Dangling Strands

One liner for India

2008-07-25T05:59:00.000-07:00

I happened to come by a sentence in a Hindi Movie, truly depicting how Secular India is. :)

Non Indian: "Where are you from"?

Indian: "I come from a Nation in which a Catholic women steps aside for a Sikh to be sworn in as the Prime Minister, under a Muslim President for a country with more than 80% Hindus"

sAtP

In a fix ... How do I respond 2 Beggars?

2008-06-12T01:53:00.000-07:00

I was in a Sleeper class Train compartment, during my recent journey back home. Many of us are not unfamiliar with Beggars asking for money. I am at times chivalrous enough to pass on some bucks and parallely chary to chide them away depending on the situations.

I was all alone and idle in the train, I made my mind to list different ways in which money is being begged in Indian Railways -

1. Lady with a baby child, asking for money to feed the kid.

2. Mother with her daughter in wedding dress asking for money to resume the stopped marriage.

3. Small kids singing songs and asking money as a reward.

4. Old paled out men/women asking for money saying he/she is hungry.

5. Young boy asking money to support his Old grandfather who accompanies him with a walking stick.

6. People claiming they have diseases and need to get some expensive operations done.

7. Kids cleaning the floor and requesting for coins as a service charge.

8. Genderqueer/Eunuchs who demand money to halt them being vulgar.

9. Physically disabled people - cribbing god for their fate and requesting money for sustainability.

My school teacher always used to say - "Never give Beggars money - They should bend their backs and work to earn their bread".

I cant completely agree - A physically disabled person needs lot of support to start earning himself. A begging child can alone cant pay her tuition fee n go to school. How many Old Age Homes would take all 70+ and take care of them? Who would give a eunuch a job?

On the flip side, did the daughter's marriage really stop? Did the guy really have a heart problem? Does the women who begs for her child, really have one ?

Confusion when I give money - I make them more lethargic and lazy showing that Begging is infact a profession to earn money.

Confusion when I dont give money - Feel really guilty for not lending in a rupee and helping the needy.

Long Term Solution: ????

My First Published IEEE Paper

2008-04-28T04:13:00.000-07:00

The title does not mean that I have a second IEEE Paper. I have one and below is the link -

Click to read the abstract of my IEEE Paper

Name of Paper:
QCA based Multiplexing of 16 Arithmetic & Logical Subsystems-A paradigm for Nano Computing

Authors:
Myself-Satish, Santhosh Kasavajjala, Vishnu

Area:
Nano-Electronics

Theme and Idea:
Realizing Digital Systems like ALUs at Nano level.

ISBN: 978-1-4244-1908-1

My Take:

IEEE paper is a deal, not a very big deal
Decent Innovative Ideas are well accepted by IEEE
Your Paper or work need not match the standards like "Invention of Transistor"
You loose the phobia of Technical Papers, moreover you are not apprehensive and psyched when somebody says - "That Professor has 100 IEEE papers ". I am just 99 away.

Finally,

I joined the IEEE Elite group of Authors - William Shockley, John Bardeen, Walter Brattain and Satish Polisetti :)
So how far am I from a Nobel Prize?

Why is Nov 20th unmatched?

2008-04-23T00:38:00.000-07:00

§ Official Flag Day in UK as Queen Elizabeth II married Lt Philip Mountbattenin in 1947

§ Universal Children's Day according to UNICEF

§ Anniversary of the Mexico Revolution (1910)

§ Teacher's Day in Vietnam

§ Maximinus - Great Roman Emperor born in 270 AD

§ Tipu Sultan - also known as The Tiger of Mysore, born in 1750

§ Queen Alexandra of United Kingdom left for her heavenly abode in 1925

§ Microsoft Windows 1.0 was released in 1985

§ SETI - Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence started in 1984

§ World War II: Hungary, Romania and Slovakia join the Axis Powers, in 1940

§ Ukraine was declared Republic in 1917

And above all... I was born on this day in 1984

Problem Solving FlowChart

2008-04-22T23:45:00.000-07:00

Q> Is this how any industry works?

A> Definitely, yes in Semiconductor Business.

