Dr. Mallya and India

I am not an economist. I am not sure what this means to Indian economy and finally affects a common man. I can assume a very little, considering huge sums in several political scams. However, having flown KingFisher during Good Times, would like add a fact for the record: Dr. Mallya tried his level best to introduce world class Air Travel Service in India and succeeded to great extent despite losses. He even sold his family silver for a loss making Airlines to keep afloat in the skies, for us to have a 5 star flying experience.

I am not a shrewd businessman. However, I strongly feel that buying off Air Deccan and paying huge sums was his only and greatest mishap in running KingFisher. He made business loss there. Mind you, he brought better service flying those Deccan Aircrafts, re-painted and re-branded and almost for the same cost for an Indian Air traveler and adding the world class service that he always believed an Indian should experience during an Air Travel. He is the best host that an Indian businessman can ever be or can ever become. Period.

As far business loss and settling with banks, I do not know any details and cannot comment. One thing, if any, I have to criticize strongly against Dr. Mallya is – KingFisher not having paid the employees. Whatever the excuse, the employees should have been paid and Dr. Mallya, in exile or not, should arrange to pay the outstanding salaries to the employees. Once done, he is as good as or, in most ways, a better businessman India ever had who treated his customers as guests who visited his home. 

Rajavel Thiruvu Weblog: The nation salutes Dr. Kalam!

Rajavel Thiruvu Weblog: The nation salutes Dr. Kalam!: The nation salutes Dr. Kalam – one of India’s greatest guiding fathers – who inspired an entire generation of Indians. Dr. Kalam inspires ...

The nation salutes Dr. Kalam!

The nation salutes Dr. Kalam – one of India’s greatest guiding fathers – who inspired an entire generation of Indians. Dr. Kalam inspires more Indians on his death and would continue to inspire more and more in the coming days, months and years.

Such was his legacy; it is a privilege and honor to write about Dr. Kalam and I cannot possibly write anything more powerful than a few of Dr.Kalam’s quotes – a message to all of us.

“It is very easy to defeat someone, but it is very hard to win someone”.

“If you fail, never give up because FAIL means "First Attempt In Learning".

“ End is not the end, if fact END means "Effort Never Dies"

"If you get No as an answer, remember NO means "Next Opportunity". So Let's be positive."

“Dream, dream, dream. Dreams transform into thoughts and thoughts result in action.”

“Where there is righteousness in the heart, There is beauty in the character. When there is beauty in the character, there is harmony in the home. When there is harmony in the home. There is an order in the nation. When there is an order in the nation, there is peace in the world."

#SwachhBharat Abhiyan

I hail the Indian government’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Campaign). The campaign is in good direction and the movement is in good direction. Nevertheless, for results, ‘#SwachhBharat’ has to be accountability-oriented and process-driven.

A campaign can bring more awareness and perhaps more support among the Indian public; but, cannot produce results until the battle is process driven.

Accountability:-

1. A central governance committee to be setup and responsible to complete the mission by 2019
2. Make the District collectors accountable for their districts
3. Let there be yearly (or) half-yearly reports on the progress – district level and rolled up to state/national level and published by the central governance committee

Process:-

1. Let there be a common process (or) a customized process for every district to make/keep the district clean
2. The process to highlight the difficulties and escalate the hardships - along with the possible solutions - immediately (perhaps in a common forum) for the central governance to take action

Let the government do the monumental task, taking in my ideas (or) not! For me, as an individual, I am going to start today, as I write this blog, to actively participate in the campaign. My goals

1. My Home – this weekend
2. My Housing Society – 31^st December, 2014
3. The streets around the Housing Society - 31^st March, 2015
4. Sector 14, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai – 31^st December 2015

If I can achieve a clean neighbourhood by the end of next year, I can then pass on the processes, hardships and solutions of the #SwachhBharat drive, to the local administration.

Ladies and Gentlemen, please expect an update to this post on the mentioned date(s) and lets all build a ‘Clean Nation’.

A note of caution: - What we are talking about here is changing century old behaviour of a common man in India, when it comes to public sanitation and cleanliness. It is going to be challenging, slow and a monumental task! Let there be a dustbin in every street in India! Let the force be with us! Jai Hind!

Diwali wishes from ABC Software!

Welcome to ABC Software! As with many things in life, the tenure with ABC is what one makes of it! We have had several unique personas with distinct idiosyncrasies having worked/still working for ABC. Then there was (is) he/she, who

·         Manages the Managers

·         Follows the law : ‘For every action there is an equivalent and opposite inaction’

·         Communicates only one-way

·         Sets up processes to set new policies from already set policies

·         Talks to only ‘n’ ABCians where ‘n’ equals to the number of years spent at ABC

·         Writes poems even for official communication

·         Would not read anything other than Software code for more than 15 seconds

·         Likes to meet (or) should we say, ‘likes Meetings’

·         Picks nicknames to go trendy with latest technology

·         Practices clothing style like late eighties; grooming style like late nineties and constantly wishes to be in late twenties

·         Has unique patent-pending algorithm in picking up colour and style of the outfit, for the day

·         Wrestles the way through to top title in most of the games

·         Looks at software systems only as subsystems

·         Believes ‘Marketing’ lies with    well...

