Author Archive

Author:
• Thursday, February 22nd, 2007
Wow!! I was really taken back when I saw the awareness processions and meetings in some parts of TN in connection with the Mother Tongue Day or Mother Language Day while I was watching the SUNTV(Tamil TV Network) news today. Is there a really a day to honor and celebrate our mother tongue? Looks like there is one.

I heard about Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Heart Day, AIDS Day, Teachers Day, Childrens day and never to forget the most well know Valentines Day. But I never heard one to celebrate and honor our Mother language/Tongue.

I am really happy to see people actually observing that day because I am lover of my mother tongue. Obviously everybody loves their mother tongue which needs to be honored and celebrated. It might not have any special effect in the western world because they really speak one and only language which is English. I guess thats the reason I don’t see any special cards from Hallmark which always try to make buck of it.

It really matters for people in those countries which has lots of different languages spoken and used. Especially in India, it really matters and makes a lot of sense. As per my knowledge, we have around 800 different languages with around 2000 dialects. We have 23 official languages in our country. Too many languages but each of them has their own heritage which needs to celebrated and remembered by their own people.

As usual, my buzzing brain wants to know how exactly this day start to be commenrated as Mother language Day ?

I found some interesting facts as below:

Feb21 – International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by UNESCO’s General Conference in November 1999. The International Day has been observed every year since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.
Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. Half of the world’s 6000 to 7000 languages are in danger of extinction.- International Mother Language Day, celebrated annually aims to promote the recognition and practice of the world’s mother tongues, particularly minority ones.
The main objective is by “Favouring the promotion of linguistic diversity and the development of multilingual education from an early age helps preserve cultural diversity and the conditions for international understanding, tolerance and mutual respect.”
Check out this site for more info: UNESCO.ORG
Language is the root of any culture and by showing the pride towards honoring it seems to be wonderful way. I think it makes real sense to honor and celebrate our mother tongue while there are other nonsense unimportant days celebrated in the world. It also gives the opportunity to talk about it to our kids and increase their awarness.
At this time, atleast start saying out loud that “I AM PROUD TO SPEAK MY Mother language {Hindi, Kannada, Telugu or any of you language}”.
 
 
I am saying it loud, “I AM PROUD TO SPEAK MY MOTHER LANGUAGE TAMIL”.
 
Also try to have a habit to speak only in your mother language whenever you talk to your friends who know your mother language instead of using some other language. Like for example, (Translation – Speak to Tamilians in Tamil to increase Tamil awareness)

Category: India, Others  | Leave a Comment
Author:
• Thursday, February 15th, 2007
I came across this nice email which I never seen before about the existence of God in connection with science. I thought it will be good to share it. Read along..
 
 
AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION.

An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class
on the problem science has with God, The Almighty. He
asks one of his new students to stand and…..

Prof      : So you believe in God?
Student : Absolutely, sir.

Prof      : Is God good?
Student : Sure.

Prof      : Is God all-powerful?
Student : Yes.

Prof      : My brother died of cancer even though he
prayed to God to heal him. Most of us would attempt to
help others who are ill. But God didn’t. How is this
God good then? Hmm?
(Student is silent.)

Prof       : You can’t answer, can you? Let’s start
again, young fellow. Is God good?
Student : Yes.

Prof      : Is Satan good?
Student : No.

Prof       : Where does Satan come from?
Student : From…God.. .

Prof      : That’s right. Tell me son, is there evil
in this world?
Student : Yes.

Prof      : Evil is everywhere, isn’t it? And God did
make everything. Correct?
Student : Yes.

Prof       : So who created evil?
Student does not answer.

Prof      : Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred?
Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the
world, don’t they?
Student : Yes, sir.

Prof       : So, who created them?
Student has no answer.

Prof      : Science says you have 5 senses you use to
identify and observe the world around you. Tell me,
son…Have you ever seen God?
Student : No, sir.

Prof       : Tell us if you have ever heard your God?
Student : No, sir.

Prof       : Have you ever felt your God, tasted your
God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory
perception of God for that matter?
Student : No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.

Prof      : Yet you still believe in Him?
Student : Yes.

Prof      : According to empirical, testable,
demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn’t
exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student : Nothing. I only have my faith.

Prof      : Yes. Faith. And that is the problem
science has.
Student : Professor, is there such a thing as heat?
Prof       : Yes.

