Prioritizing our life .... A nice internet forward...

This is an internet forward which i received from Kiran Bhat and i thought let me have it on my blog as i felt it conveys a powerful message in a effective way.

Yesterday, I was driving, and the FM radio went off for few seconds. I thought, I should have an iPod. Then suddenly I realized that I have not used my iPod in last 6 months. And then… more things, Handy cam in last 2 years, Digital Camera in last 2 months, DVD player in last 1 month and many more. Now I can say that I bought that Handy cam just out of impulse, I have used it twice only in last 4 years.

So, whats wrong and where? When I look at myself or my friends I can see it everywhere. We are not happy with what we have but all are stressed and not happy for the things we don’t have. You have a Santro, but you want City… You have a City, but you want Skoda. Just after buying a new phone, we need another one. Better laptop, bigger TV, faster car, bigger house, more money… .I mean, these examples are endless. The point is, does it actually worth? Do we ever think if we actually need those things before we want them?

After this, I was forced to think what I need and what I don’t. May be I didn’t need this Handy cam or the iPod or that DVD player. When I see my father back at home. He has a simple BPL color tv, he doesn’t need 32″ Sony LCD wall mount. He has a cellphone worth Rs 2,500. Whenever I ask him to change the phone, he always says… “Its a phone, I need this just for calls.” And believe me; he is much happier in life than me with those limited resources and simple gadgets. The very basic reason why he is happy with so little is that he doesn’t want things in life to make it luxurious, but he wants only those things, which are making his life easier. It’s a very fine line between these two, but after looking my father’s life style closely, I got the point. He needs a cell phone but not the iPhone. He needs a TV but not the 32″ plasma. He needs a car but not an expensive one.

Initially I had lot of questions.

I am earning good, still I am not happy…why?

I have all luxuries, still I am stressed.... why?

I had a great weekend, still I am feeling tired.... why?

I met lot of people, I thought over it again and again, I still don’t know if I got the answers, but certainly figured out few things. I realize that one thing which is keeping me stressed is the “stay connected” syndrome. I realized that, at home also I am logged in on messengers, checking mails, using social networks, and on the top of that, the windows mobile is not letting me disconnected. On the weekend itself, trying to avoid unwanted calls… and that is keeping my mind always full of stress. I realized that I am spending far lesser money than what I earn, even then I am always worried about money and more money. I realized that I am saving enough money I would ever need, whenever needed. Still I am stressed about job and salary and spends.


May be, many people will call this approach “not progressive attitude“, but I want my life back. Ultimately it’s a single life, a day gone is a day gone. I believe if I am not happy tonight, I’ll never be happy tomorrow morning. I finally realized that meeting friends, spending quality time with your loved one’s; spending time with yourself is the most important thing. If on Sunday you are alone and you don’t have anybody to talk with, then all that luxuries life, all that money is wasted. May be cutting down your requirements, re-calculating your future goal in the light of today’s happiness is a worthwhile thing to do. I believe putting your happiness ahead of money is the choice we need to make.


I think, a lot can be said and done but what we need the most is re-evaluation of the value of happiness and time we are giving to our life and people associate with it.

Right to Information Act

Right to information Act is a landmark legislation passed by our parliament. In this article i would like to highlight the positive changes which has taken place after the enactment of this act and how ordinary citizens can effectively employ this in our crusade to fight against corruption. The act forces the government to behave in a transparent way making it accountable. We all pay taxes and its our right to know to what extent that money is being effectively utilised. Rajeev Gandhi had made a observation that only 15 paisa out of a rupee of the government money reaches the intended beneficiary. I regret to say that we have reached a stage where some form of corruption is acceptable to many to get the task done. This is a dangerous proposition and its implications in the long run is going to hurt our country pretty badly from all aspects.

Lets get started with a brief introduction on what RTI is all about. The information has been gathered from http://www.righttoinformation.org/faqs.asp

What is RTI ?

Right to Information Act 2005 empowers every citizen to
Ask any questions from the Government or seek any information
Take copies of any government documents
Inspect any government documents.
Inspect any Government works
Take samples of materials of any Government work.

Before i tell you how and where to submit the application and the intricacies of the process i would like to highlight its importance by citing how ordinary citizens have effectively utilized this act. NDTV recently gave away RTI awards in association with ONGC and all the examples cited here are taken from their website http://rti.ndtv.com

1. Gogoi, who is one of the best-known social activists of Assam, started an RTI investigation in March 2006, followed by a social audit, that led to the expose of a Rs 1.25 crore scam in Sampoornai Gram Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) and Rs 60 lakh scam in Indira Awas Yojana in Gamariguri block of Golaghat district.

2. RAvindra Singh: For his effort to use and encourage others to use RTI Act to expose illegalities committed by Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC) in selecting candidates for state civil services through exams conducted in 2003, 2005, and 2008.

3. An RTI activist, Dev Ashish Bhattacharya has filed over 100 RTIs so far on various issues. One of his noteworthy applications that had a large scale impact was the one filed with the Ministry of Home Affairs seeking information on foodgrain damage in FCI godowns.

4. Rajesh Bissa: For using RTI Act, to reveal large-scale irregularities and corruption in selection of a private partner for Rs 2500 crore road project and award of other large contracts by Chhattisgarh government.

5. Prashnath Kumar Dubey : For using RTI and the Media together to make child malnutrition one of the most important social, political and electoral issues in Madhya Pradesh.

6. Bharatsinh R. JhalaJhala conducted an RTI investigation to show that more farmers in Gujarat had been committing suicides than what the state government was prepared to admit, thus bringing to light economic distress of small farmers.

7. Ramesh Kumar Verma: For using RTI to expose doctors with fake degrees and also the scandal that facilitated their existence.

These are just instances where the RTI act has been instrumental in exposing corruption and bringing the culprits to books. It has also made the governments to take note of important issues and take quick action for the same.

Having highlighted the importance through case studies, I will come back to the intricacies of filing an application and the process involved.

Who will give me information?

One or more existing officers in every Government Department have been designated as Public Information Officers (PIO). These PIOs act like nodal officers. You have to file your applications with them. They are responsible for collecting information sought by you from various wings of that Department and providing that information to you. In addition, several officers have been appointed as Assistant Public Information Officers (APIOs). Their job is only to accept applications from the public and forward it to the right PIO.

Where do I submit application?

You can do that with the PIO or with APIO. In the case of all Central Government Departments, 629 post offices have been designated as APIOs. This means that you can go to any of these post offices and submit your fee and application at the RTI counter in these post offices. They will issue you a receipt and acknowledgement and it is the responsibility of that post office to deliver it to the right PIO. The list of these post offices is given at http://www.indiapost.gov.in/rtimanual16a.html


Is there any fee? How do I deposit that?

Yes, there is an application fee. For Central Government Departments, it is Rs 10. However, different states have prescribed different fee. For getting information, you have to pay Rs 2 per page of information provided for Central Government Departments. It is different for different states. Similarly, there is a fee for inspection of documents. There is no fee for first hour of inspection, but after that, you have to pay Rs. 5 for every subsequent hour or fraction thereof. This is according to Central Rules. For each state, see respective state rules.

Is there an application form for seeking information?

For Central Government Departments, there is no form. You should apply on a plain sheet of paper like an ordinary application. However, many states and some ministries and departments have prescribed formats. You should apply in these formats.

Download the application form from http://www.fixindia.org/right_to_information.php

Is there a time limit to receiving information?

Yes. If you file your application with the PIO, you must receive information within 30 days.
In case you have filed your application with Assistant PIO then information has to be made available within 35 days.
In case the matter to which the information pertains affects the life and liberty of an individual, information has to be made available in 48 hours.

There have been many good laws in this country but none of those laws worked. Why do you think this law would work?

This law is already working. This is because for the first time in the history of independent India, there is a law which casts a direct accountability on the officer for non-performance. If concerned officer does not provide information in time, a penalty of Rs 250 per day of delay can be imposed by the Information Commissioner. If the information provided is false, a penalty of a maximum of Rs 25000 can be imposed. A penalty can also be imposed for providing incomplete or for rejecting your application for malafide reasons. This fine is deducted from the officer’s personal salary.