Ride to Devarayanadurga - Drive Click Hungry

2008-04-18T05:50:00.000-07:00

You are pissed enough with riding through the traffic of Bangalore, but with the persistent pressure of my BITS roommate - Vamsi, we backed our first ride to Nandi Hills with the second to Devarayanadurga.

The total drama can be broken into three stages - Drive, Click and Hungry :)

Curtains Rise - Scene 1 - Drive
5 Bitsians and 2 non Bitsians started around 5:00 AM in the morning and hit NH4. Rain, Trucks played the spoilsport. We went on, via Yeshwantpur to Dasarahalli to Tumkur Road. After reaching Dobbaspet, it is better to inquire from the locals for the directions. Honestly, we took all bakwas route through forests to reach the destination.

Scene 2 - Click
One sole advantage was a small hilltop in this way - which had steps carved, statues n small temple. As usual, time for flashes and poses.
We reached the destination and spent some time moving around and taking pictures each destined for Orkut, Facebook, Blogs etc.

Scene 3 - Hungry
Things got worse on our way back to the city. Traffic, muddy roads and to add, we did not know the route to take. With no breakfast our bellies were craving for food. The first rice particle entered our oesophagus pipe when clock ticked 2:30 PM.

I am a part of National Shame !!!

2008-03-10T23:06:00.000-07:00

National symbols are intrinsic to the Indian identity and heritage. Indians of all demographics backgrounds across the world are proud of these National Symbols as they instill a sense of pride and patriotism in every Indian's heart.

Shame No:1 - India did not qualify for Olympics 2008 in Hockey - National Game, happened for the first time in 80 years after it sent its first team in 1928.

Shame No:2 - Results show an alarming decline in the number of Tigers, National Animal of India.

I was going through these news articles and started abusing and criticizing IHF, Indian Hockey Federation and Ministry of Forest, in short the government thinking they did not take the right steps and responsibility to retain the pride and the royal grace of our National Symbols.

Introspection showed that I could be in some or the other way the reason for this National Shame.

How I brought in the 1st cent of shame?

I can hardly name 4 current Indian Hockey Players. I only heard the name of Dyan Chand and I bet I cannot recognize him if someone shows his portrait. Dhanraj Pillay is the only Hockey player I can recognize.

Having said that, I am no exception. Many Engineers, Doctors and Graduates who have grown up with the fantasy and passion for cricket hardly care about humongous other sports, and the Indians who try to bring a light into them.

Logic is simple, my knowledge is low about hockey => I drive low passion to watch it => I drive less money through sponsors => Less number people play this => Competitive Spirit is less => We lower the standard and quality of our game.

Hence, I am a part of National Shame in one way :(

How I brought the 2nd cent of shame?

Poaching is of course the prime reason for the reduction in number. Smuggled skins fetch poachers a lot of money which they use for living, food etc. But there could be a teeny tiny possibility that deforestation could lead to habitat disorder for Tigers.
Logic again simple - I always leave my computer locked and power on before leaving office => more power consumption => requirement of more thermal power => deforestation.

Yes, I am a great contribution to National Shame :(

Many asked me what my Resolutions of the New Year were, though it is 3 months I wish to make few today -

1. Try to learn a little about Hockey and watch the game. Learn and find Indians in other sports too.
2. Try max to save power and paper.
3. Sponsor a small portion of money to a Tiger cub in some zoo. In this way, the zoo authorities would be more instrumental to create the right habitat. (I stole this idea from an ex-colleague)

I blog my resolutions so that I keep myself reminded just in case the thought-strand slips by.

SatP

First Drive to see Sunrise at Nandi Hills - Lucky and Unlucky

2008-02-20T00:42:00.000-08:00

It was January 26th, when I set myself off to my first bike ride from Bangalore towards Nandi Hills along with 3 buddies - Vamsi, Laddu and Raffi.
Nandi Hills is around 70 kms Bangalore and has some Tipu Sultan history around it. It is known for early morning rides, so as to get on top of the hill before the sunrise. Depending on the place one stays, one needs to figure out when to wake up and get driving.