·         Does not spell names Sebisfically Karrectly!

·         Talks only in numbers (or) should we say numbers the ‘Talks’ that are made in a day

·         Measures the smile and if gets flashy, immediately frowns

·         Works hard creating something funny and often times creates funny work

·         Practices the art of conversing in one syllables even for official communication
           An example excerpt:

Q: There is a bug in the system, XYZ.

A: O!

Q: Can you fix it?

A: Y?

Q: Who coded that?

A: I.

Q:  Can you fix it?

A: S.

Q: Where is your Team Leader?

A: T.

Q: I will tell your TL that you fixing the bug.

A: K.

·         Defies science with Decibel level – High

·         Defies science with Decibel level – Low

Welcome to ABC Software! You will be fine!

Amma released statement from Jail!

If I were the political advisor of Amma, I would recommend the following statement be released immediately by Amma:

"My dear countrymen, I would like to announce to the entire nation that I take complete responsibility for the current legal situation. It is up to me to fight against the hardship and come out clean, unaffected by the challenges, that are posed against me. Thank you for your overwhelming support, during the difficult times. Having said that, I want the following activities be stopped at once in our state.

1.       No protest, in whatsoever form.

2.       No statements in my support, in whatsoever form.

If anybody does one of the above two or both, they are NOT going to enter in my good books. Rather they would end up in my bad books. I appeal to the police department to take strictest action against anyone who breaks the law and cause trouble to the general public and normal life in the state, under the excuse of supporting me.

Until after the legal situation is resolved, in the eyes of the rest of the world, your leader is beheld as corrupt. To some of them your leader is beheld as criminal. I respect their opinion and they are totally entitled to the opinion; I appeal to all my supporters not to display any advertisement projecting me as ‘Dharma Amma, ‘Can GOD be punished?’ etc., It would purely be nauseating to them and would be outright comical to the rest of the world.

Jaya TV to stop broadcasting all the nonsense about 60 people committing suicide to protest against my arrest. It is highly of very bad taste and wrong precedent. It is downright embarrassing when political critics call me and ask ‘Why none of your council of ministers, who cried so profoundly during oath-taking ceremony, haven’t had cardiac arrests?’

I want to reiterate to my supporters that your leader is much taller and too big in stature for a legal situation like this to affect in any significant manner. Also, I would like to reiterate to my countrymen that my agenda for the welfare of the state is vast and I would not go down easily and fight till the very end towards my goal of betterment for the people that immensely have faith in me. In power or not, I would continue to work towards the betterment of my state and would not tolerate any harm done towards my people – physical or emotional, especially under the excuse of supporting me. Jai Hind!"

Bloody Fear!

In the Indian sub continent, anything bloody is considered an expletive: an inappropriate thing to say. However, the write-up involves Blood and fear induced by blood. I cannot possibly choose a better title than ‘Bloody fear’!

I want to tell you something! ‘Bloody’, the adjective is not an expletive. It just means, ‘with blood’ or ‘full of blood’ or ‘lot of blood’. Furthermore, the narration is about blood and fear – outside of Indian subcontinent. On that bloody intro, let us get on with the story.

The year was 2000. I lived and worked in the United States of America. The city of Bentonville is an unassuming small town in Arkansas, with all the characteristics that qualify for something ends with ‘Ville’.

My apartments had 18 holes among other things. During weekends, I used to just stand in the balcony of my home – smoking and watching lazy golfers putting around. The game of golf never intrigued me as much as Tennis or Football (for Americans, it is ‘soccer’ or simply FIFA)

The laziness or the smoking never bothered me during those years until I found it. Blood. Initially, there was a trace of it when I goggled after smoking a cigarette. Then I noticed blood every time I had a mouthwash, smoking or not.

Having severely influenced by the Tamil movies I had watched as an young adult, I sported a beard and started coughing. Everyday I used to practice cool philosophical things to say about life, for my restaurant/bar time dinner chat.

As days passed by, I grew tired of waiting to die. After a week, I wanted to turn the things around, and stopped smoking. Well. Not completely; just one cigarette a day.  I even had a clean shave and started to smile more and talk less philosophically. Nothing helped.

After two weeks, I decided to visit a doctor. The doctor advised a series of medical examinations: an X-RAY, ECG and ironically a blood test too and also a few more tests (which are not common names as ECG, X-RAY or a blood test)

The lab technicians sent reports back to the doctor declaring me having a ‘clean bill of health’. The only suggestion in their reports was for me to have a couple of sessions of therapy, to straighten my thoughts out. Apparently, Tamil movie cancer philosophy crept into the conversations during medical tests.

With the test results, the doctor called me back. After briefing the results from the reports, the doctor had only one thing to say: Go, see a dentist! Well. You guessed it right. The dentist fixed my weak bleeding gums and helped me improve oral hygiene practices. Voila! Or Bingo! The blood stopped.

I have to tell you. The feel of normal life again was extremely boring and not cool at all; I needed that blood. I needed that beard. I needed that philosophical air about me. Nevertheless, I called the doctor and informed about my bleeding gums. Over the phone, he laughed out loud. I sighed and was about to hang up and then he asked me the question: ‘Raj, say - when do you smoke that one cigarette?’