Another campus lingo- Graph Drawing

Another campus lingo- “Graph drawing”! Some of us may recall that I introduced the word- “Nadigiri”- the Silver Jubilian Slang in one of my earlier posts. Now I would like to introduce another word-“Graph Drawing”- which is forever slang of Agriculture college, Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh. This time, I am not directly associated with that college, except that it is an indirect association through one of my classmates at IRMA, who studied there. Graph drawing as per our childhood knowledge means picking up a multi-lined green/red/grey colour paper with miniscule cells and connecting the dots placed as per the X-axis and Y-axis and their respective legends. This connecting the dots could be through lines or bars. And it was great fun for all of us. Slowly technology replaced the word graph with charts and now we have all options including 3-D and web/spider charts/graphs. But the Bapatla college’s “Graph” does not have anything to do with any of the the above. So what’s it about? Normally whenever three or four students or mixture of lecturers and students of a college campus meet, whether day scholars or hostellers, seniors or juniors, apart from discussing ideas, they also discuss places and people. While the conversation is going on, it may so happen that the places or persons mentioned by one person may be familiar to one or more of the participants. Then these person mention in an excited manner that “I very well know this person/place and he/she/it is very close to me”. This may be done to impress the other person or just to boast. According to Bapatla college students, this type of “line maroing” or a type of relationship building is the “Graph drawing”! Did you say- Sounds simplistic? Of course not- its quite funny just like the campus life!

Ramanujam Way!

Ramanujam Way! Constantly I am reminded by an anecdote reading from the late Ramanjam’s life history. This anecdote does not qualified authentic backing from internet readings of late Ramanujam. The anecdote goes like this: Ramanujam due to his health and poverty reasons settled for a small time job in a shipping company in then Madras. Bored with the ongoing work, he kept on preparing his mathematical theoretical premises, propositions, solutions on papers available within his reach. One of his friends noticed the genius in Ramanujam and forwarded these papers to Prof Thomas Hardy and the rest is history! I am amazed by this turning point in his life! I call it the Ramanujam way, if I am allowed to do so!

Space age interaction through Facebook

As a person with most no of posts without likes and comments, I am sharing this. Facebook gives us the connecting power through which we get inter-connected with our old friends, classmates, seniors, juniors, friends of friends, family members, workplace colleagues and ex-colleagues wherever we are on the globe. All the diversity we see in the real life can also be seen on the Cloud life! It gives us the expressive advantage through writing simple/complicated words/ sentences/ paragraphs/ essays/ documents, sharing images, commenting, mnemonics, symbols, polls, birthday reminders, greetings etc. It also gives us the power to form homogeneous groups if they are willing to co-exist. What happens after we post an update? Some people may press the like symbol. Some people, in turn, may share it within their networks. Some people may also leave their comment which may get into long threaded discussion on philosophy, attitude, work, business, movies, trending topics, music, religion, economy, technology, science so on and so forth. The poster will feel gratified if he/she receives lot of likes and the post gets into a discussion mode. So far so good! What about the post which receives no likes, no shares and no comments? We can’t say it went unnoticed! Of course not! People must or might have seen it but for various reasons they decided not to leave their digital foot print on our post. While FB allows video chat to a great extent, the posts may not have that advantage. While during the normal face-to-face discussions we can observe the body language and the other non-verbal communications of others, it is not possible to do so in these space-age interactions. We need to feel happy for the fact that that our posting is at least on Cloud 9 and/or Cloud storage! All the extras such likes and comments are just perks and bonuses! Somewhere in the space There’s common place For all of us Facebook, The joint we all seek!

MASTARU

MASTARU! The above word is quite commonly used in some parts of Coastal Andhra districts. It is an adaptation of the English word- Master- which normally is understood as a teacher. The English word Master is also used as a prefix for name of the child to indicate that they are children. It is also name of a international credit/debit card brand now. In Telugu usage of Mastaru, the person who uses it, does it so to address the other person in respectful manner. While in speech and writing the word Mastaru comes as a suffix to the name. Thus it is Sastry Mastaru! Those who don’t know our name or don’t want to use our name they call us simply Mastaru. If you hear the word Mastaru aimed at you once or twice, you feel quite overwhelmed because you are drawing so much respect. Once the word reaches the higher frequency while being addressed, you start doubting whether the other person really respects you or not! Bye Mastaru!

My family background and childhood

I was born into a school teacher's family (Shri Gabbita Durga Prasad)and my father took lot of interest in my education though he was frequently transferred from one place to one place within Krishna District of Andhra Pradesh (India). My mother Prabhavathi is a housewife. We are four brothers and one sister and I am the eldest of them. There is a saying in Telugu meaning that the eldest son is supposed to uproot the house. All through my childhood and youth days I used to crack this joke. However I did not do anything to the house ultimately. After his retirement my father only dismantled the inherited house and built a pucca concrete house. Our home during our child was a tiled one. Though my father was a teacher we used to depend on agriculture to quite an extent. The family lands were inherited and my father is the custodian of the joint property. As my father's elder brother died at his early married life leaving his wife, one daughter and daughter, our family used to be a big family.

