Feels good to be back again writing, and not writing to draft or respond to emails!! :)

I have been thinking of these few ideas to 'start a business' for over 6 - 7 years now. Then again, I am not able to muster enough courage to take the next step to put the idea to test. That probably is the difference between an entrepreneur and everyone else with ideas [that do not seem to see the light of the day] :(

What do you think?

PS: Did I pass the buck again???!!!! :) 

am wishing for a star ...

It has been a while since I wrote on the blog .... no excuses ... have been thinking about a lot of things ... christmas in dallas.... bujji's experiences in school .... questions that sudhanv a has started asking ..... our trip back home ....... our school in hukunda and an appeal about it ..... etc ....

Will sit on these tommorrow ...

For today it is going to be '3 idiots' ..:)

Amma ......

The modern Mother's Day holiday was created by Anna Jarvis as a day for each family to honor its mother,[1] and it's now celebrated on various days in many places around the world.

Sandhya (my wife) was telling me yesterday in a different context that we tend to always forget thanking the woman at home (mother, wife, sister) for all that they do.

Tomorrow is mother's day and I just started thinking today as to how many times have I told amma that I liked what she cooked for me on a given day; many a day's she has waited till mid-night for me to get back home after I have met and spent an entire day with my friends - just to ask me if I have had my dinner and then go to sleep (we did not have mobile then) ....; may a days' she has made me breakfast or lunch even when SHE was sick and did not even let me know that she was infact sick and cud not manage being in the kitchen ...... always cooks what me or my DAD likes rather then what SHE likes :(((

My first teacher at home before my schooling ...and she was the first teacher with my wife to my daughter Spruhaa when she was born.

She is not keeping well for sometime now but does not let out anything about her ailment whenever I get to speak to her on the phone. Having known her for all of my life, I can make out from her voice as to how she is doing ..... ofcourse, bits 'n pieces of her instincts have rubbed off on me too .......

(Forget all these discussions about why a mother's day at all ..) I just want to let her know that I love her a lot and I wish her the best of health and happiness and pray to god to always give me the strength, wisdom, willingness and resources to always keep her happy ! .....

Love you, amma :-)

Choose your friends wisely !!

A month ago, spruhaa (my daughter) had an incident at her school. She is in her UKG and had joined hands with another classmate of hers and were troubling a third girl in a very ackward way .... This girl who is being troubled is a special child in the sense that this child is very shy, still does not know to communicate well with others and supposedly is suffering from a very high inferiority complex :(((

Spruhaa's teacher in class it seems was watching Spruhaa all thru this episode and finally called Spruhaa, warned her of mis-behavior and sent her out of the class for 5 minutes ....

Spruhaa's teacher narrated the entire incident to me when I went to pick up spruhaa from school that day and told me that she was surprised to see Spruhaa act like the way she did with the other girl !! :(( (For people who dont know spruhaa, she is a very emotional, considerate and a very reasonable girl who is also very sensitive to other people around her) Even I was surprised to hear that Spruhaa did behave that way :((

One thing that Spruhaa's teacher said at the end of our conversation stayed with me and will stay with me & in me all thru my life. It was like that punchline from an ad or a rajnikanth movie !! She said, 'Spruhaa, in life always learn to choose your friends wisely' !!

It is not that this statement is something new to me or anyone or that we have never heard of it. It hit me really hard coz' it was said to my daughter in front of me in a certain context. Also, I dont know if Spruhaa understood the inherent meaning of that statement!!

I did not scold spruhaa that day or any other day for that matter, but I continue to think about that statement 'atleast once every day' ... and keep wondering that it is soooo very important in life ......

I think choosing the 'right' friends will give the kid that kinda of positive vibrations, thoughts, ideas, avenues, opportunities, exposure that otherwise will be lacking ....

Having said that, I also start thinking about the '6 honest serving men' (the how, when, where, who, what and why's ) ... how do I choose the 'right' friends, who helped me do that ... does the onus again falls back on the parents ................. not sure :(((

HELP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HELP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Babuji Dheere Chal na ! :)

Hmm ... Apologies for not writing for quite sometime now .... no excuses ... just did not find the motivation to write something ..... :-(

I today happened to read thru some article about an indian's experiences in Sweden and also some comparisons between Europeans and Americans in general ....

Note: Publishing this post with all due regards to the person who shared his experiences. I dont know this person's name as it was posted as anonymous...

*****************

It’s been 18 years since I joined Volvo, a Swedish company. Working for them has proven to be an interesting experience. Any project here takes two years to be finalized, even if the idea is simple and brilliant. It’s a rule.

Globalised processes have caused in us (all over the world) a general sense of searching for immediate results. Therefore, we have come to posses a need to see immediate results. This contrasts greatly with the slow movements of the Swedish. They, on the other hand, debate, debate, debate, hold dozens of meetings and work with a slowdown scheme. At the end, this always yields better results.

