And He Was Staring At Her!!

Hi All,

Once I was sitting quietly by the banks of Hussain Sagar Lake and watching the waves on the surface formed by the wind flowing on the top.

Suddenly my mind started to conjure up a story! I would like to share it with you all!

Once in a party, a celebration of 10th Marriage anniversary of a lovely couple, folks were enjoying and making merry. The environment was lively and full of laughter and fun-stories being shared in small and large groups of friends and family all around the large Banquet hall.

Two women were busy chatting sitting on the corner chairs. They were discussing, how the life takes turns now and then and how everything is so expensive nowadays and how difficult it is to secure a place in a good school for their children.

Suddenly, one of the women sitting beside the two ladies, abruptly interrupted the incessant conversation and said to one of the two, "Hey Lady sorry to disturb, but when I utter the next few words, try not to look away in any direction or give any sudden reaction". The lady who was spoken to by a stranger was a bit apprehensive of what lies ahead in this conversation, but she said, "OK, tell me please."

The stranger said, "Honey, I have been sitting here for the past twenty minutes and I have been noticing that a guy sitting on the table, 2 tables on the right side from where we are, staring at you, now and then, between his chats with his buddies. Do you know that Man?". "Now slowly look there, he is in a dark black suit with slight strips with a pair of golden cuff links"

The lady, by listening to this, with anticipation of finding the man who is appreciative of her and without doubt is attracted to her, looked in the described direction. When she found the person, the staring-man, she blushed to an extent that her cheeks were flushed with blood and became pink.

Observing this change of expression and mood, the stranger lady said quizzically to her, "So, it seems that you know that Man?".

"Of course", she said, "I must be knowing him". "He is my dear Husband!"


Thanks for reading!
Sunit!

The Fast Experience!

Hi Readers,

I had started fasting a few months ago. On every Tuesday.

In the beginning it started as just sacrificing and skipping the regular meals. Poha with Filter Coffee in the Morning, Daal-Rice and Veggies in the Afternoon, Cookies with Cardamom Tea in the evening and finally Sabji-Roti with Raita-Achaar(Hindi: Pickle) in the Night.

I remember in the beginning, Tuesdays were very noisy, from the growling of the empty stomach, which felt useless on this day of the week. A bit of drowsiness and numbness from the voids left empty by the C6H12O6 molecules in the body-cells.

The Wednesday Mornings were celebrated like Diwali or Eid. Breakfast seemed like a Feast. Each grain of rice, each pellet of pulse and each dollop of Curry felt like Ambrosia. With each grain rubbing against the tongue, Saliva turned Savage. Brain registered the importance of each grain of edibles.

Slowly as the practice of fasting matured, my body parts got disciplined. Stomach subdued its rumbling and growling. The drowsiness diffused and the numbness normalized. The voids were now filled with energy. Fasting became the Freedom from the shackles of the mundane food-cycle. Tuesdays became the new Sundays of the week. Refreshing and revitalising.

My fast is non-religious. I do not want to please the Gods with my abstinence from food. (Though if they get pleased by any chance, any rewards from the skies above are welcome.) My fast is a way to reduce the noise from the incessant chaos and complexity to listen to my own heart-beats, to feel my own blood flowing through the veins, to bath in the warmth of the skin of my body. To be me again.

Tuesdays throw me back to the ground every time and reminds me that life is as simple as it can get and is as complex as you want it to be.

By the way, today is a Tuesday!

Executive Master Of Business Administration

Hi Readers,

I did some research on the Executive MBA opportunities in India(as on 1st December 2011).

Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad

Executives who have a bachelor's degree or equivalent in any discipline and are 27 or above at the start of the programme may apply. Corporate sponsorship is welcome but not essential. Students are selected through a rigorous admissions process that includes GMAT (www.mba.com), leadership profiling and personal interview.
   At the end of the programme, placement services are provided to non-sponsored students.

• Quality infrastructure has been created on the Institute's hundred acre campus.
• Accommodation is available for both single and married students.
• The fee for PGPX VII (2012-13) is INR 21,00,000  for a single student. For details , please refer FAQ 32 (a) and (b).
• The Institute has found several banks interested in offering loans to those admitted to PGPX. Please refer the 'FAQ 32(c)'.
• The sixth batch, PGPX VI (2011-12) started on April 11, 2011. Please refer the 'Current Batch Profile' section for further information including the profile of students.

Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore

The programme is intended for middle level executives having substantial work experience. The pre- requisites are

• Graduate in any discipline with a minimum of 50% marks or equivalent CGPA
• 7 - 15 years full-time work experience.
• A valid GMAT score. 

Admission Procedure

Selection of the candidate is based on the following criteria

• Academic Background
• Achievements (Academic and career related)
• GMAT score
• Work Experience
• Interview

Fee for the 2011-2012 batch is INR 20,07,500 for a single person including accommodation and INR 21,12,000 for a family accommodation.


Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow

Eligibility

• Executives with Bachelor's Degree in any discipline or equivalent (10+2+3).
• Minimum of 6 years full time post-qualification (after Graduation) professional experience as on March 31, 2012
• GMAT score obtained from July 01, 2008 to October 31, 2011

Admission Process

• Student selection would be based on:
• Duly filled-in application form alongwith statement of purpose (SOP)
• Two letters of Recommendation
• GMAT score
• Professional Experience
• Personal Interview

 Fee for the IPMX 2012-2013 batch is INR 17,10,000 for a single person excluding accommodation.



Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode

The entry to the Executive Postgraduate Programme in Management (EPGP) is open to graduates/ CA/ ICWA having at least 5 years of work experience.
Admission to the programme comprises two stages. In the first stage all aspirants have to appear in executive Management Aptitude Test (eMAT) designed by IIMK. In the second stage successful applicants have to appear in an on-line Personal Interview.
Fees:
ePGP-04    INR 5,25,000
eEPGM   INR 2,62,500


Hope the above information is fruitful to many.
Sunit

One Person Two Relationships

Hi Readers,

I have composed a poem, which flows through the incidence of growth of multitude of relationships with the same person! Here you go!