We started around 3.45 AM and reached at 5:45 AM. I know 2 hrs is too much for 70kms, but we got lost on our way, which happens with many First Timers.
Route is pretty simple - atleast the one, which we took. Old Madras Road-next-Hebbal-next-NH7 towards Devenahalli. You need to watch out in the fog and mist for a board giving signs for Nandi Hills -26kms away, onto your left after Devenahalli. The ride onto the top is very steep and exciting. It would not pump your adrenaline but definitely challenging.

You can park your vehicle near the fort gate, buy tickets, buy food stuff and walk some distance to reach the peak of the hill. Wait here for the Sun God to say Hi!!

We did have terrific time, with hill top views, sun rays and clouds. I described the total ride to a colleague and he motivated his friends for a similar drive. He got too lucky. Clouds were below the hill => they were standing on top of clouds. Snaps speak for themselves. We were little unlucky for missing the clouds.

SATTVA - Realising Equilibrium in Social Change

2008-02-18T00:51:00.000-08:00

I am a staunch believer that every human being irrespective of the profession - IT, law, fashion, operations, finance, marketing, medicine, arts, engineering, services has a soft social corner deep down his/her heart.

There always exists a spark within us to contribute for the under privileged and extend a helping hand to bring more light into their lives.

Seldom do we actually go forward and really satiate this spark burning inside us. There could be several reasons –

Roadblock 1: Deadlines/busy at work

Roadblock 2: Family responsibilities

Roadblock 3: Social commitments

Roadblock 4: Not being aware of social activities around us to join and contribute :(

The first three can be handled effectively by oneself. But we at Sattva aim to remove the 4^th roadblock – by bringing transparency and awareness of the social activities around Bangalore.

Motivation:

One could be interested in working for child education. Another would like to help the disabled. Third likes to spend time with the mentally retarded. How do I find the correct organization which work in each of these areas?
One has time to donate money. Second can spend a couple of hours. Third is ready to work full time for an NGO. Where do I find a group which can fit my schedules?

Sattva is a monthly e-magazine with the vision to be an effective platform for the sharing of news, views and appreciation of the social change process, thus raising awareness and encouraging individuals and organizations to meaningfully contribute to society.

Our objective is to provide a scaffold to NGOs, activists, volunteers and concerned citizens to work or start work towards the social sector.

Bangalore is fully alive, there is so much going on, so many new initiatives, activities, awareness programmes, workshops, volunteer groups and social movements!

We seek to cull out the spirit of all this while stressing that all this must come together to find the essential balance. Hence- "Sattva-Realising Equilibrium in Social Change."

Every month one issue/topic such as Third Sex, Windows, Child Adoption, Disabled, Education, Secularism etc related to Bangalore will be dealt with in our e-magazine. We will also bring to you the lesser known people, organizations and events that make the bigger difference.

You can find us at http://www.itihas.org.in/sattva.html

and blog available at http://sattva-blog.blogspot.com/

Trek @ Masinagudi and Safari @ Bandipur

2008-02-15T02:58:00.000-08:00

A sense of nostalgia clouds me over when I recollect my first Trek Trip to Masinagudi, for it was the last one as an employee of Qualcomm. It was a 2 day trip covering Wild Life at Bandipur forest, Trek in Masinagudi jungle and Gopalaswamy Betta - a hill top historic temple.

Now I am not that macho boy who can rock climb, but this trek was lot easier. And coz this is my first trek, there are some learnings which u sink in.

Lesson 1: Watch your foot. Sliding, slipping, falling are not uncommon.
Lesson 2: Get used to Multi-Task. See, when u trek in a jungle - walking with firm steps like a dumb ass would not solve the purpose.

U need to -
a) Walk forward in the jungle and
b) Watch Trees, Flowers, mountains around
c) Hear the sounds the nature is leaving behind with streams of water, leaves, birds, n other ecological xyz.

d) Look out for foot marks of Tigers, Elephants (gives u satisfaction that n seconds earlier a Tiger walked along the same route)

e) Make no sound (coz it could distract animals and you could miss seeing them from distance)
f) Keep a track of your guide and group (for god sake u can't get lost in a forest)
g) Listen to the stories which your guide unfolds. These include how he got bitten by a Bear, how he fought a Tiger - good ones to pass your time through.
f) Photography:SNAPS - most important to many of us who want to show off that we trek

As said, I was with my Qualcomm colleagues.
We were 20 adults+4kids = huge group => Lot of phun.

