Thoughts across the world- Perception

December 10, 2008 " What you see is not what is real. To change is but an action of a blink of an eye. The rewards are the fruits of life." --- Written in 2004 by Mr. X --- Scotland Think about it. December 10, 2008 " Our self-image and our habits tend to go together. Change one and you will automatically change the other." --- Written in 2008 by Kuljeet Negi --- India December 10, 2008 " Worry + Fear = LIMITATION. Remove one and you suddenly overcome an obstacle." --- Author Unknown --- Submitted by Pete Duesterbeck --- Wisconsin In my personal and professional life, I see many people who are stopped dead in their tracks because of the worry AND fear which they place in the middle of their life path.

Thoughts to think about-Interesting, if u find time to look @ it !!!

December 8, 2008
" There are many ships of all sizes that sail the endless oceans of the mind, body, heart and soul. Surrounded by countless smaller vessels are the ships Religion, Marriage, Health and Love. On the horizon, they see the approach of a ship that dwarfs all others. She is Perception. Some cheer her arrival while others scatter and sail for shallow waters and the shore. Those waiting, flock to her. Like a mothering swan, she gathers them up, one by one, and secures them in place with Peace, Happiness, War, Justice and the others. As she quietly moves away towards her next port of call, the wind opens her banner for all to see but few to understand. Those who fled along the shore fear her not for her immense size or wake but the image on the dreaded banner itself. That of a two edged sword."
--- Copyright © 2008 L. M. Hyde
Perception


December 8, 2008
" All that we are is a result of what we have thought."
--- Buddha


December 8, 2008
" Worry is one of the biggest enemies of good health. Worry never gets you anywhere. It is a bogey that feeds on itself. Do something about the things that worry you."
--- Author Unknown --- Submitted by Bhanu Deo Pendyala --- India


December 8, 2008
" Every book starts with just one word, every great idea is sparked by a single thought, every morning sees a new sunrise, and every journey begins with a single step."
--- Written in 2008 by Chris M. --- Kansas


December 3, 2008
" Challenges are 'tough' to those who never face them but 'easy' to those who accept them."
--- Written in 2008 by Darpan Kumar --- India


December 3, 2008
" Do good, the world is yours."
--- Written in 2008 by Danish Irfan --- Pakistan


December 3, 2008
" The architect of your destiny is yourself."
--- Written in 2008 by Daniel Kennedy


December 3, 2008
" Follow these simple principles and you'll be happy: take each day as it comes; don't procrastinate."
--- Written in 2008 by Eric Nyaga --- Kenya
People look too far for happiness when they're leaving it right under their noses.


December 1, 2008
" Don’t look for endings when you need a beginning."
---Written in 2008 by Rami Mahfouz --- Canada
For those who often look at how they will fail when all they want is to succeed.


December 1, 2008
" Love is what keeps us working, moving, alive. And when somebody finds that special someone, you feel lighter and happier. One heart always desires but never rests. Dreams come true every day, just let somebody special look into your eyes."
---Written in 2008 by Krasi Kokalova --- Bulgaria


December 1, 2008
" There are two principles in life. First: to defend ourselves by the tool "SPEECH" without concentrating on any action plan. The Second: to keep our mouth shut and work with the primitive tool "ACTION PLAN". The First principle is handy and just forms a part of Life. The Second one is the way of Life that will lead us to the desired position by a much simpler route."
---Copyright © 2008 Sandeep Kumar
Action speaks more than words in a different way.


December 1, 2008
" Good luck is often with the man who doesn't include it in his plans."
---Author Unknown --- Submitted by Christy Wilson --- Texas

Boaster's decision - Veteran Ganguly out in 'signal to the team'

Ganguly out in 'signal to the team'

Cricinfo staff

September 8, 2008

	Mohammad Kaif is the likely candidate to replace Sourav Ganguly in the Rest of the India middle order © AFP

Sourav Ganguly has been left out of the Rest of India squad for the Irani Trophy match in what Cricinfo has learnt is a signal from the national selectors that it is time to start phasing out India's veteran middle-order. Other notable exclusions for the season-opener are Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma and S Badrinath - but Mohammad Kaif has returned to the reckoning after his 94 for India A against Australia A.