I met a person,

Not long ago.

A relation was built,

without much ado.

At first it was simple,

With relationship single.

Mind and Heart palpitating,

Observing and Learning.

Some will name every,

Single bond they make.

But here, could not be feasible,

just for the above sake.

Don't remember the day,

or the moment magical.

Another bond bifurcated,

forging identity dual.

With the person unique,

relations multiplied.

I was caught unawares,

unconsciously mesmerized.

Bonds toggled and tangled,

often uncared for and unnoticed.

The newer was stronger,

pushed us further, pulled us closer.

A day came of realization,

Ah! I could now name,

The bond latter.

I had gained cognition.

I confronted myself,

Mustered courage to speak,

To utter the Name,

Which was unspeakable.

Nothing remained the same,

The bond latter wobbled.

Alas it was followed by,

Magnitudes of pain.

Both looked helter skelter,

Reminisced and sought shelter.

None wished to fall apart

Be again pushed to the start.

The relation eschewed,

came to the rescue.

So ordinary and simple.

The cornerstone humble.

Still the duality remains,

coexisting in singularity.

Name is forseeken,

This one requires none.

Gist:
Sometimes the transformation between the two relationships maintained with the same person become seamless. It is difficult to compare the two relationships. It is impossible to tell which one is important. But at the same time both the relationships are not related or dependant on each other. Both are enjoyable and makes the person special and irreplaceable.

Is someone is the one is not the relevant question. But the more important is that are you that person for someone. One is lucky to have such a person with oneself. For it increases the value of life, adds life to it. Special is not the person but special is the relation. Because there may not be any speciality between the same person and any other but when those two person come together then there is something special between them.

My First Air-Travel Photos

The Hyderabad Airport

My First Air-travel

Hi Reader,

The travel to Raipur by the JetLite Light Carrier Aircraft(LCA, 200 seater, 3x3) was fun and astonishing.

It is correctly said that only after one experiences the wonders of Science and Technology, one can truly understand it. It was true for Electricity, Internet, Mobile Communication and now it came true for the Air-Travel too!

For at least for an hour after getting off the air-plane, I was not able to believe that I travelled from the A.P. Capital, Hyderabad to C.G. Capital Raipur within a hour, which used to take at least 15 hours by train. Also an interesting observation is that even though, for the same distance, an A.C. ticket cost ratio between the train (Rs. 1000) and the air-plane (Rs. 3000) is 1:3, the ratio of travel-time is diminished 15 times i.e. 15:1.

Therefore it is quite a deal but only when undertaken according to urgency and importance of the trip. If there is no time constraint then train travel must be planned. But there is no comparison of the comfort and high-quality service of the air-travel.

A one-time must for all who are ready to be amazed!

Google DevFest 2011, Hyderabad

Hi Readers,

Finally the day had come, when I was going to be a part of the Google DevFest, 2011 being organised in our city, Hyderabad!

Boarded the 08:14 local train and got down at the Hafeezpet station(04:50 minutes only, cool). From there, took an auto to Izzat Nagar(Shilpa Apartments, Kondapur) and walked the rest of the distance to reach the Novotel hotel. The preparations were looking neat and grand and the security and the administration had inviting expressions on the faces. I was guided to the registration counter. Received a Google Bag and cute Google spiral notebook.

Awesome. I felt the same, when I stepped inside the grandest auditorium ever visited!. Ever!! It was so huge that I felt amazing standing there. None of the participants had arrived then. Walked to the stage and felt the music thumps played on the large amplifiers there!! Just awesome. Then and there I knew that I am going to love this event!

After few minutes, 2 of my colleagues and friends arrived and joined me. We had Cappuccino, served there. Then Mr Rajdeep Dua, Developer Advocate with the Google Developer Relations team, gave the keynote speech. There were a couple of interesting sessions on Android (an operating system for mobile devices from Google). We enjoyed the tasty-crispy cookies of various kinds and Coffee once again during the Tea-break.

Lunch was again beyond our expectation!  Each and every dish served, from the Cream-Pea-Soup to the Chocolate-Cake, was just an example of fine dining! We engaged ourselves for an hour at the Lunch time.

Another series of informative sessions on Programming aides and Partner Talks from the representatives from two Indian Companies who have made it big using the Android Programming SDKs to develop Applications to be used on the Smart-phones running on Android!

Another Tea Break to enjoy the refreshing Cup of Java! Then the closing ceremony, after a couple of sessions on Google Maps and Places.

Waiting for the next year's DevFest now!!

For more info, click here.

The 60 Hour Rule Before You Say "I Love You"

Hi Readers,

Ever been in love? True Love? But then, you were not sure, how and when to express the same. You saw the sparks flying all around! But you could not dare to ignite the Fire! Now if it is then let me tell you a story!

A very long time ago Romeo was roaming around dishevelled in search of Juliet. He was in desperation and was on the verge of exhaustion and could collapse any moment! Then he saw a very serene and calm looking person walking towards him. The person was dressed like a monk! The person approached him and asked whether Romeo needed any help. Romeo told him his story. The Monk told that he is the Monk who had not Sold but had Donated his Ferrari! Romeo was impressed and asked for his advice. The Monk told that, "Sorry Son, your love is already beyond control, not even God can help you out! But I will give some Gyan(Hindi-Knowledge) for the future generations. So listen with full attention."

Do you understand love? Or do you just love a person and therefore understand the relationship with that person!

Gyan Point: Loving a person is altogether a different thing than loving to love! 