We gathered and started at 7 AM on December 8th 2007 from Sara's (colleague who deserves a special mention later) house. Breakfast at Kamat hotel (awesome food) around 10 AM. The route was through Mysore via Nanjangud. We crossed Sholur Town to notice the local Panchayats and their - "What an IDEA Sirji" discussions.

We crossed the Border check and were approaching our destination when cross landscapes, tall trees, deers and monkeys made the drive all more pleasant.

Forest Hill Resorts - is where we stayed. I truly recommend this place, coz of its good rooms, cool ambiance and top of that - great food. They would provide u guides during trek too.

We could cover Madumalai and Bandipur Wild Life Sanctuary on Saturday evening. Don't expect to see lions or tigers, all we could find were bisons and its friends, monkeys (they are everywhere), deers (who posed a lot for our cameras) and Mr Dad Elephant, Ms Mom Elephant and their loved one.
The safari was for 50 min and we were back to our cottages around 6.30 PM. Followed was dinner and phun at campfire.

Just when we thought of going back to our cottages - something happened which changed the total course of the trip. The climate was all same and the night breeze was getting more chilly. There was some synchronized symphony going in the air. Smiles, laugh, giggles touched my ears.

The origin for the acoustics was - Sara and his split personality :) within him. In his new incarnation - he started jacking one after the other. Narrated umpteen stories criticizing and mocking everything possible on earth. Victims were Dipanwita, Neelam, Manisha, Vinil, Deepika and Bitsians in general. I can pledge that I never laughed so much in my life, and that too for so long.

Finally around 11.30 PM we were back onto our beds, only to recollect some fanatic arguments of Sara and laugh over.

Next day - 9th December, was the actual trek. Started a little late around 8 AM, carried some sandwiches. Married female junta stayed back to take care of kids. Came across a couple of waterfalls. Kacccchak - Kodak Moments!!

After exercising our bodies which equals working out for near to 4 days in a gym, we headed back finished our lunch. Bought a souvenir - tshirt, packed our stuff and bid farewell to Forest Hills Resorts.

Stopped by the historic temple at Gopalswamy Betta and drove back to reach Bangalore around 10 PM on Sunday.

Wooow!! Great job by the organizers : {Vi+Su}(nil).
One more flower into my Garland of Memories :)

Dinner @ Ambrosia, Singapore

2008-02-14T04:06:00.000-08:00

It was Jan 30th, 2008 and I met my IGP (International Graduate Program) buddies in Singapore for Dinner.
The restaurant was called "Ambrosia" in Arab Street, pretty close to Little India. The ambiance filled in a sense of exhilaration. It has a touch of Indo Arabic league. They called themselves to stand for 'Divine Pleasure' and so was it. The cuisine was Mediterranean and taste was worth trying.

I did spend time in USA over lunch when I had French, Americans, Japanese along but all of them were above my age. This somehow diluted the flow in which I could put my questions and take the conversations along.

But this dinner was different - I had One Czech girl, 2 German girls, 1 German guy and 1 Turkish to join me. And over that, all around my age or few years senior to me. I could clearly see how well the topics were coming forward and the manner in which we could network among ourselves.

One can easily find me in the snap above - the odd one out (Dark)

We talked about festivals in India to October Fest in Munich, to night life in UK to Political stand in Turkey. Good was the food, sweet were the people, and great was the Dinner Meet - truly unleashing the Divine Pleasure in some terms.

Swapping Control Key and Caps Lock for Effective use of Emacs

2008-02-12T06:11:00.000-08:00

This post would be helpful to all those sitting out there to use Emacs in an effective way. By the way for non-techy guys/gals, Emacs is an Editor similar to Gvim and Vi.

