+01:00

He is Now a Hyderabadi Hero and His Name is RK who is producer of Hyderabad based films called "The Angrez" and "Hyderabad Nawabs" and Unofficially "Mama Mama Mama..."

Enjoy the interview:
http://www.idlebrain.com/news/2000march20/chitchat-rk.html

Some Excerpts from The Angrez:
Kya Hua Anna..
Dollar aa Dollar aa..
Saleem Pheku..

At last Laluuuu gives Management Lessons @IIM

2006-09-18T23:02:00.000+01:00

This is something phenomenal!!!!

lalu giving lessons @IIM

http://in.rediff.com/money/2006/sep/18iim2.htm

Another Search Engine jatalla.com

2006-09-12T21:11:00.000+01:00

Came across another search engine named jatalla.com..this time its the users who actually decide what would be ranked number 1 or number 2..good thought process behind this but have to see how far it goes..

Click here for the website:

https://jatalla.com

Its still in beta !!
Hey give a try with search key as mekala or vikram and check out for your self...

Amma Cheppindi

2006-09-09T20:01:00.000+01:00

This title may or may not have bcome popular with telugu crowd but it drew my attention when i actually listened to the songs of it and they are really good.

The credit goes to MM Keeravani garu who has actually made us listen to real telugu songs and composition goes back to the old songs type.

Click here to listen the songs:
http://www.raaga.com/channels/telugu/movie/A0000575.html

This movie has been directed by gangaraju gunnam and is produced by just yellow productions!!
Yes the same guys who produced aithe kind of films.

At Last Microsoft's Search Site

2006-09-09T00:04:00.000+01:00

It has been released which was being talked abt and I have tried my self and it has dramatically improved over last few months when it was still in its nascent stage and i liked the clarity and presentation of the image search and it seems to be promising.

Click here for Microsoft's Search Site;

http://www.live.com

Website with a human Intelligence

2006-09-07T00:29:00.000+01:00

This is amazing but have to see how far it goes ...a search engine powered by human intelligence at the back ground..

Click here for more details:
http://www.chacha.com/info/about

Guru Mainratnam's Creation

2006-09-04T23:58:00.000+01:00

Yes Its Guru Website after searching some time on net with preview of AR Rahmans Music,
Starring:
Abishek Bachan
Aishwaria Rai

Click Here for Trailer:
http://guru-themovie.com/

Lords from center of the ground :-)))))

2006-09-03T20:11:00.000+01:00

It was an unexpected visit to lords and it was a pefect timing where they have allowed us to stand in center of cricket ground after the match andby the way match was between: Timsbury Vs Houghton(I dont have a clue which county or where they come from but was a good match).

Google Trends

2006-09-01T21:35:00.000+01:00

Another brilliant innovation from google!!
These guys have taken the option of what ever you hear on your laptop or desktop to a different level..

Check it out here!!
http://www.google.com/trends/music

Dhooooooom 2

2006-08-30T21:34:00.000+01:00

Starring:
Hrithik Roshan
Aishwaria Rai
Abishek Bachan
Bipasha Basu
Uday Chopra

Click here for trailer:

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-8177480212189366998&q=dhoom

Management Teaching redefined by Lalooooo!!!

2006-08-30T21:31:00.000+01:00

Wow this news is amazing management techniques would be redefined !!
But it would be really funny to see this guy teaching @IIM!!

Master in Bihar Area(MBA):

http://in.rediff.com/money/2006/aug/30iim1.htm

Chiranjeevi's Stalin

2006-08-26T16:45:00.000+01:00

Stalin:The Revolutionist
Click here for Trailers:
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-6898614787072356671

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-282736584872510518

Hello!!!

2006-07-06T23:42:00.000+01:00

After a long gap!!
How are you all Doing?

Hyderabad a City Which is Booming!!

2006-04-13T16:31:00.000+01:00

CITY Hyderabad's Act II

Andhra Pradesh's capital is India's most happening business destination. Only, the city has been there once before, done that, and seen a possible boom peter out. Will this time be any different?

By E. Kumar Sharma

Hi-Tec City: Glass, chrome and code

This writer first saw the future of Hyderabad in a bookstore that, by the time this magazine hits the news stands, will no longer be. "Roadwork," said the man behind the counter when asked why the store, the largest (and finest) repository of used books of every genre (pulp romances to serious non-fiction) in the city and probably amongst the best of its ilk in the country was closing down. "This building is being demolished to make way for a road."

Roadwork and demolitions have become a way of life in Hyderabad. Buildings abutting some arterial thoroughfares have medium-sized numbers painted on in red; 15ft, say some, 16ft, say others; the numbers indicate the magnitude by which the roads are to be widened. Often enough, that means buildings have to come down. Like the building in which the bookstore is (was) housed, they do. This is Hyderabad, not Shanghai. This is India, not China. "Try this out anywhere (else) in India," says T.V. Mohandas Pai, CFO, Infosys. "It is not easy." "It is all about visible action on the ground," says Kiran Karnik, President, nasscom, India's National Association of Software and Service Companies.

Hyderabad's reinvention is evident in the urban renewal and infrastructure enhancement the city is witnessing, and in its residents' attitude to consumption, and partying.
ON-THE-MOVE: Roadwork and demolitions to facilitate them are a way of life
NEW WINGS: The new international airport is work in progress
MALL GAME: Hyderabad's renaissance has been accompanied by a consumption boom
TUNING IN: The city that works hard, plays harder, even on weekday nights
Infosys recently announced its intention to build its largest campus in the country, spread across 550 acres (at a cost of Rs 1,250 crore) in Hyderabad. In an interview with this magazine (see In Four Years, This Will Be The Number One State), Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy says that five of the country's largest textile companies will soon have manufacturing facilities in the city; he adds that Andhra will soon announce a very large investment in the automobile sector, but refuses to specify whether this will be in Hyderabad.
SemIndia, a consortium promoted by non-resident Indians working towards establishing a $3 billion (Rs 13,500 crore) semiconductor manufacturing facility in India has announced that Hyderabad is its preferred location (The consortium signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the state government in February this year).

