A Glimpse into My Journey

Though am a confident writer by choice and profession, who is driven by passion, I'm not comfortable facing an audience! Recently, I have joined Toastmasters International (corporate member). Now, I have the motivation to challenge myself and outgrow my limitation. As a baby step, I had to prepare for my first speech called CC1 - Icebreaker(Competent and Communication). Since I prepared a script, I thought why not document it down as a blog too! Herez the script:

Born in a traditionally conventional Sourashtra family on 5th March...during raghu kaalam, whatever the implication might be. Well, I was brought up in an energetic environment and encouraged to do stuff my way. Dad is a business man and mom is an unusual home maker. Unusual, in the sense by the time she was just 18, she had me & my brother who is younger than me by 2 years! But, that didn't stop her from chasing her dream of higher studies. By the time I graduated with a BA in English Lit, my mom had completed a degree in Commerce (BCom), a degree in Sanskrit and Hindi Grammar too! All through my life I have seen that passion was the only driving force her. Speaking about my husband, he is a Metals doctor and because of him I have had the opportunity to travel and live outside India too, which has given me wonderful opportunities. We have a teenage daughter who is in AS levels in an international school, because it his her first time getting education in India.

I grew up with my cousins, and most of them were boys...I enjoyed typical boys activities like climbing walls & trees flying kites and basically I was a ‘tom boy’. 

Applied soft-focus - but you get an idea!

Besides that, I was named as ‘chatterbox’, because I always had a lot to talk, if I was asked to do something, I had to know why and if I was told NOT to do, then I had even more things to ask, why can’t I do and what if I do that! At home, I was banned from using razor blades to sharpen the pencils, so once at school, I think I was in year 3, one of my friends was using blade and he kept teasing me that I don't know how to use it, so I was trying to snatch from him and ended up with hurting myself...well, that gave me an identification mark for life!

Throughout my schooling I was a mediocre student, who loves chatting and being a back bencher, but the trouble was, I was never allowed to sit in the back bench because my teachers knew how naughty I could be. Any noise or distraction, first I would be singled out. This continued throughout my college life as well, so I will just say that I had a gala time for 3 years. 

Well, I have inherited my passion and interest from my mom. Whatever I do, I try to do it wholeheartedly and not just for the sake of doing it. My reading habit too has evolved from comics to philosophy and fiction to factual books. When I was a kid, I was attracted to pictures, so started off with comics like Muthu comics, Mayavi series and from school library I used to get Tin Tin, later moved on to Secret Seven, Famous Five, Treasure Island kind of books and during adolescent, I was more towards Mills & Boon & Silhouette series. During college days, I graduated to reading Ayn Rand, Sidney Sheldon, Harold Robbins, Jeffery archer and Robert Ludlum and I was introduced to Chandilyan and kalki too and till date I have a strong attachment to Cholas & Pallavas. Because of this passion, just at the drop of the hat, I drive to Mahabalipuruam just to see the caves & take photos. 

Shore Temple - Mahabalipuram - Our World

 When you do anything, do it with passion, that will be the driving force. From my experience be it my naughty tricks from childhood or preparing for this CC1, I do it with passion. Passion helps you to look forward to things in life and give you the confidence to pursue relentlessly. 

Kili Josiyam & Yeli Josiyam - Pick Your Tarot With Parrot or Guinea Pig

கிளி ஜோசியம் (Parrot Tarot card reading) never fails to fascinate. I've done it once long ago! Now, this kinda fortune telling has become a part of entertainment, be it family get together, birthday party or just in front of restaurants. But, when we went to the Southern Terrace @ ECR, Chennai, for the first time I came across எலி ஜோசியம் (Mountain Rat Tarot card reading)!

Mooshika (mouse) is the vahana (vehicle) of Lord Ganesha, so the fortune teller justifies that the mouse can righteously pick up tarot for men! The rodent came out of the cage, did a couple of peppy circles and started to pick the card one by one from the stack using it's mouth and drop them down. After few cards, the rodent held a card and looked at the owner. Now, the drama started, the owner questioned the rodent in a lilting way if he is sure about the card, and if yes, asked the rodent to go in front of the deity and pray for good fortune. Surprisingly, our எலி (pronounced as eli) went in front of the deity, bowed it's head and then passed on the card to the fortune teller!

Our World

Our friend, the eli, was rewarded with few grains and sent back to the cage. The fortune teller opened the card, showed us the deity, and it was Lord Narayana with Lakshmi, which is auspicious and indicates wealth and general well being. But, the fortune teller opens his guide and rattled off his interpretation. His predictions on the past was generally true, am still wondering how this could be, because he gave some specific indicators which, he wouldn't have a chance to know by just seeing us! Well, it could be the trick of his trade. 

Now, it was my turn, so he invited the parrot to pick up the card. Again, கிளி is Goddess Meenakshi's favorite, so ideal to pick up tarot for ladies. Same process was repeated, like eli's.