I find Emacs more efficient and useful than any other editor. You could treat this as one way to push others to Emacs :)

On Windows and Mac keyboards unlike Sun Keyboards the Ctrl key is awkwardly located in the far lower-left position on the keyboard. The Ctrl key is critical to using Emacs at all times, so you'll never become an Emacs virtuoso unless you move it to an easier position. That position should be on Home Row, so Caps Lock is the best choice. That's the location of the Control key on most Unix workstation keyboards, for precisely that reason.

To do this on Windows 2000 or XP requires some registry hacking. From the Start menu, choose Run and enter "regedit". In the left-side tree view, click down to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout

Click on the KeyboardLayout entry to give it the focus. Make sure it has the focus and not one of its children. Then from the Edit menu, choose New Binary Value, and name it Scancode Map. It should show as type REG_BINARY.

Then select the new Scancode Map entry you just created, and from the Edit menu (whose contents should have changed), choose Modify Binary Data. In the dialog box called Edit Binary Value, enter the following data:

0000: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0008: 03 00 00 00 3A 00 1D 00
0010: 1D 00 3A 00 00 00 00 00

Select OK to close the dialog, then exit the Registry Editor. The caps and ctrl keys should be swapped as soon as you log out and back in again. It may require a reboot.

You are all set to use Emacs more effectively. Happy Coding!!

J1 Visa Waiver from 2 Year Home Rule - Simple Steps

2008-02-11T02:24:00.000-08:00

J1 Visa is required for every student who wishes to pursue an internship/co-op term in

USA

for a period ranging from 0-18 months.

The other famous and well heard Visas in India are-
H1 – Employment
B1 – Business
L1 – Internal Company Transfer
F1 – Higher Education Full Time

This post is keeping Indian students in mind and it would cover the important aspect or issue called “2 Year Home Rule” according to section 212(E) of INA and all the confusion around it.

General scenario is that the students who pursue an Internship term in USA is asked to stay in India for a period of 2 yrs before (s)/he gets back to USA.

Reason: (S)/he are expected to share the knowledge which (s)/he gained over his/her period of stay in USA with India.

Logically correct, but personally I would not like to have some restriction as this though we are or not prepared for a MS or MBA in near future.

I was in a similar situation and learnt that there are not one but two ways to get out of this. Let us call them Door 1 and Door2. Door 1 is open to only few who get their internship in electronics, marketing etc. An internship in programming has high chances of closing Door1. Door 2 is open to all. Irrespective of what kind of internship you do, Door2 is always a way out, but is very lengthy and time taking.

Note: You might have heard of I-20 which is a document released to students to get their F1 Visa for MS. Similarly you get a DS-2019 form to get your J1 Visa. Procedure to get your DS-2019 is a separate story. Say at this junction you somehow managed to get your DS-2019.

There is one specific section of your DS-2019, Section: 4 which nearly determine whether you can get a waiver from the 2 Year Home Rule or not.

As you can see in the picture, your DS 2019 form has “Subject/Field Code” – 52.1499. Each of these codes has a one on one mapping with specific Field like Electronics, Marketing, Accounting or Programming etc.

The detailed list of all the codes with all the fields with which it is mapped is available at http://polisettisatish.googlepages.com/DS_2019_codes.pdf

Door 1
Step1: Make a note of your Subject Code in Section 4 of DS2019 and find the related Field using the above document.

For example in my case, my Subject code was 52.1499 which correspond to “Marketing” as per the document.

Step2: Now you need to find the Revised Exchange Visitor Skill List available at http://polisettisatish.googlepages.com/SkillList.pdf. In this document each country in the world would mention few areas in which it needs knowledge. For example you would find India requirements (in Page 2476) – meaning India needs knowledge in Group 9N Banking, Group 5U Population Studies etc. It does not list down 9R Marketing or 4H Electronics.

From Step1 you know the area/field which your code refers to. Now you need to find the Group in which this area falls under. For example in my case – “Marketing” corresponds to Group 9R according to the second document.

Step3: Pray your brains out that the group found out in Step 2 (that is 9R in my case)is not present in India’s Skill List in Page 2476. In my case group 9R, is not present at the place where India requirements were listed and hence I can get a waiver through Door1. Incase you find your group as 5U, since it is listed in India’s section in Page2476, you are not eligible to go through Door1.