Hungama around hanging

Hungama around the hanging! Flashback to the 80s Now I am reminded of reading a popular Telugu novel around 30 years back in which the protagonist, who is an advocate and lawyer tries to repeal the hanging related sections from the Indian legal provisions. He gets entrapped by a senior lawyer in the process and finds himself almost hanged. Ofcourse the book must have been influenced by another English book- no doubt! In the end the protagonist succesds in repealing the hanging related provision. While the protagonist really lived in Utopia, the author and publisher did not at all live in Utopia. They made huge money when written as a serial in a monthly/weekly and later as a book by itself. Subsequently when the book was made into again as a Telugu movie it went on to a huge money spinner for the author, director, the hero, the maker and related artistes. From the above it can be easily be seen that humanism really sells! Because the lay readers whose time and mind are attracted to those Utopian concepts make them shell out money towards consuming the utopian ideas nad feel thrilled to have read/seen such a great work! I read the book, liked the racy reading and went on continuing to live in Utopia eve now. Then there were some English novels and movies with prison escape background such as The Great Escape and Papillion. In these novels/movies, the protagonsts, who are convicted by foreign courts/jails, put efforts to excape from the jail they are kept on the foreign land. They are convicts but they emerge as heroes for breaking away from the prisons and jail. Both novels and movies of this genre went on to become huge hits by making everybody involved very rich including the person or his family members based on whose stories the books are written/movies are made. Huge royalties are paid to the family members of the ‘Escapist’. Cut Cheste/Fast Forward to 2008 Kasab and his close associates from the neighbor country attack Mumbai and take the lives of around/more than 200 personnel including some high officials. Kasab alone is caught and the others escape. Now Kasab is labelled as the heinous terrorist and people wanted his blood. Trials went on and on and people were restless for the huge amount of money spent on his security. To 2009 a Telugu movie: A hero who as an ancient warrier and commander of the Army of small kingdom of 16th/17th century challenges the invading king/chief of army that he will kill atleast 100 people before his death, if at all he has to succumb to death because of the fighting. The challenge starts- as things progress, the hero goes on the killing spree through all means using all glamourous ancient weapons and acrobatics hugely aided by today’s/ modern generation graphics. After killing 100 and odd people the protagonist also succumbs to the wounds. In the process the movie has become a blockbuster movie in the southern film circuit and thus making the director, hero, heroine, movie maker emerge with ‘Super’- prefix. The movie won some national awards also. The protagonist was labelled as the real “dheer-mard” and a superman. So killing spree also sells! Here the viewers wanted justice to be brought against the invaders by decimating them in the final form so that they can never come back to invade. People wont mind shelling out their money and time for such action-ridden revenge dramas. It may be the most downloaded movie, with most hits on youtube or otherwise. Kasab Episode - Nov 2012 Hanging Kasab hogged headline status in print/web/Tv/electronic media as well as status updates in FB and Twitter! It was later followed by processions and celebrations in most parts of India as I witnessed one or two in remote Maharashtra. People are appreciating the President as the real “Mard” and the news media is now hounding for Afzal Guru! But any sort of killing requires a deranged mind to the best of my knowledge! If a person in the army/military kills a civilian/terrorist/extremist we call him well trained and patriot! But when a trained terrorist kills others we call it extreme reaction and he is “ill”-trained. But in my opinion both are to be considered as acts of deranged minds whether instigated by deranged politicians or not! Now it is frequently heard that Ram gopala Varma’s new movie is about the 26/11 episode and it is very much silently and secretly made. So all the drama around masterminding, designing, planning and executing the Kasab’s attack will be on magnificient scale to attract the viewer’s attention with good sound track, fantastic camera work with well planned close-ups and long shots, spruced with blood and gore and ofcourse the much ubiquitous graphic work. Ofcourse it will be followd up by showing how the protagonist busts the whole thing and thus saves the Mumbaikars in the city and thus the nation. If people are in right mood and the movie is made on slick pace with good one-liners, then it may become a raging hit drawing passions across borders and may be the film will be banned on the other side of the border and thus raising expectations among Indian audience. Unfortunately for Kasab, he and his close associates or his family members will not get any royalty for all the hardwork they have done to have dictated terms in an engrossing episode. Kasab and his family members may have to miss the post-killing ransom that the whole news-industry, the publishers and movie-moghuls are making or likely to make!