# Sweden is about the size of San Pablo, a state in Brazil.

# Sweden has 2 million inhabitants.

# Stockholm, has 500,000 people.

# Volvo, Escania, Ericsson, Electrolux, Nokia are some of its renowned companies. Volvo supplies the NASA.

The first time I was in Sweden, one of my colleagues picked me up at the hotel every morning. It was September, bit cold and snowy. We would arrive early at the company and he would park far away from the entrance (2,000 employees drive their car to work).

The first day, I didn’t say anything, either the second or third. One morning, I asked, “Do you have a fixed parking space? I’ve noticed we park far from the entrance even when there are no other cars in the lot.”

To which he replied, “Since we’re here early we’ll have time to walk, and whoever gets in late will be late and need a place closer to the door. Don’t you think?”

Imagine my face.

Nowadays, there’s a movement in Europe name Slow Food. This movement establishes that people should eat and drink slowly, with enough time to taste their food, spend time with the family, friends, without rushing.

Slow Food is against its counterpart: the spirit of Fast Food and what it stands for as a lifestyle. Slow Food is the basis for a bigger movement called Slow Europe.

Basically, the movement questions the sense of “hurry” and “craziness” generated by globalisation, fueled by the desire of “having in quantity” (life status) versus “having with quality”, “life quality” or the “quality of being”.

French people, even though they work 35 hours per week, are more productive than Americans or British. Germans have established 28.8 hour workweeks and have seen their productivity been driven up by 20%. This slow attitude has brought forth the US’s attention, pupils of the fast and the “do it now!”.

This no-rush attitude doesn’t represent doing less or having a lower productivity. It means working and doing things with greater quality, productivity, perfection, with attention to detail and less stress. It means re-establishing family values, friends, free and leisure time. Taking the “now”, present and concrete, versus the “global”, undefined and anonymous. It means taking humans’ essential values, the simplicity of living.

It stands for a less coercive work environment, more happy, lighter and more productive where humans enjoy doing what they know best how to do. It’s time to stop and think on how companies need to develop serious quality with no-rush that will increase productivity and the quality of products and services, without losing the essence of spirit.

In the movie, Scent of a Woman, there’s a scene where Al Pacino asks a girl to dance and she replies, “I can’t, my boyfriend will be here any minute now”. To which Al responds, “A life is lived in an instant”. Then they dance to a tango.

Many of us live our lives running behind time, but we only reach it when we die of a heart attack or in a car accident rushing to be on time. Others are so anxious of living the future that they forget to live the present, which is the only time that truly exists.

We all have equal time throughout the world. No one has more or less. The difference lies in how each one of us does with our time. We need to live each moment. As John Lennon said, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans”.

*******************************

Thank you for people who have read this article till the end ...... I see that some people still have some time for things like these .....(no pun intended!!)

- Bugs -

Sudhanva's metamorphosis !!!

Sudhanva (my son) had his chaula (mundan) in August 2008 in Bangalore, India. As we could not give him a crop in India, we did so here in Dallas, Texas on October 3rd 2008. Sandhya took him to the saloon (as the saloons here only open at 10 AM !!!!!) and I understand that sudhanva did not make a fuss while having a hair cut !!!

Check out the metamorphosis and some comments about his new look from our friends and family !! :-)

Selva: Very Cute.

Deepan: Sudhanva looks so cute ! :-) Lots of love Deepan

Prathima: 1st photo dalli -looks like a gal.

Prakash Shanmugam: Sudhan is looking nice Barghav....The lady get up also fits :)

Sumana: How are you all doing? Thank you for sending the cute collage of Sudhanva....he is adorable!!..

Katte shankra: Attige yelli annohange illa. Ditto ka ditto.. nice collection Bro…

Manish Jain: cute pics...

Lakshmi: He looks very cuteeeeeeeeee ;-) Dhrushti tegiri Sudhanva ge aayita..

Hemantha: Sandhya>>>>>>>>Bhargava

Harsha: hahaha.... upendra thara iddonu,,, aamir khan (as in movie Ghajini) thara kantaa iddane :-)

Gupta: He is so cute.. He looks like Spruhaa in first two photos. Ofcourse, both Sudhanva and Spruha looks like Sandhya ;-)

Neeraj: Nice one sir.. he looks even more handsome with that cut.

Ashwini: wow ! nice pics.. but really miss his curly hair !! it was just soo good :)

Smitha Gautam:O my God! Sudhanva looks adorable. He has the most charming smile and enchanting eyes. Bhargav is right. He is going to have a flurry of girls around him when he becomes big.

My dad: TUMBA CHENNAGIDE. The last one is excellent. Both me and amma saw them.
Best wishes to BHOJA.