In the nine months between April 2005 and January 2006, 127 software firms have set up shop in Hyderabad. And all this in a city that has emerged the capital of India's life-sciences industry and which Utkarsh Palnitkar, Indusrty Leader, Health Sciences at Ernst & Young India calls "the hub of the biopharmaceuticals industry." There's something happening in Hyderabad.
Same Old, Same Old

The thing is, Hyderabad has been here before. In 1998, when then Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu catalysed the creation of Hi-Tec city, Hyderabad was spoken of as Cyberabad, the next big (after Bangalore) destination for it companies. Not content with that, the man also facilitated the creation of Genome Valley, a Silicon Valley inspired borough that would, he reckoned, serve as the base for India's biotech industry.
While more than a few it companies and several hi-tech biotech start-ups did make the city their home, however, Hyderabad didn't exactly become the next big thing. Between 2000 and the middle of 2004 Bangalore went through an urban mini-renaissance, Chennai got its act together and successfully promoted one of its suburbs Siruseri as the ideal destination for it firms, and Pune's proximity to Mumbai, India's commercial capital, paid rich dividends at a time when the economy and the stock market were on a roll.
HOW HYDERABAD COMPARESHyderabad faces tough competition from Chennai, Bangalore and Pune
HYDERABADPOPULATION: 5.5 millionRULING PARTY: CongressCHIEF MINISTER: Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy
The momentum is clearly with the city that has emerged the capital of the Indian life sciences industry: several infrastructure projects are works in progress, the landmark Fabcity project is to be housed here, as will Infosys' largest campus, and the government seems to have struck the ideal rural-urban balance.
BANGALOREPOPULATION: 7 millionRULING PARTY: JD(S)-BJPCHIEF MINISTER: H.D. Kumaraswamy
Two years of neglect hasn't done anything for Bangalore's claim that it is a city of the future. Strangely enough, they haven't hurt the city too badly with the cluster effect (and salubrious climate) still continuing to draw companies. And the new Chief Minister has promised to set things right.
PUNEPOPULATION: 3.8 millionRULING PARTY: Congress-NCPCHIEF MINISTER: Vilasrao Deshmukh
Pune is as close as close can be to India's commercial capital Mumbai. It also boasts more centres of higher learning than any other city. Not surprisingly, its steady progress as a preferred destination for new-age firms-it is already the capital of India's auto industry-has accelerated in recent times.
CHENNAIPOPULATION: 6.4 millionRULING PARTY: AIADMKCHIEF MINISTER: J. Jayalalithaa
Its suburb Siruseri promises to be the most happening IT-borough in all Asia, Nokia has invested in a manufacturing facility and a telecom park (in a special economic zone), and it boasts a vibrant traditional base of auto companies (including Korean car major Hyundai and Ford).
In the 2004 elections, Naidu's Telugu Desam Party lost to the Congress; the former's mantra of urban-renewal hadn't made him popular with Andhra's agricultural community.
The new government, headed by Rajasekhara Reddy was expected to go all out to assuage the concerns of the rural and agricultural populace and it has done just that: the state's 2006-2007 budget has set aside Rs 10,000 crore for irrigation projects; this amount is 61 per cent of the planned outlay of Rs 19,551.9 crore for the year. Finance Minister K. Rosaiah points out that the allocation to irrigation is a 51 per cent increase over last year's and claims that no other state in the country pays as much attention to the sector.
Hyderabad has become the epicentre of India's pharmaceutical and biotech industry; the city plays host to some 500 pharma firms.
TOMORROW'S WORLD: ICICI Knowledge Park at Genome Valley
NEW ORDER: A worker at Divis, one of India's newest and hottest pharmaceutical companies
FRONTRUNNER: K. Anji Reddy, Chairman, Dr Reddy's Laboratories
The popular consensus, after Reddy came to power, was that Andhra Pradesh would focus on the agricultural and rural sectors to the exclusion of all else (this, after all, was what the new government that came to power in Karnataka in 2004 did for almost two years, one reason for Bangalore's ills).
That hasn't happened. The new government has committed investments of over Rs 10,000 crore towards upgrading Hyderabad's urban infrastructure. It hasn't shunned business and businessmen the way Karnataka's government did after the 2004 elections. For instance, in August 2005, in a meeting with Reddy Infosys Chairman and Chief Mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy pointed out that English not being a medium of instruction in the government schools was one reason for the widening gap between the haves and the have nots; in late January 2006, Reddy announced that English, not Telugu, would be the medium of instruction in all government schools.
"There seems to be a political will to build Hyderabad into a great city," says Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairman and Managing Director, Biocon. "The first thing that strikes you when you visit the city is that the infrastructure is good and the government appears committed to building infrastructure." "The state government has been very proactive and has treated us well," adds Infosys' Pai, in the context of the company's decision to build its largest campus in the city.
The Tipping Point
Every renaissance needs a tipping point. The one for Hyderabad's reinvention would have to be SemIndia's decision to locate its chip fabrication facility in the city. With a proposed investment of $3 billion (Rs 13,500 crore) over several stages-the first stage involves an investment of $75 million (Rs 337.5 crore)-the SemIndia fab, as it is populary known, is working with the state government to set up the 1,200-acre Fabcity that will not only house the fab project but also multiple fab units and hundreds of suppliers that the campus hopes to attract over time. At peak flow, the SemIndia project will produce 30,000 wafers a month, or 40 million chips a year.
"Sometime in September 2005, I was getting ready to make my first presentation about our industry and was quite impressed with the fact that most officials were already familiar with much of what I wanted to say,'' says Vinod Agarwal, President and CEO, SemIndia. Later, he adds, he was impressed by the fact that Hyderabad was a clean city (compared to several others in India) and thought that this would be a good place to live and work. As he pointed out in February when he signed the MoU with the state, "Nowhere has anybody signed an MoU within a week of announcing the project location.''
Part of Hyderabad's renaissance has also come at Bangalore's expense; the latter's infrastructure crumbled between 2004 and 2006, and this, coupled with the apathy of the local government, caused several companies to look to other cities such as Chennai, Gurgaon, Noida, Pune, and Hyderabad (a new government is now in place in Karnataka and the new Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has made all the right noises thus far).
THE CHALLENGES OF DEVELOPMENTWhat Hyderabad needs and what it is doing towards that.
IT's best: Hi-Tec city plays host to IT's best-known names like TCS (left)International Airport: Under construction. Will be operational by early 2008. Equipped to handle 22 flight movements an hour and 7 million passengers a year.
Better and More Roads: Roadwork is in progress. By 2008, the city will have an outer ring road, an eight-lane expressway that is some 160 km long (total cost: Rs 3,000 crore); four new flyovers are also being constructed (the city is seeking funding for 24 more flyovers and 2 railway overpasses from the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission).
Decongesting the City: At planning stage. The city has planned 22 townships along the new outer ring road.
Parking: Norms have been revised to encourage builders to provide more parking; tenders will be floated in the next couple of months for parking complexes in six to seven locations.
Urban Transport: Hyderabad has 2 million vehicles and registers 7 million vehicle movements a day. The share of public transport in this is 40 per cent. The government wants to increase this to 55 per cent in the next four years by which time the first phase (60 km) of the metro rail project will be complete.
Water: The state may crow about the fact that it got the Fabcity project because it agreed to meet SemIndia's demand for 20 million gallons a day, but poor infrastructure and distribution means most residents don't get as much water as they'd like. The state is investing around Rs 2,000 crore through various projects (including one that will pipe water from the river Krishna to the city) and is also tapping the national urban renewal mission for funds.
Power: The city has no problems meeting the current peak demand of 20 million units per day. While there is some concern that no new thermal power generation plants are expected to go on stream before 2008-09, this is offset to some extent by gas finds in the Krishna Godavari basin. The key will be pipelines, including one in which the state is a partner, making gas available to power projects such as GVK Power's Jegurupadu Phase II as soon as possible.
And part of it has also come from initiatives taken by previous governments that have made Hyderabad the de facto capital of the Indian life sciences industry (at last count the state had some 2,500 pharma and 75 biotech companies with bulk of the activity being in and around Hyderabad). Reddy's government has carried this focus forward by proposing a special economic zone for pharmaceuticals at Vizag, Andhra Pradesh's second most important city.
Hyderabad already boasts the ICICI Knowledge Park, where several R&D hotshops are located, and the S.P. Biotech Park, a campus dedicated to the manufacture of biotechnology products that is conveniently located next to the knowledge park. "All this could provide Hyderabad a distinct advantage over other geographic locations," says Ernst & Young's Palnitkar.