Student: And is there such a thing as cold?
Prof      : Yes.

Student : No sir. There isn’t.
(The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn
of events.)

Student : Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more
heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat
or no heat. But we don’t have anything called cold. We
can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but
we can’t go any further after that. There is no such
thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe
the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is
energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just
the absence of it.
(There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.)

Student : What about darkness, Professor? Is there
such a thing as darkness?
Prof       : Yes. What is night if there isn’t
darkness?

Student : You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is the
absence of something. You can have low light, normal
light, bright light, flashing light….But if you have
no light constantly, you have nothing and it’s called
darkness, isn’t it? In reality, darkness isn’t. If it
were you would be able to make darkness darker,
wouldn’t you?

Prof      : So what is the point you are making, young
man?
Student : Sir, my point is your philosophical premise
is flawed.

Prof      : Flawed? Can you explain how?

Student : Sir, you are working on the premise of
duality. You argue there is life and then there is
death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the
concept of God as something finite, something we can
measure. Sir, science can’t even explain a thought. It
uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen,
much less fully understood either one.  To view death
as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact
that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death
is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it.
Now tell me, Professor. Do you teach your students
that they evolved from a monkey?

Prof      : If you are referring to the natural
evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.
Student : Have you ever observed evolution with your
own eyes, sir?

(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning
to realize where the argument is going.)

Student : Since no one has ever observed the process
of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this
process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching
your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a
preacher?
(The class is in uproar.)

Student : Is there anyone in the class who has ever
seen the Professor’s brain?
(The class breaks out into laughter.)

Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the
Professor’s brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No
one appears to have done so. So, according to the
established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable
protocol, science says that you have no brain, sir.
With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your
lectures, sir?
(The room is silent. The professor stares at the
student, his face unfathomable. )

Prof      : I guess you’ll have to take them on faith,
son.
Student : That is it sir… The link between man & god
is FAITH. That is all that keeps things moving &
alive.

Category: Philosopphy, Story  | 2 Comments
Author:
• Thursday, February 15th, 2007
VOIP – Voice over IP technology is been widely used for various purpose including local phone connections in USA. After VOIP phone/Internet phones came to the market, traditional phone companies faced a huge challenge and set back in their business. VOIP Phone companies offered all or most of the features for a small or cheaper flat rate compared to the traditional companies which charged seperate rate for each features.
 
I been using VOIP Phone(Vonage) since 2003. It makes it easier to get connected if you already have the Internet connection at home. Otherwise you have to the internet cable connection to have the VOIP phones. It saved me lot of money. For a flat rate of $14.99, I am getting all the features any phone company can offer including 500 free long distance minutes not to mention in-network mins are free. If you think, you speak a lot then you can always select unlimited mins plan for just $24.99 comparing to $50-60 with tradition phone companies like att or verizon.
 
There were some hesitation when VOIP Phones came to the market but with very high marketing campaign by different VOIP phone companies, it really changed the perpective of people to have phone from Internet. Recently, lot of friends subscribed for additional phone line and they sent to India for their parents to get connected. If their parents have broadband internet connection, you just plug in the modem sent by the company and you are connected. They can just make a local call to any USA phone numbers. Its so simple and works almost all the time. There are few VOIP phone companies already provide international portable phone numbers which can be used in different countries. Also many small call centers in India make use of this VOIP phones to reduce their cost of calling abroad.
 
VOIP really changed the way the phone works comparing to the olden days. You have to wait in line for submitting the application and then wait for your landline to get approved. Now its all done faster and it can get faster with VOIP. Around 10-15 years ago, you end up paying 100 rupees for a min of call to USA. Now its all free if you have VOIP phone in India.
 
Why don’t we see many companies coming up in India to use this VOIP technology to revolutionlize the phone industry. Telecommunication is booming like anything and the charges are way below the average call charge from 2-3 years ago. If VOIP comes into picture, then it will really bring down the landline charges and no need for wire running around all over our streets and potholes to be digged everytime they run wireline to the streets. Also it will make the phone available to any villages in the country. We just need a satellite internet connection and we have the phone working in that village.
 
