The Utterances of a Peculiar Mindset

Airtel Broadband and Telephone Services (Airtel B&TS) has launched Wi-Fi service for its customers in South India at a monthly rental rate of Rs 99.

The offer will give Airtel broadband customers wireless access to broadband of upto 2 mbps speed, Airtel said in a statement.

Shamik Dass, COO - South, Airtel B&TS, said, "With the year 2007 being declared as the Year of Broadband and the increasing broadband penetration in the country, on-line life styles have become more prevalent and wireless access more pervasive.”

“Our Wi-Fi service at Rs 99 per month will promote affordable wireless access to a true broadband experience for a new generation that is seamlessly using Wi-Fi networks to exchange files and upload personalized content," he added.

As many of you must be already knowing, I'm doing MMS from CRKIMR, Mumbai these days. I found out that the life of a MMS student is much different than a normal person. So I just thought to let people have a sneak peak in the life of a MMS student. So you can check out "Inside a MMS Student's Life".

Few days back, we visited a friend's home for Ganpati festival. It was really a fun filled visit. Here are few snaps of the same day..

This is a very common question that arises in minds of every individual unaware of the stock market thing. Let me explain you the concept of stock market with a small story.

Once upon a time in a village, a man appeared and announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for Rs10. The villagers seeing that there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest and started catching them. The man bought thousands at Rs10 and as supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their effort. He further announced that he would now buy at Rs20. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again. Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer rate increased to Rs25 and the supply of monkeys became so little that it was an effort to even see a monkey let alone catch it.

The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at Rs50! However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would now buy on behalf of him. In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers. Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has collected. I will sell them to you at Rs35 and when the man returns from the city, you can sell it to him for Rs50." The villagers squeezed up with all their savings to buy the monkeys. Then they never saw the man nor his assistant, only monkeys everywhere!! !!

Welcome to Stock Market!!!

It had been long time since i put up something on blog. These days I'm just going too busy with the college, projects, Guest lectures and all.. Its wonderful coming back to the other side of the table. After being into teaching for one year, I can understand my teachers in more refined way. Or at least I think so.. Other way round, I now know what I'm gonna miss in the corporate life. So I am enjoying my college life in more refined way.
Anyways, today I'm enjoying this guest lecture about "Ideas that Click" organised by a Management Institute in Mumbai. The first lecture is about Chanakya Niti and its uses in today's Management world. I don't know what the person is talking about. But it seems he is just trying to tell us who is Chanakya and ow this person has studied about Chanakya. I am just waiting for him to come to the point.

These days, I'm also working on a case study about the popular Marathi Stage Show "Marathi Bana". Its a stage show consisting of 125 artists performing on stage simultaneously. It makes people aware of the Marathi culture that people are tending to forget these days. I happened to meet the director of the show Mr. Ashok Hande and was surprised to see how down to earth this person is. He talked to us even though he was in great hurry for an interview. He has also promised us a chance to get more refined and closer look at the things during the show on 23rd at Deenanath, Vile Parle. He also promised us an interview at a later stage.

I'm going to an industrial visit tomorrow to Parle - G. I don't know how the visit is going to come up but hopefully we will have fun. If the visit doesn't satisfy the purpose of learning, at least it will be a picnic for us. The day after tomorrow, we are going to watch the popular show "Marathi Bana" for the case study.

Will be updating you about the things. For the time being, this person has come to the point. So I better now concentrate on the slide show and the seminar.

Few English-Hindi Translations which will tackle your funny bone for sure..

*Have a nice day! ---- Achcha din lo!*

*What's up? ----- Uppar kya hai?*

*You're kidding! ----- Tum bachcha bana rahe ho!*

*Don't kid me! ----- Mera bachcha mat banaao! *

*Yo, baby! What's up? ----- Beti Yo, uppar kya hai?*

*Cool man! ----- Thandaa aadmi!*

*Check this out, man! ---- Iskee chaanbeen karo, aadmi!*

*Don't mess with me, dude. ----- Mere saath gandagi mat karo, e vyakti.*

*She's so fine! ----- Who itnee baareek hai!

Listen buddy, that chick's mine, okay!? ----- Suno dost, who chooza mera
hai, theek?