There is lot of resistance from the bureaucracy to curtail the freedom and the power this RTI act gives to ordinary citizens. Tonnes of RTI activists are working to create awareness about this act amongst common man.

For me RTI is a right tool to expose corruption and it gives power to common man. I read in a daily the other day that RTI should be made as part of school curriculum to create awareness. I completely agree with the gentleman who made this proposal.

Next time if you feel something is going wrong with a government scheme or you feel that a recently constructed road with huge money is in pretty bad shape then its time to use RTI act and expose the corrupt practices.

Vidarbha farmers suicide..

Am back to discuss the state of Indian Agriculture and this time i focus on the much debated Vidarbha farmers suicide which made the Prime Minister to intervene and direct the then Maharashtra government to take up the matter on priority. The incident also forced the then Finance Minister Chidambaram to declare a loan waiver scheme for farmers.

Again i borrow extensively from the trusted words of P Sainath, a journalist of repute on this.

It dates back to 2006 were the six districts of Vidarbha, suicides were the order of the day. Between 2005 June to 2006 June there were 600 deaths.

The Prime Minister announced that he will be touring Vidarbha and then the Maharashtra government began to act. Officials were sent to all parts. A top bureaucrat from Mumbai in Nagpur ordered that suicides 'must stop' by the month-end. How simple that sounds. And if it is, why did they not turn off the tap earlier? Some officials, ordered out into the villages, have phoned journalists to ask: "Where should we go?" Ministers' are visiting places they've never heard of or seen in years. The Prime Minister announced Rs 3750 crore relief package, and since then over 90 suicides have were reported in a single month.

Mr Sharad Pawar, it seems, is the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) chief first and union agriculture minister later. In any case, cricket is more profitable than agriculture. Mr Pawar has missed cabinet meetings on agricultural issues at a time when farm sector crisis was that big but he did make the time to attend meetings on cricket at Doha and Qatar and elsewhere.

The then Chief minister Deshmukh and union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar who is from the state had not even visited a single suicide-affected family or village till they were forced to accompany the PM in June 06. That itself shows how serious the state government and state leaders perceived the situation to be, and it wasn't as if there were no reports. The media was writing about it, local politicians were bringing it up, sections of the bureaucracy knew what was happening. There was simply no response.

Take the minimum support price (MSP). This Congress-NCP came to power in October 2004 on the promise that it would restore the MSP of cotton to Rs 2700 per quintal. Then, within a year, the government drops the MSP to Rs 1700 per quintal. Just restoring it to the pre-2005 level would have saved lives this year. Then, they withdrew the advance bonus of Rs 500 per quintal which would have cost the government Rs 1100 crore a year. Its a decision which costs many a farmers lives. On top of it, the chief minister keeps saying suicides have nothing to do with prices.

Lets look at the way the government fudged suicide figures. Initially, government officials told the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) that only 141 farmers had committed suicide between 2001 and 2004, then they told the Bombay High Court that 524 had committed suicide in the four-year period, in October 2005 they told the NCF that the figure was 309 only for Yavatmal. Two months later, the government told the state assembly that 1041 farmer suicides had been recorded in the period. Then, of course, the PM was given a figure of 1600 plus in six districts, of which 574 had been recorded in the last one year, prior to his visit.

This is almost the same pattern which gets repeated in many states and Vidarbha was just the tip of the iceberg.

Every suicide has a multiplicity of causes, the farmer has been harassed for years in a row, finds himself in a debt trap where he has to take private credit to pay off earlier credit, he is not eligible for fresh bank credit because banks term him a defaulter, he owes money to the moneylender, the seed agent, the pesticide agent, a string of local sahukars from whom he has taken money for medical emergencies or weddings and so on. In such circumstances, any trigger is enough to take the extreme last step: it could a be fight with his wife, or it could be another insult from the moneylender or someone forcibly taking over his land/house for defaulting. What's completely appalling is that local officials record various silly reasons for suicides and the family doesn't become eligible for state compensation, if and when it's given. In Vidarbha, officials who had made excuses for not giving compensation last many months were running around on the eve of PM's visit to hand over the cheques, without any verification.

Many farmers who committed suicide were experienced farmers, who had been at it for years together yet saw no light at the end of the tunnel. They were not novices but had at least 15-20 years of experience of withstanding drought, inhospitable conditions. Many of them had a good elementary education, they had passed Class Xth at least.

Then, there's the new emerging sahukar in these villages. He used to be the agricultural extension officer, now he's the technical expert, he's a lender, also doubles up as agent for seed companies like Monsanto or pesticide companies. He makes money in three ways - he sells seeds and pesticides at higher rates, he charges an usurious two and a half per cent per hundred or 30 per cent per annum on credit extended to the farmer, he also claims the first right on produce and gives low prices to the farmer but sells at higher prices in the market.

Let us focus on the policies of the government. Monsanto made easy money on royalty and technology costs while the Indian farmer was killing himself over the high seed prices. The local seeds were Rs 7 a kilo in 1991, the commercial varieties cost Rs 80-100 per kilo even ten years back. Monsanto seeds cost nearly Rs 3800 a kilo, now they cost about half. Similarly, all input prices were allowed to explode…a DAP bag cost Rs 100 in 1991, it now costs between Rs 480 and Rs 500. Water and electricity costs exploded. Farmers were told that Bt seed would not attract bollworm and they would save on pesticides, but in reality they had to buy pesticides even for the Bt seed and these pesticides cost more than the usual varieties they had used. Then, governments go around depressing output prices and withdrawing advance bonus.

While the US protects its 20,000 cotton growers with subsidies of $4.7 billion in 2004-05, our governments take away support prices and bonuses. The value of crop that year in the US was $3.9 billion. The subsidies meant cheaper cotton in the international market; it destroyed cotton farmers from Vidarbha to West Africa.

Farmer suicides is a matter of shame for our country and should be a matter of top priority for our government. I fully support the loan waiver scheme for the distress farmers provided it reaches the intended beneficiaries. The FM in terms of Stimulus Package to boost sagging economy dolls out huge subsidies to corporate world and then when the same is done for farmers, many raise a great hue and cry which is deploring to say the least. If the Government doesn't pull up its socks now, from being a self sufficient country in producing food grains and cereals we will end up depending on importers for our survival.

How to expose corrupt practices of an NGO ?????

All of a sudden a need has arisen to write on something which badly needs attention. I will make a request before you read this article. Please write comments. It’s the need of the hour for this blog. And also do forward this to your friends so that something can be done.

Let me begin what I want to convey. India is home to crores of people who live below poverty line and there are lot of NGO’s working for the upliftment of them in their own way. There are lot of very good NGO’s which are professionally managed and have made a mark in their quest towards reaching the goals. Similarly there are tons of corrupt NGOs whose sole objective is to make money in the name of uplifting people.

I have come across an NGO which to the outer world is doing a great job but internally they are making crores of rupees using someone’s name. I am going to write about the corrupt practices followed in making money.

The NGO raises huge sums of money from the corporate world, especially IT companies in the name of kids and nobody gets to know how much was spent from the amount received. IT companies as part of their social commitments as well as for tax savings purpose dole out huge sums of money to them and they hardly make verification on the expenses in this regard. Let me cite a few instances of this corrupt practice.

They say that the organization has 40 employees. And they are paying an average salary of 20000 per month which amounts to Rs 8 lak per month and 96 lakhs per year. They get the money and they give 50% of it to employees and rest goes for personal expenses.

They quote a figure of Rs 24000 per year for maintenance of a boy or girl. They have around 300 kids. It amounts to 72 lakh per year. And the amount they actually spend on them is a pittance. Kids have to take bath in cold water early morning. The things (books, clothes, watches…) which are given to students by philanthropists are again sold to these kids by asking them to pay some money for the same.

These kids are talented and they regularly take part in shows organized by different groups. A sum of Rs 20000 to Rs 40000 per show is charged as fee and the kids who perform get a paltry 250Rs per head.

One of the employees of the organization who is highly talented despite having physical disabilities gets around Rs 30000 per month from a UN organization. The NGO doesn’t give the money to him and pays him a salary of Rs 6000 per month for having him employed.