Step4: Say you decoded that you are open to Door1 from Step3, there is a simple letter which you need to write to the Department of State and get the Waiver. And you are all set to get away from the 2 Year Home Rule.

You can find the letter which I compiled at this link - http://polisettisatish.googlepages.com/WaiverRequest.doc

The Waiver Letter which you get from the Department of State would look like this –
http://polisettisatish.googlepages.com/WaiverLetterfromUSDepartment.jpg

Door2 is pretty complicated. This is a more formal way to get your Waiver and requires you to get No Obligation Certifiate (NOC) from varied government sources of India both at State and Central Levels. One of my senior has gone through this process and I might help you point him if necessary. (See update on 8th Nov 2011 below for complete process)

Happy Interning!!

Update on Nov 16th 2009 - I have been receiving mails and comments for a person who can be contacted for Door 2 approach. One of my friend recently finished the long process and he can be reached at - ramcha675@gmail.com ... Hope that my post now helps people sailing in both boats.... Happy Interning !! once again .. :)

Update on March 17th 2010 - I heard that the US Dept of state issued a fresh skill set from 2009 - http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_4514.html

Update on Nov 8th 2011 (big update!) - My friend and myself have been getting several mails about the process and also how the blog has been helpful for them. We are happy that all the information we share here is coming to good use.

Dr Anindita Chaudhuri (anichau2001@gmail.com) approached us last year about the Door 2 process - and she was kind enough to share the entire process titled - "J1 (US) waiver for Indian nationals applying from India (non-medical)"

Link - https://docs.google.com/open?id=1Isc_LH0Rlz-G5Z1Ci6G02epMbSf49h-SHQDPXVwSuuOgw5zGVd5it-h85ONt

We thank Anindita for her effort.

Disclaimer: This approach and analysis was purely from what I have gathered from different sources. I do not stand by anyone to get a waiver, even if he/she follows this procedure. There could be different situations which would have lead you to get a J1 Visa. US Waiver Department decides on whether a case should be given or rejected a Waiver. I only wanted to pass the information I know. The same holds with my friend - the Door 2 contact, I have shared. We are not legal advocates - so consider/follow the procedure at your will. Thanks again!

Thanks - Satish Polisetti

You can reach me at - polisettisatish@gmail.com

OPT could increase to 29 months

2007-11-14T23:14:00.000-08:00

Nineteen U.S. senators have written to Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff earlier this week asking to extend the Optional Practical Training (OPT) visa for international students from the current 12 months to 29 months, according to the World Journal.

The OPT visas allow international students to legally work in the United States for up to 12 months after they graduate.

During that time, they can apply for their H1B work visas.But this spring, the 2008 quota of H1B visas was used up on the first day.

To retain the American university-educated high tech graduates in the workforce for a longer period so as to maintain the United States’s competitive edge over other countries, the 19 senators, including Patrick Leahy (D-VT.), John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), asked for the extension.

Indian and Chinese students are the two largest groups among international students and this news could motivate many more to apply for their Higher Education in USA.

Source: NCMonline News

Hogenakal Falls

2007-11-03T02:23:00.000-07:00

It has been over a year I left BITS campus and when I recollect the memories of the places like Rishikesh, Haridwar, Agra, Jaipur, Jaisalmer etc around Rajasthan, they often make me nostalgic.

Corporate work always clouds you from the phun you used to have during your college days. We, few employees of Qualcomm were lucky to find some time to breathe on Nov 1st, Karnataka Formation Day, a declared HR holiday. Good were we, to snatch on this teeny tiny opportunity to pull out one of our most memorable trip to Hogenakal Falls near to Bangalore.

Hogenakal Falls is in Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu state along the border with Karnataka, is one of the beautiful waterfalls in southern India on the Kaveri alias Cauvery River. “Hoge” in Kannada means smoke and “Kal” means rock – with the essence that when water falls on the rocks it would appear as smoke is emanating out of the them.

The destination is around 170kms from Bangalore, so you would spend nearly 3-4 hrs in travel on either side. Hence starting early in the day is ideal to make the best use of your time near the falls and in the water.