*Hey good looking; what's cooking? ---- Arrey sundarta ki devi; kya pakaa
rahee ho?*

*Are you nuts? ----- Kya aap akhrot hain?*

*Son of a gun. ----- Bachcha bandook ka.*

*Rock the party. ---- Party mein patthar feko. *

*And the best ones are.....*

*How do you do? ----- Kaise karte ho?*

*Keep in touch! ----- Chhoote Raho.*

*Lets hang out! ----- Chalo bahar latakte*

Wanna listen to Radio? Internet Radio? On your Google Messenger? Follow the steps:

1. Add service@gtalk2voip.com
2. Then add: 110@radio.gtalk2voip.com
3. Make a Call to 10@radio.gtalk2voip.com
4. Enjoy listening to the radio :)

.... Make sure you have good internet bandwidth before you listen. You do not want the songs to kill in between buffers.

Once upon a time, I used to create videos compiling the images. Later, with the busy life, I just could not manage it. Last video I created was on the Friendship Day in 2006.
Anyways, here is one video I created in April 2005. Its about the memories we (passing out batch) left behind while passing out from MIT NCC Troop.

Saw this small informative banner at Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Amazing. Isn't it?

Saw this hoarding at an electricity lamp post in Sion. I was just wondering what has Sonia Gandhi taught to the world? How to be the kingmaker rather than the king..?

Here are few snaps of my Birthday Celebrtion on 3rd September, 2007.

A MBA and an Engineer go on a camping trip, set up their tent, and fell asleep.
Some hours later, the MBA wakes his Engineer friend. "Look up at the sky and tell me what you see."
The Engineer replies, "I see millions of stars."
The MBA asks "What does that tell you?"
The Engineer ponders for a minute: "Astronomically speaking, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo. Time wise, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, it's evident the Lord is all-powerful and we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow.
What does it tell you?"
The MBA friend is silent for a moment, and then speaks. "Practically, Someone has stolen our tent".

Moral of the Story: In Management Education, we are taught to explain things in short and exact rather than providing number of useless theories.

Its so comfortable to sit in the college cafeteria, enjoying your lunch and write to your blog. With the laptop in your laps and wifi rays floating around the room, this is like a fantastic way to say connected. And more or less, its a status symbol to surf internet at your laptop.
For me, this is one dream come true kinda thing. Staying connected to the online world while talking with your offline friends too. Last three years, I was staying away from offline friends in the quest of staying in touch with the online world through orkut and blogging. But I'm happy that finally I'm able to manage both at the same time.
Anyways, its now time to get back to my lunch. C ya guys. Lot more to write but maybe in the evening.

The other day, I was reading the matrimonial ads in Times of India. They all went in a monotonous way like "Bride wanted for a 24 year good looking Engineer working with a MNC with good salary. Girls should be good looking and well mannered and blah blah..." I was just wondering how would be the situation if every person starts putting up the advertisements in a language that suite their profession. Just have a look at the following advertisemnts.

FISHERMAN :-Wife wanted, must be able to dig, clean, cook worms and clean fish. Must have own boat with motor. Please send photograph of motorboat.

SALESMAN:- Once in a lifetime offer, to get yourself the original, genuine article. One of the most handsome and smartest bachelor's around is now looking for a wife. And you could be the lucky one he chooses! Has own house, car and successful career!

ECONOMIST:-I am in demand of a wife. Supply is great though my requirements are high. However the elasticity of my demands should not bear too heavy a burden upon the national interest.

MATHEMATICIAN:-Wife required to complete the formula of my life. Must be numerate and understand complex algebraic logarithms. Needed to help further my family unit.

IT CONSULTANT:-Well there is definite room for improvement in my life. The speed of my current flows of information and processes is slowing down and the injection of a wife into my life is bound to improve efficiency. Compatibility could be an issue.

BUSINESS MAN:-Wife wanted for company.

POLITICIAN:-I feel there is a need in this world, to improve the ways we live,to harmonize the processes of life and to build upon past differences and short comings. I believe that we the people need someone to share our lives. To feel the joys of parent hood, and bear the social responsibilities, as we should in a civilized society................. (etc etc and never getting to the point)

CAR DEALER:-Wanted a sturdy, reliable,low depreciating wife.Should be in excellent working condition.

FARMER:-Wanted a wife from good stock.Required for breading.

LAWYER:- I hereby propose to solicit myself as an eligible candidate for the post of wife after marriage. The person whom I'm looking for should be strictly -a girl.The girl should be strictly a girl,with evidence to support this view that she is a girl.The girl should be willing to surrender to the service and jurisdiction of MyLordi.e.Myself.Any objections would be overruled and will not be sustained.