One of the fund raisers for the organization approached a corporate entity. She was asked to give the accounts for last year’s contribution which they had made in lakhs. When the fund raiser asked expenditure report from the higher ups in the NGO she was forced to quit.

One of the trustees leads the life of a king. He has spent 2 lak for 2 days in a hospital for his wife for a very trivial reason. One trustee resides abroad and actively campaigns there to raise crores of rupees for the NGO. All of them own big houses at posh locations.

And these guys are all powerful. They have links with all the top politicians. If someone threatens to expose them they have solid underworld connections to ensure that the matter is dead and buried. The employees fear revolting for the same reason. The driver of a trustee was hacked to death under the guise of accident.

The NGO is neither growing nor shrinking. If it grows then it leads to public scrutiny and they fear this. If it shrinks they will not be able to get enough money. They ensure it remains afloat which suits them perfectly to make more money.
Friends I want you all to do me a favor. Suggest ways to expose this massive nature of corruption in the name of the underprivileged.

I have thought a few but want to know your opinion. Initially thought of conveying it to the print media but felt that they might capitalize on this rather than expose the corruption. But the options are open where in a credible media guy can do a good job of exposing this but how to find a credible guy.

Another option is to somehow managing to get the names of corporate world and philanthropists who have contributed handsomely to this NGO. Write a detailed letter to all asking them to ascertain whether the funds are properly utilized for what they are meant to.

I am not naming the NGO in this article as it might put the future of many genuine people working over there at stake. But certainly want to ensure that the people who are running this are held accountable.

I once again request one and all to convey their opinions to tackle this menace. Pass it on to your friends so that something can be done to make the NGO more accountable. Am just referring to one NGO but there are countless such corrupt NGOs. I do not want to generalize all of them as bad but do enquire about what they are into before you decide to contribute. I sincerely hope that through your opinions we all can do something fruitful to stop this imperil. It’s over to you all. You can place comments next to the title of the blog by clicking the numeral.

The Dog & The Donkey

Friends here's a change in my posting. More on Agriculture will follow. Today got a mail forward from my friend Sharath. Its a small story on the dog and the monkey. Read it and how you interpret it is your choice :-) :-)

There was once a washer man who had a donkey and a dog. One night when the whole world was sleeping, a thief broke into the house, the washer man was fast asleep too but the donkey and the dog were awake. The dog decided not to bark since the master did not take good care of him and wanted to teach him a lesson.

The donkey got worried and said to the dog that if he doesn't bark, the donkey will have to do something himself. The dog did not change his mind and the donkey started braying loudly.

Hearing the donkey bray, the thief ran away, the master woke up and started beating the donkey for braying in the middle of the night for no reason.

Moral of the story "One must not engage in duties other than his own"

Now take a new look at the same story...

The washer man was a well educated man from a premier management institute.
He had the fundas of looking at the bigger picture and thinking out of the box. He was convinced that there must be some reason for the donkey to bray in the night.. He walked outside a little and did some fact finding, applied a bottom up approach, figured out from the ground realities that there was a thief who broke in and the donkey only wanted to alert him about it. Looking at the donkey's extra initiative and going beyond the call of the duty, he rewarded him with lot of hay and other perks and became his favorite pet.

The dog's life didn't change much, except that now the donkey was more motivated in doing the dog's duties as well. In the annual appraisal the dog managed "ME" (Met Expectations) .

Soon the dog realized that the donkey is taking care of his duties and he can enjoy his life sleeping and lazing around.

The donkey was rated as " star performer". The donkey had to live up to his already high performance standards.

Soon he was over burdened with work and always under pressure and now is looking for a NEW JOB ...

Disclaimer: All characters in the story are not at all imaginary.
Any resemblance to person living or dying of work is purely intentional

The state of Indian Agriculture…

60% of our working population is involved in Agriculture and it is the life line of majority of our population. Agriculture is in shambles. Number of farmer suicides are raising daily. I will try to give you a picture on the present state of Indian agriculture through the eyes of P Sainath.

One credible source which I am extensively using in this article is of P Sainath. The man has travelled a lot and his articles on the state of farmers have been a real eye opener for many of us. He writes his column in Hindu newspaper. He is a reputed journalist and also winner of many awards including winner of the 2007 Ramon Magsaysay award for Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts.

200,000 farmers have ended their lives since 1997. These figures are official and official statistics are always understated and you can imagine the real figures. Close to two-thirds of these suicides have occurred in five states (India has 28 states and seven union territories). The Big 5 – Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh– account for just about a third of the country’s population but two-thirds of farmers’ suicides.

Why do farmers commit suicide? Those who have taken their lives were deep in debt – peasant households in debt doubled in the first decade of the neoliberal “economic reforms,” from 26 per cent of farm households to 48.6 per cent. For instance, 82 per cent of all farm households in Andhra Pradesh were in debt by 2001-02. Those who killed themselves were overwhelmingly cash crop farmers – growers of cotton, coffee, sugarcane, groundnut, pepper, vanilla. Suicides are fewer among food crop farmers – that is, growers of rice, wheat, maize, pulses.

The mantra of export led growth forced farmers to move from food crops to cash crops. The cash crop sector is dominated by a handful of multinational corporations. For millions of subsistence farmers in India, this meant much higher cultivation costs, far greater loans, much higher debt, and being locked into the volatility of global commodity prices. The extent to which the switch to cash crops impacts on the farmer can be seen in this: it used to cost Rs.8,000 roughly to grow an acre of paddy in Kerala. When many switched to vanilla, the cost per acre was (in 2003-04) almost Rs.150, 000 an acre.

In 1998, the World Bank’s structural adjustment policies forced India to open up its seed sector to global corporations like Cargill, Monsanto and Syngenta. Farm saved seeds were replaced by corporate seeds, which need fertilizers and pesticides and cannot be saved. Corporations prevent seed savings through patents and by engineering seeds with non-renewable traits. As a result, poor peasants have to buy new seeds for every planting season and what was traditionally a free resource, available by putting aside a small portion of the crop, becomes a commodity. This new expense increases poverty and leads to indebtness.

When Monsanto first introduced Bt Cotton in 2002, the farmers lost 1 billion rupees due to crop failure. Instead of 1,500 kilos per acre as promised by the company, the harvest was as low as 200 kilos per acre. Instead of incomes of 10,000 rupees an acre, farmers ran into losses of 6,400 rupees an acre. In the state of Bihar, when farm-saved corn seed was displaced by Monsanto’s hybrid corn, the entire crop failed, creating 4 billion rupees in losses and increased poverty for desperately poor farmers. Poor peasants of the South cannot survive seed monopolies. The crisis of suicides shows how the survival of small farmers is incompatible with the seed monopolies of global corporations.

In 1991, you could buy a kilogram of local seed for as little as Rs.7 or Rs.9 in today’s worst affected region of Vidarbha. By 2003, you would pay Rs.350 for a bag with 450 grams of hybrid seed. By 2004, Monsanto’s partners in India were marketing a bag of 450 grams of Bt cotton seed for between Rs.1, 650 and Rs.1,800. Almost 200 times increase in prices with the quantity halved.

With the input cost of farming rising exponentially and the return on investment diminishing one can imagine the financial condition of our farmers.

In my next article i would like to bring in to your notice how the prices of these cash crops which farmer had turned into fell globally and its impact.

Climate Change: Time for Action

Global warming is disrupting lives daily and what is happening is only the tip of the iceberg. Hundreds of millions of people may be exposed to famine, water shortages, extreme weather conditions and a 20 - 30% loss of animal and plant species if we do not reduce the rate of global warming and reduce GHG emissions.

I will try to suggest few simple ideas to ensure that we can contribute something meaningful to mother Earth.

1. Educate… Become aware of the harsh realities of what is happening around the world. There are tones of resources available on Global warming. Pick up The inconvenient truth – a movie produced by Al-Gore on Global warming. It enlightens you on the dangers we are facing. Once you know the facts educate others. Raise awareness. Know about simple energy saving techniques and how it can help you in the long run.