Here To Stay?
The buzz about Hyderabad becoming one of the most happening investment destinations in the country is also reflected in a consumption boom in the city. "We call it the Chandigarh of South India," says Kishore Biyani, Managing Director, Pantaloon Retail; his company has already invested Rs 250 crore in Hyderabad and will do an additional Rs 500 crore over the next two years. Already, 18 per cent of the company's revenues come from the city.
"In Four Years, This Will Be The Number One State"
The Andhra Pradesh assembly is in session, the Union Finance Minister is in town, but Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy manages to fit Business Today into a 15-minute slot. Excerpts:
Why should an investor come to Hyderabad? Bangalore is still it for IT. Pune is close to Mumbai. Chennai has a thriving base of IT and auto companies....
Just minutes before you walked in we have learnt that a major investment in the automobile sector is coming to the state. I cannot reveal anything more than this at the moment. Other than trying to be proactive and quick in our responses we have tried to look into industry needs and the most crucial among them are those related to infrastructure. In the next 3 to 4 years, this will be the number one state in the country.
Apart from IT, what are the other sectors on your radar?
I have just told you about the major investment in the auto sector. In the next one year, 10 to 15 important textile players are going to set up shop here. At least five of them would be in Hyderabad and about five to 10 in Vizag. We now want to focus on food processing as well.
What do you see as lessons from Bangalore's experience?
Bangalore is clogged. We should run ahead. We started the work on the international airport three years later than Bangalore but will complete it at least a month or two ahead of them. We are planning keeping in mind needs 15 to 20 years from now.

Hyderabad's dozen-odd pubs do brisk business, with special nights dedicated to retro music, salsa, and women the current rage; it's hard to find standing space at night-spots such as Ahala at the Taj Krishna or Dublin at the ITC Kakatiya Sheraton, even on week nights; and the city's tony shopping district Somajiguda is replete with the outlets of popular Indian designers. Pantaloon's Hyderabad Central mall offers 250,000 sq. ft. of shopping space; another mall, GVK One, which will be ready by the end of 2006 will offer 650,000 sq.ft. Dining out options include everything from sushi to Belgian waffles to meat cooked in khau-SWE, a Burmese-style gravy.
All these are important because Hyderabad still figures behind Bangalore and Pune in the list of preferred places to work for it pros, according to most executives in the industry. "Hyderabad still needs to improve in terms of quality of life and become more cosmopolitan," says Infosys' Pai, "but this is an evolutionary process and it is happening." Pubs, nightclubs and malls are only part of the equation; water, power, housing, sewerage, traffic management, law and order, and quality of schools and colleges are as important.

Legacy reasons may mean that Hyderabad never catches up with Bangalore, but given the state government's pro-rural, and pro-agricultural stance, the city's recent progress is unlikely to attract the kind of backlash Bangalore's did. That could make its economic growth, much more rapid, and much more consistent.

Yahoo's Cool Tool!!

2006-04-11T17:55:00.000+01:00

Though Old news!!

Yahoo! introduced a new search tool that allows you to see all the pages of your site that are indexed by Yahoo!

Another cool information that this report returns is the ability to see how many inbound links you have to a page.

Yahoo! Site Explorer is a cool tool for businesses to make sure all their pages are indexed.

Check it out at http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/

Cost of Business Startups in India

2006-04-09T10:56:00.000+01:00

Source:Rediff.com

With a startup, the conventional wisdom is that all resources should be poured into the core business. But most Indian entrepreneurs don't seem to think this way if a study done by Amarnath Bhide, Glaubinger Professor at Columbia Business School, is correct. Bhide examined small firms in the Bangalore area, excluding IT from his focus.
Bhide says that most Indian firms in his study required an average startup capital of about Rs 375,000 ($8,300), whereas the average (non-IT) US startup needs about $10,000. With purchasing power benchmarks, Indian firms shouldn't need more than about $1,500-$2,000 equivalent as startup capital.

Next, Bhide found that 80 per cent of Indian startup capital was sunk into buying real estate regardless of the "core" business. Indian firms will buy rather than rent even when, as now, rental yield is low and real estate prices are high. Net of real estate commitments, startup requirement drop close to expectancy. (I suspect that real estate commitments would be officially understated due to black: white pricing ratios and there would also be undisclosed leveraging on many land purchases.)

The number of firms that achieve high growth (Bhide's cut off was 15 per cent CARG for 5 years) is low, at about 1 per cent. In five years, the top 1 per cent of US small firms grew to turnovers that equaled 378 times the initial capital base. The top 1 per cent of Indian firms grew to turnovers of 20 times their initial capital base.
This seems weird, given Indian GDP growth rates and known returns from listed corporates. There are reasons for the distortion - namely, stultifying labour laws and tax structures. Above a certain threshold, it's better to split one firm into two or into three, four, or 10 firms.
That way, the entrepreneur avoids firing restrictions and makes lower indirect tax payouts through availing SSI excise exemptions. So, the total number of small Indian firms grows very quickly rather than individual firms exhibiting high growth.

This structure is frustrating for the passive equity investor. Few Indian firms ever reach a size where they need to access the capital markets. Even worse, as and when IPOs are launched, each entity seeking listing has several unlisted group companies trailing its coattails, and making valuations tricky.

Let's return to real estate. Empirical evidence suggests that Bangalore firms are not exceptional. If Bhide's study is replicated in the NCR and Greater Mumbai, we're likely to find small firms also sink most of their capital in real estate.
Hence, most small Indian businesses are actually real estate plays. If 80 per cent of the capital is sunk into self-occupied premises, you must expect a high capital appreciation on that land and that is actually your core business.

This has many scary implications. The real-estate bubble is of far larger dimensions and has far larger externalities than generally realised. If real estate ever goes into a genuine tail-spin, it will crucify entrepreneurs with no apparent connection to it. It's an open question what the creation of mega-SEZs will do to the market and to this mindset.There are few listed plays and India doesn't have real estate investment trusts. On the other hand, construction/developer firms like Lok Housing and Parasvnath probably have larger customer bases than is generally realised. Bhide's study may provide a basis for upgrading return expectations from this sector.

Roam in the Mars!!

2006-03-24T16:07:00.000Z

http://www.google.com/mars/

Another Creation from Google!!