Yup.. Its 2 AM. And blogging is second thing wich I can do it at this moment. First one which I can do or rather I am compelled to do is find and kill the bedbugs. This place in Mumbai where I'm living has lot of bedbugs. They have captured all over my bedding by now.
Now they are taking extra advantage of my descency. But I've no other option apart from being descent. I can't do anything to them. I searched the internet for finding ways of avoiding these bedbugs or killing them. But it seemed helpless. Only thing I can do now is avoid sleeping in the pre-dawn time which is the most prominant attacking time of these bugs. They are less active during day. So I can sleep during the day time.
This option doesn't seem feasible practically but why not give it a try. Like I can sleep early and get up at 2 AM, study or surf for 3-4 hour, sleep again at 5 and then again get up and get going for college by 7. Nice plan isn't it? Only one small thing.. What about the dinner if I sleep early? :-(

Today is "Teachers' Day". I am recieving numerous SMSes and calls from today morning wishing me on the day. Though I'm not a professor anymore, I was into teaching for one year. I have enjoyed every single moment of my job as teaching. However, I'm not sure how enjoyable I was for my students :-)
Every person in this world owes a lot to his teacher. Its not always in the sense of monitory things but sometimes its abut credits too. Every person owes a lot of credit to his teachers.
I had put up a post about the "Teachers in my life" on last Teachers' Day. I wasn't into teaching that time. So my perception of a teacher was very different at that time. I used to hate few of my teachers for being too strict and some others for being too friendly.
Same year, I joined teaching within a weak of Teachers' Day. And after being in teaching for a year, I've now realized how tough it is to teach people, to manage the students, to solve their doubts and most importantly to manage your professional and personal life at the same time without letting any one o interfere with the other.
After being in teaching for whatever time I had put up, only thing I can say is Salute to all the teachers in this world. You are worth a lot of salutes. Mine is just one single part of these lakhs of salutes you deserve.

I don't know whether this should be called as new life or not. But I'm feeling like being in a totally new world these days. Away from the peer pressure of managing the departmental work at college, away from the tensions with teaching.. I'm enjoying my new days as a student. Learning new concept, hanging out with friends, and playing pranks in the classes.. OF course, the peer pressure is gonna be there but there will be 119 other students to share the pressure with me. So, it makes the pressure handling easier.

Anyways, here are two snaps of my new life. Awaiting snaps of my birthday celebration..

Get rid of blemishes, plump up those lips and bosom, whiten the teeth, fix the shape of your eyebrows and trim those inches from the waist...all without going under the knife.

A few magic clicks of the mouse and the transformations are complete. From celebs to just your average image conscious teen, picture perfect is the way to go these days.

Call it digital enhancing, retouching, airbrushing or doctoring, the photos have to be seen to be believed. Pleasantly plump to svelte siren can take a few brush strokes in the hands of the expert retouching artist.

Who says the camera doesn’t lie? Check out the photographs posted on any social networking site, the warts and wrinkles have just been airbrushed away.

No wonder photo studios everywhere are in makeover mode, with retouching artists taking courses abroad to hone their skills.

“Photographs don’t just mirror reality, they can improve it,” says Umesh Sabharwal of Kamala Nagar’s Prem Studio who learnt the art of retouching in the UK.

Sabharwal, who has been clicking photographs of candidates in DUSU elections for close to 14 years, says almost all his clients place a premium on how they look. “Earlier, when students came to get their pictures taken for the elections, they opted for simplicity. The glamour period really came in with a candidate called Shalu Mallik. Her’s was the first colour picture,” he recalls.

Then, beauty got a new angle. “One student looked so good in her poster that it went on sale for Rs 2 as boys wanted to hang it in their hostel rooms.”

The makeover doesn’t stop at clothes and make-up these days. “A lot of work goes into that image that smiles at you from the poster. More than issues, candidates are concerned with the face they present to the world.”

It’s a lead they’ve taken from celebrities whose airbrushed bodies grace everything -- from billboards to magazine covers. Marlene Dietrich always insisted on a huge mirror being behind a photographer so that she could correct his lighting. Today she wouldn’t bother; it can all be done later through a computer.

“Digital enhancement has made the photographer’s job minimal,” says leading fashion photographer Sumiko Murgai Nanda. Lighting can be enhanced, the colour of the garment can be changed to suit the background and a reed-thin model can turn voluptuous.

