Story Idea - The Three Men Who Forget

Hook:Three death row criminals are given a choice of three states of mind in a scientific experiment that knocks out that part. One chooses not to think of the past, one about the future and the third about the present.Story:Three criminals on the death row. One way to get out (ala Clockwork Orange) is to participate in the scientific experiment. What happens when they lose memory of the past, the  capacity to think of the future and the inability...

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Thought For The Day - Moult The Past Away Like A Snake

What if we could get up each day without the baggage of yesterday? What if we can suddenly start afresh, slate clean, smiles in place, people not judged? What if we could shed it all like snakes do and move on?Nice inviting roadSounds heavenly. Life an...

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Is India A Safe Place For Women?

I keep seeing these polls on websites and tv channels? Is India safe? What do you think?I don't know how the poll is supposed to change anything but I suppose the answer is quite obvious in view of the latest happenings. It's not.I recently saw a CNN report based on an American student's report of her three month stay in India and the report was quite shattering and hard hitting. It points at all the things we take for granted with our so called 'freedom' - leching at women openly, making passes at them passing lewd comments, taking pictures and...

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Story idea - Cancer Ward

Hook: How a bunch of terminally ill guys decide to take one last shot at redemption.A coupleStory: Six guys in a cancer ward for terminally ill get talking. They all know they have not more than a month to live. While talking at night they think of the one big regret they had all their lives. If there was one way to set it right how would they do it? As they share their stories the six come up with different plans, different attitudes, to their last...

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Our Big Problem - We Condone Easily

I agree with Ramaraju on this. While walking and discussing the other day as we normally do over weekends, Ram pointed out how we take our hypocricy to a new level. On one hand we all condemn and crib about all that is wrong and on the other hand we condone the same criminals and hobnob with them in our personal capacities. It is not about forgiving a crime - it is about giving social sanction to it and saying that this is okay. Fine by me. Hypocrite!Pic....

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Best Kept Secret - Jeffrey Archer

It is a well kept secret till the end. This book follows a couple of books in this series called the Clifton Chronicles which made it difficult for me to figure out why certain events were being discussed as if the others had already seen the movie. But it did not matter because the book never rose above the kind of a bar that I would normally reserve for Mr. Archer. It looked like bored writing. A job had to be done and was done. Ho hum. Same here.For...

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Office Space - Movie Review

Watched this movie after I read a post on the internet on the top 10 office movies to watch. It's a 1999 movie about an IT company in the US. They already had an Indian as a main character even then! Anyway its satirical and very true in its depiction of how dumb organised behavior can get especially in offices. And its light hearted and funny.Three friends, Gibbons, Samir and  Michael Bolton, working in an IT company are struggling with the...

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Demise of Another Irani Cafe - Industrial Cafe, Sanathnagar

Industrial Cafe Sanatnagar was bang opposite the Allwyn factory. A spacious, high ceilinged, big-hearted affair, Industrial cafe lived up to its name and catered to the chai and time pass requirements of the workers and passersby in the industrial area of Sanatnagar. Being close to a number of large sized industries including some of the units of Allwyn, the Hyderabad Industries, Bakelite Hylam and a host of smaller units around it was always bustling...

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Story Idea - The Secret Weapon

Hook:Chap has a wonderful talent to charm people but he feels guilty about using his charm to get the woman he loves because he feel he has an unfair advantage.Pic courtesy: Prarthana NargundkarStory:Chap has the gift of charming people off their feet, specially the fairer sex. But he has never really found the love of his life. After many many dalliances he finally finds the one he has been yearning for. She shows signs of liking him too and is...

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Thought for the Day - Intensity of Forever, In the Now

How to do a job well? Simple. Put the intensity of forever into whatever you are doing now.More simply, if there was one way you'd do a thing before it went out from you into the world, do it now in the seemingly mundane things you are doing. If I am writing this blog, I am to write it as if it's the last communication from me. I put the 'forever' element into this now. Bring the 'forever' intensity of your big potential, the energy you save for...

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Anjali - We Didn't Discover The Zero, They Did

While playing cricket with Anjali the other day, the topic went to 'zero'. In a bout of mischief she started yelling that her score was now zero or something like that. After a couple of her trademark jigs, she turned to me and impishly said - 'We Indians only discovered the zero na nanna!' and went on in that we-are-the-greatest vein for a while. We'd read about this 'zero' business in a book last week.Not me!After playing a couple of balls though,...

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P. Kalyanasundaram, Man of the Millennium - Heartwarming and Inspirational Story

I first saw a post on facebook and then I dug a bit deeper into the anonymous life of P. Kalyanasundarma of Tiruneveli who was awarded the 'Man of the Millenium' award of Rs. 30 crore by a US organization. What did he do? Paalam Kalyanasundaram did what he does best with money - he donated the entire amount to the service of the needy. That's not all. He also was named as one of the 'Outstanding People of the 20th Century' by the United Nations Organization and was recognized as one of the 'noblest of the world' by The International Biographical...