Prasanna/ Shilpa: He looks just like spruha.. very cute.. Total change b4 and after..
Love to all of you.

Guess we will have many more comments and I will keep updating it !! .... :-)
God bless him ......

At 16 I expect my kids to starting supporting themselves !!! ?????

These are exactly the words spoken by one of my colleagues at my office here. She is a divorcee bringing up her 3 kids aged 17, 19 and 21 !! We were discussing about how things work in homes back in India v/s how kids are pushed to grow here in the United States .....

I was telling her that back in India kids are grown up in sheltered environments (sheltered physically, psychologically, emotionally, financially.......) until they are 21-22 yrs old only after which we start thinking about working, earning. Folks - I am talking of my generation that was in their 20s in the later part of the 90s. I don't think a lot has changed after that !! :-)

She was surprised and told me that people here in the united states prefer to have the kids go out and start working during the summer vacations from their 11th year (kids typically take up part time jobs in malls, stores, petrol bunks, super markets et al). She told me that kids start working 30 hr weeks when they reach their 17-18th year when they also do their college in the evenings !!

Now this has both positives and negatives to it.

Positives:
1. Exposure
2. Confidence
3. Opportunity to see the world - network with people
4. New avenues - ability to make informed decisions
5. Some money

Negatives:
1. Habits
2. A disillusioned friend circle
3. Confusion
4. Distraction from education (most feared in our country !!)
5. Is not emotionally rooted to parents - family (this is very evident across generations !!)

I just told her the I am scared to send my kids (when they grow up) to support themselves at the "tender" age of 16 ..... and left wondering if this is ALSO one of the reasons why the cultures of these 2 countries is soooo totally opposite ...... !!!

You tell me ....
Bugs
Some movies that depict both these sentiments, both masterpieces and a must watch ....
1. The Glacier Fox
2. March of the penguins

Kanmanigalu.....

My daughter Spruhaa Vasistha ... Spruhaa is ambition

My son Sudhanva Vasistha

Ganeesha Banda.......

It is the 3rd year in a row that we as a family are celebrating Ganesha - Gowri festival at home - 'away from home' !! Celebrating the festival sitting at my desk in office, I was thinking that it is amusing to note some of the differences between celebrating such a big festival as this away from home. Here it goes ......

DIFF #1.
Here: Business as usual. Work from 9 - 5 PM
There: Rajaaa (Holiday)... Majaaaaaa (Make merry)

DIFF #2
Here: Dont bother if we dont find 'maavina yele' (leaves from the mango tree !)
There: Must find maavina yele the previous ..... come what may !

DIFF #3
Here: Dont bother to buy new clothes for myself or for kids
There: Elders at home take care of it !! (for us all .....)

DIFF #4
Here: A quick pooja with 'Ganapathi Shastri galu' reciting the ganesha stotra on the internet (www.kannadaaudio.com)
There: An elaborate step by step ritualistic 3-4 hr pooja

DIFF #5
Here: Doesn't matter if you look at the moon
There: Advised not to look at the moon today. If you happen to unknowingly, make sure you read up the 'shyamantaka mani' story and recite the 'shyamantaka mani mantra' in the evening

DIFF #6
Here: No ganapathi pandals / functions
There: Many a roads in the interiors are blocked with ganapathi pandals

DIFF #7
Here: 'Madan Mallu Sangeetha Sanje' missing here ..:-(
There: We get to see sangeetha sanje's for the next one month in every corner !!

DIFF #8
Here: We dont even get to visit a single house where ganesha is being worshipped
There: We are supposed to visit 101 houses (or atleast 21) where ganesha is being worshipped !!

DIFF #9
Here: Desi store modakas
There: Amma / ajji maadida kadubugalu (rice dumpling filled with coconut & jaggery paste and boiled under pressure)

DIFF #10
Here: Ambience ..... :-(
There: Ambience .. the feel ... the vibrance .... a majaaaa :-)

There are many many more smaller details and things that we surely do miss out being here .... but I must tell you that sandhya (my beloved) is trying to make up for all of it by celebrating this festival as closer to the way it is celebrated back home .....

ganesha banda.... kaayi kadubu tinda............
chikka kereli bidda, dodda kereli edda.........

Back in Dallas..

I flew back to Dallas after a 4 wk vacation in namma bengaluru ..... it was nice to get back with family and friends after almost 2.5 yrs .... but it was also a whirlwind trip with 2 big functions (sudhanva's birthday party followed by his chaula function) in two alternate weekends ..... it got very hectic though ..... anna and amma were all the while complaning that I have not been able to spend enough time with them even though I was in bangalore for all of the 4 weeks ..:-(

More soon (snaps, videos, some thoughts .. and lot more !!!)
Bugs.