When you fall in love with a person, you try your best to spend quality time with her/him. You talk with full consciousness and try your best to present yourself in a good light. You want to be a pleasant part of her/his life. You are jealous of others who are a better part of that person's life. You loath her/his absence. You sulk and get irritated when that person does not show up or does not respond in a expected or loving manner. Is this love? For most of us, it is!

A moment comes when you know that you are in love and now are at a crossroad of life when some decisions are to be made. At this stage some of you are in two kinds of dilemma:

1. One, that the other person MAY also be in love but not sure whether she/he is ready for the commitment which you are in for.
2. Second, that you are not at all sure of the love of the other person but want to take a chance by letting her/him know and then see what happens next!

Gyan Point: To be just in silent one-sided love and to be ready for a committed love has the same differences, which, having a thought in one's mind and executing that thought into a successful action has! Until the idea is put forth it does not make an iota of a difference anywhere!!

So, Romeo where were we? Ah yes, discussing on the resolution of the dilemma, when to confess your love. See, Romeo, we all want love of others around us! Some of that we get from our Parents, Siblings, Elders on the virtue of a blood-relation and some we want to create on the virtue of physical/mental attraction, a need of companionship and feelings of having a friend around. When we establish a relationship ourselves, what is kept in mind? That we understand each other, minute subtleties of the other and whether the other satisfies the need of the relation(friend/companion) we get into. Nobody gets into a relation if there is nothing to seek in it. What is in it for me? The things can be abstract like love, joy, happiness, cheerfulness, like-mindedness, a confidant or can be material like money, social status, education. All these requires a time frame to attain. And that is a 60 Hour time-frame where you and the other person has already spent enough quality time taking note of each others attributes, habits, quirks, nature, behaviour and mental match.

These 60 Hours may be attained in a rapid and quick way if there are immediate opportunities present in abundant for sharing through personal interactions, telephonic conversations and written correspondence. The same may be achieved over a time-scale of a few months to a few years if there were no abundant opportunities of communication available coupled with numerous gaps in communication due to various reasons like, staying in different geographical locations.

So Romeo, I know you have spent a life time with Juliet, but if you would have confessed your love after a break-point of 60 Hours of your relationship, things might have not gone worse as they are now! Because, just after those 60 hours, one is at the crossroad where a delicate balance still exists from where one can return back to normalcy instead of sinking deep into the quagmire of one sided or rejected/failed love.

Romeo collapsed and died a dreadful and painful death!

Happy Loving!!

Why Pay Heed To Computer Ergonomics?

Hi Readers,

Working as a Software Development Engineer, I have observed that many of us, do not even know that they are slowly making themselves physically handicapped, even though they have been blessed with quite a functional brain and equally functionally body attached with it.

It has been now a common scene where Computer Workstation users are seen sitting with a hunched back and neck awkwardly craned up or bowed down and the hands angled down limply. Equally pitiable is the sight of an Engineer, completing one's task, almost physically sucked in towards the Laptop Display and the hands converging atop the small Keyboard.

Why do not we realize that setting up the place of work according to the body parameters, following the computer ergonomics, is a one time effort which pays huge benefits and long term comfort and prevention of diseases like spondylarthritis, joint pains at the fingers and gradual loss of eyesight.

Many of us do not even think about asking the Facilities and Administration Department of the organisation for a adjustment of the monitor screen, Keyboard position and other accessories around them, although they might be daily suffering from discomfort arising from the incorrect posture and inadequate exercise.

Many of the organisations provide their employees world-class ergonomic computer desks and chairs which has minimum of 5 adjustments like adjustments for sitting height, arm-rest position, Keyboard and mouse drawer and backrest restrainer. Many of us are oblivious of these features and fail to utilize the same.

Over the period of time these discomforts takes the form of crippling diseases and permanent disabilities. All this can be prevented by following simple and logical ergonomic settings at workplace and home.

Happy working!

A Poem For The Farewell

Dear Person, who is going away!

The Day has come,
To say Good-bye.
I do not want to,
Mean Good-bye.

Your presence today,
Made me forget,
That tears are waiting,
For me, when you are gone.

The day tomorrow,
I don't know,
How will I continue,
With out you.

The hope that,
We are destined,
To meet again,
Makes me hope again.

You were the one,
You are the one,
You will be the one,
For me, the one.

You fare well,
as we bid each other,
Farewell,
Oh this pain, Oh I can't say more...

The Day When The Crows Attacked Me

Hi Readers!

I was all dressed up for the office. Obviously, it was a Monday and I was happy to go to office after a satisfying and fulfilled weekend. Also Monday started with a bang. I woke up sharp at 04:45(though the alarm was set for 04:30, yeah nobody is perfect, no). Then had a revoltingly sharp Lemonade and then switched on the Laptop (Nobita) to work on one of the blog articles about the glory of biking (publishing soon)! Then at 06:00, wore all the armour and biked for a total of 30 kms.

So I set out for office and just then I saw a sad looking crow sitting on the side of the lane, staring at the cemented path, deep in thought. It was a peculiar sight since a couple of days ago, when I was biking, a group of crows were energetically sorting some business out on the biking track and when my bike approached near the crow-team they flew away all complaining and angry. And, here this guy was ignoring my presence. May be a rude one, I thought.

I was in a hurry and therefore I proceeded for the local train station. A few more minutes remaining for the scheduled arrival. Just as I was walking and was at the least distance from the rude-crow, I got hit by something on the top of my head. I jumped in surprise. I cursed under my breath. I turned to see what had happened. I found that a friend of the Rudy landed on my head and had now placed itself near the Rudy.

Everything was clear then. That crow was neither rude nor in deep thinking. It was injured or was too old to carry out further crowing around. And the friends of it thought that I was going to hurt it, so they attacked me. I silently prayed for the Rudy and proceeded towards the station.

Time Never Stops, But Can Travel Slowly With You!

Coming Soon!!