Don’t you all think VOIP is the way to go to have all over villages connected to the main stream people with VOIP phones?!
Author:
• Monday, January 22nd, 2007
Approximately 4 years ago, I was on top of my happy moments enjoying my bachelorhood in Boston with lots of fun activities like learning swing dancing, going out for dancing and making friends, Running Marathons, participating in all type of volunteering activities and having blast and never felt I was away from home. It was really unforgettable days of my life. Then there comes the pressure from my parents to get married and unexpected legal bottleneck in my green card processing.

For those who are not aware of GC processing facts, if you want your spouse to be added to the GC processing. You should have got married and add her in the I485 application(3rd stage). If you get married after applying, you won’t be able to add her and she can’t come in and stay with you after you received your GC. Because you become a permanent resident and her dependent visa validation becomes void.

So I was in deadlock situation to make a decision whether to go ahead with my GC processing without getting married and adding the spouse or get married quickly and add her in for a smooth GC processing. First of all, I was not in ready mental state to get married. If I do, I always want to get married loving the person first. But I was successfully talked out all of it when I visited my parents in India to get arrange married. And the current GC situation, pushed me hard to make a decision. If I opt for the first one, you would have to wait for 7-10years until you receive your Citizenship. Then only you can sponsor anybody to bring into US. I don’t think my parents will ever want to wait so long since I am the only Son for them. I ended up getting married in 6months time like any other Desi guy.

But my friends who were in the same boat, didn’t want to take that chance. They went ahead without getting married and got their GC approved. They are still not married at this point of time. Whenever I call them, they either sitting with their gal friends and putting kadalai(chit chatting) or touring somewhere in the world. As I said before, my PARENTS play a important role. My parents either they just want to finish their responsibilities or want to see get settled down, they pushed me hard enough to get married. Because of that, they did all the hard work finding a bride suitable for me. I just need to filter out from their list. That’s not the case for my friends. Their parents didn’t actually get more concerned except talking about it.

After my marriage, I used to ask them when are you guys getting married. They either say “We are not ready yet” or “We are not finding a suitable person” or “My parents are finding any suitable person”. But the fact is, they can’t get married now easily because they are permanent resident and they need to wait at least 3-5 years to become citizens and then try to get married. “WILL THEY BE AT LEAST READY BY THAT TIME OR THEY WILL BE NEVER READY”. Who knows ? But it will be too late to realise at that time and they will try to find some other excuse to bully themselves.

I did wonder sometimes, Did I make a mistake of getting married and spoiled my life without much fun getting stuck with all the responsibilities or Did they make the mistake of not getting married and missing the joy and afraid of the commitments ?!! Is it all happened for good or bad ?!

After thinking thru lots of things happened before and after marriage and especially after seeing them having trouble find a good companion, I convinced myself that its all happened for best and its all part of GODS PLAN. I did regret on missing out some fun but my wife always try to fill me in and give me company whenever needed like going out with for dancing and other activities.

I learnt a very valuable lesson. I did lose my fun life but I gained lot more than that. No gain without pain right !! And its well worth when you see the smile on your baby. Yeap, I been blessed to see the smile from my 7month old son. I totally felt that my NRI(Never Ready Indian) friends will never realize until they experience it. They are missing out the great fun of all !!!!
TAKE A RIGHT AND WISE DECISION TO GET MARRIED WHENEVER YOU FEEL RIGHT FOR YOU BUT DON’T POSTPONE UNTIL ITS TOO LATE.
Category: Personal  | Leave a Comment
Author:
• Friday, January 12th, 2007

Fly Cheap to anywhere around the world !! That’s the airline mantra you hear it all over recent days. You might think that you would find a good cheap price whenever you want to go, but that’s not case. There is always a hook to all the cheap and free stuff. Nothing comes cheap !?!

Let me take you back to the year 1998, when I first boarded my first flight ever to fly out of India. I took the Lufthansa flight from Chennai to Boston via Frankfurt. I still can remember the way I felt uneasy and don’t know exactly how to handle the travel. I was sitting way back in a big flight with 250 passengers. I never couldn’t imagine that that flight can carry these may people. Nobody can tell from looking it outside.

I was travelling to Boston as a Business trip. All expenses paid by the company. I didn’t even bothered to find out how much was the flight ticket. I was just happy and lucky to go to US beating others in the list. I travelled again in 1999 for the long term assignment, in the same airline. This time too, I didn’t know the price of the air ticket. But I guessed it might be around $1500 for a round trip. I really got to know the price, when I had to come back for a visit in 2001. I paid around $2000 for a round trip during the Christmas time. I book it almost 3 months ahead and still got this heavy rate. So I ended up doing a research on my next trip on how to get cheaper tickets and I would like to share it.