2. Use compact fluorescent bulbs: Purchasing energy efficient light bulbs can use 60% less energy than normal light bulbs. You can save around 300 pounds of carbon dioxide in a year by replacing a single light bulb. Also, low energy bulbs have recently become very cheap. Consider them as giving gifts to family and friends. CFL bulbs do contain small amounts of Mercury and hence proper disposal (recycling) is necessary to prevent any additional landfill contamination.You can also start looking into LED lightbulbs which have started to crop up recently -- they are even more efficient.

3. Turn off Electronic devices when not in use: Electronics are affecting global warming in a truly preventable way. Instead of putting them on "Stand By" mode simply turn them off. Don’t leave those screen savers running for hours. This requires a significant amount of energy which could easily be saved.

4. Think twice before using paper: Decide whether something is really worth printing out. Leave a signature at the bottom of your e-mails reminding the reader to think twice before printing the e-mail. Make the most of scrap paper for shopping lists, notes, scrapbooks, etc.

5. Many countries have "energy star" ratings on new appliances that allow you to assess the energy usage of the appliance. Before you purchase any appliances like washing machine or Refrigerator check for the number of stars. 5 stars implies energy efficient device

6. Most of the middle class families own a four wheeler these days and it would be foolish not to use them. Make use of your 4 wheeler sparingly and use them only when it is absolutely essential. I know it is easier said than done but we come across many situations where in taking a public transport will be a better option. It lessens the load on the roads and reduces one's individual greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 1600 pounds per year and gives you a great opportunity to read, think, and relax. You also save on petrol.

To be frank many a times when i have sacrificed some comfort for the sake of environment and many have taken it with cynicism. I don’t have any problem with that as long as I know that I am doing the right thing.

I made an enquiry on how LED’s can be used for lighting in our homes which are better than CFLs and I have plans to get one installed at my place.

It is time that we all change the way we take our environment for granted and do our best in preserving it for the future generations.

Friends this concludes my writing on Global warming. Next it will be all on our farmers. Remember 60% of our working population is involved in Agriculture and it is the life line of majority of our population. Look at the present state of farmers. Every day we hear about farmer suicides, erratic weather, crop losses. The majority of the farming community is in shmables and I would like to highlight those in my post.. Happy and safe deepavali...

Global warming.. KYOTO PROTOCOL.. US double standards exposed.

Oil and Coal are at the foundation of modern industrial revolution and one just cannot imagine how things would be without them. The US and most of the European nations over the last 2 centuries have immensely benefited from Industrial revolution and the developing nations led by China, India are now following the footsteps of these developed countries in their quest to become a developed country.

Kyoto Protocol: Scientists, journalists and policy makers began to foresee the negative impact of rapid Industrialization which in 1992 led to the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janerio. In 1994, at a meeting in Kyoto (Japan) an action plan was created -- the Kyoto Accord – setting greenhouse gas limits and reduction targets for participating nations.

The Kyoto Accord -- the most far-reaching environmental treaty in history -- was adopted by nearly all the world's nations on July 25, 2001. Despite overwhelming international support, the US termed it as "fatally flawed" agreement because it did not cap emissions from developing nations, including up-and-coming powerhouses like India and China. US has neither signed the protocol nor rejected it as of now.

As of January 2009, 183 parties have ratified the protocol, which was initially adopted for use on 11 December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan and which entered into force on 16 February 2005. Under the Kyoto Protocol, industrialized countries agreed to reduce their collective green house gas (GHG) emissions by 5.2% from the level in 1990. National limitations range from the reduction of 8% for the European Union and others to 7% for the United States and 6% for Japan

Even Kyoto's strongest supporters acknowledge that its mandates are not ambitious enough. In 2012 the Kyoto Protocol to prevent climate changes and global warming runs out. To keep the process on the line there is an urgent need for a new climate protocol. In this regard Climate Conference in Copenhagen in Dec 2009 becomes essential for the world’s climate.

Let us look at the following statistics

Emissions per capita --- Annual CO2 Emissions -- % of Emissions
(Tonnes of CO2e) (thousands of metric tons)

China -------5.5 ----------6,103,493 ------------21.5 %
US-----------23.5-----------5,752,289 ------------20.2 %
European Union * -----------3,914,359 ------------13.8 %
Russia-------13.7-----------1,564,669 -------------5.5 %
India---------1.7 ----------1,510,351 -------------5.3 %

The main thing which needs to be considered is the emissions per capita (person). US per capita emissions are almost 14 times that of India’s. We began the liberalization process two decades ago and the US two centuries ago. Now US is a developed nation. We are developing. We still have 30 % of our population living below poverty line. Why should developing nations like India, China, African countries, South American countries pay the price for development for what US, Europe did and have been doing it for a very very long time? Hence the Kyoto protocol was right in giving concession to developing countries but US made a heavy weather of the same and did not sign the protocol. It exposed the double standards followed by US when it comes to development.

Hence this December meet at Copenhagen becomes crucial to get the US on board and set targets for all the countries and retain some form of concession for developing economies where 3/4th of the below poverty line people live.

In my next blog I would like to talk about some clean technologies which will immensely benefit to fight global warming.

Global Warming... Time for action...

Global warming is something which you are going to hear a lot in the coming days. I plan to write a series of articles on Global warming, its impact, the Kyoto Protocol, the road ahead and so on. The data has been gathered from different sources and I will make an attempt to simplify things.

October 15th is being observed as Blog Action Day 2009 and the theme is climate change. The basic goal of writing this is to create awareness amongst all and do our bit to save something for the future generation.

How many of you have watched Al Gore’s movie An Inconvenient Truth. Please watch it friends. It just makes you sit and take stock of what I am talking about.

Yugratna Srivastav, a 13-year-old girl from Lucknow addressed the United Nations Climate Change Summit in New York last week. Yugratna’s speech was cheered on by world leaders including UN General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon.

"We received a very nice planet from our ancestors. It was green, now we have damaged it, polluted it, and we're going to give a bad planet to our successors and this is not right".

Friends… Our lives are moving at a breath taking pace and its having a huge impact on the climate. It is time we just take a pause and think on what this Global Warming is and how it is going to impact our lives in the near future.. A decade ago Global warming was a nice topic on which students were asked to right essay and it began and ended there.. But now it is not about essay on Global warming but practicalities of facing a climate which is undergoing a rapid transformation which could effectively put the future of our generation under stake.

Global warming – “The range of activities we end up doing daily in some way is contributing to the usage of carbon rich oil or coal. The electricity we us, the vehicles we use, and the food we cook… Burning these fossil fuels releases heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, particularly carbon dioxide. Because of all this frenetic burning of fuel that's taken place since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased to the point that the planet's overall surface temperature is rising. And this is Global Warming in simple terms… “

Global warming is caused by green house gases, which trap in the sun’s infrared rays in the earth’s atmosphere, which in turn heat up the earth’s atmosphere. These green house effect warming is called as global warming. The effects of green house effect are visible more prominently in the recent years, with number of natural calamities on the rise in the whole world.

Global warming is effecting the crop production, as the crops are getting destroyed by the sudden change in temperatures or sudden onset of rains. Also the flash floods and other natural calamities affect the crop.

As a matter of fact, because of global warming, the earth’s atmosphere is getting more unpredictable with heavy rains in the areas, which have scanty rainfall or drought in the areas, which received good annual rainfall. The months of rainfall has also getting affected. We have witnessed this in our regions.

Environmental graffiti states 5 deadliest effects of Global warming…

5)Spread of disease: As northern countries warm, disease carrying insects migrate north, bringing plague and disease with them. Indeed some scientists believe that in some countries thanks to global warming, malaria has not been fully eradicated.

4)Warmer waters and more hurricanes: As the temperature of oceans rises, so will the probability of more frequent and stronger hurricanes. We are witnessing this very frequently.

3) Increased probability and intensity of droughts and heat waves: Although some areas of Earth will become wetter due to global warming, other areas will suffer serious droughts and heat waves. Africa will receive the worst of it, with more severe droughts also expected in Europe. Water is already a dangerously rare commodity in Africa, and according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global warming will exacerbate the conditions and could lead to conflicts and war.