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The Best of O. Henry - O. Henry

37 of O. Henry's short stories collected from over 600 of his stories. A real treat to read. This was one of those many classic collections that I picked from my publisher Indialog's office in Delhi last year - they do have a fine collection of classics. It was with great anticipation that I started reading this book and I really enjoyed reading all those stories that impacted me in my schooldays, again.Indialog Publications, Rs.145, 271 pI most...

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Anjali - The Art of Handling Money

Two instances in the recent past got me thinking about the art of handling money. My concept of money as opposed to an almost-six year olds.Contribute - However Small In the first instance Anjali she decided to give a handsome contribution of Rs. Seven to her aunt on her wedding anniversary. This was Anjali's money of course, that she saved up, but she decided to give what she could to her aunt. 'She told me she has no money,' she said as she packed in the money in a hand made card for her aunt. As simple as that. Someone needs something and I...

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Story Idea - The Supporter

Hook:Chap spends all his life passionately supporting people and teams and whatever he is part of. Will he get support back in return when he has to finally turn into the leader?Pic courtesy: Prarthana NargundkarStory:An earnest chap learns early in life that to support others is a great thing. He puts it into practice and fully supports everyone and everything, with all his might. He turns out to be the unseen bond behind every success story, something...

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Talk at Advanta - Transferring Ownership

The one question that we started with but never got down to answering by the end of it all was this - how does the owner transfer / inculcate a spirit of ownership among his group?This is easier said than done. But it can be done.A Secure Leader Firstly of course we must start with the owner. The owner must truly believe in the concept of sharing ownership. Which means that he must feel secure enough to share the ownership. Most owners feel threatened about this part - of sharing ownership. Since they are insecure themselves, they end up dictating...

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Chennai Express - Movie Review

Been a long time since a movie was seen at the 10 a.m. show. But I saw the huge hit that Rohit Shetty made with Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone in a theatre that had about 20 people including Shobhs and me. Not many takers for the early morning shows I guess.I saw some reviews ripping this movie to shreds. Ratings of 1 star on 5 and so on. Then I heard rave reviews from those who found it extremely funny - I did not - there are jokes but not one...

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Story Idea - The Laughing Man

Hook:Man in search of happiness and the travails he undergoes to find it.Pic courtesy: Prarthana NargundkarStory:Young man in a frustrated state decides that he needs to find a purpose in his life. He eliminates all other purposes and zeroes down on finding happiness.Probing further he decides to follow laughter - which he thinks is a natural ally of happiness. He quickly realises that as he follows laughter, many dynamics in his life are changing....

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If - By Rudyard Kipling

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Smurfs 2 - Movie Review

I love the Smurfs. Ever since I read King Smurf, a copy of which I am still seeking and which I will one day acquire, I have been in love with the Smurfs. But I like the comic book better than the movie for obvious reasons. But still, I will not let go a chance to see the Smurfs in action in delightful 3D stuff. So promises were made to Anjali and honoured and we landed up at Inox, Banjara Hills.Gargomel has created a Smurfette and sent her to steal...

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Thought for the Day - Life Is Here

Life is not something that will happen at some faraway place in time.Pic courtesy Prarthana NargundkarLife could be happening to you right n...

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Session at Advanta India - 2 Questions

In a 2-hour session at Advanta India's supply chain conference last week, I shared a few of my thoughts. The buzz words for the conference were excellence, team work, ownership, speed in action and quality consciousness. It was a large group of 130 executives and they did a fine job of being involved through most of a highly soporific environment - post-lunch, dimly lit rooms, well air-conditioned and a distant speaker droning on, is not the best...

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The Koni Adventures - Some Unexplored Sights Near Shamshabad

As always Koni discovered some new places of interest and took us to visit these places. At Shamshabad as one turns into the town, the road leads to some rice research institutes and an engineering college.On the way, we see a temple, 300 year old, he says, fully functional. It is a fine old, piece of work and exudes an old world charm.Probably a dried-up water body with steps all aroundThere is something like an amphitheatre, probably a water body...

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Love In The Time of Cholera - Movie Review

I read the novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It is a fascinating love story of a young man who waits fifty odd years for his love. The novel was very visual and its a great compliment to Garcia's writing that I remembered much of what happened in the story. Only great stories, well told, retain that impact.Florentino Ariza, an average looking boy coming from a modest home where he lives with his mother, falls in love with Fermina Daza, the beautiful...

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Thought for the Day - Seize Control In Your Mind

There are two ways to react to a situation. One as the victim - the helpless one. The other as the one who has a choice - who can exercise some control over the situation.Pic courtesy. AnjaliThe first way is one where you will always be at a disadvantage, at somebody else's mercy. They will decide and you will follow. It is a sure way of feeling unhappy, taken granted for and feeling unfulfilled.The second line of thought is recommended - to think...

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Leela - Leela Naidu and Jerry Pinto

Leela Naidu is a larger than life personality and this book that she co-authored with Jerry Pinto, does no injustice to her and what she must have been as a person. She does belong to a rare breed of personalities. If the book captures half of what she was, its still brought to life a personality so interesting and multi-hued, one with such diverse experiences, of great beauty and high intelligence, of courage and integrity, compassion and mischief....

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