Pen-sive Disorder

Hi Readers,

Throughtout my lived life, I have been requested for a pen, many a times! At places, like railway reservation counter, banks, college classrooms, examination halls, offices; by acquaintances and strangers alike. In these situations the status and importance of the Pen was just as that of a sword in the battlefield. Oh yes, "Pen is mightier than a sword". Yes, it is!

The urge to suddenly note down something important as a phone number, an address or a name if not quenched, disturbs the body and unsatisfies the soul. And then if it is magnified by the non-availability of a puny pen at your service then there is nothing greater evil than that.

What amuses more is that the mightier than the Sword, Pen, loses all its importance and usefulness in the requester's hands when all the matters to be noted are noted down and all the application forms have been duly filled. The Pen as an object obliterates from the requester's mind in such a way that the thought of respectfully returning the Pen to the Original Owner completely slips off the mind.

Such is the world and its affairs, alas Pen, you will always have the importance in the hands of a true soul, just as Thor had for its Hammer.

Take care, My Pen, with whomsoeever you are with now. May your ink never dries out!

Lucky in Life, Unlucky in Love

Hi Readers,

When I came across the old adage, "Lucky in Life, Unlucky in Love", I was awestruck with its symmetry and symbolic implications. Another adage, "Love is Life", if we combine with the former, teams up to be more thought provoking.

Who is termed to be lucky in life? The person, who is generally lucky in one's life, on being asked to enumerate the previous hardships faced and existing nagging troubles in life, will not be able to compose an answer, may be even if given a few minutes of time. Luck, here is not referred in a sense where the person is driven by luck in her/his actions and counts it as a factor in the final result of it. Luck, if taken over a period of time, like the teenage stage or a duration of 5 to 10 years, one can look back and conclude, yes, I have been lucky in my life. That is the luck, we are talking about. You had taken a few risks here and there, a few bold steps, walked the path where few have trodden and had come out just fine and unscratched. Such persons can say, yes  they are lucky in life. Luck is of course no substitute for hard-smart-working and bold and fearless attitude.

Love is Life, one quips. And, yes there is nothing so simple and humbling than this. Live and let live. Love and let love. Love, here can be between two persons; a person and the pet animal; a person and an object of great value which is cherished as a possession; or a person and her/his love for nature, a hobby or an art. Out of these, love between two persons is the most satisfying and rewarding than others. It is because receiving love from another person, brings validity of one's existence, assurance of one's usefulness in other's life and the capability of being loved by a other and faith in humanity.

Who is termed to be unlucky in love? The person, who encountered many times in her/his journey of life, people, who were worthy and suitable for the love she/he showered upon but alas, did not get the same in return. Those worthy people never gave a place for her/him in their heart and did not become a part of the life, they dreamt of. Or even if the love sustained, it was cut short soon enough. Love was lost, she/he was torn apart from loved ones. The person suffered many heart-breaks, painful farewells and never found a companion when she/he need it the most.

Success can be achieved through constant perseverance, hard-work and never-say-die spirit. But when it comes to Love, no concoction works.

Lucky in Life, Unlucky in Love, is for those who could become what they wanted to be, but could not be with whom they wanted to be. Are you one of them?

Orkut Beware!

Hello Orkut Users,

I hope your endeavours for the goal of Social Networking are going on just fine! I composed this article just to give a wake up call to you as an user of Orkut and the Google-Orkut Developers for some of the threats both are facing or already are vulnerable to.

We are using the Orkut social-networking website from the past many years. During all these years we have shared our precious thoughts, lovely snaps, informative web page links, cute scraps which either you sent to your friends and they sent to you asking your whereabouts and how you all felt about a day or event in life, joined various related communities of your interest and hobbies and created a few too, and sent quick-hush messages to our various friends. So today your profile is a sum total and a gold mine of all the personal details, quotes, innovative and creative ideas as well as the capture of joyful and emotional moments in terms of galleries of pictures. Nice and cosy feelings right ha?

You are sure that these matter in the same way to your friends and are therefore only available to them. And you thought you can never be wrong about it! You have all those nifty privacy setting in your command so how can one whom you don't know and have never even heard of or seen in your life know so much about you and that too via your Orkut Profile which you cherish the most and think of it like a digital fortress of a kind!

How will you respond if I tell you that this can be done and that too without any ethical or unethical hacking? So let me tell you first, how can one who just one fine day thought to target you, by only knowing your name and no other information, can know all about you in a matter of 20 minutes or less depending upon the Internet access speed. Here you go, starting with 00:00 in {mm:ss} format on the time-line:

1. {00:00}The person creates a dummy GMail account and through it, a dummy profile in Orkut which provides such details which separates one from any relation with it. (Let this profile be called PX.) This is done since, once PX visits a profile, it shows up in the "recent visitors" section of the home page of the user. A dummy GMail account is created because, if one uses the personal email address to create PX, then as the target can search users with e-mail address in Orkut, PX reveals itself in a case of hit and trial search by e-mail id.

2. {05:00}PX uses the Orkut-user_search to search your profile (henceforth, PU). Many profiles are returned as there may be many with the same name (homonym). As PX knows your country, present location, sex, a few of your friends and their names, zeroes in to PU in a jiffy!

3. {07:30}PX, even though not in the PU's friend list, can suck all the information from PU in the next 12 and a half minutes. This is how it works!!

4. {07:31} Fact_1: The testimonial section of a Orkut_User is public and visible to all the Orkut users. A privacy setting to control its visibility is absent.
PX accesses PU's testimonial section and copies and creates a map of users (henceforth, TUM) who submitted the testimonial and the text content of the same in a local file. It is done for all the testimonials present in PU. Now the TUM is a very important data as testimonials are only submitted by very close and important persons in PU's life. The user profiles in TUM are visited on the basis of the testimonial text and all the data present in their profile is also copied in the Map.The data received is used to cross-refer details about PU.