Comparisons- my random reflections

Comparisons- my random reflections Sometime during my high school days I learnt a sentence from a reading that “Comparisons are odious”. I did not bother to check the dictionary as I got what I wanted that- comparisons are very bad to do. My mind is used to be filled with the sentence and its applications when my father used to get upset for me for not coming first in the class/school every time. I used to ruminate over this sentence on a repeated basis. But when I searched for the sentence now through all the search engine options available before us, I realised that a whole lot of literature is built on this including psychological theory and critical thinking theory. What I hated as a child has later become an easy way out and pastime for me later. I tend to compare myself with others who are doing better as well as who are not doing so well. Thus comparison has become a source of pain as well as a solace. Now as a parent if I compare my children with their counterparts and now it is their turn to get upset. My wife gets upset when I compare her with others. And I get upset when she or my children compare me with my counterparts. I have also realised that most of my writings do not happen if I don’t compare something with other which are starkly in contrast with each other. Without the comparing two things which are in stark contrast, it is difficult to drive a point very deeply. I am aware I am being simplistic. But whether and when I can get rid of unrelated and unhealthy comparisons really out of my thinking, actions and writings is the big question!

Icons, Idols and Iconoclausts

Icons and Idols I am on my 2nd day of my 2nd visit to Zari cluster in remote Maharashtra. Zari has been declared as a distressed district for several reasons including farmer suicides. The much known Vidarbha package applies to Zari also, I guess. Zari region is pure and pristine. Not because the internet connectivity is low and the mobile connectivity is less than the desired level. Also not because there is reasonable amount of greenery and lack of industries. The factor that most appealed to me most is the absence of idols and statues of all sorts and varieties of leaders. Not that Zari people do not adore its leaders. They ofcourse remember Birsa Monda, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, Babasaheb Ambedkar. They paint some walls with the pictures of these leaders or have wallposters or banners. Nothing more than that. If you come back to the neighboring Adilabad district and therefore the state of Andhra Pradesh, the situation is quite radically different. AP is famous as well as notorious for statues. The nook and corners of the state, all the crossroads and junctions of major, mini and minor cities/towns/municipalities/ and villages are replete with statues of leaders of different genre. Cities like Vijayawada boast of statues of international leaders such Marx and Engels is only minor aberration. Otherwise the state is full of statues of national and regional leaders. After seeing the statues of Nehru, Indira gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, you may think the Indian National Congress has perpetrated the statue culture. But the regional party TDP is not at all behind. NTR’s statues are also ubiquitous in nature. The Communist parties are also not lagging behind in this culture. Some of their leaders’ statues can also be seen in cities like Khammam. The nascent YSRCP made its birthright to install the late YSR statues across all places. Sorry I forgot to mention Mahatma Gandhi and Bhimrao Ambedkar. Unfortunately these leaders’ statues could be found along with the other leaders’ statues I mentioned before. While these statues emerged as a rallying points for birthday processions as well as election propaganda, they also became clash points. As leaders are adored by some sections, they are also hated by some sections for historic reasons. So those sections which don’t like a particular leader tend to desecrate the statue of that particular leader by disfiguring it and some other means. This raises the tension in the community. Then the leaders try to do some rituals such as pouring milk, honey, water onto the statue and thereby making it pure. Every generation throws up some icons. During our generation we keep seeing icons emerging from multiple and plural walks of life. As long as they are icons its fine. But once they are turned into idols and thereafter statues, we are giving scope for iconoclasts to enter the scene. Am sure Zari is far away from that culture as of now!

Dictionary updation- Regional and vernacular languages

Omnishambles is the new word added to the Oxford English dictionary- as per today's "Telugu" newspapers! Understand the word was extensively used by BBC TV prior to/ during/after London olympics to describe the condition in which the country as well as the government- read -UK was placed! The word omnishambles was extensively used to describe the once omnipotent, omniscient country! But that's not the contrast I am trying to bring here. Telugu newspapers gloating about the new word addition to the English dictionary. And there was/has been/is no effort to do the similar effort (understanding the usage of the word, the trends related to that, confirming its actual meaning and finally adding the same to respective dictionaries etc) for the language they are comfortable with. The situation is not unique to Telugu alone and it is applicable to almost all vernacular/local/regional languages! English language is updated on regular basis by many agencies (such as oxford working from different countries/continents). There is enough vacuum/space/market for some intelligent people/ agencies/ linguists/ book publishers to fill the gap! Hope it would done soon!