2)Economic consequences: Most of the effects of anthropogenic global warming won’t be good. And these effects spell one thing for the countries of the world: economic consequences. Hurricanes cause do billions of dollars in damage, diseases cost money to treat and control and conflicts exacerbate all of these.

1)Polar ice caps melting: The ice caps melting is a four-pronged danger.

First, it will raise sea levels. There are 5,773,000 cubic miles of water in ice caps, glaciers, and permanent snow. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, if all glaciers melted today the seas would rise about 230 feet. Luckily, that’s not going to happen all in one go! But sea levels will rise.

Second, melting ice caps will throw the global ecosystem out of balance. The ice caps are fresh water, and when they melt they will desalinate the ocean, or in plain English – make it less salty. The desalinization of the gulf current will “screw up” ocean currents, which regulate temperatures.

Third, temperature rises and changing landscapes in the artic circle will endanger several species of animals. Only the most adaptable will survive.

Fourth, global warming could snowball with the ice caps gone. Ice caps are white, and reflect sunlight, much of which is relected back into space, further cooling Earth. If the ice caps melt, the only reflector is the ocean. Darker colors absorb sunlight, further warming the Earth.

Rest in my next… I will try to convey what Kyoto protocol is all about and expose the double standards of US when it comes to Global Warming.

My Engineering days – The end ...

Final year is always the best and mine was no different. We had ensured Sudi became Departmental Secretary. And we had Manohar from IP who became General Secretary. We had our team in place and thus had the task of managing the college annual fest called Jnana Cauvery. Some 20 events spread over 3 days and participants from different engineering colleges and a mega cultural evening. I headed the Event Management Committee and things went pretty smooth mainly because we had a very good team. We had many off stage activities which included Rose King, Rose Queen, Bidding for the first rose, Dedicating songs to friends and loved ones all day.. I was also the Quiz master for the event. It was all fun. And guess what all the organizing committee members did a Fashion Show and I was part of it. It came out really well. On Friday 25th Sep 2009 I joined my IS students in the Fashion show and it reminded me of my good old days. Am glad I am with my students and it provides an opportunity to be still part of such events.

And then the final year trip. This time it was a 6 day trip to Goa, Gokarna, Yaana, Jog falls. Along with Sudi we booked a luxury bus from Mysore. 38 were on board which included 15 girls. And we were off to Goa. First 2 days at Goa. Churches and beaches… Then to Gokarna. Next Yaana.. Yaana is a stunning place and we had to walk a lot then. We reached at around 2 and I can never forget the lunch we had while coming down at 5.. All were hungry and we had ordered food at a local house and they served rice and Sambaar and it was tasty as well (partly because all were hungry like anything :-) )

Then off to Jog falls after halting at Sirsi. We got down and it took 2 hours to go near the falls by walk. Had a great time and then trekked back, had lunch at Hotel and then left for Mandya at around 4. Reached next day early morning at 4 AM.
It was a great experience in organizing the trip and we really had a time of our life. A special thanks to Shivaprasad whose handy camera came in handy and it brings back those good old days when I watch the CD of our trip.

Two good things happened related to academics. Did a paper presentation based on our 6th sem Project called Language interface ( translation from Dravidian languages to English and vice versa) along with Avinash and my first presentation fetched the first prize. We modified the paper and it was selected for poster presentation Symposium on Translation support systems held at IIT Kanpur. Along with Avinash and with support from Murali Sir and Suresh Sir went to Kanpur. It was a great experience. Also toured Agra and Delhi while returning.

Final year engineering.. Suddenly started thinking what next.. In a years time we will be passing out. Will I be a software engineer (the default option ) or will I pursue some higher studies or will I do something unconventional.

Read an article in a news paper about the District Commissioner of Trivandrum who was made the victim by politicians in a fraud case and was suspended. But he fought back and was reinstated as DC of Trivandrum. The amount of good work he had done and his simplicity and honesty moved me. Then I started collecting information on how to become a DC. We did not have something called as career counseling and getting information on anything was indeed a tough ask then. Then decided that I will become an IAS officer and had to clear Indian civil service (ICS) exam for this. The main driving factor was the zeal to do something for the common man.

Finished 7th and 8th semester. 8th sem I was the second topper with 93 % and had an overall aggregate of 78 %. It was a great achievement considering the amount of time I spent on studies :-)

I told my parents that I want to become an IAS officer. Becoming a Software engineer was the order of the day and they were not very happy with my decision. Told them that I would sit at home for an year and prepare for exams and requested dad to get me IAS books worth 9000Rs. It was a tough one for my dad. They expected me to get into a job and start earning but my idea stunned them. But my dad agreed and gave 9000Rs for the same.

From a parents perspective they were right. Dad had taken a loan for Hero Puch, Computer totaling 55000Rs and it was natural for them to expect me to start earning. Sister had also joined degree course in Mysore and she used to travel daily. Dad had taken a loan for TVS XL Super for her in II PUC..

I was under confusion. Whether to join industry as per parents wishes or to pursue my dreams. It was a tough choice and I couldn’t decide on it.

It was in 2002. 2001 was the Y2K and dot com bubble and IT industry had taken a severe beating. Companies had stopped recruitment. Things were slowly beginning to pick up as its happening now. No campus interviews. After the completion, attended one at NIE, Mysore. It was a combined interview for students of SJCE, NIE and PESCE Mandya. Honeywell had come. Didn’t clear the aptitude round.

Then took Infosys test. Was not at all sure whether I really wanted to become a Software Engineer or an IAS officer. Failed to get into Infosys.

Time had come to decide. I took a firm stand that I won’t get into industry and would rather pursue IAS goal. Told my parents about this. They agreed reluctantly. Never took any further tests. Friends started getting jobs and my parents had a worried look on their face. Doubts were creeping about my decision – whether I have let my parents down. Then came the opportunity at Nitte. I felt I could pursue my dreams parallel by joining teaching profession. They had called for Lecturer post in October. Attended interview on Oct 16th 2002 , was selected and joined as a lecturer on Oct 23rd.

I put my whole hearted effort for IAS exams. I had taken Psychology and Public Administration as optional. Worked really hard. Took the exam and was pretty confident of clearing it but was shocked to see the result. I couldn’t make it. Had put 3 years of preparation for the same and was feeling very low after the results. It hadn’t sunk in. Took almost 3 months to get back to normal state and then decided that I will continue in teaching profession. Decided to pursue my Ph.D

Looking back at how things panned out though am disappointed that I did not make it into IAS, I have no regrets. I did my best. Learnt a lot in preparing for the exams. Took up an unknown subject Psychology and mastered it. In fact can handle a subject for UG Psychology students. :-)

Am in this teaching profession, very passionate about what am doing and am enjoying it to the hilt. Still see a student in myself. Love interacting with students and enjoy making efforts to improve the delivery process.

To sum it up: Enjoy your college life. Get involved in many activities. Just being good in academics won’t do any good. Always put your best effort and leave the rest to destiny. I never thought that I would come and settle in Udupi. But whatever role we end up playing do justice to it. And don’t blame destiny or fate if things don’t go your way. Accept it and move on. What you should worry is lack of effort. Whatever you learn everything will come in handy one time or the other. So keep reading books, get involved with extra-curricular activities, be aware of the current happenings across the world and enjoy your life.

FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS WITH PASSION....

Friends with this I conclude my write-ups on engineering days. Hope you had a good time reading it.

My Engineering days Part IV

I will write some general stuff this time around.

Being a localite morning breakfast was at home but lunch was at Canteen. We didn’t have so much options at Canteen either. During the tea break a mandatory one piece tea plus some Bajji or Bonda or Pakoda. One piece tea = 1 Re. Afternoon some rice item. (5 Rs). That’s it at college.

But evenings it was a different story. Gobi Manchuri had become the toast of the town and you had so many stalls which offered Gobi Manchuri, Fried Rice, Noodles. It had become a craze then. And we all used to have something or other on a sharing basis. “5 Half Gobi “ kodi :-) would be the order. And then we had our old traditional Masala Puri and Pani Puri at a different stall . And who can forget Samosa Chat. It was my favorite.

Hotel Guruprasad. The benne dosa at Guruprasad is too delicious and till date I haven’t come across any hotel which made it better. Every time I go to Mandya now visiting that Hotel and having the same is a must. Just can’t forget that..