5. {09:30} Fact_2: The community section of a Orkut_User is public and visible to all the Orkut users. A privacy setting to control its visibility is absent.
PX accesses PU's community section and opens the community page and copies and creates a map of community (henceforth, CM) and what it stands for, in a local file. It is done for all the communities present in PU. Now the CM is a very important data as PU joins only those communities which fall in the following category:

1. PU's education: various Schools, Graduation and Post-graduation College, Stream specific, Courses joined, Certifications undertaken communities.
2. PU's Hobbies and interests: Sport, Sport persons, Iconic personalities, I love ..., Competitive examinations, academic subjects and other related communities.
3. PU's medical details: Blood group, Hair colour, Eye colour.
4. PU's Time-Geographic info like the School Batch (year of pass out, location of school), College Batch (year of pass out, location of college), Location of Residence (Name of the city, town), Location of the company working in (Company community for the joiners of a particular year usually for the joining straight after college).
5. PU's Birth details: Birth place, Birth date, Birth month, Birth year, Birth Zodiac sign communities.
6. PU's Caste and Community details: Family name, caste, community, regional belonging, state, mother-tongue.
7. PU's work details: Present working company, previous companies, special corporate groups, Technology working in, Field working in and various other communities.

6. {15:00} Fact_3: The friends section of a Orkut_User is public and visible to all the Orkut users. A privacy setting to control its visibility is absent.
If PU has very less or almost no information in the testimonial and community section, the PX uses the more difficult but challenging approach and puts analytical skills into use. This is how! From the PU's friend list, 10-20 random users are chosen and a map (FUM) is created. Now community information from each entry in the FUM is parsed and an appropriate weightage is assigned to the communities joined by them, grouping them, according the categories in #5. This is done for all the entries in FUM. After the completion of the iteration, from each categories of communities, the community of highest weightage is chosen and from it PU's information given in #5 is inferred. This has a viable success rate of getting the correct information. For example, under the educational school communities, if a particular school community gets the highest weight then that must be the school attended my PU. Similar logic for College, Company working in and others.

7. {18:30} Fact_4: The updates section of a Orkut_User in the new User Interface is public over the time range from the time of creation of the Orkut account till the date the individual visibility setting for each update and scrap was activated and are visible to all the Orkut users. A privacy setting to control its visibility is absent.
This is the most easy way to get to know all the details of the user. PX while humming the favourite song, copies and creates a map (UUM) of the updates and the other user involved in the update, whether it be a scrap, a greeting, a friendship acceptance, everything with a precise timestamp. Well done!!! {20:00}

Now you can be sure that, there are many, or at least PX, who knows about you more than your best friend!!

Now, how to safeguard yourself from such attacks!! This is how!!! Follow these simple steps to safety!

1. First and foremost the most dangerous part of the profile page is the communities section. As there is no way to hide the community list from the non-friend members, visit the community pages which you think can provide personal information given above and unjoin them.

2. The next revealing section is the "Testimonials" section. Remove all the testimonials, however much you cherish them. If you want to store the text, do that in a text file and save with date and name of the person, but do not leave it public on the profile page.

3. The next most vulnerable section is the "my updates" section. Visit that section and look for a tiny image telling whether a particular update is a public or friends only or private. If it is public, immediately remove the update if you think it reveals personal data or personal conversation or a recent friend addition. A recent friend addition can give away the information of your current company, location and other analytical information.

4. Next is the photo section. Check that all the galleries containing the personal photos are updated as friends only or selected friends only!  


Happy Orkutting!

Love and Arranged Marriages

Hi Readers,

It is often said that Marriages are made in Heaven. True! But many of us do not understand the deep seeded meaning in this saying. Many generally comprehend it as a different flavour of the intended meaning that Marriages are pious and they are related to the religious and traditional aspects of the persons involved in it. But the intended meaning is that the establishment of the bond of Marriage between two persons is beyond human control and decision. What ever is beyond the comprehension and control of humans, generally it is put in the hands of the Almighty. True it is, as two persons who had never met each other before are now to spend the entirety of their life with each other, as a couple, taking part in each others happiness and sadness equally. Bearing a child, becoming parents and then seeing them getting married and find a new life. It is a full circle.

Right from the time when my mind had started to think logically and debating was one of the media for a full scale discussion to place the pros and cons of two sides of a topic, the debate of - "Which one is better, Love Marriage or Arranged Marriage" has been on the top. Now, we as teenagers used to jump at this exciting opportunity and Love being a strange and forbidden fruit, used to take the side of the same in terms of Marriage. There were a few under the "Arranged" Category, generally treated as the orthodox types. We used to cite the reasoning like Love marriage is the best as it brings two people in love and ready to accept each other for the rest of the life,  it can be the only way one should be married, and other naive ones. Little we knew as 13-14 year teenagers, what really is a marriage and how marriage been it had resulted by Love or Arrangement, has nothing to do with the life after. Somethings are to be understood with age. So thought we. We never did.

How Love Marriage happens? You are at the right place at the right time doing the right things. Then and there, you meet a person. You like the look and feel of that person. Someone initiates, you talk. You like that. Then you converse. Time goes on. First friendship and then soon sparks fly in the air between you both. You feel love and if the other person reciprocates the same feelings and behaviour, you both fall in love. So, till now what were the factors involved here: personal attributes, spoken items and time spent together in public domain. In the entire matter, there certainly is a factor of opportunity, chance, fate and ultimately destiny. Now if everything goes on fine in a complex society like we have here, it results in a Marriage.

How Arrange Marriage happens? You reach an appropriate age. Your parents start looking for alliances for a suitable groom or bride keeping in mind certain parameters like religion, caste, sub-caste, gotra, age, height, weight, education, family, parent's occupation, location, dowry(I strongly and publicly denounce this practice, but had to mention as it is one of the factors) etc.. You look for profiles via various media channels, Internet, newspapers and ,last but not the least, word of mouth. After a long haul you shortlist few of the profiles. You start communicating with the point of contacts. If everything goes fine a date is fixed for the engagement and then the marriage.