Homework:
We booked a Tempo Traveler (TT) since we were 10 in number. I sincerely advise a TT over Qualis/Sumo, coz you carry a lot of stuff apart from yourself. We discussed a check list and ensured we had all of them on the following day.

Few include Frisbee, lot of water, first-aid kit, playing cards, Good Music (which I ensured was Met !!), snacks to munch, couple of digital cameras, plastic ball to play in the water etc.
From individual point of view, we carried some dosh, jackets, extra clothes to change from your wet ones, towels, caps, goggles etc. Shucks, Im going too much into the Details :(

Start of Travel:
It was around 8AM by the time we picked up the last person and everything was set for our journey. We went via the Silk Board, onto the road which goes to Electronic City towards Hosur. Since the destination is in TN, we had a Border Check kinda stuff, where the documents of the vehicle were verified. The process took nearly 45 minutes. We were still very drowsy.

Breaking our fast and drowsiness:
Next stop was Sarvana Bhavan for breakfast, where we literally hogged. We savoured the quality of Dosa, Upma and Vada. I suggest anyone who is planning to Hogenakal should stop by this place. After all, Good Food is what we are living for…Donno about others, atleast I am !!
It was around 10AM by the time we were done here.

Towards Destination:
One significant difference which I found with Karnataka and TN were the Roads. With good drive songs such as Mumbai Salsa, Mauja Hi Mauja and green fields around the drive was pretty smooth and exciting.
Snaps in Sugarcane fields and Anthyaakshari were the exciting segments before we reached the destination.

Start with Bargaining:
The only way you go near the falls and the small islands around is with a Coracle. The first step we did after reaching the place was to get the best bargain for the Coracle ride to span for the entire day. Each coracle can accommodate 5. I have seen coracles in movies, but boarding it for the first time was very different. You are damn close to the water and feel like somebody is holding u and sailing you over the small ripples of the river.

All the Phun:
After the initial ride in the coracle, we trekked for a while to reach onto the other side of a mountain. This was to ensure that our coracle was in the direction of the water current. We found that well cooked fish was being sold, and did not think to go back without relishing it. We ordered some rice along with the fish for our lunch to be delivered on the island which was our next destination.

Our second coracle ride was towards the Hogenakal Falls. It was just getting better. We were nourishing the scenic beauty as we approached close to it. We climbed onto the small rocks and reached the place where we got the full view of the waterfall. It was like a white blanket fluttering over the mountain and finally settling itself with the water beneath. Click Click Few Canon Powershot Moments !!!

Island:
The third coracle ride to reach the Island. This time it was drizzling with tiny drops of water falling from above and below. You are sailing in the water, munching some Lays, and with small droplets touching your cheeks …Boy it was one lovely experience.

We spend real good time in the water after reaching the Island, played with Frisbee, took support of others to float, tried all junk stuff..and as usual…Click Click Few Kodak Moments!!

The guys who were sailing our coracles asked if we wanted some Body Massage. One of my buddies and me partially undressed to have this royal experience with mustard oil. You never realize there are so many muscles in your body which could twist and turn without pain. I was a kid when my Mom used to give me a bath. This time I was sitting thousands of Kms away from my native place, half naked, with oil all over my body, getting bathed with a stranger in middle of a River. Can it get any Royal than this??
Click Click…few snaps taken, but censured….for good of public.

Last Coracle Ride:
The last coracle ride before we paid them and got into our TTs. The time was around 5.30PM and the sun is no more scorching. It was a pleasant evening and you get this feeling that there is no one else in the river apart from your coracle. We could hear the chirping of birds, sounds of water splashing, brushing of leaves and stems. The tranquility of the place puts you in a pseudo paradise, and your soul craves for the same to continue. The cool breeze and clear sky made us so attached to the nature that, we wished to stick our butts and sleep in the coracle for the whole night.

Towards the Silicon Plateau of India, Bangalore:
We boarded the TT after having some hot coffee and reached our homes at 11:00 PM with hell lot of memories in mind. Rain God was damn good and did not disturb any of our plans.