But, once the parrot decided on the card, instead of going in front of the deity, it just hopped towards the caged eli, and was asking for his consent!

The owner prompted the parrot to whistle, utter few words, and the parrot too promptly whistled & spoke. What a training! I was also rewarded with good reading.

When it was time for us to move, we asked how much did we owe him, for which he said that we could tip him whatever we feel like, again that was quite unusual. Later when we spoke to the restaurant guys, we learned that this fortune teller gets paid by them, no wonder he accepts what ever we pay :) Overall, feel good factor was pretty high, unlike my earlier experience.

Faces and Expressions

'Don't talk to strangers' says mom, and when a quizzical kid asks 'why?', typical answer would be 'you dunno, they might harm you'. This is a very common dialogue between mom and a kid in any part of the world. Drilled with this concept, even in our adulthood, we dare not to take the first step to talk to a stranger. However, it is always fascinating for me to watch strangers and if possible I enjoy freezing the faces and subtle expressions in my camera! Here are some of the shots that I'd captured in rural areas during my last trip to India.

The above shot is a typical scene, where pilgrims try to get 'parrot predictions' from roadside fortune teller! The trained parrot picks up a card, based on which the fortune teller gives predictions! Contrast to this, here is an old lady making her living...

The granny in the above shot reflects old tradition, where widows don't wear blouses!

Selling baby cucumbers by the roadside...

Cobbler waiting for business - Shadow Shot Sunday 2 and SOOC

Yet another perspective that shows how people relax during a hard day...

Chit-chat

Communication revolution even in remote village!

Gallantry at it's Best!

Yesterday, on the way back from school I was stuck at every traffic light. I was extremely irritated when a car in front of me slowed down for yellow, then zoomed fast...so I was stuck as the first car at a round about traffic light. To add fuel to my bad mood, a two-wheeler whizzed past and stood in front blocking my car.

Suddenly, the biker got down from his bike. For a moment, I was scared that he might come and break my windows to loot (effect of n number of forwarded mails that explains about traffic light thefts!). Instead, he sprinted towards the round-about, bent down and picked up something lying on the road. Then he rushed towards the side of the road and threw that object in a trash, it was a trowel. What a character! How thoughtful of him to remove the trowel that could have damaged any vehicle's tire. Now, I felt guilty for mistaking that gallant man for a petty thief! I couldn't see his face, but still I managed to capture his side-view on my mobile.

Kudos to him!

Ignorant Car User

I've been driving for more than 8 years, but am still unfamiliar with stuff under the hood. When my foreman says if something is wrong, I have no choice except to accept and spend. Luckily (I believe), this time round my mechanic seems to be a reasonable guy who doesn't suggest changing every part.

During last service, I complained that lately my car did not have enough power as it used to be. After checking crazy wires and parts under the hood, one of the assistants crawled under my car to examine, dunno what. Then, I was told that my exhaust pipe had a hole, thanks to my fast track driving, especially over the humps!

Being a reasonable fellow, my foreman asked me to go to the exhaust pipe shop and weld the hole. But, I was wary of going to a new place on my own so I convinced that my foreman take me to a reliable place to fix.

At the exhaust pipe shop, as expected the so called expert examined and recommended that I have to go for a "brand new" exhaust pipe, which would cost me "just around" RM180! But, the hole was only about the size of a pepper. When my mechanic argued on my behalf, I was told that "well you could weld, but you would hear a noise when you drive". However, my foreman said that would not be an issue with car performance, so I just opted for welding...

After fixing, there is "no noise" when I drive and also the power has been restored, all for just RM 15! Moral of the story, be careful and watch out for lame excuses when you are asked to replace something completely, especially when it looks good enough to you.

Welcoming 2010 with the best of 2009

So much has happened in 2009, especially I have had itchy feet and traveled a lot:) 2009 started with a very positive note as I was so free to do things that I liked to do! It's going to be no different in the coming years:)

I wish I could do a recap of the best moments and pictures that I took in 2009, but when I started to sift through my memory lane and the thousands of photos that I took last year, it seemed to be a daunting task. Instead, I decided to just skim and scan through the collection and do a quick post. No complaints, 2009 was good to me. Here I welcome this new year with the best shots that I like from my last years collections...

Well, I have a feeling that 2010 would be even better!

Parking Ticket

It was just gonna take about 5 minutes to buy the stuff from the stores, so as usual I didn't put the parking ticket and I did come back as expected. But, this time fate was against me and there was that slip, with RM30 as fine;

Someone nearby suggested that if I go and settle the fine immediately, the amount would be reduced. To my surprise, it was true!

At the counter, the assistant said that as am paying within 24 hours, the fine is reduced to just RM5! I had to thank my lucky stars:)

However, next time, would I take the risk of not putting 20 sen parking ticket? Well, thatz a million dollar question^^.

Shadow

No rattling to disturb this shot!