The dissimilarities end here.

In both the cases, the life after marriage traverses the same path. Living together after Marriage is a completely different ball game. Love generated between the couple, before or after the marriage has the same value and effect. Understanding, co-operation, compromises, standing by each other's decisions, tuning one's ego according to the spouse, sacrifices for the greater good for the life together, life's tough decisions: All these can only be encountered and experienced after the couple starts a new life and start living and sharing together. So a love which resulted in a marriage gives no guarantee of enduring all the above challenges better than the arrangement which caused two different people to combine as a couple. Also it can be said without contest that couples in a love marriage get a head start of a significant amount, as they knew and understood each other well before the marriage. But after a time span of cohabitation, couples belonging to both the kinds of Marriage reach a level ground.

There is a message for all the eligible bachelors and bachelorettes out there. If you have any inhibitions against a kind of Marriage, lose them! If you are confused as your mind and heart is biased towards a kind of marriage, then you must know that Marriage is something you can only know about when you are in it. For all those out there who were blessed by the Almighty and were destined to meet their love before their marriage, challenges and joys are in store for them in the married life to come. If you did not find your love, or you were not loved before Marriage, be confident, you will find the same joys and challenges with the person you will be arranged to get married with. The only thing which can lead you to happiness after marriage is the confidence and faith in your spouse, you generate.

I wish all the folks out there, getting married, in the process of getting married or already married, the best for the life to come!!

Marvellous Marriage Melody

Hi Readers,

I am saddened and fed up of the crass, demoralizing and degrading jokes and one liners about Marriage and the life after. It's high time we stop them. It's one of those things which everybody likes to laugh about as if it is a hilarious subject to joke around, without any base or truth in it.

Image. Image building. Perspective about Marriage. Presumptions about the married life. All these are being created and impacted by the negativity and the cruel vilification of the concept of Marriage, consciously by those who could not make their Marriage a success or unconsciously by those who just want to be a stand up comedian and get acceptance among the bunch of guys from the office and in society by quoting a few jokes about how can one get going ruining one's life by getting married. Is it necessary to do so?!

On the other side, the couples who are leading a happy and content life after marriage, will never come out and give speeches of their success stories in the public. They are not meant to do so. But the disgruntled ones will never stop spreading the venom. Even when there is nothing to gain in doing so.

The most popular and unfortunately the most cherished thought about Marriage is that it is such a event in a person's life which introduces complexities, stress, unhappiness, boundedness and compromises in both, day to day life and one's dreams and gives a few happy moments in return. The more saddening fact is that people believe in it without any doubt in mind about its validity. It's because it is very simple to put a stamp on a thing, as difficult and not worthy, which demands commitment and compromise in life.

One need to understand that when one has to walk the path of Marriage and hopes to get the best deal out of it then why to propagate and participate in such negative image building. Yes, true, life changes dimensions after Marriage, nobody will deny! Yes, there are compromises to be made, nobody will deny! But then just like anything else there are cycles of happiness and other things! Invest your best in your thoughts and get the same in action. You will reap what you shall sow!

On raising the topic of marriage in a discussion, all one gets in return is, negative and derogatory comments and observations from all corners. What is the reason? It is because, even though we were born and brought up in a society which marks Marriage as a mandatory and important event, it is mired and submerged in malpractices like the practice of dowry and casteism or the emotional separation of the bride from one's parents and home or the indifferent and under treatment of the bride or the immaturity on the spouse's part, where one allows pre-marriage love relationships to interfere in the marriage.

There has been an observation made. Nowadays, Marriage is attached with the additional and sudden burden of the establishment of resources like, house, vehicle, adequate movable and immovable property and other expectations from both the quarters of the bride and the groom alike. Why target marriage as the final point of growth in one's life? Why burden marriage with financial and material goals which can be accomplished in a phased and planned manner way before or after marriage? Why not view marriage as an enabler of the couple's advancement as a joint force, rather than attaching pounding expectations to it?

Whoever thinks that Marriage is a conversion process of making a person mature, is partially  incorrect. Marriage is for the mature. As two persons coming together for a duration of one's lifetime requires an unimaginable amount of planning, understanding and maturity on one's part.

Today, there are so many cooked up stories about Marriage and many a recipes for a successful one. The person yet to be married is in a delusion of a sort where one thinks that one is equipped with all the knowledge one may require to lead a happy married life. One forgets the fact that just as every person is different, there are as many different ways to make it a enjoyable journey.

You want to know the secret for a happy and successful marriage. Open the doors of mind. Look out. Unconditional Love, understanding, tuning one's ego to a healthy level and caring and pampering the spouse is one of the few things to start with. Invest in marriage with your commitment and of course one need to compromise for the greater good one will be bestowed upon.

Pyaar Ka Panchanaama

Hi Readers,

"Pyaar ka Panchanama" is a sentence in the Hindi Language, which means Postmortem of Love. As in the process of postmortem, a dead body is investigated for the cause of the death, similarly, the intention of this article therefore, is to capture the causes of the death of Love i.e a horrible ending to a love story.

Also to make this article more specific, let me categorize and then point out the specific branch of Love. There are three broad categories of Love:

1. Love for the Elders:
The best example of this type of Love, is the love for your Parents, Grandparents, Aunties and Uncles. It can also be felt for an elder or a senior citizen. Also, love, respect and dedication towards one's Mentor also comes under this category.

2. Love for the Coeval:
This is love for the persons of nearly the same age, give or take, 5 year elder or younger. This type of love falls into 2 sub-types:
   a. Love for the reason of friendship:
      This can be best portrayed between friends and colleagues you like to work      with.
   b. Love for the reason of companionship:
      This is between two persons who share the intention of sharing their life together.