Hey Sergey and Larry you are rocking the world!!

Everything about India

2006-03-21T19:20:00.000Z

Very Very Good Website!!!

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/print/in.html

Indian Vs French Attitudes!!!

2006-03-14T22:23:00.000Z

Author:T Thomas

Here is an interesting article on Attitudes of Indian Vs The French in view of acquiring companies:

A lot of controversy has arisen in Europe and in India about the proposed acquisition of Arcelor by Mittal Steel. It has shown that attitudes towards such trans-border acquisitions differ considerably among countries, and in the same country over periods of time.
About 25 years ago, in our own country, the acquisition of an Indian company by a foreign company would have drawn the ire of the public, the press and Parliament. As India has become more liberal in its attitude towards foreign investment, nobody is unduly exercised over acquisitions by foreign companies.
When Lafarge, the French cement company, acquired the cement business of Tata Steel there was no protest, either, in the Indian cement industry or the press. It was a smooth transition. Evidently, attitudes in India have evolved to be more in line with Anglo-Saxon ones.
Racism hindering Mittal's Arcelor bid?
Mittal & the art of empire building
Attitudes in France have not evolved at the same pace. There is considerable difference between the United Kingdom and the United States, on the one hand, and France, on the other, when it comes to acquisition by foreign companies.
In the UK, anyone can acquire any company, provided it has no defence implications. Harrod's, once a symbol of upper-class Britain, was bought by an Egyptian; Rolls Royce, once the pride of Britain, is now owned by Germans; even the leading English football team, Manchester United, is now owned by an American.
These are all businesses in which the nationality of the owner does not matter. An English football player is not going to play any better for Manchester United just because the club is owned by a Britisher.
In sharp contrast, any acquisition of a French company by a foreigner is generally unwelcome in France. In many ways, this could be a reflection of the entrenched inferiority complex of French business towards their Anglo-Saxon peers.
Over the last five centuries, the French and the British have been bitter rivals in their search for colonies and building up trade. For various reasons, the British succeeded more than the French. Even more galling to the French has been the fact that English has become the lingua franca of the world.
Charles De Gaulle, who was a refugee in Britain during World War II, rekindled this emotion despite the fact that he regained power in France only with the help of the Anglo-Saxon powers. He never got over what he felt was the humiliation of being a refugee in Britain. Churchill's disdain for the Frenchman did not help matters! This Gaullist complex still survives in France.
Fortunately, we in India are much more liberal and forgiving than the French, although we were colonised by the British, many of whom behaved very arrogantly. Yet Indians still retain a warm feeling towards the British and have adopted English as the main language for higher education.
This evolution owes a lot to Gandhiji and Nehru, both of whom had an innate appreciation of the decency and fairness of the common people in Britain. Their attitude towards Britain was in sharp contrast to that of De Gaulle, who owed much more to the British.
In judging the acquisition of a company in any country by a foreigner, the nationals of that country should be naturally concerned about certain matters:
What will be the impact on employment and revenues in that country?
What has been the track record of the acquiring company?
And, has the acquiring company got enough financial and managerial resources to grow the operations?
It was Mr Mittal's duty to anticipate these issues and reassure people in France. He seems to have underestimated the reaction in France, which is xenophobic.
On television, Mr Mittal comes across as a decent and open individual. He could, with advantage, expose himself more in the media--more frequently and more widely, especially in France. One wonders whether he could have done better in communicating with key constituencies in continental Europe.
For instance, he could have persuaded some eminent Frenchmen to join his board. That board could then have made a public statement setting out the logic, assuring the top management, and all employees and shareholders about Mittal's plans. This would also have obviated the feeling that Mr Mittal is a purely family-centred empire builder.
Usually, competent merchant bankers provide valuable advice in such matters. One does not see much evidence of such professional support to Mr Mittal. Even now, it may not be too late to engage such people.
Another flaw in Mr Mittal's communication was with regard to the recent announcement of financial results. Mittal Steel's results showed up poorly against the impressive results announced by Arcelor. There was a need to explain this disparity. Otherwise, it would appear as if a well-run, speciality steel company is being taken over by a commodity steel company.
It is certain that Mr Mittal has an explanation and a strategy to make the combined operations more profitable than the two constituent units. This could have been spelt out more clearly and in good time by competent merchant bankers.
Young Aditya Mittal, a very intelligent and well-qualified young man, is not a credible substitute for a reputable merchant bank, which has to safeguard its reputation while advocating its client's case.

It has been very reassuring to see that the government of India and the prime minister have kept out of the controversy and behaved maturely by stating that it is for the shareholders of Acelor to decide. This balanced attitude is in sharp contrast to the pronouncements of their counterparts in France.

As the Indian economy grows, there will be more acquisitions abroad by Indian companies. Compared to the Japanese or Chinese, the next generation of Indians (like Aditya Mittal) can easily relate to Western business practices and culture because of their training and education.
In any such transaction, business logic will prevail even if it takes time. Business transcends nationality as it grows beyond borders, although individuals in the business may retain their national identities. French feelings have nothing to do with Mr Mittal being an Indian.
If it was an Englishman who tried to acquire the company, there would have been howls of protest against perifidious Albion. If it was an American who tried to acquire the company, it would have been decried by the French as part of Yankee manipulation. Ultimately, the French have to accept that the globalisation of business is here to stay; and the sooner they do so, the better it will be for France.

Good Website for Indian Statistics

2006-03-13T16:29:00.000Z

Hello All,

Iam back with a bang after a long long gap as i had been off for my Sister Marriage!!
It really went on very well!!

Have a look at this website and it is ultra cool website for all the Indian Statistics:

www.neoncarrot.co.uk

Another Master piece from Infosys Chairman-Narayana Murthy

2006-01-24T09:10:00.000Z

Source:Rediff.com

Infosys is a global company:

You could lose N R Narayana Murthy in a crowd twice over. First, because he is slightly built and looks far more of the common man on India's streets than R K Laxman's distinctive creation, and second, because in attire, speech or manner, he does not seek to stand out.
But all that changes once he begins by telling you that until three years ago, he worked 14 hours a day -- 6.20 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. -- including Saturdays, and half a day on Sunday, writes Subir Roy.