The Rest team for the match against Delhi, which starts in Vadodara on September 24, is meant to feature probables for the Australia Test series in October. Ganguly's exclusion raises once again a question mark over his international future - he is already out of the ODI picture.

A national selector and a senior BCCI official whom Cricinfo spoke to said the selectors consulted Anil Kumble, the India Test captain, and Gary Kirsten, the national coach, before dropping Ganguly. Both Kumble and Kirsten were completely on board with the decision, they said.

One of the selectors also spoke to Ganguly about the decision and the former India captain has "accepted it", the selector said.

"The decision to drop Ganguly is a signal to the team," the selector said. "He's 36-37 and we felt it was getting increasingly tough for him to cope with the fielding and fitness levels expected at the international level. We spoke to Kumble and Kirsten too, and they were with us on this. We felt we should put in place the process of bringing in the next set of players."

While the decision to drop Ganguly was based on a dip in form and his diminishing fielding skills, they said, the selectors were not convinced that Yuvraj was completely fit.

However, both insisted that Ganguly's Test future could still be revived by the new national selection committee, which will pick the Test team for the four-Test series against Australia starting on October 9.

Apparently, the selectors are hoping that Mohammad Kaif, who impressed them with a well-made 94 in the India A vs Australia A match in Bangalore last week, will fill Ganguly's slot in the middle. "There is also a good chance for Badrinath (the India A skipper)," the selector said. "Badrinath came up with a convincing display in Sri Lanka last month and he is a fantastic fielder too. But again, it is up to the new selection panel."

He said that Yuvraj's fitness was the main reason why he was dropped - the left-hander has been dogged by a knee injury, and is also believed to be nursing a shoulder injury.

Meanwhile, Ashok Dinda, the Bengal medium-pacer, got a surprise call-up to the squad while Sachin Tendulkar, who declared himself fit for the match has made it along with Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. Parthiv Patel, the other promotion from the India A side, is likely to open the batting with Wasim Jaffer.

Badrinath, meanwhile, will continue leading India A side, in the limited-overs tri-series, involving Australia A and New Zealand A, starting on September 15. His deputy will be Suresh Raina, fresh from impressive showings in the Asia Cup and in Sri Lanka. Dinesh Karthik, who lost out on the Irani Trophy slot to Parthiv, will be India A's keeper in the tri-series.

There were rewards for those who did well in the inaugural IPL: Swapnil Asnodkar, Abhishek Nayar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Yusuf Pathan and Wriddhiman Saha found themselves in the 15-member squad. Hyderabad opener DB Ravi Teja was included, as was Saurashtra's Jaydev Shah. Irfan Pathan and Praveen Kumar, India's ODI regulars, will also play in the series, while Piyush Chawla and Robin Uthappa, dropped recently, get another chance to impress the selectors.

Rest of India squad: Anil Kumble (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Wasim Jaffer, Mohammad Kaif, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Parthiv Patel, RP Singh, Ashok Dinda, Harbhajan Singh

India A squad for tri-series: S Badrinath(capt), Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa, Swapnil Asnodkar, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Abhishek Nayar, Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Piyush Chawla, Ravi Teja, Yusuf Pathan, Jaydev Shah, Wriddhiman Saha

Dropped your mobile phone in water?

Tata and Infy

Have Passion!

It was probably the April of 1974. Bangalore was getting warm and Gulmohars were blooming at the IISc campus. I was the only girl in my postgraduate department and was staying at the ladies' hostel. Other girls were pursuing research in different departments of Science.

I was looking forward to going abroad to complete a doctorate in Computer science. I had been offered scholarships from Universities in the US . I had not thought of taking up a job in India ..

One day, while on the way to my hostel from our lecture-hall complex, I Saw an advertisement on the notice board. It was a standard job-requirement notice from the famous automobile company Telco (now Tata Motors). It stated that the company required young, bright engineers,

hardworking and with an excellent academic background, etc.

At the bottom was a small line: "Lady candidates need not apply."

I read it and was very upset. For the first time in my life I was up against gender discrimination.

