Pandora's box

I guess that India has just hit open the Pandora box ,over the new states formation . Paul Krugmen would for sure agree that these fragmentations would be more catastrophic than the downturn which would go to a near paralysis of the machinery

The Ironman travelled width and breadth uniting smaller kingdoms in to present Hindustan and our learned gen next is busy in ensuring that the retro perspective is put in to place

The pro side is that the state functioning might be more effective as one could decentralize a lot , the flip overweighs everything, the huge administrative cost involved would go haywire that it might not be optimum for a nation that is trying hard to sustain a double digit growth

Men who are drawing parallel’s to 52 states in the US are not citing other hygiene’s on the same level playing field

In any case ,its for the people to decide …

Iam allowed to say " Value Added " , Now Iam an MBA

Ha . in the final , my tryst with MBA proved to have borne fruit , ( Aatha Naan Pass Aiten ! ) Managed to get my MBA ( hair line wary across, been little apprehensive after 3rd sem debacle ) , after religiously attending those classes every sunday , the only hygiene's being F&H coffee vending machine & the early morning pongal enroute .. though both are out of my diet at present

For sure i wouldn't have gone through the grind not even to the extent of 1 % of that in my Mechanical Engineering degree as never been the seriousness and always had less priority.
But then , made some good friends / contacts , got to meet people from diverse back ground , sharing their dose of experience , a house wife , publisher , fitness expert , electrical contractor / Tooling entreprenaur, A Copy writer , ad sales exec , furniture shop manager , Textile Engineer , Banker , & like blood people -> One an Assembly Line engineer @ leyland & another a Service Engineer from MM .. list goes on

Also unlike stereotype prof / teachers , some who handled us were those from industry background rather than academia. This was disticnt and handy when it came in relating to practices/ applications . Was indeed a nice experience to interact with hands on Men/women ,rather than school kids directly coming after institutionalized preparation / rituals . Though the limited time of meeting once a week proved to be the down pourer , this would be something close to me

The PU_LC twinning 2007 ~09 MBA batch , here we come.......

If not for an Engineer I would have been a ….. ?

As of now, I am on course to collect my MBA degree while still at job if things move right or may be in another 6 months if any backlog unexpectedly happens ( glorified way of terming cup / arrears ) ,prepare for admission , get in to school and collect my full time MBA , become a Fund Manager or a supply chain coordinator which have been my dream jobs

But sometimes I think, what if I had not been inclined towards engineering and had to adopt an alternate profession , what where they be ? Further the present slowdown at the back ground , the canvas before me provided me to pen down the wildest options

1 Coffee Taster
This might be a very casual title on the first look , but on the contrary these are one of the highly paid individuals , whose gastronomic skills fills them enough to fend them superfluously.

2 Cook

Udhyogam purushalakshanam , Nalabagam Mahalakshanam

Hindu mythology says Men are more seasoned at handling the magic potion to produce the wildest of the tastes . Nala is supposed to be one of the finest of cooks ,whom noneth where to able to match in the celestial world
Palakkad cooks ( remember Kameshwaran in Michael Madana Kama Rajan ) are one of the globe trotting lot ,who are known for the awesome recipes and are always on demand ,which as allowed other cooks from neighboring states to call them as palakkad cooks and move around

If at all I were to take the karandi in hand , these would be the first things to dole out
Chena upperi , Aviyal , vathakozhambu , poondu rasam , Rava dosa

3 F1 Mechanic

My father still tells me that I removed the spark plug from my old Bajaj CUB scooter when I was in class I .Perhaps this would explain ,my love for Mechanical engineering ,nuts and bolts have been through out ,guess ..

Standing on those sacred tarmac area called pit stop , holding a pneumatic tool bit waiting for those sexy speedsters to come to u , holding them on hand … OMG , I would just love to be there

4 News correspondent

Getting to know what’s happening around was always with me right from my formative years , which many of you would acknowledge and endorse .
Knowing people , networking and trying to update on all around . it also provides an opportunity to know varied people / area and helps u to have a larger perspective of life around

5 Real Estate broker

Land and buildings have always fascinated me. This one really doesn't require any formal education , but instead demands toiling up on the field and learning the knacks the hard way.


Whatever said and done, touch wood, I had never been devoid of things i had aspired for ( modest aspirations )..A decent upbringing / schooling / a bunch of good child hood friends & in pretty decent job at hand to fend for myself .I strongly feel that preparing for an alternate career , would infact develop that mental state of figuring out a larger perspective of any situation even in your mainstream career.