The contrast between appearance and aspiration finds a good metaphor in Infosys' campus at Bangalore's Electronics City. It has 42 buildings, has a global bigwig visitor every other day - prime ministers, presidents, heavyweight customers and so on.
This spectacular campus was conceived not after Infosys became big but over a decade ago when the cost of the campus, as then computed, was more than the company's annual income.
The dining room, close to the corporate offices, is like the rest of the campus - modern, precisely efficient, sans embellishments. The food we have is similar - wholesome, moderately tasty and unlikely to make you want to overeat. We are served several vegetables dishes - soppu made of spinach, badhanekayi made of brinjal, alu-capsicum, and panchratna dal - all cooked in south Karnataka style. Murthy eats very little and we finish with coffee.
It adds up with Murthy's admission that he eats not for pleasure but out of necessity. A vegetarian, he earlier ate north Indian food but these days he sticks to his native south Karnataka cuisine that is light, nourishing and, to my Bengali pallet, decidedly bland. He mentions in particular "bisibele bhat" - rice, dal and vegetables all cooked together, precisely what the doctor would advise if you wanted a long life.
The food, the man and the company that he has built are in harmony - south Indian, non-showy, middle-class, and driven by the intellect and will-power to scale stupendous heights.
The one relaxation that Murthy enjoyed in the past was going to see Hindi movies with his wife regularly. "In fact, the other day my wife and I were with Tina Ambani and we told her how we liked several of her movies. But in the past 20 years I don't think I have watched a movie, except an English movie while on a flight."
Then, with great meticulousness, he adds, "Actually, that's not correct. I did go once to see Titanic because my daughter was a great fan of the movie and she bought two tickets. But that day my wife had something else to do." So he and his male secretary Pandu went and saw the movie!
He agrees his work has been all engrossing. "In fact, I am very lucky my wife has never burdened me with any of the domestic responsibilities - bringing up children, going to their school, helping them in their studies, buying stuff, groceries and all that, paying all the bills. She built our first house. She does everything."
Everything about Murthy speaks of a great vision pursued with feet firmly planted on the ground. This comes out best as he spells out one of the foremost business principles that has guided his whole venture - selling.
"Many of my colleagues have often accused me of a bias towards sales in Infosys. I tell them, unless we can sell well we cannot do anything, such as create jobs, pay good salaries and satisfy investors. Right from the beginning we realised that we have to focus on selling better and better in the marketplace."
From that came the business success that has made Infosys one of the most successful global companies with a billion dollars in cash.
Come August, Murthy will hang up his boots, become non-executive chairman, give up his corner office, although he will retain the one that he has in the "heritage" building on the campus, but come there rarely. He is building another office near his Bangalore home in Jayanagar where he will receive visitors, prepare lectures - "I get invited to many places" - and receive visitors - "I will have visitors even there, definitely."
He will also catch up on reading. "I want to read some technical stuff. It is a long time since I read computer science. Since I did my masters during 1967-69, I have done a little bit of reading here and there, but not with the seriousness that I would like to."
Infosys is well-known for many things. Key among them are its founders' willingness to share the wealth they have created, and listing in the US with sufficient floating stock that has given the company a global profile. So, over time, the company's founders own less and less of it, and foreign holdings are going up steadily. I ask him what is there in many Indians' mind - how long will Infosys remain an Indian company?
"Frankly, personally to me it does not matter because we have to create the first truly multinational company from India. We are of Indian origin but we are a global company. People must identify with Infosys for bettering their future in every part of the world. But we can say we are Indians, we can still have our headquarters in India. But it is not necessary to be Indian in every one of our aspirations."