And then occasionally there was Apurva Darshini. Typical Banglore fast food eating joint. It was good.

I am sure lot many would like to know how things went personally. Did I have any girl friend? Or did I like someone?

Well you will be disappointed to hear this. I had none. Frankly speaking I was too preoccupied with Cricket, outing with friends, family outings and this didn’t get priority whatsoever. I have no regrets regarding this.

Let me advise something on this. Friends don’t get into this love stuff during engineering. Its my sincere request. I have seen many of them falling into this and guess what the success rate is abysmally low and you will end up spending more time with your girl friend than with your friends. And trust me spending time with friends(not girl friend) is something which you cannot afford to miss. I have seen many during my days and even now that your major responsibility will end up becoming taking care of your love and ensuring she is happy all the time. And ensuring that a girl is happy is one hell of a task :-):-) Girls don’t take this too seriously. It’s a general observation. I hope nobody complains to Ministry of women development and lodge a complaint against me :-) One good thing is our previous minister Mrs. Renuka Chaudry is no more a minister :-) Just make everyone as your friend. Have a nice friendly relationship with one and all. Thats it.. Let "No love" be your mantra :-) :-)

Take care.. Rest in my next… Next two weeks will be very hectic. Have a National Conference coming up and then IGNITE. Being a Coordinator for both will ensure no blogging for next two weeks. :-)

My Engineering days Part III

It is pretty difficult to recollect everything which happened a decade ago but am doing my best to uncover everything.

One subject which I didn’t find that interesting was Microprocessor. And there was this Elevator lab program. I remember trying to uncover what exactly the logic. It was one hell of a task. I didn’t have the basics right and it complicated the matters. Somehow managed to prepare for it and fortunately I didn’t get it in the lab exam :-) :-)

Two unfortunate incidents happened related to my health in second year. One was a minor accident with my Hero Puch. Had minor injuries to knee which resulted in a week’s rest. Chassis of Hero Puch was completely damaged and had to be replaced. Fortunately vehicle insurance came in handy. :-)

Then had a minor surgery on my back. Something called Pilonidal Sinus. Had to be operated. Was in a hospital for week and then rest at home for 15 days. Result I couldn’t play cricket for the next 6 months. I was just confined to watching. Our department did exceptionally well in the inter department tournament and we reached finals but lost the finals. Sudi, Mahendra, Aruna, Umesha, Vachan, Ballari alias Praveen, Apporva, Shakeeb all played very well. I played the role of a coach:-)

Enter 5th semester and the beginning of mini projects. We had 3 mini projects every semester starting with 5th and it was hard work all the way. And the name which instantly comes into mind is Avinash. He was my partner in all the mini projects and we had a great time together. Editor in Linux, Computer graphics project, Visual Basic project, Network project, Java project. I remember doing the Visual basic project on Language translation and sitting together entire night fine tuning the logic to ensure translation from Kannada to English and vice versa succeeds. He undoubtedly worked more than me and was exceptionally good at coding. Thanks a lot Avinash.

Securing distinction was becoming a formality and it continued in 5th and 6th semester.

One subject which was made interesting was Multimedia Computing. It was handled by Murali Sir and he created an interest in that subject. The first thing he used to do was to test what we have understood by throwing very basic questions and we were all on our toes hoping the question is not addressed to us :-) In a way it ensured that we were in regular touch with the subject and his way of presentation was pretty good.

Who can forget the Operations Research(OR) subject. It was an elective and we all took it. The syllabus was ready and we found it interesting as it was problems all the way. Later for some reason syllabus was changed to a large extent and we started following it. We all Sudi, Umesha, Jaya, Aruna, Naagu, Avinash and myself were at Mahendra’s house doing night outs to prepare for OR. It was real fun. Avinash, Mahendra and Naagu used to understand and then teach us. Till then we were all discussing needless things and having fun.:-) But we worked hard to ensure we learnt everything. And on the exam day we were all confident of doing well. Then came the Question paper. We were in for the shock of our engineering career. The question paper was set entirely based on the first syllabus which was sent and the revised syllabus was not taken into consideration. Oh God we were all looking clueless and in the exam hall everyone’s face was full of smiles.:-) Reason nobody knew anything more than 40 or 50 marks and we were all sailing in the same boat :-) Then we wrote a letter to VTU through our college complaining. I had written precisely for 40 marks and it included a 20 marks problem. I had got it right. And when the results came almost all had cleared the paper and I had got 36 :-) In our group Umesha I guess had 80+ and we were all shocked on hearing this :-) He was also shocked :-)

As usual few trips were there and i will discuss about this in my next. Take care...

My Engineering days.... Part 2

Why Hero Puch? Because of Shah Rukh Khan, the superstar.... He was the brand ambassador for Hero Puch and the featured ad was based on his Duplicate film. You can attribute my decision to the power of advertising :-)

Getting into CS department was like homecoming. Had lots of PU friends.

The way i went to college changed. Sudi was now my classmate and he had a Yamaha RX 125. So we used to use our two wheeler alternatively. That did save a lot of Petrol :-)

One thing which both of us did throughout our engineering was we hardly appeared for the first internals ( I guess only 2 or 3 times we might have written). We just didn't take the first internals seriously. I would say we were pretty confident of making up in the next two. And we did precisely that and we always had 20+ at the end of the semester.

How did the classes go? Class vs Cricket. Cricket got priority. It was like Eat cricket, sleep cricket, drink cricket. Even in class the thoughts were about cricket. We played hell lot of matches. Sudi, Mahendra, Umesha, Aruna... But i always ensured i had attendance of 75 %. Never had a shortage. It was like miss one class per week to play a match :-). Took studies very casually. Was not all that attentive in the class. Studied only during the second and third internals. But when i did study it was comprehensive.

WE had one bad habit in class. I along with Sudi, Aruna, Umesh occasionally used to play a game called Cow Bull Word finder game. Name sounds funny :-) It was one to one. Say i used to have a 4 letter word and the other person also had one. The task was to find out the word the other person through a series of iterations. It was great fun. There was absolutely no verbal communication. Just writing in the note book and finding the word. It didn't happen regularly. Once in a while if the class was too boring we played it.

Coming to labs.. Again hardly serious. Just go to lab. Type a program. Get the output and thats it. Never bothered whats the logic, how it works.. This was the schedule during the term days..

Once the semester exams were announced it was time to work. Work very hard. Our saviour was Nagaraju alias Naagu. Just a week prior to the lab exams we (sudi, aruna, umesha, mahendra) all used to go to his house. He used to teach us the logic and the programs. He used to scratch his head to simplify the logic for the program. In the mean time we were busy watching movies or listening to songs in his computer. :-) :-) And when he was ready we used to listen to his explanation with avid interest because the lab exam was at stake. Thanks Naagu for all the help.

After understanding the programs it was time to test it out. And i used to type it in my computer. Execute it. After getting the output i was over the moon as if i had written the logic. :-)

Forgot this computer purchase. After getting Hero Puch in 3rd semester. It was now the turn of Computer the next semester. Made a request to dad. Projected as if if i don't get the Computer it would be impossible to get good marks. Again dad relented. One more loan. This time cost twice of the Hero Puch (Rs 36000. ) But in a semester used it only for 5 to 6 days for actual programming and rest of the time it was games, movies. Get the latest Hindi movie and watch it. 20 Rs per CD and the CD was shared by 3 to 4. :-)

The actual lab exams. Getting output was the one and only priority. 3rd sem Data Structures got a linked list program and i was not getting the proper output. With 15 minutes remaining made a small change and it worked. It was about pointers. Just did it without any logic and it worked. When i remember that mistake now i realise how easy it is. :-)

Theory exams.. Used to sleep evening. Get up at 9 or 10 PM. Have dinner and study till early morning was the routine. Had this knack of predicting questions and it worked most of the times. It used to be an instinctive guess and the question would appear in the exam bringing a smile.

Third sem again barely managed to get distinction.