Though I was not keen on taking up the job, I saw it as a challenge. I Had done extremely well in academics, better than most of my male peers. Little did I know then that in real life academic excellence is not enough to be successful.

After reading the notice I went fuming to my room. I decided to inform The topmost person in Telco's management about the injustice the company

was perpetrating. I got a postcard and started to write, but there was a problem: I did not know who headed Telco.

I thought it must be one of the Tatas. I knew JRD Tata was the head of The Tata Group; I had seen his pictures in newspapers actually, Sumant Moolgaokar was the company's chairman then). I took the card, addressed It to JRD and started writing. To this day I remember clearly what I wrote.

"The great Tatas have always been pioneers. They are the people who Started the basic infrastructure industries in India , such as iron and steel, chemicals, textiles and locomotives. They have cared for higher Education in India since 1900 and they were responsible for the establishment of the Indian Institute of Science. Fortunately, I study there. But I am surprised how a company such as Telco is discriminating on the basis of gender."

I posted the letter and forgot about it. Less than 10 days later, I received a telegram stating that I had to appear for an interview at Telco's Pune facility at the company's expense. I was taken aback by the telegram. My hostel mate told me I should use the opportunity to go to Pune free of cost and buy them the famous Pune saris for cheap! I collected Rs 30 each from everyone who wanted a sari. When I look back, I feel like laughing at the reasons for my going, but back then they seemed good enough to make the trip.

It was my first visit to Pune and I immediately fell in love with the city.

To this day it remains dear to me. I feel as much at home in Pune as I do in Hubli, my hometown. The place changed my life in so many ways. As directed, I went to Telco's Pimpri office for the interview.

There were six people on the panel and I realised then that this was serious business.

"This is the girl who wrote to JRD," I heard somebody whisper as soon as I entered the room. By then I knew for sure that I would not get the job.

The realisation abolished all fear from my mind, so I was rather cool while The interview was being conducted.

Even before the interview started, I reckoned the panel was biased, so I told them, rather impolitely, "I hope this is only a technical interview.."

They were taken aback by my rudeness, and even today I am ashamed about My attitude. The panel asked me technical questions and I answered all of them.

Then an elderly gentleman with an affectionate voice told me, "Do you Know why we said lady candidates need not apply? The reason is that we have never employed any ladies on the shop floor. This is not a co-ed college; this is a factory. When it comes to academics, you are a first ranker throughout. We appreciate that, but people like you should work in research laboratories.. "

I was a young girl from small-town Hubli. My world had been a limited place.

I did not know the ways of large corporate houses and their difficulties, so I answered, "But you must start somewhere, otherwise no woman will ever be able to work in your factories."

Finally, after a long interview, I was told I had been successful. So This was what the future had in store for me. Never had I thought I would Take up a job in Pune. I met a shy young man from Karnataka there, we became good friends and we got married. It was only after joining Telco that I realized who JRD was: the Uncrowned king of Indian industry. Now I was scared, but I did not get to meet him till I was transferred to Bombay ... One day I had to show some reports to Mr Moolgaokar, our chairman, who we all knew as SM. I was in his office on The first floor of Bombay House (the Tata headquarters) when, suddenly JRD walked in. That was the first time I saw "appro JRD". Appro means

"our" in Gujarati. This was the affectionate term by which people at Bombay House called him.

I was feeling very nervous, remembering my postcard episode. SM Introduced me nicely, "Jeh (that's what his close associates called him), this Young woman is an engineer and that too a postgraduate.

She is the first woman to work on the Telco shop floor." JRD looked at me .. I was praying he would not ask me any questions about my interview (or the postcard that preceded it).

Thankfully, he didn't. Instead, he remarked. "It is nice that girls are getting into engineering in our country. By the way, what is your name?"

"When I joined Telco I was Sudha Kulkarni, Sir," I replied. "Now I am Sudha Murthy." He smiled and kindly smile and started a discussion with SM. As for me, I almost ran out of the room.

After that I used to see JRD on and off. He was the Tata Group chairman And I was merely an engineer. There was nothing that we had in common. I was In awe of him.