3. Love for the Younger:
The best example of this type of Love, is the love for your child, your nephew and niece. The same can be felt for the person of an age relatively lesser than yours and who either seek your protection and guidance or look upon yourself as an elder.

Before I begin my elaborations, I would like to mention a few universal laws of Love:

1. Law of Conservation of Love (Applicable to all the categories):
According to this Law, Love can neither be created nor be destroyed. It is present in all the places and at all times. It can only be focused from one person to another.
Usage: This is useful to understand the importance and significance of love in one's life irrespective of the number of people involved.

2. Law of Love singularity (applicable to only 2.b category):
At a given moment of time, a person can focus the majority of the Love only for one single other person. There may be incidence of multiple focus points but one can only focus the Love to a single other person whose intensity will be greater than all the others. In this situation, the person can be said to be in Love with that other person ONLY.
Usage: This law is used to resolve the issues of multiple love interests in one's life leading to chaos and conflicts and decision making.

3. Law of Love Quantum (Applicable to all the categories):
The quantity of Love and the ability of Loving others by oneself is directly proportionate to the amount of Love desired by one, in addition to the the amount of Love ever focused on the same person by others and was received consciously by the same.
Usage: This law is used to judge the behaviour of a person with regards to the person's compassion levels and needs of the person.


Main Article:

Please note that this article is on the Love of the type 2.b. I would like to begin with the quote:

"Maybe … giving someone all your love 

is never an assurance that they will

love you back. Don't expect love in

return; just wait for it to grow in

their heart; but, if it doesn't, be

content that it grew in yours."

This quote brings the most soothing of feelings for those, who faced many a situations where either they could not convey their love to the other person or the persons involved were not in congruence for the continuance of the relationship, the reason for which can be infinite. We are not going to focus on the reasons not for the continuance of the love!

I hope you have gone through the laws mentioned above.

When we are in love with a person, that moment we are focusing the majority of the love energy upon him/her (Law I). We invest time, attention, devotion, care and money for the same person in the same proportion. We try our best to improve, innovate and project the best of ourselves in the process. We change tracks as well as tune our day to day life to accommodate more time with the loved one.

Alas, many a times the relationship breaks, shatters or diffuses. The reason can be infinite and scale from insignificant incompatibility traits to significant factors which could have caused huge problems in the future for the parties involved. The persons involved develop sadness and gloom. They wail and scream. They are shocked at this abrupt shattering of the dreams and the future, woven with the threads of companionship with the loved one. They blame the other person and back-talk, try to hurt, whom they loved. Sometimes they resort to the weapon of jealousy and imitation of false pretentious feelings and create discomfort for the other.

Now, if we read the lovely quotation mentioned above, it dissolves and washes away all the stains and blemishes resulted from the breakage of the relationship. During the shock stage of the event, it is natural to be swayed with the erupted emotions. At the same time we shudder in sadness at the loss of the all the investment of time, attention, devotion, care, money and love. But Behold, the Love by its nature is indestructible and imperishable. If you disassociate the Love from the person upon whom earlier it was focused and nurture it in your heart, this Love will enable you to Love another person with better mindset, equipped with more reasoning and stability boosters. Love never dies. We just diminish its effect in our heart and focus on the feelings of anger, betrayal and sadness. If we diminish it to a critical extent, it convolves with suspicion and mistrust in future relations.

The best way out of a broken relationship is a 3 step process:
1. Work towards the disassociation of the Love energy with the person in question. And then focus and distribute the same to other aspects of your day to day life.
2. Conserve the positive and constructive values resulted from the relationship which includes the learning about inner self and your strengths and weaknesses which came to light during the relationship.
3. Just as one, who suffers from stage-fright, gains confidence after speaking in front of a crowd, in the same way this Lovely relationship, though broken now, if handled properly will enable you to establish future relationships with more maturity and confidence.

I wish you all the very best.

The Night Sky

Hi Readers,

Since how many days you have not seen the night sky in complete darkness? Have you observed the stars and the constellations they are in? Have you pointed at one of them and wondered that how mesmerizing they look, and pondered upon the thought that this planet is nothing but a tiny speck comparable to a dust particle here. Then think what are we?

Recently I had visited the Birla Planetarium. When I reached there, I was not as excited as the group of children surrounding us. Also I had once, in my childhood visited one such place. We took our places and the doors were closed. There was complete darkness. And then the projector started and there it was. The Night Sky glittering with stars on the dome of the planetarium. Of course one could not make out that it was not the real one. There was a involuntary sigh from the mouth of all the children there. Ohhhwoooow. I too joined them. They were thrilled and so was I.

Till that time I did not know that the serene scene of the night sky will bring my mind to the ecstatic levels. My mind became calm and thoughtless. I stared at the dome which, now, was pitch black with the tiny stars spread across it.

Then the tears started to flow. I realized something so huge that my mind was overwhelmed by that. The tears found their way to the inner curve of the ear lobes and started to get collected in them as the seats were inclined to at least 150 degrees. The great thought which came to my mind was that: as compared to the Universe, I, a human being on this planet, sitting here right now, just will not fit any scale. We being so minuscule in the Universe, carry so much of worries and stress on our shoulders. We think of the future and worry about it. We think as if we the most important of all and the centre of all the things.

It has been a long while to have watched the night sky without the interference of the artificial light sources around you! Opportunities do come though. Whenever a major blackout occurs, we can still witness the awesome view of the starry night sky. Best, when the Moon is not in the view. But alas this situation does not occur as there is always a power cut in localized area in the city and the towns. Light sources even at a distance of few kilometers robs the view of its awesomeness and serenity. Most of the stars lose their sheen and twinkle in such conditions and therefore are not visible. Also the pollution levels of cities and nowadays, towns combined with natural conditions such as clouds, dusty winds and rain hinders the view.