Fourth semester had interesting subjects. Graph theory, ADA and FAFL were the favorites. Got 99 in Graph theory. I wasn't surprised as the paper was easy and i knew it has to be 96+. Guess what, got 80.5 % and was the second topper. I was no where in the toppers list in third semester. I was surprised with the result. Never expected this. I still remember paying 10 Rs at a internet parlour near our college to see the result.

Second year ended great. I was still under a state of shock that i could score so much. Never realised i had so much potential. It gave a lot of confidence and it had a positive impact on my personality.

Moral: In a way its not fair to advice because i didn't follow it. But i believe we all make mistakes and its all about realization. Nowadays everyone has a Computer. Use it judiciously. Am not saying don play games or watch movies. Do that but also give equal weightage to its basic purpose. Keep a target. Learn one program per day. It won't take more than 15 minutes. It will surely help you in the long run. Or say read an article about latest technology.Spare at least 15 minutes. It will really come in handy.

Trust me nothing is impossible. Effort is all that matters. Don't limit your imagination.

And for gods sake don't be just studious. It doesn't help you in any way. It might be sports or cultural events or organizing something or being part of a team, it really helps in shaping one's personality.

Rest in my next....

My Engineering days.... Part 1

I will be sharing how i spent my days during engineering. It might run into a few parts.(Because i have a pretty hectic schedule ahead in the coming weeks and Blogging is one way of relaxing :-)) Here comes the first part. It all happened b/w 1998-2002..

Got a free seat in E & C at PES College of Engineering, Mandya (my home town). The college life was about to begin. Was using a old bicycle (1960 Hercules)of my grand father for first and second PUC. Continued with the same for the first semester. Then as it normally happens with all youngsters entering college, started to get a feeling that why am i riding an old cycle. Started putting pressure on dad for a new gear bicycle with the reason that the college was 5 kms away from home :-) (But the fact was i used the old cycle for my PU and the Government PU college was hardly a km short to engineering college :-))

First sem results were out and had got distinction. Dad relented to my sustained pressure (the distinction came in handy) and i had a gear bicycle (Rs 2700) at the start of 2nd semester. Didn't even care whether dad had enough money to purchase.

So 2nd semester began with a new bicycle with gears. Was feeling on top of the world. Used it for a month. Then the distance to college got halved. No no college didn't shift..... :-) I used to park my cycle at friend's place (Praveen alias Shahrukh) and then went to college in his Splendor Bike.

Was not at all a studious guy. Somehow again managed to get exact distinction in the second semester. I remember using only a single sheet for Graphics semester exam because there were rumours that if we write everything in a single drawing sheet we will get some grace marks. If i find the guy who started it will thrash him. After writing whatever i knew in a single sheet the drawing sheet looked clumsy :-) :-) Fortunately barely managed to clear the graphics paper.


Strength of Materials was my favorite subject and it was handled by Dr. Eshwar Prasad. He was amazing. Loved that subject like anything. Graphics was the one i hated. Didn't understand concepts of projections.. It was too confusing. You come out with the solution and then suddenly you realise that the initial assumption was wrong. Then redo it all over again.

Along with Shahrukh organized one day picnic to Madikeri. It was a great experience and it served as a platform to showcase my organizational ability.

And 3rd semester entered into E & C department. Was wondering what on earth am i studying. No subject was interesting and circuits, formulas, ... Oh God.. Where was I... Then they called for change of branch option. 7 had got detained in Computer Science. So in effect there were 7 vacancies. I applied for change of branch and the merit list was out and i stood 6th. :-) Got the change to Computer Science. Was feeling great and also relieved that i need not study any circuit stuff :-) Was happy but missed Shahrukh. He continued in E & C. (Shahrukh alias Praveen is now in Oracle.. )

I entered Computer Science department. The branch where my best friend Sudi was there. He was my neighbour and we were classmates from LKG to tenth. We had an amazing relationship and I was happy to join him again as a classmate...

In between all this the youth mania caught up again :-) and started asking dad to get a two wheeler for me. . The gear cycle happiness quotient was on a decline and needed a change :-) Dad relented again and i was a proud owner of Hero Puch (The results and the change of branch thing helped. Rs 18000. Dad had taken loan from Bank to finance. ). He thought me to ride a Bajaj two wheeler (it was his friend's). Dad had a Hero Majestic (1985 make, moped) and i knew to ride it. After a week's training i was ready to ride Hero Puch. Trust me guys riding a Hero Puch is not easy. Putting first gear and releasing the clutch is a very tough ask initially. I learnt it the hard way. But once you learn it then its an easy job to ride.


Just to Summarise everything... I got carried away with this youth mania.. I realised it later that a gear cycle is as good as a gearless cycle and the interest on something is sustained only for a while. My dad gave my gear cycle to a distant relative freely.

Moral : Its natural to crave for many things (bikes, latest mobile handsets, costly branded dresses, etc..) when you enter college but think twice before pressurizing your parents relentlessly. They will have their own constraints and see things from a utility perspective. (I agree i didn't follow this but have realised its importance )

Still tonnes to write... But rest will be in my next part.... Take care...

Swine Flu

Swine Flu has become the most talked about thing in India.. The number of infected is increasing daily and till date 7 deaths have been reported in India and around 800 confirmed cases.

Its obvious that the Swine Flu is going to spread and many more are likely to be affected. The key here is early detection of the Flu. It becomes life threatening if its detected late in a person who is suffering from chronic ailments. But i feel there is no need to press the panic button but rather focus on creating awareness in people on how to deal with this. I hope the facts gathered here from different sources will do that task.

What is swine flu?

Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by Type A influenza viruses that causes regular outbreaks in pigs. Swine flu viruses have been reported to spread from person-to-person, but in the past, this transmission was limited and not sustained beyond three people.

Is the current swine flu virus contagious?

Various international agencies (US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, World Health Organization) have determined that this swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is contagious and is spreading from human to human. WHO has escalated the world Pandemic Phase from Phase 3 to Phase 6 (in a 6-scale Phase), indicating that a worldwide pandemic due to swine flu H1N1.

What are the signs and symptoms of swine flu in people?

The symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular human flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting associated with swine flu. In the past, severe illness (pneumonia and respiratory failure) and deaths have been reported with swine flu infection in people. Like seasonal flu, swine flu may cause a worsening of underlying chronic medical conditions.

How does swine flu spread? 

Spread of this swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is thought to be happening in the same way that seasonal flu spreads. Flu viruses are spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing of people with influenza. Sometimes people may become infected by touching something with live flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.

How are human infections with swine influenza diagnosed?

To diagnose swine influenza A infection, a respiratory specimen would generally need to be collected within the first 4 to 5 days of illness (when an infected person is most likely to be shedding virus). However, some persons, especially children, may shed virus for 10 days or longer. Identification as a swine flu influenza A virus requires sending the specimen to a hospital laboratory for testing.

How can someone with the flu infect someone else?

Infected people may be able to infect others beginning 1 day before symptoms develop and up to 7 or more days after becoming sick. That means that you may be able to pass on the flu to someone else before you know you are sick, as well as while you are sick.

How long can an infected person spread swine flu to others?

People with swine influenza virus infection should be considered potentially contagious as long as they are symptomatic and possible for up to 7 days following illness onset. Children, especially younger children, might potentially be contagious for longer periods.

Is there a vaccine for Pandemic Flu?

Because the virus is new, there will be no vaccine ready to protect against pandemic flu. Vaccine against Swine Flu virus H1N1 needs at least 6-12 months to be produced.

Are there medicines to treat swine flu?

Yes. The US CDC recommends the use of oseltamivir (Tamiflu®) or zanamivir (Relenza®) for the treatment and/or prevention of infection with these swine influenza viruses.

What surfaces are most likely to be sources of contamination?

The virus can be spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with the virus and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth. Droplets from a cough or sneeze of an infected person move through the air. The virus can then be spread when a person touches respiratory droplets from another person on a surface like a desk, doorknob, child’s toy or phone handset and then touches their own eyes, mouth or nose before washing their hands.

What can I do to protect myself from getting sick?

Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. The virus can spread this way.
Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
If you get sick with influenza, stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

What is the best way to keep from spreading the virus through coughing or sneezing?