Link to Photos -2

Vinayaka Chaviti- 19 Sep 2012 https://plus.google.com/photos/106989642494305584900/albums/5789886785516753361?authkey=CJrWmLnnh5qlYA My first visit abroad to Germany in June 1999 https://plus.google.com/photos/106989642494305584900/albums/5798620320833604241 IRMA classmates small get together- 8 Sep 2012 https://plus.google.com/photos/106989642494305584900/albums/5786593163965836257?authkey=CJC20tf_u7fjjwE Accra-Ghana visit photos- 2009 https://plus.google.com/photos/106989642494305584900/albums/5775488760200313569 Costarica visit Jan 2010 https://plus.google.com/photos/106989642494305584900/albums/5775429073637572305?authkey=CLvX_M_Qg4byzQE Shirdi visit with parents in 2007/08 https://plus.google.com/photos/106989642494305584900/albums/5181652925784071233 Grihapravesham and other related photos: https://plus.google.com/photos/106989642494305584900/albums/5025744709549212305 Alliance- Kerala visit in 2006-07 https://plus.google.com/photos/106989642494305584900/albums/5025748424695924129

Links to photos

Diwli 2012: https://plus.google.com/photos/106989642494305584900/albums/5810339163323317937?authkey=CMvAseS29_nXjAE Thanjaore visit in 2010 Videos: https://plus.google.com/photos/106989642494305584900/albums/5805512903086265041?authkey=CPn63bSno5S9Wg IRMA and IRMANS- 1987 (Pacchees saal pehle) https://plus.google.com/photos/106989642494305584900/albums/5797946866876201953?authkey=COOSy6mRo4bJqAE Alampuram visit Oct 2012- with family members: https://plus.google.com/photos/106989642494305584900/albums/5801987180463870081?authkey=COvy7ZrbvJbhaQ Silver Jubilee Fraternity meeting - 2 Oct 2012 https://plus.google.com/photos/106989642494305584900/albums/5794734531891691441?authkey=CIfA95L-28OmNw Ontimitta Kodanda Rama Temple, Ontimitta- Kadapa/YSR district- Oct 2012 https://plus.google.com/photos/106989642494305584900/albums/5800991544074885985

usage of public transportation 9 Aug 2012

These days I am using public transportation (APSRTC buses) for commuting for work! Obviously this is due to affordability. Normally during peak periods it is difficult to get a seat in a bus. But some times people offer me to sit in seats earmarked for senior citizens based on my looks as I look older than my age. I get surprised but feel happy that at last my seniority is recognised somewhere.

enlightened thought-22 Aug 2012

An enlightened thought: Consistency in thought and actions- brings one closer to success.

It requires to be disciplined to be consistent. How can one be disciplined? Each person has to discover one's own path to be disciplined, consistent and be successful!

people's memory is short- 1 Oct 2012

Who says people have short memory? The ghost of operation Blue star, which claimed headlines for years and featured many times in Indian magazines for more than a decade during our childhood and youth days, still haunts us! An Indian prime minister was shot dead for instigating the operation. Now: http://www.rediff.com/news/report/lt-gen-brar-who-led-op-blue-star-attacked-in-london/20121001.htm</b>

Ragging- my random reflections-15 Oct 2012

Ragging: the practice, policy and compliance: my reflections This is only a note and may not have academic rigour! As a student: My association with ragging dates back to 1981, when I was first subjected to ragging in the Silver Jubilee Govt college, Kurnool. The ragging was mild, soft and hard. Ofcourse there were no serious victims. I enjoyed the ragging process as it involved mostly dancing to the tunes of NTR’s blockbuster movie “Gajadonga” and alike. But there were other serious humiliations to other co-students also. But for me, it helped in getting friendhip with seniours very easily. Ofcourse some of my classmates ranaway to their hometowns unable to bear the hardships for the time being. I never subjected anybody to the ragging process other than being subject to the process. The other campus in which ragging present was University of Hyderabad. It was present though in a limited manner. In IRMA, there was no ragging at all, as the seniors had very few occasions, because of some outside campus engagements, to speak to us. Legal form to anti-ragging measures: Then over a period of time, the ragging menace resulted in loss of lives of young students in campuses across the country, leading the Indian government to enact a legislation and a series of measures to eliminate ragging. Apart from the legislation, there were tollfree helpline, enforcing the signing of affidavit by student at the time of joining itself. As a parent: Another time I had involved in the process of ragging was, when my son, Sankalp, studying in Sastra university, Thanjore, was subjected to ragging and when he filed a complaint with the University. Then the university authorities initiated measures to balcklist the senior(s). Then the parents of seniors approached me to convince the Registrar not to take any action against the senior. I was taken to Thanjaore and accordingly complied with their request. The university banned the seniors from attending classes for a month or so. As a professional: Then comes the my professional association with the Ragging. My second assignment (2011) in Development and Research Services (www.drsindia.org) was about the compliance of Ragging act and associated measures. I visited Krishna, Guntur, Nellore, Ongole districts and interacted with nearly 50 college authorities and 1000 students and some set of parents also. Almost all the college authorities denied any ragging and almost all students denied that they were subjected to ragging on the record. Some students responded that they were subjected to ragging in the form of verbal abuses and related manners. One or two college authorities said that they have taken some stringent measures in the past. Ofcourse there were students who admitted that now their interaction with seniors is much less. There were also some faculty members who said that ragging in its decent form is very helpful and today’s generation is missing all that. The parents were afraid for being asked so many questions on ragging over phone and reported that their children did not report anything negative. Ofcourse as a result of the study, the government raised its antennae and made the affidavit signing as mandate as most institutions were not sure about the nature and content of the affidavit. Only some medical colleges were complying in the strict sense. Nursing colleges never bothered/cared. When probed further, some engineering colleges lamented that they don’t have fresh intake at all, then why so many questions?