Kalam's 10-point vision for a competitive India

2006-01-18T15:14:00.000Z

Source:Rediff.com

Inaugurating the Confederation of Indian Industry's Partnership Summit 2006 in Kolkata on Tuesday, President APJ Abdul Kalam emphasised the need for 'spiritual connectivity' in the 'dynamics of leadership.'
The President said that the country's primary challenge was to uplift the 260 million poor in India and remove poverty by 2020. He said that this could be done through a network of connectivities encompassing a knowledge grid, a healthcare grid, e-governance grid and the knowledge grid.
He said the focus should be on integrating the entire country economically as it transforms itself into a knowledge society.
We reproduce the President's speech at the CII Summit below:
"I am indeed very happy to participate in the inauguration of Partnership Summit 2006 with the theme 'Shaping the growth: Nurturing development.' My greetings to CII, who has organised this meet consecutively with different themes for the development of the nation.
I also greet the political leaders, industry captains, development planners and other distinguished guests. My special greetings to international delegates for participating and contributing in this important international meet.
I was thinking, what thoughts I can share with you on this occasion. I have selected the topic 'Dynamics of Leadership' that will present two important systems of national development and will lead to rural development through PURA (Providing Urban amenities in Rural Areas) system and national electronic grid connectivity.
Law of development
Last two years, I was studying the development patterns and the dynamics of connectivity between nations, especially in trade and business. As you all know the world has a few developed countries and many developing countries. What is the dynamics between them and what connects them?
Developed countries have to market their products in a competitive way to different countries to remain a developed country. The developing country, to transform into a developed country, has to market its products to other countries in a competitive way. Competitiveness is the common driving factors between the two types of nations.
Competitiveness has three dimensions:
Quality of the product;
Cost-effectiveness; and
Product is in the market just-in-time.
Indeed this dynamics of competitiveness in marketing of products by developing and developed countries is the law of development. There is a relationship between the core competence and the competitiveness of the country. Such a law applies to individual companies as well.
Ambience in the nation
In the Indian history, very rarely our nation has come across such a situation, all at a time: an ascending economic trajectory, continuously rising foreign exchange reserves, reduced rate of inflation, global recognition of the technological competence, energy of 540 million youth, umbilical connectivities of 20 million people of Indian origin in various parts of the planet, and the interest shown by many developed countries to invest in our engineers and scientists including setting up of new R&D centers.
The distinction between the public and the private sectors and the illusory primacy of one over the other is vanishing. India, as the largest democracy in the world, has a reputation for its democracy and for providing leadership for the one billion people with multi-cultural, multi-language and multi-religious backgrounds.
And our technological competence and value systems with civilisational heritage too are highly respected. Also, FIIs (foreign institutional investors) find investing in India attractive. Indians are also investing in abroad and setting up new business ventures.
As per the report titled From the Ganges to the Thames, which states that the Indian foreign direct investment in Britain is second only to that of the United States and Indian FDI project in Europe has increased from just 5 to 119 during the period 1997 to 2004.
The government is also committed to economic development by ensuring growth rate of 7% to 8% annually, enhancing the welfare of the farmers and workers and unleashing the creativity of the entrepreneurs, business persons, scientists, engineers and other productive forces of the society.
Can we expect anything better than this for increasing the momentum of our development missions and economic growth? Let us translate this great opportunity for transforming India into a developed nation before 2020.
This calls for the agriculture, manufacturing and service sectors becoming globally competitive leading to economically competitive. Then a competitive profile will emerge that will create more opportunities to the corporate sectors working in India.
Enabling environment has also been created by the government through the sanctioning of Bharat Nirman programme -- with a commitment of Rs 1,74,000 crore (Rs 1,740 billion) allocation in 4 years, enhancement of Agriculture credit from Rs 92,000 crore (Rs 920 billion) to Rs 200,000 crore (Rs 2,000 billion), sanctioning of 100 days' guaranteed and productive employment programme in 200 backward districts and annual allocation of Rs 30,000 crore (Rs 300 billion) for rural development programme.
Profile of a globally competitive nation
Global competitiveness for any nation is indeed a big challenge. For achieving such a competitive edge for a nation, it is essential to have a vision. I would like to share with you my visualisation of such a nation.
A nation where the rural and urban divide has reduced to a thin line.
A nation where there is an equitable distribution and access to energy and quality water.
A nation where agriculture, industry and service sector work together in symphony, absorbing technology thereby resulting in sustained wealth-generation leading to greater high value employment opportunities.
A nation where education is not denied to any meritorious candidates because of societal or economic discrimination or because of constraints of rules.
A nation which is the best destination for the most talented scholars, scientists, and investors from all over the world.
A nation where the best of healthcare is available to all and the communicable diseases like AIDS/TB, water and vector borne diseases and other stress diseases, cardiac diseases, cancer and diabetes are brought down.
A nation where the governance uses the best of the technologies to be responsive, transparent, fully connected in a high bandwidth e-governance grid, easily accessible and also simple in rules, thereby corruption free.
A nation where poverty has been totally eradicated, illiteracy removed and crimes against women are absent and none in the society feels unalienated.
A nation that is prosperous, healthy, secure, peaceful and happy and continues with a sustainable growth path.
A nation that is one of the best places to live in on the earth and brings smiles on the one billion-plus faces.
How the nations can realise the specified goals? I will give an example for our nation. Since India has a population of billion people, it represents 1/6th of the population of our planet. The ideas I am going to present may also be relevant and applicable to many developing countries, which are aiming to shape their growth and nurturing their development in an environment of peace and harmony with other nations.
I would like to invite all countries and investors to participate with us in the development process for mutual benefit. As far as Indian companies, they can seek partnership with civil society in India to accomplish these projects and also venture our in other countries helping them to transform themselves.
India's national missions: The challenges
India's current population is about one billion people. We are going through a major challenge of uplifting of 260 million people who are below the poverty line and also to give better life for many millions who are on the border line of poverty or just above the poverty line.
They need a decent habitat, they need work with reasonable income, they need food, they need speedy access to health care, and they need education and finally they need a good life and hope for a better future.
Our GDP is growing at more than 7% per annum on an average. Whereas, the economists suggest that to uplift the people below the poverty line, our economy has to grow at the rate of 10% per annum consistently, for over a decade.
Integrated action: To meet the need of one billion people, we have the mission of transforming India into a developed nation. We have identified five areas where India has a core competence for integrated action:
Agriculture and food processing;
Reliable and quality electric power; surface transport and infrastructure for all parts of the country;
Education and healthcare;
Information and communication technology (ICT); and
Strategic sectors.
These five areas are closely inter-related and if properly implemented, will lead to food, economic and national security of our country. In each of these areas, there is a wealth of opportunities awaiting nations who would like to work together for mutual benefits in a win-win situation.
Each of these missions comprise many projects, investments, innovations, marketing and therefore many partnerships are possible. Those who seek out will find a new opportunity. Let us remember the adage, 'early bird catches the worm.'
Engines for growth: Emphasis would be on full utilisation of natural and human resources of the nation to meet the demands of the modern society. We should also remember that about 50% of our population is young people with aspirations for better living.
Value addition in agriculture, manufacturing and service sectors, building the national core competence and technologies will lead to additional high-income employment potential. The engines for growth will be accelerated by launching of the five national missions, which are common to all of us wherever we are on planet earth.
The totality of these five missions will enable achievement of 10% GDP growth rate per annum. It is possible to do so with ecological and economic sustainability. It is not the mission of governments. It is a collective efforts of big and small businesses, science and technology and academic institutions, foreign investors, and many others who have confidence about India.
With these aspects in view, we have already laid down the road map. The priority for the government is to convert the road map into various missions. It is to be done in a decentralized manner allowing a greater role for private enterprise and local initiatives. While converting the vision into different missions we seem to have many thoughts and variety of routes to reach the goal.
This is where there is a need to have coherent thinking among all the members of the society. All of us have to think that the nation is greater than an individual or an organisation.
Now I would like to discuss the economic growth and societal transformation.
Societal transformation
Societal transformation and economic growth are interlinked. Knowledge societies enrich information society through innovation. Information society enriches agriculture and manufacturing through value addition. The whole purpose of education in a country is to develop and enhance the potential of our human resource and progressively transform it into a knowledge society.
The knowledge society will be a society producing products and services that are rich in both explicit and tacit knowledge, thus creating value added products. The real capital of this knowledge society will be its knowledge components.
The society will be highly networked to create knowledge intensive environment along with enabling process to efficiently create, share, use and protect knowledge. Our education system should re-align itself at the earliest to meet the needs of the present day challenges and be fully geared to participate in the societal transformation through innovation, which is the key to competitiveness.
It should also develop a global outlook. India has many strengths. It has to reach out and make our individuals and institution capable of succeeding in a competitive world.
Changing patterns of society: When the world was moving from the industrial to information and knowledge era, we witnessed a changing pattern in the sectoral share of GDP and the number of people employed in each sector.
The sectoral share of gross domestic product percentage has undergone a considerable change. Contribution of agriculture to India's GDP has reduced from 39% to 22% during the period 1979 to 2004. During the same period contribution of manufacturing sector has moved from 24% to 27% and whereas the contribution from the services sector has increased from 37% to 51%.
There has been considerable change in the employment pattern also. The percentage of people employed in agriculture has come down from 64% to 54%.
Simultaneously, the percentage of people employed in manufacturing has gone up from 15% to 19% and in the service sector from 20% to 27%. This trend has to continue and by 2020 our employment pattern should aim at 44% in agriculture, 21% in manufacturing and 35% in service sectors.
The displacement of 10% people from agriculture sector has to be facilitated through skill enabling for undertaking value added tasks in the rural enterprises so that migration to urban area is reduced. Instead of the person from the rural areas going to urban towns in search of jobs in manufacturing and services sectors, PURA (Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas) facilitates creation of employment in the rural areas itself.
PURA achieves this by providing physical, electronic and knowledge connectivities to a cluster of villages thereby leading to their economic connectivity and prosperity. Knowledge creation and knowledge utilisation is the key to the success of a PURA programme. PURA programme can generate many business opportunities. This model is applicable to many countries.
Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA): The number of PURA units required for the whole country is estimated to be 7,000. This envisages integrated connectivities to bring prosperity to rural India. These are: physical connectivity of the village clusters through quality roads and transport; electronic connectivity through telecommunication with high bandwidth fiber optic cables reaching the rural areas from urban cities and through Internet kiosks; and knowledge connectivity through education, vocational training for farmers, artisans and craftsmen and entrepreneurship programmes.
These three connectivities will lead to economic connectivity through starting of enterprises with the help of banks, micro credits and marketing of the products.
The PURA is required to be run by enlightened citizens and people capable of giving moral as well as business leadership. There is profit for partners but there is also a human face.
Both are built in the business plan itself. This is where the concept of spiritual connectivity is seen as the foundation, which bonds all the other four connectivities.
Each PURA cluster will connect about 20 villages depending upon the region and population and will cost about Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion). After initial short-term employment during construction etc., we have to plan for initiating actions for providing regular employment and self-employment opportunities in nationally competitive small enterprises in agro processing, manufacturing and services sectors for about 3,000 people.
If the industrial/business parks are marketed well, they can generate employment opportunities in support sector for about 10,000 people in that cluster. This will provide sustainable economy for the rural sector. In this national mission, bankers can promote entrepreneurship in the rural areas. This will lead to the removal of urban-rural divide. This experience can become a model for other countries to follow.
PURA as an enterprise: A large number of banks have entrepreneurial development programmes. Banks have also been funding small scale industries of different types in various regions. The small-scale industrialist is a promising candidate for becoming the chief executive for managing the PURA complexes in an integrated way.
PURA enterprises can also undertake management of schools, health care units, vocational training centres, chilling plants, silos and building a market, banking system and the regional business or industrial units. A new mission mode management style has to emerge for PURA enterprises.
It should not be looking for protective legislations to support them. Rather they should be efficient to compete with others. This new PURA enterprise needs partnership from the bank, from the government and also from the private entrepreneurs. Banks can train the entrepreneur for managing the PURA in their training centres and also provide them loans for creating and running PURAs as a business proposition.
Think of public-private-civil society partnerships in these efforts. Now I would like to describe the societal grid which will give the connectivity for the billion people.
Connectivity model
The core of the connectivity model is Electronic Connectivity for prosperity of one billion people is the partnership between governmental and multiple institutions in the public and private domains. The strength of this partnership for collaborative growth and economic prosperity is facilitated by free flow of knowledge and information in a seamless manner cutting across levels and boundaries embracing all walks of life in the three sectors of the economy such as agriculture, manufacturing and services sector.
In this model, four grids bring about the inter-connectivity between these three sectors of the economy: namely knowledge grid, health grid, e-governance grid and the PURA (7,000 PURA) grid. Each grid is a system of multiple portals. The aim is to maximize gross domestic production and productivity of the land and people through maximizing the performance of each sector, synergised by the system of inter and intra-sectoral electronic connectivity to serve one billion people.
This will bring prosperity to 700 million people in the rural areas and 300 million plus people in the urban areas. In the process, it will ensure that the lives of 260 million people will be uplifted from below the poverty line.
Societal grid
To maximise the synergy between the various components of education, healthcare, e-governance, rural development we need to establish connectivities among them. These connectivities will certainly bring seamless access and information flow among the various domains leading to maximisation of GDP and productivity; hence, there is need for establishing the grids, namely knowledge grid, healthcare grid, e-governance grid and the PURA knowledge grid.
This interconnecting grid will be known as societal grid. Knowledge sharing, knowledge utilisation and knowledge re-use is very vital by all constituents of the society for promoting non-linear growth. The societal grid consists of:
Knowledge grid: Interconnecting universities with socio-economic institutions, industries and R&D organisations.
Healthcare grid: Interconnecting the healthcare institutions of the government, corporate and superspeciality hospitals. Research institutions, educational institutions and ultimately, pharma R&D institutions.
E-governance grid: Interconnecting the central government and state governments and district and block level offices for G2G and G2C connectivity.
PURA knowledge grid: Connecting the PURA nodal centers with the village knowledge centres and domain service providers. Since this is the backbone for rural development, all other grids will infuse the knowledge into this grid for sustainable development, healthcare and good governance.
For example, five of the Periyar PURA villages have now connected using Wi-Max connectivity. Integrated village knowledge centers will act as an inter-connected delivery mechanism for tele-education, tele-medicine and e-governance services apart from individual access by the people, within and between the village knowledge centres through the PURA grid.
We have, so far discussed all the four connectivities required for the societal transformation. These connectivities can form the basis for providing platform for societal transformation leading to empowerment. This will blossom with the enabling environment of trust and confidence in the overall system.
Pan African e-Network
While we are discussing the topic 'Shaping the Growth: Nurturing Development,' I would like to recall my address to the Pan African Parliament on September 16, 2004, at Johannesburg, South African which was attended by heads of 53 member countries of the African unit.
There I announced the willingness of Government of India to provide seamless and integrated satellite, fiber optics and wireless network connecting 53 African countries. This will provide three connectivities:
Heads of the State Network for e-governance;
Tele-education network for higher education, skill enhancement and capacity building; and
Tele-medicine for providing health care and super specialty medicare.
The government of India has already commenced the project in partnership with African Union and it will be completed by early 2007.
Now I would like to discuss with you another international partnership model for high-tech product development for world market.
Design and develop products for world market
In order to achieve global competitiveness, the product must be world-class with high quality, high cost-effectiveness and must be available in time within the shelf life of the product. I would like to share a unique experience of design, development, production and marketing of a missile system -- Brahmos, an Indo-Russian joint venture.
What we have achieved through this venture is the development and realisation of a world-class product using the synergy of technological competence and consortium of industries of partner countries. In addition, the product being internationally competitive, it is able to service a large market with availability in time and state of the art performance at reduced cost per unit.
This will put India, a global defence exporter. Moreover, with minimum incremental investment the product has been developed and led to production and induction, at a relatively short time frame, well ahead of prescribed schedule. This has enabled early entry of the product into the world market well before any competitor could emerge.
I would like the civil industries to emulate this example and design and develop commercial products for international markets. This will lead to a win-win situation for the partner industries and enable availability of product at a low cost for the customer leading to nation's wealth generation.
Our experiences in mission mode programmes
I remember, during the 1960s India was in a state of ship to mouth existence in food. If the American ships did not bring wheat, there will be a famine in India. But there were two visionaries who worked together with the farming community and brought the first green revolution.
They are the political thinker C Subramaniam and the agriculture scientist Dr M S Swaminathan.
Today, we produce 200 million tonne of food grains, which is not only sufficient for us but also available for export. Around the same time, Varghese Kurien masterminded the white revolution, which resulted in placing India at the top of the world map of milk producers.
In India much innovation and creative thinking took place at various phases of our development. Dr Vikram Sarabhai in the 1960s said that India should design and develop large satellite launch vehicle and put communication satellite and remote sensing satellite in geo-synchronous orbit and polar orbit respectively.
This vision statement ignited hundred of scientists, technologists and thousands of technicians. Today India is capable of building any type of satellite launch vehicle and satellite.
Similarly, the vision of nuclear programme led to establishing series of nuclear power plants adding nearly 4,000-megawatt power to our electrical grid of 100,000 megawatt. There is a proposal to increase the nuclear power to 20,000 megawatt by 2020.
In the 80s, India had a very low base in information technology. Some young entrepreneurs with their innovative and creative thoughts and within the difficult boundary conditions of India's rules and regulations, demonstrated how IT enabled services can fetch export revenue.
Subsequently, even the government had to bring out innovative and liberalised IT policies. Now, our young IT entrepreneurs are making export revenue of $18 billion. This is expected to grow to more than $100 billion by the year 2020.
Similarly, the pharma industries are making a positive impact in the Indian economy. Wherever the government works in mission mode, the programme is successful.
Directory of Partnerships
Two decades ago, there has not been many international partnerships in India. Therefore, one could keep track of all the partnerships entered into by various business houses. In the recent past there is a trend of increased partnerships by India with many countries.
However, we do not have a database on all the partnerships which are presently operational in the country. Since CII has been conducting the Partnership Summit for the last twelve years, I would recommend creation of a directory of existing partnerships, which commenced from the year 2000 and publish this as a partnership directory giving details of the country, scope, progressive financial performance, brand image and the benefits accrued to the partner countries.
This information placed in the web portal can be updated very frequently. This will enable propagation of real meaning of globalization. In addition, this will stimulate more partnerships and draw our youth into partnership operations.
Conclusion
In India, we have seen whenever a vision is generated, missions are created and mission mode operations have succeeded in governmental setup like space programme, atomic energy programme, agriculture programme, milk programme and defence research programme.
Also in the private sectors, we have instances of empowered management systems particularly in Pharma and IT Sectors. However, it can be seen that there is a large funding for rural development is emerging through Bharat Nirman Programme encompassing multi-ministries.
There is a big challenge in evolving a management structure and to enable convergence of multiple ministries in the state and central Governments. With the background of successful mission mode operations in certain government programmes and the distinction between public and private sector and the illusory primacy of one over the other is vanishing, there is a possibility of evolving a management structure.
What is needed is a creative leader. Who is the creative leader? Creative leadership means exercising the vision to change the traditional role from the commander to the coach, manager to mentor, from director to delegator and from one who demands respect to one who facilitates self-respect.
I am sure creative leadership spearheads all the institutions and the future aspiring institutions. For a prosperous and developed India or any other country, the important thrust will be on the growth in the number of creative leaders and innovative organisations that can create wealth through dedicated management system.
I inaugurate the Partnership Summit 2006 and my best wishes to all the participants for success in their mission of shaping growth and nurture development of their industries, organisations and thereby their nation.

