A model case...

Read about the forum for discussion on Manjunath’s murder decision. Some say that this is a case to be considered as a model case for future such incidents. The judge acted with utmost urgency and was instrumental in dealing with at a per day basis which resulted in a fast conviction. Some people say that this was possible due to the fact that the person convicted didn’t have much political clout and hence wasn’t able to influence the decision; even witnesses didn’t turn hostile, but that is besides the point. It’s a successful case. A huge campaign was taken forward on the Internet with IIM grads & Manjunath’s friends being the driver. Now even politicians are asking for a whistleblower protection policy.

Quite a huge brouhaha over the issue. And rightly so.

I believe if these cases are made model cases and taken up in the media to showcase justice, we’ll have more of such atrocities addressed and punished by the law. More than half the crimes committed never see the light of the day since victim or those close to the victims are not convinced of the system of justice in this country. But it’s high time people stand up and fight for their causes, no matter what the possibilities of success. If people continue to fight, they will eventually get support – from the media, from the law and finally get justice.

As someone rightly said – It’s still a great place to live in. There are more good people than bad ones. That is why life still goes on.

Material Possesions - Some of my favorites

They say material possessions are not that important; once you die, you’ll anyway leave them behind. Can’t take them along with you to whatever world you travel to….
But that doesn’t mean material possessions are so unimportant; true they don’t affect your existence once you forfeit the living world, but then they can enhance your being in this mortal self.

Some of my possessions which I treasure for this life would be…

A collection of Calvin n Hobbes: Presented to me by my sis and bro-in-law, this was one of my best surprise gifts. One afternoon, as I got ready to leave for office the doorbell rang and I opened the door to a courier guy. Not expecting any courier, I thought it must be a mistake and started interrogating the delivery guy. As he thrust some documents and a pen to sign up, I saw my name and was quite amazed to see a receipt along with it. The price quoted was quite high and the first thought which came to my mind was, “Someone has used my credit card for this purchase…”…but soon reason gave way to conjectures and I saw that I haven’t paid anything yet. The delivery guy took leave after giving me a big box & a receipt which had “Calvin & Hobbes” written on it. With absolutely no idea about the entire thing, I opened the box & then the card fell down. It was card from my Bro-in-law and sis congratulating me for a minor achievement & recalling a one-time conversation where I had expressed my love for the comic strip and a longing for the same. As I said this was my best surprise ever!!!

Straight from the Gut – A biography on Jack Welch which describes his initial years and takes us through his life till he retired as the CEO of General Electric. The book gives a vivid account of his decisions in his personal and professional life as he enthralls with his brilliant ideas and some of the famous mistakes. I would like to presume that this book gave me the initial direction for my career and instilled me a belief that, “I might not have the technical know-how for a lot of things, but I can definitely manage the worst of situations”.

A timepiece which can be stuck to the belt given to me by Dad; this timepiece needs fresh batteries as well as a generous coating of glue to repair the belt loop for it. Nevertheless, this has a special attraction to it just because it was given to me by Dad.

The Art of War – Edited by James Clavell from an original version of Sun Tzu this book gives an idea on how to combat life itself. Though the setting taken in this book is war in the medieval period, the same advice can be taken for everyday situations in your personal as well as professional life.

A small book of FRIENDS, I had picked it up in a sale while roaming around. Bought it for Rs.50 and loved it immediately. It’s a brief collection of some of the infamous quotes from the TV series as well as the pics and is significant in the way it can improve your mood when you got through the quotes. The best thing is it’s so small that you can carry it anywhere in your pocket.

A small statuette of Jagannath, Balavadra and Subhadra. Don’t know why, but I like this and keep it with me wherever I stay. Not that I’m that religious; I probably haven’t seen it for months, but I just keep it in my house. My only connection with religion, I guess.

Steve Waugh’s autobiography – Out of my comfort zone. A recent addition to my list of books, this one was gifted to me by my brother. A brilliant book which brings out the struggle, resolve and determination of a cricketer who has written his own career destined to be crowned in the history of cricket – this one is a personal favorite, as I have grown worshipping the cricketing acumen of this man. I have loved the way he played his game - the sledging, the death overs bowling, the characteristic grit of his batting, comes through so clearly in this book. Determination personified – Steve Waugh shows strength of character as he knows that he’s no gifted player as his brother, but has built his career through sheer hardwork and grit. The book is a clear reflection of this personality.