Nadigiri- the silver Jubilian slang

"Nadigiri":- Does this word a ring a bell in you ears?

Most of you may not be aware of this word! Unless you are a Tamilian/malayali! I knew this word as part of the late south Indian actor- Sivaji Ganeshan's title-Nadigara Thilakam! Wait- if you are from Silver Jubilee Govt College(Kurnool, AP, India) during 80s/90, you would definitely be familiar with this word as the campus used to buzz with this word. Silver Jubilees fraternity of that time used to call a person doing Nadigiri if he was doing some over action or acting as smart alec. Seniors of that time used to call their juniors as Nadigiri. Classmates used to call each other Nadigiri. I really dont know the exact meaning of the word. But I can relate to that and say that it may mean "fine action". But in Silver Jubilee Slang it means over action. If you end up calling Sastry (me) doing Nadigiri for making frequent and obsessive posts on Facebook, you have understood the word the Silver Jubilian way! You may also like to suggest the Telugu/English lexicographers to add this word to add this word to the respective dictionaries. Sounds preposterous? What does your campus lingo say?

Drug addiction- my views

a small piece on drug addiction: These days the drug addiction problem in Punjab is getting lot of coverage in the media and almost became household topic. Allegation of Rahul Gandhi also added fire to the fuel. After being trained in the subject of HIV/AIDS among drug addicts which in short is called "Harm reduction", watching harm reduction interventions in Bangkok, Manipur and piloting a small intervention in Temple Town - Tirupathi, I have come to know one basic fact. Drug usage was initially started as prescribed medicine for the soldiers who returned home after fighting battles in unknown territories and could not forget the horrors they have gone through in the battlefields. As they were not in a position to lead normal life, these medicines were used as sedatives. This slowly created demand among the normal public leading to a chain of pockets, where popeye is grown, processed and distributed. One might have heard of the term- Golden Triangle- which is associated with drug trafficking. One might have seen several movies in which the protagonist busts the drug rackets/trafficking. At another level we might have heard of countries where drug intake is legalised. In India drug consumption is illegal. But rave parties are getting common. In some communities the milder drug in take is an age old tradition. The legal enforcers are fighting in vain to curb the “menace”, the modern day competition is making youth and frustrated person to seek solace in drug usage. Unsafe syringe usage may cause HIV/AIDS among the drug users. The community outreach workers’ job is tough as he has to manage with the law enforcer as well as drug user.

Arvind Kejriwal and the past AP experience with similar activist

After seeing the Kejrival and Salman Khurshid affair, I am reminded of the following story which happened in 80s in AP. There was a journalist called Pingali Dasaradhram who started an investigative journalism oriented magazine called "Encounter" (Telugu magazine). Lot of that time youth were attracted to him in those days. The Journo started exposing land deals, personal affairs, political deals etc. He became a force to reckon with. Then his ambition started growing. He contested for MLA seat as an independent from Rajamundry constituency. To win the election, he staged a drama of stabbing himself. It did not work to his favor. He lost the election. Then he continued his "investigative journalism" which was seen as yellow journalism by those in the office. One fine day/night he was murdered brutally allegedly by a politician for exposing some secrets of his daughter or somebody. Of course History Repeats!

My first viewing of Nayakan movie- 19 Oct 12

Understand that Nayakan (a Tamil movie starring Kamal Hassan) was released nearly 25 years ago. Those were the days when I was in Anand working for Amul factory (not GCMMF). Shekhar V (one year senior to me in IRMA and colleague in Amul) told me one night that a bus from Tamilnadu carrying farmers has come to Anand and they have the VCD player and a TV set and of all the things they had the Nayakan cassette. The bus was parked near Jagnath temple bus stand. I saw the movie in bits and parcels. As an ardent Kamal fan, at that point of time, I enjoyed the movie very much though in bits and pieces. Remember seeing the movie later in its entirety. The movie was also made into Hindi as Dayavan with Vinod Khanna, Feroz khan, Madhuri Dikshit. Thanked Sekhar V immensely at that time itself.

political processions- 19 Oct 2012

Yesterday I have been to Kadapa and Ontimitta mandal of YSR district. On the way I have seen several vehicles passing through carrying YSRCP flags and banners. They were going to the Padayatra (walking journey/march) of Sharmila (daughter of later YSR and sister of jailed Jagan)! The numbers behind the jeeps/vans: Rent for van: Rs 1500 per day Driver batta: Rs 300/day for each person: Rs 200 to Rs 300 per day Liquor/alcohol in the evening plus food It is estimated that 250 vans of Kadapa town itself, were mobilised for this. All the hotels in the main town Kadapa are reserved. (I had to use the APSRTC dormitory facility for my visit). This is not limited to Sharmila's padayatra alone. For any padayatra/prasthanam etc of any political party/politician of their worth -----this is the scenario. If you think people of YSR district are polarised towards YSR family members, it is not apparently true! People are silently fed up with them. Staggering statistics- Aren't they?