If you are sick, limit your contact with other people as much as possible. Do not go to work or school if ill.
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. It may prevent those around you from getting sick. Put your used tissue in the waste basket.
Cover your cough or sneeze if you do not have a tissue. Then, clean your hands, and do so every time you cough or sneeze.

In children emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:

Fast breathing or trouble breathing
Bluish skin color
Not drinking enough fluids
Not waking up or not interacting
Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
Fever with a rash

In adults, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include: 

Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
Sudden dizziness
Confusion
Severe or persistent vomiting

Deep Joshi - Winner of Ramon Magsaysay award

One of the very few awards which i avidly look forward to is the Ramon Magsaysay award which is considered Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize. They select deserving candidate who have made significant contribution to the society. Indian social activist Deep Joshi, who has done pioneering work for “development of rural communities,” was named along with five others for the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2009. I thought of writing a few words about Deep Joshi.


Joshi was raised in a remote village in Uttarakhand in the Himalayas, did his degree from the National Institute of Technology in Allahabad, a master's degree in engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a management degree from MIT's Sloan School. Joshi worked for Ford foundation as program officer and with his experience concluded that if only more people equipped with both knowledge and empathy decided to work in the villages, India's rural society would be transformed.

This idea led him in 1983 to form, together with some colleagues, Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN). A non-profit organization, PRADAN recruits university-educated youth from campuses across the country and grooms them to do grassroots work through a rigorous year-long apprenticeship which combines formal training and guided practice in the field. "Professionalizing" development work is PRADAN's mission by enabling poor rural families to live a life of dignity.

Living and working directly with India's poorest communities, PRADAN staff empower village groups with technical, project implementation, and networking skills that increase both their income-generating capabilities and their actual family income. Its staff, combining their professional expertise with local knowledge, also train villagers as para-veterinarians, accountants, and technicians who support their fellow-villagers in building and sustaining collective livelihood projects.

In its twin programs of training development professionals and reducing rural poverty, PRADAN has produced impressive results. PRADAN professionals, divided into 27 teams, work with over 112,900 families in 3,044 villages across seven of the poorest states in the country. A majority of the families that PRADAN works with belong to the Schedule Tribes and Schedule Castes. Over a thousand graduates have joined its apprenticeship program. More than three hundred professionals comprise its staff, most of them working in field-based teams across the country.

Why would engineers and management professionals, with degrees from universities like Harvard and MIT, choose to apply their brainpower to a small village irrigation project? Joshi desires to show that for people with the finest education, there are few intellectual challenges more worthy than addressing rural poverty. He says: "Development work is considered intellectually inferior to high science, industry, or diplomacy. We want to prove it is both a challenging and a noble choice."

Twenty six percent of India's population, or roughly thirty crore people, still live below the global poverty line. Getting all of them to lead life with dignity is going to be a massive challenge for all of us. This is where people like Deep Joshi are making a significant contribution.

Hats off to Deep Joshi, an MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) post graduate for his transformative work on rural development.

The way our government works..... Mr. Nandan put on bench :-) :-)

I will summarize an article written by Arun Shourie, a former Union minister in the NDA government in his book Governance and the sclerosis that has set in. It points towards how our government bureaucracy works....

In 1999 Jan a bureaucrat in Ministry of Steel had signed in a file. That file went to another officer. He thought something unusual. One has signed in Red and the other in Blue. Is this permissible? What kind of ink color can be used? So he drafted a letter to Administrative reforms and public grievances department posing a question can any other ink be used. The concerned department called a meeting which proved inconclusive and since it was a matter related with the ink the question was posed to department of Printing press. May 99, they met and after a months deliberation they sent it to department of Ministerial staff and training. This process of consulting various departments continued and finally on Aug 5th, 2000, after deliberating the same matter for a period of one and a half years they decided something which hardly matters: based on the cadre the color of ink can be used flexibly. :-) :-) This is a real story which transpired in the government machinery.

Back to 2009...

After our Nandan Nilekani took over as chairman of Unique Identification authority of India, a fun story is circulating in the net. Its an imaginary diary written by Nandan on his first day at the parliament. It goes as follows...

The House was in pin drop silence. I was brimming with anticipation and excitement. Manmohan had informed me that my introduction was one of the important points of the agenda. I hoped that I will be able to make my speech properly. After so many interviews and conferences, I was nervous today.

After the Speaker indicated that the proceedings of the House could begin, Manmohan formally introduced me to the entire House. He mentioned that as the head of the Unique Identification Authority of India, I was responsible to ensure that each and every Indian had a digital smart card as a proof of his existence.

Manmohan spoke about why I was selected and also some references to the various projects executed by me in Infosys were mentioned. The House listened with rapt attention. I was asked to say a few words and I did exactly the same.

I thanked the Government of India for having given me this opportunity and I assured the House that I would strive to successfully deliver this project. The Speaker then formally inducted me into the House. After the lunch break, it was the moment for me. It’s time to give a presentation on the identity project.

I suddenly found that my laptop did not have any reserve power. I went to Manmohan and apprised him of the situation. I was sweating. He calmly replied that this would not be a cause of concern. I was flummoxed!

The Speaker asked me to explain to the House on what were my plans for the Unique Identity Project. I replied that I have a plan and I have presentation to make for which I need a power socket, a projector and a screen. I had no idea what was going to happen after this.

The next couple of minutes were a complete jolt for me. I was completely in a tizzy. Let me just summarize what happened. A Joint Cabinet Secretary Committee was set up to judge the feasibility of my request.

The Under Secretaries for the Ministries of Power, IT and Broadcasting will prepare a Viability Report after scrutinizing National Security threats to my request. This was because the power socket comes under Power Ministry, laptop comes under IT and projector comes under Broadcasting.

I have also been told to reconsider my timelines of 30-60-90 days and start thinking in terms of years. Probably, they are right. I did not have the foresight in this matter.

The summary of the issue is that I need to come up with a more inclusive, democratic, comprehensive long term plan for this project to be executed over the next five years. I have also been given a presentation slot 6 months from now (by which the issues related to the power cord etc will also be resolved).

I am filled with mixed reactions. I was planning for a quick resolution; the management wants a strategic solution. I come out of the House and text Murthy.

You won’t believe it but these guys work just like us. I am on a NATIONAL BENCH for the next three months!!!!!!

Use caution when pressing Ctrl+C

These days we are very dependent on Internet for anything and everything. The amount of transactions we make through internet using credit and debit card is increasing. Everyday we discover new kinds of online frauds which predominantly employ techniques to steal the credit or debit card information. I read an article from times of India newspaper on this and thought of posting it so that we can all be cautious while making transactions online. The article begins.....

Everytime you do a harmless keyboard shortcut Ctrl+C in your computer, the text you copy online may be stolen on the web. This copied data is accessible on the internet when you visit websites that use a combination of javascript and ASP or any server side language like JSP, PHP, from which the data that you copy can be transferred to another server.

Most websites are javascript enabled. Not convinced? Try copying some text and just visit sourcecodesworld.com/special/clipboard.asp, a website that provides free source codes and projects. You necessarily need not even press the ‘paste’ button. The ‘paste’ happens automatically. The website just provides an example of what could potentially happen to you, especially if you have copied your credit card details, bank details or any other sensitive information.

“This is one of the main reasons that credit card companies and banks ask you not to copy, paste your card and bank details. Everytime you copy some information, it gets stored in your computer clipboard. In case, you end up visiting a malicious website or a phished site, your information can be easily stolen. This information can be read in a hidden manner, that you will not be aware of it being seen by someone else. So, anyone who wants to steal your info can do so easily and store it in his backup for future reference and use it at a later date,” G Anbarasan, an IT expert told The Times of India.

Sourcecodesworld.com says this hacking can be done by a simple source code. This happens especially if you are using Internet Explorer. One of the ways it can be avoided is to use a better browser, Anbarasan says. Internet Explorer, one of the most famous browsers has had many technical glitches over the years.

But for those who are dependent on using Internet Explorer, Sourcecodesworld.com says this problem can be rectified by the following action: Under the tools tab, click Internet options, go to custom level and in the security settings there, select ‘disable’ for the option ‘Allow paste operation via script’.