Kirukalgal turns 3

Ha its been 3 years now , What started as a casual avocation during those long airport transits/ hotel stays during my business tours have been a medium to vent out whatever I felt at that point as well stay networked to my GUMBAL ,which I treasure than anything .

Though no specific traits in these posts have been followed , it always ends up putting something close to heart .I still remember when I first sat to write this on 12th April 2007 ( incidentally happens to be the day when a great soul stepped in to this world :- ) ) during my return flight from Delhi . Adi would later pick me up from the Airport and drop me at home on the day ,enabling me to meter out airport – residence :-)

What else I could have thought about than our game of cricket at mottai madi when i toyed for the first time. . Then followed others close to my heart..., Coffee , Mechanical Engineering , Formula 1 , The great summer of 2003 .

Then there were a few , I wrote after reading something or having created a perception about the same . One such thing was on " Its not about the bike.. " (http://natrajvenkatraman.blogspot.com/2007/07/its-not-about-bike-my-journey-back-to.html) . This was in July 2007 . I had quit Hyundai & was in the interim break before joining Tata . The book and the very idea of single parenthood in the book really shook me. Its not something new to us as we would have fore sure encountered persons with similar background . I too had the opportunity to move with such people and adore their solid self made personalities. This is one of the entries I really relished writing and do the same whenever I read it

More recently I was able to connect again with all in the GUMBAL ,with the 6A Natesa Nagar entry (http://natrajvenkatraman.blogspot.com/2009/05/6a-5th-main-road.html). Iam sure this would have bought back those nostalgic moments in many of us. It was indeed a pleasure to receive a comment from Major Bala who took time from his arduous treacherous schedule to read this after hearing from me .Many of my colleagues at work were baffled to see that somebody who is in touch with their childhood friends , which I feel is rarely seen out there.

In short , this has seen the sinusoidal of my personal & professional life and would continue to do so, I would be happy writing as long as the purpose of this as in the opening lines is served

Kutta !! .. Next should be your Kalyana Chapaadu ..

Heard this line after every meal of my cousin's day wedding ceremony at palakkad recently , and from whom....from old Mamis ,Patis ,chitthis , chittapapa ...whom i have to actually halt and think for two minutes as to how i am even related to them....and from whom we hear from only on such weddings or family occassions ......

Who are these ppl and what the hell else will my wedding be to them, but just another function to wear pattu podavai and come ,eat and go,....and of course get an update on who got married who hasnt ... , exchange rate of US dollar and UAE dirham , who lives where and who is next in line to the Knot , I was taken aback when 2 paati’s ( 70 + ) were talking about H1N1 and obama.
and my poor parents worried expression after every such comment...

As much as family functions are a delight, being able to be at palakkad ,with cousins catching up and having truckloads of fun with other family members & friends , the dressing up, the singing away, the food ( I just love it , paal paysam , parupu paysam , sambar , olan ,kaalan, kootu,upperi ), the people watching...seeing your fun cousin have fun at his own wedding ...:)
I guess when it comes to you being a topic of discussion it can get a little irritating....

Our's is a Palakkad iyer - Tam Brahm family with ppl living all over.....Chennai ,Coimbatore , Bangalore ,across Kerala ,lots of settlement in the west - Mumbai & of course the US , Gulf , Canada , Australia & even Nigeria for that matter. Thankfully...my cousins werent irritating like the un-known Mamis and Patis were ,who ask.....Kutta enne aachu ? ?
when are you getting married?....so how old will you be next year ? arent your parents looking?..

.hey...settle down now!...i am not dying of some dreaded disease..so please dont look so worried for me....!i am having lot of fun(even be it in solitude) ... unlike you who is already regretting having got hitched...i have a great job and earn a good deal to take care of myself... what are you worried abt..? i cant seem to understand....Never thought i'll be writing one of these...read them ....but really ppl there are old Mamis, thathas and patis for all the questioning.....

6A ,5th Main Road

Was at 6A after a 5 months hiatus . Have never been ever since I changed my coordinates . This surely would be one of the places I frequented the most

This house has seen the Childs fight to the street fight , the fall & rise , the ups & downs ,the ego & the sacred self of each one of us in the GUMBAL .

During the school & college days , when we were not that privileged to flaunt the mobiles we do now, one number which my parents knew by heart apart from my residence was 24790725.

This place was also a temple of all leisure activities , people would be playing tennis , cricket on the narrow pathway as well as the terrace ensuring the ball only to be hit in to the next locked apartment in the 2nd floor or to the adjoining house guarded by 3-4 dogs . people would fight to decide who would jump and pick up the ball.