Birthday celebrations- changing traditions-24 Oct 2012

Birthday celebrations- Changing traditions (This is another note of my anecdotes, sometimes I could be far from reality and does not have any academic rigor) (Also this does not mean any offence to anybody. Any unwarranted offence felt is deeply regretted) 1960s/70s Celebrating birthday was a non-event for some/most of us born in 60s and earlier. During my childhood there were occasions when my parents bought me/us new cloths. There were also occasions when we distributed candies/sweets among classmates. But the main point is that it was not mandatory for parents to do all those things. It was also not our right to impose such things on our parents. May be there were many occasions when we were not given new cloths for us and candies for our classmates and friends. There were also occasions when somebody in the friends’ circle celebrated his birthday in some grand manner, accordingly there were feelings of jealousy also. But birthdays were never the discussion topics. 1980s As I entered intermediate and then degree colleges also the same was the situation. Not much of importance was accorded to the celebration of birthdays. But after leaving Silver Jubilee college, one friend, Ajoy Kumar made it a point to send birthday greeting cards to the address where I was staying. He practiced this for a few years and then left it as my address was also changing on a continuous basis. But as I entered IRMA, the situation completely changed. A new understanding of the birthday celebration came to me. Wait, hold on a minute. I am referring to the “Bumps” way of celebrations!. Many of my classmates were given bumps on the early hours of their day of the birth, when they were in campus. Of course this was limited to boys. The birthday boys were subjected to pushes, pulls, drenching and all sorts of gymnastics. No need to say, I did not receive any bumps during the two years, as I was an obscure and struggling (struggling for grades then and now struggling with career) classmate. For a variety of reasons, I escaped their attention. 1990s Then after becoming parent of my elder son, I started inviting family friends etc for his birthday. Cake was cut, food etc were provided, photos were taken. This photo culture was much absent in my early days as the technology has not reached the present day proportions. The offices/organisations I worked during that time had only the culture of celebrating the founder/chief executive’ birthday. Ordinary staff’s birthdays were not given that importance. 21st century Then we have got our second child. It is just a coincidence that his birthday is the same as mine. So it became a bonus for me. Whenever his birthday is celebrated, if I am in town, people celebrate my birthday also. So I also cut the cake, be part of the photographs etc. Since the second child feels it is his right to be celebrated, I also get the undue advantage. Digital cameras have entered the scenario. We click and preserve the photo either as a hard copy or as a soft copy. In 2005 I joined a charity organisation which believed in the celebration of every staff and contributes small budget for that. The staff is made to cut the cake, and is also given some gifts from the money collected from other colleagues. As a token of appreciation the staff also reciprocates the other staff friends with something else. There were occasions as email was ubiquitous and you receive e-greetings. Post 2010 This is the era of Facebook. It connected classmates, colleagues, friends wherever they are on earth. Facebook takes the input of the date of birth of the member and displays prominently on the D-day. This attracts the attention of other members on the social network and prompts them to give wishes to the birthday person. Life has been made easier. No need to remember birthday of a person/friend. If you open FB on any day, if your friend’s birthday falls on that day, you are reminded of it. Then you can post on his/her wall or send him/her a message. Of course there are still some people who don’t believe in birthday celebrations and they don’t mention the same on their profile. Only if you know their birthday in your mind, you can wish. Otherwise it is really difficult. On the other side, the Facebook birthday messages can be seen as plastic greetings (like plastic smile) and may not have the human warmth and personal touch. But FB gives the opportunity to be wished by somebody whom you have never met physically. Thus Technology gives us a very good opportunity. Lets see what is in store for us in future!

Cut Cheste- 25 Oct 2012

A word/phrase/idiom making rounds in Telugu TV channels nowadays is "Cut Cheste". This is obviously Tenglish- a combination of English and Telugu! "Cut Cheste" is used by the narrator/anchor when he/she moves from narration of one incidence to another one. My gut feeling is that the word/idiom/phrase might have been heavily borrowed from the parlance of film makers/ story narrators/ Editors. To get into the meaning- the English word cut actually means tearing but here it means, the incident is over. Cheste is a Telugu word- meaning the completion of an act. Thus Cut Cheste could mean here that - on moving to the next stage. Unfortunately this word/idiom/phrase does not find place in any dictionary. Sure it must have equivalent idioms/phrases in other regional/national languages of India! Cut Cheste?