Lucky are those who can still just look above at night and find the stars twinkling in their eyes.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,

How I wonder what you are?

Up above the world so high,

Like a diamond in the sky!

Dowry Quotes

Hi Readers!

Owning the "War On Dowry" campaign, I have created a few quotes for it:

DOWRY = Death Of Wedding Responsible You

If you are Man

Enough for Her,

Stop right there,

Say No to D.O.W.R.Y!

You know right, Bro?

"First Impression is the last Impression"

Then Don't make D.O.W.R.Y one!! ok!

Disobey your Parents,

When it comes to Dowry and

Be an example of a Good Son!




Always thought of social work?
Why not start at home?
Stop Dowry, for your own!
Live a happily married life after!




Don't choose to be a Criminal,
Of Murder of a girl cold blooded and brutal.
Stopping DOWRY is the key,
Neither ask nor give,
Set her free.




Going to Marry,
Set an example.
Been Married,
Create examples.
Mother India needs you.
This is least you can do.
Neither ask nor give Dowry.
Her Daughters will be,
Proud of you!

DOWRY = Death Of Wedding Responsible You

Hi Readers,

We are living in times, where we are staying in the midst of social criminals! Unity in diversity! The crimes are such which are not only sponsored but also promoted by criminals and greedy minds in the name of tradition. A person, once a victim burns in violation of his dignity and sets out for the revenge. One such crime committed is the malpractice of Dowry in India.

India, a country which boasts of its colourful tradition and culture, is mired with heinous and malicious social practices which amount to destruction of human lives, particularly females. The practice of Dowry amounts to:

• Female foeticide,
• Domestic violence and
• Merciless physical torture and cold blooded murder of newly wed brides, every day.

Shocking, right? But, did not we know this from a long time as it was taught to all of us in schools and shown in the Mass media? So, we ask, why a child who grows old to be a fine Man or Woman, keeps mum and becomes an accomplice to the crime of Dowry at the time of its own Marriage and of its relatives, friends and acquaintances? Does the child observes a contradiction in the content of texts and the social acts in his surroundings and therefore is confused. Absolutely not - no it cannot be! The practice of demanding a sum of money, property and favours as a prerequisite for the final acceptance of a Marriage proposal by the Groom's family must not look like a natural and well matured tradition, one will cherish and boast about! Does the concept of Marriage sounds like a endowment plan for the greedy and criminal minds? I fear not so!

Dowry started as a traditional practice of exchanging gifts and baubles as a mark of the formation of a new bond between two families. Then slowly, it was twisted and distorted to fulfil the ever increasing greed of the families. The balance turned against the Bride's family as after Marriage, the bride is supposed to stay with the Groom's family and therefore the quantity and importance of Dowry was skewed against them. Malicious reasoning were developed and embedded in the minds of the Society members. From then on, Dowry developed as Social Malpractice and a Poison for the Female generation.

So, you must be thinking, aah, this happens only to the uneducated and the folks at remote villages where people still believe in such stuff. I am very sorry, but the facts show a complete reversal in reality. The most horrendous and monstrous acts of bride's torture leading to murder and cases of domestic violence are registered against the folks who have the highest of degrees and the widest of education. The education imparted has failed to evoke an iota of human values and the courage to go against the malpractice of Dowry. Dowry is now one of the most widespread crime which dictates the atrocities on woman in particular.

Dowry in most parts of India is still discussed as a subject of boast and pride by the Groom's family (disgusting!) and at the same time as a subject of worry and fear by the Bride's family. I have been a part of many a conversations where I have heard the men of this generation, the generation which boasts of technological advancements and High education, discussing the the matter of Dowry with a laugh and were thrilled and enjoyed the prospects of getting various degrees of wealth from the alliances in discussion. I was horrified! I was in disgust! I was shocked! I almost choked! Is this the same India which plans to be a Super-power in 2020. I do not think so with this ideology and mindset.

When a beautiful and cute little baby is born, and then, it is revealed to the parents and the extended family that it is a princess, a goddess, who is born to them, the malpractices like Dowry existing in the society, they are in, turns this boon to a bane. Its a shame on such a society!

There are about 3000 marriages taking place every day in India and it increases to 15000 in the peak seasons depending upon the availability of resources and auspicious days all round the year. In India, the scale of celebration on the days of the Marriage takes higher priority than the Marriage itself. More emphasis is given on the festivities of the event than the event itself. I have visited many a Marriages, where I have seldom found the families involved including the bride and groom to be content, at ease and enjoying themselves. There is chaos, pomp and show everywhere. Snobby folks are heard complaining of the so called shortcomings in the arrangements. I have always felt that the Marriage as a event has been disarrayed and disfigured beyond the scope of enjoyment and as a event of fun and frolic. As the Marriage is projected as a show of pomp and stature of families involved which at most of the times is out of place and capacity, any matter related to it, such as Dowry, takes a bow in front of other things and the Bride's family has to budge.

One must wonder, if Dowry is such an awful practice then why do not the hot-shots and the people with minds in the right place, speaking up against it! Let me tell you why!! Its really simple. Lets suppose, a crime is committed. Now in the crime one's family members are involved, maybe one's own brother, a cousin, their parents. Do you think, one will be able to say anything in this matter now. One will keep quite and rather develop an ideology to feel comfortable after witnessing this crime. The event of Marriage happens in every family, rich or poor, educated or uneducated, blue collar or white collar folks. It is omnipresent. In this crime one's own are involved making it a very emotional and personal instance where one chooses to remain silent rather that uttering a single word in protest. Also Greed is Good, as Gekko Gordon has said. Who does not like money. Show me one! So the problem is very difficult to erase due to a full support from the Society members to let this crime continue with its fangs stretched out and sharp enough to continue killing more female foetus and brides in the future.

Taking Dowry as an example, I fear for the future of India and her daughters!