One day I was waiting for Murthy, my husband, to pick me up after office hours. To my surprise I saw JRD standing next to me. I did not know how to react.. Yet again I started worrying about that postcard. Looking back, I realize JRD had forgotten about it. It must have been a small incident for him, but not so for me.

"Young lady, why are you here?" he asked. "Office time is over." I said, "Sir, I'm waiting for my husband to come and pick me up." JRD said, "It is getting dark and there's no one in the corridor.

I'll wait with you till your husband comes."

I was quite used to waiting for Murthy, but having JRD waiting alongside made me extremely uncomfortable.

I was nervous. Out of the corner of my eye I looked at him. He wore a simple white pant and shirt. He was old, yet his face was glowing. There wasn't any air of superiority about him. I was thinking, "Look at this person. He is a chairman, a well-respected man in our country and he is waiting for the sake of an ordinary employee."

Then I saw Murthy and I rushed out. JRD called and said, "Young lady, Tell your husband never to make his wife wait again." In 1982 I had to resign from my job at Telco. I was reluctant to go, but I really did not have a choice. I was coming down the steps of Bombay House after wrapping up my final settlement when I saw JRD coming up. He was absorbed in thought. I wanted to say goodbye to him, so I stopped. He saw me and paused.

Gently, he said, "So what are you doing, Mrs Kulkarni?" (That was the Way he always addressed me.) "Sir, I am leaving Telco." "Where are you going?" he asked. "Pune, Sir. My husband is starting a company called Infosys and I'm shifting to Pune."

"Oh! And what will you do when you are successful."

"Sir, I don't know whether we will be successful." "Never start with diffidence," he advised me. "Always start with confidence. When you are successful you must give back to society. Society gives us so much; we must reciprocate. I wish you all the best."

Then JRD continued walking up the stairs. I stood there for what seemed like a millennium. That was the last time I saw him alive. Many years later I met Ratan Tata in the same Bombay House, occupying the chair JRD once did. I told him of my many sweet memories of working with Telco. Later, he wrote to me, "It was nice hearing about Jeh from you. The sad part is that he's not alive to see you today."

I consider JRD a great man because, despite being an extremely busy person, he valued one postcard written by a young girl seeking justice. He must have received thousands of letters everyday. He could have thrown mine away, but he didn't do that. He respected the intentions of that unknown girl, who had neither influence nor money, and gave her an opportunity in his company. He did not merely give her a job; he changed her life and mindset forever.

Close to 50 per cent of the students in today's engineering colleges are girls. And there are women on the shop floor in many industry segments. I see these changes and I think of JRD. If at all time stops and asks me what I want from life, I would say I wish JRD were alive today to see how the company we started has grown. He would have enjoyed it wholeheartedly.

My love and respect for the House of Tata remains undiminished by the passage of time.. I always looked up to JRD. I saw him as a role model for his simplicity, his generosity, his kindness and the care he took of his employees. Those blue eyes always reminded me of the sky; they had the same vastness and magnificence.

(Sudha Murthy is a widely published writer and chairperson of the Infosys Foundation involved in a number of social development initiatives. Infosys chairman Narayana Murthy is her husband.)

Article sourced from: Lasting Legacies (Tata Review- Special Commemorative Issue 2004), brought out by the house of Tatas to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of JRD Tata on July 29, 2004.

Updated quote in s/w industry

Forgiving or punishing
the terrorists
is left to God.
But,
fixing their appointment
with God
is our responsibility
- Indian Army

Updated statement for this in S/W INDUSTRY........
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Forgiving or punishing
the Developer
is left to Manager.
But,
fixing their appointment
with Manager
is our responsibility
- Tester


We all knew that..... but this one is for the finishing touch, damn good.
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Forgiving or punishing
the Manager
is left to Client.
But,
fixing their appointment
with Client
is our responsibility
- Developer J

Sourav's 100th test match

Hail, centurion

Rahul Bhattacharya

December 25, 2007

'A hundred Tests is a statistic that privileges character above ability - as sport ultimately must © AFP

The gently exasperating and always engrossing Sourav Ganguly has reached 100 Tests. What a scandal! What about the obit writers! They've been at it for longer than anybody can remember, certainly from much before our centurion had appeared in his first Test. In his current, serenely paternal avatar, you can see him putting a sympathetic arm on their shoulders: "See, it happens..."