Toffler and CSOs- 26 Oct 12

An excerpt from Toffler Associates " Trends till 2050" or "40 for the next 40" - prepared in 2010: THE GROWING POWER OF NON-STATE ACTORS WILL CREATE PERVASIVE CHALLENGES TO NATION-STATE POWER AND INFLUENCE Private sector actors, NGOs, religious groups, “hyper-empowered” individuals whose resources can exceed those of states, and a wide range of transnational networks – both licit and illicit – will create a radically different future. The most pressing geopolitical threat will not be al Qaeda, but its franchises, the wider network-of-networks spawned and inspired by its ideology. “Hyper-empowered” individuals and groups will continue to gain access to knowledge, technology and finances previously attainable only by nation-states. THE NUMBER AND VARIETY OF NON-STATE ACTORS WILL RISE DRAMATICALLY NGOs will be the fastest growing non-state actors, and will be key to governmental and industry strategies and solutions. Governments’ engagement with non-state actors will intensify, shaping issues from security to development. If you are reminded of India Against Corruption and other organisations in the Not-for-profit and For-profit sectors, you have understood Toffler well!

Ground news on cooperatives and NGOs-29 Oct 2012

Some ground news about cooperatives and public societies/charitable trusts: The much acclaimed and written about liberal law of cooperatives in AP (in short known as MACS Act or 1995 Act) has been threatened for existence under the late CM YSR! This threat from the AP govt continues even after his demise! The government and its officials want the cooperatives to contribute funds to the much defunct state Coop Union and trying to enforce that even the statutory audit needs to be conducted by department officers! At another level, I heard from Chartered Accountant friend that the AP govt is trying to get into the public societies and charitable trusts by way of nominating its officers into the society/trust board. Way to go for the AP govt! May be I am the last one to know about these! Since I have not seen any related posts in FB, am just trying to place the context before the FB circle! Understand that some popular cooperators and civil societies' activists are trying to thwart these measures by using all sorts of options including appealing before Supreme Court!

Review of 2 Telugu movies- 31 Oct 2012

During the last fortnight, I could watch two Telugu movies namely: Cameraman Gangatho Rambabu and English Winglish (Telugu) ... Rambabu is a typical Indian/South Indian commercial movie loaded with loud dialogues, pretending to be giving message through punch dialogues to the society on all the Four Estates concerned. English Winglish is a soft and subtle movie in which the sarees dominated Sridevi as a person. Sridevi as an actor proved her mettle once again. But to project spanish lady as ever sleeping, south indian youth craving/longing for Idlies are/ may be slightly offensive. Ofcourse comedy tracks in Indian movies ( since I have less knowledge of world cinema these days) are more or less at the expense of others.

Telugu- Guilty

"Guilty"- The sounds familiar. Is n't it? Yes as per the ongoing lexicon! There is unfamiliar angle to this word. Telugu people are also referred /addressed/ called as "Guilt/ Guilty" apart from other names. The first time I encountered this name calling was in 1985, when I entered IRMA. Since some of those from other parts of India, can not pronounce Telugu in its proper manner, used this word as a slang. But after quite an amount of reflection and introspection, I realise now that Telugu people are always guilty of some thing/pretext or other. Telugus are "guilty" for giving overwhelming majority to Indira Gandhi, even while the whole country dumped her and elected Janata Party, electing NTR and then dumping him, electing Chandra Babu Naidu twice and then dumping him, electing YSR twice and enabling him garner huge property etc. Way to feel guilty!

Government projects- my opinion-2 Nov 2012

Will be travelling overnight to Khammam for a day and then to Vijayawada and Vuyyuru for two days and then to Nuzvidu for a day. Will be back on 7th morning in Hyderabad. Mission: Water Quality monitoring study for Min of Drinking water and Sanitation. From my earlier visit to Kadapa/YSR district, I come to understand one thing: By the time the Government conceives an idea/project and turns/grounds into an active project, the ground reality takes a different shape. Due to generous support from the sons of soil who could be NRIs, industrialists, and rapid technological changes such as RO, many/substantial no of villagers today have access to a better drinking water at a reasonable price. This has led the traditional drinking water infrastructure, created by State/ZP/GP/RWS/PHED, become redundant! all the equipment procured, distributed to test the quality of these water sources, trainings, trainees remain much unutilised. Let me see whether this is true for other areas!

Hyderabad city buses 4 nov 2012

Having traveled in Hyderabad city buses and some district buses run by APSRTC, I noticed that some of them are equipped with Audio/video facilities. If the buses are not crowded and if you get a seat in the right direction, you can enjoy Telugu movie songs/comedy bits etc. Of course in some buses the equipment may be malfunctioning. In some cases the contractor might not have supplied the content. This facility is not unique to posh metro deluxe and AC buses alone. Sometimes it can be seen in ordinary long distance city buses also. Happy tra-viewing!