May God bless you."

True Hyderabadi!!

2006-01-17T14:43:00.000Z

You Might have seen this already but for those who have missed it here you go:
"Once a Hyderabadi is always a hyderabadi"
You are a real hyderabadi, if....

1. Your address reads as 23-404-32/67A-43 (New MCH number 56-678/4A/B-22),while you actually live in the second house beside zamzam cafe in lane behind Anand Theatre on SP Road.

2. You end up buying only a salwar kameez, whether it is a theatre workshop, food mela, consumer expo,designer jewellery show, science show or an automobile convention.

3. Your street has at least one roadside mobile hotel that serves Chinese delicacies such as "Vegetable soft needles","Navrotten Kurma", "Chicken Manchewurea" or "American Chompsee".

4. Your answer is 'seedha chale jao' when somebody asks you for directions,whether it is to Malakpet,Masab Tank, Malkajgiri or Moosapet.

5. You come across tailors sporting the board:Immidiot delivery in two days onli.

6.You can speak Hindi, Urdu, hyderabadi hinglish,except Telugu, fluently.

7.You ask the waiter to get you some 'Mango pickle'even if you are s! itting at a lavish continental banquet dinner withexotic Chinese, Mexican, Italian and Lebanese
cuisines.

8. You order for a tea just after having had a Caramel custard.
9. You have at least one Srinivas,Prasad, Raju orVenkatesh within six square feet. OR you have at least one cousin, friend, colleague or acquaintance withthese names.

10. You have at least one cousin, friend, colleague or acquaintance in the US in software.

11. Every time somebody gives you a piece of good news, the first thing you ask them is 'Party kab hain miya ?'

12. Refer to any past as 'parso', be it yesterday or long before three hundred years.

13. You call 11 AM as subah subah.

14. You label your boss as 'Dimakh Kharab'

15. And it doesn't matter where in the "Gulf/middle east" you are leaving you always tell you are going to"Dubai". (I know of one family who still keep telling everyone their son is in "uno! Dubai mein hai" but he is physically in Yemen for the past 5 years. [Smile]

16. You are 15 minutes late and you feel you are on time.

17. You look at the fixed price stand and still ask 'dene ka bolo'

18. If you do not eat rice at least once a day you will die.(Nothing other than Rice is considered as a meal)

19. If you feel offended by someone looking at you (Kaiku ghoor raa miya ?)

20. If you think you are a born shayer and use some typical filmi batein in stylish urdu and crack some romantic jokes.

21. While someone does this, you say to yourself 'chubbe saale ,mooh dekh aaine mein, tere ku kaun patthi, pataaney waala tho main hi hoon'

22. If you can say the typical "Light le le baap" and be cool without analyzing what the situation is.

23. If you feel its legal and your Nizami birth right to show yourhand and stop the traffic (better than !an traffic police)while you cross the road wheneverand wherever you like.

24. If you can hang out in a Irani cafe the whole day after ordering one cup tea and a empty for yourself and your dear friend and chat like thats the last day with each other.

25. If you eat Paradise Biryani or bawarchi Biryani atleast once in a week.

26. If you go to the Petrol Bunk and say "Panch Point Single Oil maroo yaaro" and hand over 15 bucks.

27. If you can relate the words 'Nakko', 'Hou' 'Kaiku' ,'hallu' and make these the integral part of your vocabulary.

28. If you tell your friend that you will 'just come back' ("abbhi aathu mein") and your friend knows that either you will take a couple of hours or not come back at all.

29. you end up watching every movie you come across ,and end up saying oh! that was good , but it could be better if it was made that way

30. You are reading this and secretly admitting that you are, after all, a true blue Hyderabadi [Smile] You know one thing..... Once a Hyderabadi, always a Hyderabadi... and you will forward this site for sureto Hyderabadis ... since only they can relate to it.

Marriage-Arranged or Love!!!

2006-01-09T22:06:00.000Z

Well My first topic of the year and i could not get any other better one than this....and these are all assumptions and may not be correct!!

According to Hinduism, marriage between two souls is a very sacred affair that stretches beyond one life time and may continue up to at least seven lives. A husband and wife chose to come together more due to spiritual reasons than sexual, though they may not be mentally aware of the reasons for their decision to come together.

Phew!! Enough of definitions but the way i perceive marriages in our traditions is its not only between 2 individuals but it makes 2 unknown families,extended families join together.

Now coming to the topic of interest whether it should be arranged or love is really up to individual who makes that choice as both has its own advantage and dis advantages.

But just aping/mimicking the western culture and saying that love marriage is all right is not totally correct otherwise just give a thought of how our parents married (arrange amrriage)for 30 or 40 years are able to live together,isn't it amazing? and on contrary it may be true that our parents are forced to the maxim of adjusting to each other rather not given free independance to each other which we may not like but ...

What could be a ideal situation according to me is strt loving after having an arranged marriage and i know that's what our elders do would be just rocking and i just cannot comment anything more as iam not married and these are all my assumptions and common sense.