Flying Cheaper not always depends on just selecting a right airline offering a cheaper fare. Its way beyond that. There are a few ingredients that can help you get the fare or atleast understand why your fare ends up being slightly higher. Its better to take a right decision before booking the tickets by considering these lists of important ingredients:

1. Season – Low & High Season or Peak & Off-Peak Season
2. Visiting Place
3. Different Routes
4. Understanding Seat Structure of the Plane
5. Booking Tickets

Season
In a year, we have 2 seasons which can be either called as high and low season or Peak or Off-peak season. The high and low season mainly vary depending on the destination location and number of flights available to reach the location. For example, from USA to Chennai Feb, Mar, Apr,Sept,Oct months are low season. May, Jun, July, Aug, Nov, Dec & Jan months are Peak/High season.

Visiting Place

Destination place also decides how big the air fare you need to pay. If you are travelling to Chennai from NY, NJ, Chicago & SF which has only few flights flying in and out by different airlines, you can expect a high air fare in the high season too. But if you travel to Delhi from these places, you have lots of flights flying in and out and can the fare is really reasonable.

Different Routes
En-Routing of the airlines also makes difference in the airfare. If you are ok having 2 or more stopping, you can expect a cheaper fare. But if you want to have only one stop during the high season, better ready to pay a high fare. For example, if you want to fly to Chennai from Houston during July / Aug high season times, you might end up paying $1700 per person thru Lufthansa one stop in Frankfurt. But if you decide to fly via Delta or Air India, stopping Chicago, London, Mumbai & finally to chennai, the air fare might come out cheaper.

Understanding Seat Structure

For instance, if a plane has 300 coach seats the seats are divided as so. This is an approximation. 150 seats sell for full fare
100 seats sell for a lower fare
50 seats sell for the absolute lowest fare

Booking Tickets

Once you are ready with your dates, you have to find a good agent to book your tickets. There are 2 sources as per my knowledge from whom you can buy tickets other than the airline.
1. Consolidators & 2. Agents

Consolidators are like a big agency which sells tickets in bulk from the lot alloted to them by the airlines for a wholesale price without any added commisions. Agents are sub agencies which sell tickets or try to get tickets from the alloted tickets by the consolidators adding commisions. If you can find a consolidator near you, buy tickets from them not from the agent. You will save quite a lot of money.

How to get the absolute lowest fares
In conclusion,
Try to go on dates which doesn’t fall under too high season
Plan in advance **2-3 months for low season. **4-5 months for high season
Avoid flying on weekends (for some airlines)
Be flexible about dates of travel. Some dates get filled up but the next day may be available.
Check different options of flying out like flight options, enrouting options
Call different agency and consolidators to get price for the same dates and compare them
None of the above guarantees the lowest fare but this will improve your chances immensely.

Author:
• Friday, January 05th, 2007

was browsing the latest news today while I was eating my lunch. Its my daily habit to spend atleast 15mins reading to catch up some India news. I know that within 15mins I wouldn’t be able to cover all of it but atleast the main new topics which makes me feel atleast a not far away from home.

The News topic which pondered my attention today was our honorable President Dr.Kalam’s visit to Science conference in Chidambaram. He gave medals/Awards for best young scientist which is really a very good thing. I thought, If we have good young and experienced scientist, why can we just create our own products and leverage them.

For example, China is a big source and back bone to US economy. Without China, US can’t survive. Most the products from US comes from China. But China brought up new reforms in his economy, to avoid using foreign inventions and patents and encourage people to invent and use them. They have less tax for the products invented, patented and made by China then comparing to products patended by other countries. They have to pay huge tax for the foreign orginated products. This way, they pushing the big companies to invent new things on their own in China and make mass production for their own people. Once this comes to effect,other big companies outside of china will start buying Chinese invented products and use them..

Why can’t india do that too ? We use Dell & HP machines created in India using Intel and Microsoft technology. Why can’t we invent new processors and new OS and implement our own PC just as a sample..

Its Dr.Kalam’s dreams for all of us to dream and invent a well developed country.. Why can’t this be a start ?!

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