“There are no limits to what the software can do, the only constraint is the budget since retouching can be quite expensive,” says Nanda who, though she shoots digital, swears by film. “What you see is so not what you get,” says Nanda, that’s the reason she’s wary of model portfolios. “The model in person usually looks very different.”

Like all trends, this one started with celebrities but it’s the virtual world that has given it momentum. “Who looks at photos in albums? I’d rather post them on my profile so that my friends can check them out,” says Shilpa Vasudev, a 16-year-old who admits she chooses only the most flattering ones.

Self-obsession or just vanity?
The idea of makeovers has become part of popular culture, points out Dr Samir Parikh, consultant psychiatrist with Max hospital. “Looks do matter, both in real life and in virtual.”

And studios merely ensure that you put your best face forward. Sabharwal Lab in Gole Market offers various levels of retouching, from light to extreme.

“Customer choose what they want depending on whether they need it for a family photo, website, modelling portfolio and so on,” says Mohit, who runs the studio.

So whether you want your grandparents in colour instead of black and white or make your baby look that wee bit cuter, the studio can do it all.

As for the ethical question, that rarely troubles anyone. “Most pictures are about memories. They will be looked at years later so why not ensure that they look nice,” says Vishal Kapadia, who had his marriage photos retouched recently.

Harsh reality is not always what people want. And when one can airbrush irritating relatives out of a family photo, fake doesn’t seem all that bad.

Not everyone can perfect Angelina Jolie's pout or emulate Salma Hayek's dazzling persona, but there are millions out there who're trying. With images of supposed perfection assaulting them from every direction, high levels of efficiency mandatory in the workplace and exacting demands in society, many youngsters are now unable to cope. They are increasingly isolating themselves and today, they suffer from a malady called 'social anxiety' disorder, also known as social phobia.

Fear of scrutiny, heightened self-consciousness and apprehension about being judged are some of the reasons why youngsters would rather be on their own. A young employee who is marginally overweight, says, "I have great difficulty making friends. I don't like interacting with my colleagues either. I would rather be left alone with my laptop in my cubicle and listen to music on my iPod."

An IT professional, Pradip N, who is undergoing therapy for social anxiety shares, "I would get mentally disturbed while interacting with people in my office, which is why I had to seek help. I had no confidence and would worry myself sick before any meeting or presentation."

Says psychiatrist Dr B Kapur, "Every four out of 10 patients who come to me suffer from social anxiety disorder. This is especially amongst young adults and adolescents who are unable to cope with social situations. Many of them suffer from palpitation, headaches and nausea. It is not shyness as some believe. Social anxiety has to be recognised as a disorder and needs to be treated."

In public places such as work, meetings, or shopping, people who suffer from this disorder feel everyone is watching, staring and judging them. Many of them feel others are noticing every movement they make, critiquing and making negative judgments about them. It is believed that social anxiety is the third largest psychological problem in some parts of the world today, but unlike other psychological problems, it is not well understood, hence often misdiagnosed by healthcare professionals.

Says Bangalore-based psychiatrist, Dr M J Thomas, "Social phobias start in adolescence and are centred on fear of scrutiny. In the US, one out of eight people has this phobia. It is associated with low self-esteem, desire for perfection and fear of criticism. A person with social phobia anticipates and ruminates over the problems that can occur in case of social contact, resulting in avoidance of the situation and in extreme cases, social isolation. They experience rapid heartbeats, trembling, sweating, upset stomach, diarrhoea, muscle tension, blushing, confusion or a panic attack."

Says Dr Ajit Bhide, consultant psychiatrist, "Youngsters who are not socially adept get increasingly isolated in life. Low self-esteem is one of the main reasons. They'd rather be with their gizmos and chat with people online than meet them personally."

However, good news is -- social anxiety disorder can be treated with medical, cognitive and relaxative therapy. Explains Dr Thomas, "One theory is -- it may be related to an imbalance of a chemical called serotonin that transports signals between nerve cells in the brain. Interestingly, this is the same chemical imbalance linked to other mood and anxiety disorders. It may be precipitated by an embarrassing social event in the past."

Both medication and behaviour therapy have proven successful in treating social phobias. Gradual, controlled exposure to an anxiety-provoking situation helps. Patients are shown how to make eye contact, talk louder and slower, greet people and say good-byes, ask for favours, respond to requests and criticism. Eventually, they learn to mingle around.

Check out the Gmail video. Its amazing..