Ganguly, at various points of his career, was supposed to have been the teenage upstart who would not carry drinks; the symbol of Jagmohan Dalmiya's awful hegemony over the good game; the captain who backed a dud, name of Yuvraj Singh, because the two shared an agent; and the ex-captain who jeopardised his team's chances at a World Cup by trying to make a few extra bucks on his bat-logo contract. Reading the newspapers you would think the man ought not ever be allowed onto a field, a view match referees too seemed to concur with.

Underestimating Ganguly is among the game's more frequent misjudgements, a point he seems to be almost gleefully alive to. Sooner or later every detractor is charmed, bar perhaps one former coach.

This has been a well-earned century. A hundred Tests is hardly the phenomenon it once was. Forty players have gone past the mark in the last two decades, and ten in the last couple of years alone. But it still speaks of longevity - that is, the capacity to overcome hard times. It is a statistic that privileges character above ability, as sport ultimately must. Close to half of Ganguly's Tests have been while in possession of the maddest job in the business. And every innings from him right now is all the more poignant because there has been something more to his story. It was not the cricketer who was written off; it was the whole man.

Aside from the facts that Greg Chappell neither worked with Ganguly during his comeback and never ever wanted him back in the team, Chappell can be credited with the revival. In other words, Chappell's intervention made it an izzat ka sawaal (question of honour). Thus, our reassuringly lethargic Bengali was stirred into issuing his trainer the instruction, "Make me do anything that I haven't done for the last ten years", and was thereafter seen running about in Eden Gardens with a parachute attached to his rear, or moving into kickboxing stances. More instructive than his batting in first-class cricket was his bowling.

The movement, though, took some defeating. Chappell's management of cricketers may have been suspect, but he was a rousing leader of editors. When the words "cancer", "manipulative", "corrupted" and "past his sell-by date in all ways" find themselves in a single paragraph in an email from coach to journalists, you know what tone this campaign is going to take.

The issue is not whether Ganguly needed to be dropped from captaincy, or even the team, or even that he is doing well now. It was the response. You would have thought there was a civil-rights matter at hand. In fact, this was only a man who had temporarily lost his way. So it was that an editor supporting the revolution might shake his head when Ganguly was among the runs in domestic cricket and gravely pronounce, 'Not good for Indian cricket.' Classic scenes.

	Close to half of Ganguly's Tests have been while in possession of the maddest job in the business. And every innings from him right now is all the more poignant because there has been something more to his story. It was not the cricketer who was written off; it was the whole man

To watch him put together this fabulous year of batting has been fulfilling. He has confronted pace and bounce in South Africa, swing and seam in England, and the sneaky low pitches in the home series against Pakistan. He has done the rescue act (Johannesburg, Bangalore), played the key match-turner (Johannesburg, Trent Bridge, Delhi), and constructed precisely the epic that even his staunchest supporters thought was beyond him (Bangalore).

At the crease he cuts an uncluttered picture. In his newer stance, adjusted after seeking the opinion of Zaheer Abbas, he stands far more upright, less languid but more effective than before, particularly on the leg. The re-focusing walk towards square leg after every ball is tiring to even watch, but it does the job. He has become an excellent leaver of the ball.

Some of his batting has transcended context. There was something magical about his fifty at The Oval; coming from 11 for 3, with that much-cherished series victory in the slyest danger, it was valuable for what it achieved but memorable for its utter sleekness, the ball sliding off his bat like ice on marble. His second-innings 91 in Bangalore, because of its pace, because it made batting on such a difficult surface look easy, contained a touch of genius. If he carries this form through the Australian tour, this will have been a body of high accomplishment.

And it will also alter the way history judges him. His reputation as possibly the best and certainly the most successful captain India have had was secure, but he was also seen, accurately, as a batsman who could not fully live up to his exceptional talent. With this burst of productivity he has gone past Gundappa Viswanath in runs and centuries, is not far behind Dilip Vengsarkar, and at this moment averages more than either. Players, leaders in particular, are remembered by their image. But there is a kind of finality in figures. Centurions know that better than anybody.