I had also spent many afternoons ,sleeping at this house ,when others would be preparing for the 10th Board ,12th Board & TNPCEE exams . Infact I had many night out at this place , the only motivational hygiene being the biscuit packet & hot tea that PP’s father would get us for staying awake.

This Is also the place ,people would make it a point to drop in religiously whenever they are in India from whichever place on the world map.This place for the last 20years had played a pivotal role in forming many relationships . Though I wont say , that the 3 are the best friends (which isn't ) , but then this place finds a mention on the Trio's ( Vidhya - PP - Natti) life.
Now 6A is all set to add one more new member to the family . Though many of our fellow chininmates have moved on to the next phase of family life , Iam still pinching hard to believe our Pradeep Parthasarathy is all set to shun the elite single tag .
Just as the famous lines goes :-

We are all a little weird And life's a little weird,
And when, like you, you find Someone whose weirdness is compatible with yours,
You join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness & call it love.

Pink , Dont Panic ! ! !

Crisis and adversities are an integral part of life and so is recession. The toughest situations and problems also give learning, to look back and correct ourselves and also giving strength mentally and emotionally.
A few precautions and suggestions for difficult times during recession and lay off for everybody,
a) Don’t panic; have confidence that you can face any situation. The trend of people getting mentally disturbed is peaking up because of the worst fears of recession.
Let’s see some examples,
Think of our soldiers based at the border… who knows when somebody would attack. Imagine the plight of the people in POK, or any other war stricken area…
What would happen if there was a severe earthquake with highest impact levels? You would have to face the outcome of it right? And earth quake ; It just strikes…it does not happen over a prior intimation like a planned power cut
Then why panic to a situation which you are aware of. Why die a slow death by panicking
Apply "What worse can happen?” theory and build up your confidence, get prepared MENTALLY. "What worse can happen?”, theory is one serious thought which can mentally make you very strong and give all the courage to face any situation that comes. Think what could be the worst possible options, will I loose my job? will the financiers acquire my property? THINK; what is the worst possible event that can happen, and START FINDING ALTERNATES for the same.
Media repeatedly highlights the bad part of the scenario, and so our peer group discussions…Don’t heed much attention to that. Think for yourself around you. Has life stopped? No, rite? Move on.
b) Your family and friends would be of a great support to face any scenario, discuss with them. Involve them in your scenario. Lot of Ideas pop up, And remember “An idea can change the world”.
c) Don’t be ashamed to ask for help. Open your mouth, who knows somewhere, something better might be waiting for you.
d) Networking; Not just in recession, networking is a greatest tool available for mankind. Man is a social animal , so start socialising. Dig up your old friends list whom you would have forgotten over a period of time... and never shy to say "I need help ". ( I strongly believe in this , Natti works on Network , its not just adding up ur friends list on the orkut or facebook , try to be in touch)
e) Slowdown the life style habits... i mean 'daru, hookah, Suttah, and the eat outs. This can save you significant amounts.
f) Financials: discuss this with your family, instead of making it out alone. Build up your cash reserves (liquidity) enough to take care of your fixed commitments and the family requirements for at least 6 months. Build on this. Let the cash reserves be in an arms reach in the banks – better to have it spread between 2~3 bank accounts.
g) A rupee saved is a rupee earned. Think of all the possibilities where you can save.
h) Investments in lifestyle luxuries can wait.
i) You can and have to bring down certain fixed commitments, viz, If staying in a rented house, check out if you can move on to your NEEDS ( from a 3bhk to 2 bhk ). Move to a little far off area. Never shy away from re-negotiating. Dont get easlity convinced that you are paying the right price, negotiate negotiate hard . The little u save , that little u spare
j) Move out of mortgage. This can give a good amount of liquidity in hand for sometime.
k) If things are not working out well… what for is that fancy car of yours, is it really required.

Some thumb rules, even if it’s not recession;
1) Save for the rainy day (you should have at least a saving of 6 months salary in Cash, be it Convertible Fixed Deposit or cash in your account)
2) Always ensure that your fixed financial commitments are always under your capacity . As a thumb rule never have loan / borrowing repayment commitments more than 40% of your take home.
3) HAVE A PLAN B ready. An alternate plan must be ready all the times. Now that’s the difference you find in the small eyed people who have made a great difference in the world, the Japanese & Koreans. Their philosophies review the PLAN B even before the normal plan is seen.

( I remember my old boss who alwasy used to block tickets on the same sector ,same day on 2 different flights)
4) Some innate talents in you can also provide for alternate options, think…

( These are reflections of thought @ my workplace ,with friends , with pickups from real life practices . Write up courtesy : Avinash )