GAAR- my understanding (4 Nov 2012)

GAAR- General Anti-Avoidence Rules Of course it was in news recently. Then only I have heard of it. Most of us knew, by now, that its enforcement has been postponed to 2016 or so. All of us also knew that it was at the behest of hue and cry from the corporate citizens. During the past 15 days I was part of a small team which looked at the options/ permutations/ combinations of operating across tax havens for saving tax for an international business opportunity over the next 5 years. After understanding a little bit of some of theses things, it appeared to me that GAAR is going/likely to be the game changer to say the least. If it comes into force lot of entities will disappear. New agreements and new forms will take shape. The transition may not be smooth. Thats the reason many wanted a long rope. Lets see what is in store for us!

Back-breaking journey 4 Nov 2012

Realised what back-breaking journey really meant! Travelling by district APSRTC buses could be fun as well as pain! Friday night got into Hyderabad-Khammam bus and reached at 2.30 am early in the morning. On Saturday traveled by autos to nearby village (40 kms total) on rough roads. The same night to reach Vuyyuru from Khammam, had to change 3 buses: Khammam to Kodad Kodad to Vijayawada Vijayawada to Vuyyuru. By the time I reached Vuyyuru, it was 1 am Sunday. Today I am feeling slight pains in the back. Monday, I will be visiting nearby Katuru village. Tuesday need to go to Nuzvidu and nearby villages. Probably from there to Hyderabad on Wednesday morning.! Long way to go?

Visit to Vuyyuru AG&SG college 4 Nov 2012

Today (4th Nov 2012) I visited the college(http://www.agsgsc.edu.in/) where I studied intermediate in my home town, Vuyyuru. The college is in the process of getting (work almost completed) Rs 1 crore indoor stadium. When I visited the campus and the premises, I am really surprised to see the spic and span neatness in the campus. I was reminded of IRMA campus. But when I visited IRMA during Jatra time- this January, I saw cobwebs in the auditorium. Compared to that AG&SG college is much better maintained. IRMA has a very small indoor stadium. Meaning that the height is very less. When I compare the same with Silver Jubilee college, Kurnool, the condition of Silver Jubilee College today is really pathetic especially on maintenance. Please note that the comparison among the three, here, is not on education standards. What could be the reason for such a poor maintenance of infrastructure?

"I am made of sterner stuff" The above sentence is not a part of a text book chapter, or a novel or an auto biography or biography or a newspaper/news magazine/newchannel article/video clip or an English/Hindi/Telugu movie. To say the least the above is a not description of myself and it is not part of my vocabulary. "When I came across" The first and last time I saw the above was when one of my friends wrote the above in the body of communication he has written to one of his associates. Since my friend showed me his communication, I saw the same. I don’t remember the other part of the communication, but I remember the tone and context of the same. It was in the hand-written form as friend’s callisthenic skills are of higher order and he was/is not computer-savy. This was about 22 years ago. I did not check the dictionary at that point of time. But the combination of sterner and stuff and its rhyming sort of thing got registered in my mind, needless to say, made an indelible impression. So this raises the question about me. "So how would I describe of myself?" In my opinion it is very difficult to capture any one’s personality in one or two words. Contexts throw up symptoms of personality. But if you further insist, I would describe myself in the following way. "I am malleable and ductile" As you are quite aware of metals and metallic properties, the quite flexible metals are said to be malleable and ductile. Some examples are Aluminum, Tungsten etc. They can be easily given a shape with minimum force and no need for metallurgical process. Sounds funny? Latest update about this: Understand that my friend first read the "sterner stuff" part in Williams Shakspere's epic drama Julius Caesar first! Thanks to him for correcting me! When I told him of this FB post, he laughed it off!

What makes news? Having followed news from newspapers, TV, radio and now FB since I have understood them, the issue of NEWS quite intrigued and bugged me. Found that two contrasting things can make it to the news. Rags to richer story makes news- Riches to rags story also makes news Being affluent makes news- Being poor also makes news Writing makes news- Being a reader also makes news Rising to stardom makes news- Celebrating as a fan also makes news Trending makes news- Following also makes news Generosity makes news- Frugality also makes news Philanthropy makes news- Being inhuman also makes news Valor/Courage makes news- Cowardice also makes news Theory makes news- Practice also makes news Killing makes news- Saving also makes news Development makes news- Destruction also makes news Proper action makes news- Negligence also makes news Similarity makes news- Contrast also makes news Fertility makes news Infertility also makes news Being international/global makes news- Remaining/Sticking to local also makes news Being thorough/scholar makes news Remaining hollow also makes news Being fantastic makes news Remaining simple also makes news Leading makes news Voting also makes news Being extra-ordinary makes news Even ordinary makes news