Expenses:
Each coracle – 5 seater – Rs 600/-
Entrance Fee – 150/- (including two places)
Rice and Fish – pretty cheap
Royal Massage and Bath – Rs 150/-
Tempo Traveller – Rs 8/- per Km

Road Tax at the Border - Rs 1000/-

Driver Charges - Rs 300/-

Though this was our first trip together, the total experience pumped us with energy good enough, that we are all set to visit many more places around Bangalore.

Job Portal Commercials - R they Raising Qualms ?

2007-10-20T04:49:00.000-07:00

“If you don’t have a Job, Chill!! Get others some jobs”. With the economy booming and the variety of jobs ranging from HR, IT, Engineering, Marketing, Graduate Trainees, Internships available in India with national and MNCs, starting a Consultancy could fetch good money.

Advertising has taken giant leaps in India. Commercials of Mentos, “Dimag ki batti jala de”, Hutch 2 Vodafone, Time of India are true examples of innovative, creative thinking and making.

The famous job portals in India- Naukri.com, Monster.com, TimesJobs.com, ClickJobs.com have taken another approach in advertising. Let us see each of them –

a) Naukri.com – Mock your Boss
You might have seen this famous commercial of HARI SADU, the employee spells the name of his boss as, H-Hitler, A-Arrogant, R-Rascal, I-Idiot. The essence being, the employee is secured with hell lot of jobs from Naukari.com and makes fun of his boss. Motivated by him, joins another employee who hints for S-Shameless.
Moral of the Commercial: Scold, Rebuke and Yell at your bosses at no risk.

b) Monster.com – Landing into the Right Job
Another well articulated Ad, where you find a Bharatanatyam dancer managing aerodrome traffic and a cricketer washing clothes. Monster sees the talent within them and identifies the ideal position they would be suited for. Dancer gets her stage performance chance and the cricketer joins ICL :)
Moral of the Commercial: You current job is the not the right fit for you.

c) TimesJobs.com – Your are Worth More
A confident and content employee enters his office. He is praised for his work by department heads and girls always render romantic smirks towards him. He feels big inside and elated deep within. You also find the guy is pictured almost 10 times that of his colleagues in size. Finally the pay slips are handed over when he finds his salary to be much lower compared to others. The Ad ends with the same employee shown as a microscopic human sitting in his huge chair, to showcase his lower pay scale.
Moral of Commercial: You Earn just Peanuts in your current job

d) ClickJobs.com – Get a HAPPY Job
Kumar, is associated with “Happy” in every walk of his life. He wakes up happy, house is names Happy Kumar, he drives happy, neglects high paying jobs, ignores luring perks, doesn’t care about International opportunities, because of the simple reason that he is HAPPY and CONTENT with his job. In short, ClickJobs.com can’t offer you great salaries, good perks and overseas placements but can make sure you have a HAPPY job.
Moral of Commercial: You are not Happy with your Job?

All these portals are helping many to start-find-change-switch-move to new jobs - KUDOS, but I'm worried if the same commercials are making few sensitive minds dubious about their existing jobs? Might be :( or Might be NOT :)

Bracing Start to Blogging

2007-10-16T01:19:00.000-07:00

I badly wanted to come out of this well of sluggish frogs when I started reading blogs of my seniors and friends.

Its been over an year I was out of university and “Procrastination” – the first big English vocab term I learnt in school days is still shadowing me from blogging.

Not that it is boring, just that my lazy bump doesn't take the effort to draft and post my experiences. I have hell lot of topics in mind to blog, which themselves do not have any connection and drive to a particular idea.

I ought to name these loose threads, and hence chose to name my blog as “Dangling Strands”.

After you choose a name, your mind really ponders on what topic to start with. You have this real passion to become a great blogger when u start. U wish to sound funky in the titles u choose. U wish to receive feedback, comments for every crap u scribble. But only few succeed. All this said, Im no exception. Lez see how things shape from now on.

At this juncture, I need to thank Google for acquiring Blogger.com and making it easy to connect your Gmail account to this. I am obliged to dictionary.com, a reliable source to check spellings and flick few words.

Shucks, I already started sounding dreary !!!

Cheers