What I can afford but not have now...

News from Saturday: A beggar left Rs 1 lakh to a nearby mosque after his death. Seems after his death, his neighbors collected money from the locality for carrying out his final rites. Afterwards, when they entered his house to clear his stuff, they found this amount of money in notes and coins….and a will bequeathing it to the local mosque.

Isn’t it great?

And I don’t have enough money to buy a house or car or even the entire collection of FRIENDS on DVD. Come to think of it I can’t even afford to buy the entire set of Asterix comics. Or maybe I can afford it, but I don’t want to spend on it right now. Now what else would I like to have & can afford but not ready to spend on it right away. Let’s see…there’s an i-Pod nano, BOSE speakers, DVD player... & a horde of other things….

Had lunch at The Nagarjuna Residency this Sunday afternoon. Vegetarian Andhra thali. Kind of strange for a stringent non-vegetarian like me…but I guess I need to give a break to my chicken diet every now and then. Food was good….the rice with ghee would definitely not be a great idea for my waistline and the chillies and gongura pickles have a tendency to cry foul the next morning….but what the heck…
Afterwards, Hot Chocolate Fudge (magnum) at Corner House was great. So much for the work-outs.

Ended the day by watching The Prestige – a brilliant movie with Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale and Michael Caine. Yah...Scarlett Johansson was also there in the movie. Liked Christian Bale a lot in this one ....amazing actor. And Michael Caine is anyway above all the praise and tributes.

And the week ends...

Satisfying day today...the 2nd day of the Client meeting went very well...I guess I can say that both the teams played to potential...both had a very good discussion on some of the important concerns/issues which can be expected in the next few months to come....I was especially happy to be a part of the meeting since I got a first hand experience of "reluctance to accept change..." I guess Americas and Europe are now familiar with the wave of outsourcing; it's Asia where the mindsets need to change now...the way some of the countries were throwing up their concerns highlighted the significance of how India needs to ensure that the next phase of outsourcing hit the Asian nations the same way it did for Americas and Europe. Problems are going to be plenty - language, culture, reluctance to change....but then these are not going to be new....it was fought then, it'll be fought now...and won over.

Came back home by 1700hrs...didn't have much to do after meeting was over...spent some "quality time" with myself...must say I kind of love my own company :-)Slight feeling of guilt with all that unnecessary shopping...but that's ok. It's not that I spend money on clothes often...

Now after having watched one episode of LOST and finished listening to some melodious tunes of yesteryears...I guess i'll finish the blog here & start getting ready for Friday night movie...they have a new name for Friday Night Fever now - Frinitis...read about it in today's paper....wonder if they will do the same for Friday Night Movie.

Watched Corpse Bride - decent. Not getting tickets for Apocalypto for the weekend, guess I'll watch it next weekend then...

End of the week...

Two days of client visit....bah!!!

yup, my Thursday & Friday are going to be with the client delegation - around 16 people from across the globe.not that I really like working in office, but 2 days roaming around the campus and sitting in long discussions is a pain...

But thankfully you get good food during that time....hopefully this time as well. :-)

Warm-up matches on tv are not too bad....but somehow I feel the regular teams are not putting up a serious fight for these...kind of keeping their strength for the actual World Cup matches.

With NZ getting beaten by Bangladesh and SA in serious trouble with Ireland...Wonder what Aus Vs Eng will result in???

And Ganguly should have done a better job of the Dutch bowlers...same for Sehwag. If Sehwag doesn't show form with these opponents, dont think even Dravid can save him. Didn't get to see Sachin's or Dravid's half centuries....

Apocalypto's releasing this weekend. Have read about it in Wikipedia and seen the trailer...hope it's as good as it seems. Trailer's racy like all other trailers....but the storylineseems a real thriller.

Some people think they are allowed to say or do anything in the name of friendship...hellooo..you might be a close friend...but you needto respect the space between...and then they think they are doing a favour by sulking....well all of us have met these people ;-)

And before I publish this, Thursday's already here....Client's here I come...