Shadow Shot Sunday 2

Workshop Experience at W-Tech 2009

Though I had registered for four sessions at W-Tech 2009 (Women in Technology) workshop, I was not expecting much out of the event. May be because of this attitude, actually it turned out to be good and I learned something new. This workshop was held at Savoy Place in Embankment, London. Therefore, another fringe benefit that I got from this workshop was the lovely shots that I took from the River Side Room at the third floor... here we go with recap of the sessions in my own flavour, laced with lovely shots of Thames and attractions.

How to Behave in an All Male Team - This title itself was controversial and naturally I was attracted to it. First, I was expecting to get tips and tricks for women to handle situations in an all male work place. When the speaker started to describe the difference between the compositions of male Vs female brains, I was a bit pissed off, as I used to hate biology even in my school days AND I didn't want to sit through another lecture. But, luckily, the topic coursed through an analogy of how the excessive brain cells affect our thought process and moved on to psychological analysis of why men and women behave in certain ways. Well, this might sound like oft spoken and run of the mill stuff, but as this was presented in a different tone and approach, I was able to see and identify myself with the past situations. For example, when I was told, "you should never take things personally" I used to think, "when you intend it to be personal, how else can I take it". Now, I can see that in reality those harsh words and negative criticism was mere gorilla chest beating syndrome.

Interacting with Technology - by Text, Face, Voice and Touch - This was conducted by professionals from Microsoft. I was hoping to hear trends in semantic web/web 2.0 and 3.0. But, it was pretty disappointing that they were merely showcasing Office Communicator and Microsoft Surface. On top of it, the business case video for Office Communicator client bombed, so they had to quickly jump to MS Surface until they could set live Office Communicator. MS Surface was futuristic and if you had watched The day the Earth Stood Still, you would remember the lady in intelligence dept using a touch screen application to sort through information and that is exactly how MS Surface works. The applications built on this were interesting, but the presenters were NOT well informed or rather they didn't know how to demonstrate. They were not even able to answer a couple of technical questions thrown from the audience and they just said that they could find out. Let me give them some credit, just for handling the situation with grace.

Living in the Future - For this session, I had no expectations at all and in fact, I was like "clean glass". So, I am sure that I never had any pre-conceived ideas BUT this was the worst session and I yawned several times. The presenter was reading a business case story set in the future. Note that she was plainly reading from a sheet. What can be more boring? The story sounded like a scene out of a recent Bollywood flick "Love Story 2050", where technology is so advanced that embedded systems could do wonders by interacting with real and virtual worlds. I was also reminded of a Reader's Digest article that I read few years ago about a virtual kitchen. The only benefit I got from this session was that I met an interesting person with E-learning background and we became friends so quickly that we had a long chat at Starbucks after the sessions:)

Emotional Intelligence (EI) - I would say that this was the liveliest session, with packed hall. The agenda was supposed to cover on gaining better understanding of EI, learn about tools to practice and be inspired to take action. The session was so short that we could only get a glimpse of what EI is all about, where as I was expecting to learn about some practical tools like "Free Writing" techniques that helps in solving mental blocks. Of course, the speaker was a professional coach and we were encouraged to learn about the training provided by her company. Personally, I would say or do something only after thinking how I would feel if someone does same thing to me. Well, this was the concept of EI as well. EI is all about Intra and Inter personal management and how we respond to external stimuli. I plan to learn more on this subject, because I believe that it could help me in many ways.

Yet another incentive form this trip is that I managed to see the much elusive Cleopatra's needle, and I will share about this in another post.

Ikan Bakar From a Vegetarian Perspective

BBQ Fish is Ikan bakar in Malay, which is popular in Malaysia. Though am a staunch vegetarian, my husband and kid love to eat seafood. Instead of irritating them with my strong veggie lectures, I decided to take photo of how the dead fish gets tortured, so that when they see it, they might feel sorry...

The dead one is trapped to be psitioned on the hell fire bed...

See how many blisters and chars, don't you feel sorry for the tortured soul?

I cringe at the thought on how painful this chili dressing can be on a blistered body...these photos remindeds of 10 courts of hell (depicted in Tiger Balm Gardens, Singapore)

Alas, none of my rantings moved them! Instead of feeling sad, my kid drools over the photos and asks her dad, when are we going to this joint again?:(

Organized Chaos

Last week we went to Museum Negara and did house spring cleaning. Two unrelated events? May be, but suddenly I was reminded of a dialogue from an Indian movie, where the mother complains that the son makes the house messy AND the son retaliates that house is meant to be messy (to get a cosy feel) and only museums are meant to be organized!


In reality the museum was equally messy, because they were doing a large scale house keeping! Nothing very interesting except these few shots (ahem, time to seriously upgrade my knowledge on anthropology/archeology, so that I can appreciate the collections).

 

The antique artifacts and the organization was equally primitive. 

For some there were English and Malay descriptions but for many there were only Malay descriptions. May be there is a dearth of translators:p

Coming back to my house cleaning. Every time I think of spring cleaning I just cant see from where to begin and then finally give up for another day:( Typical dis-organization syndrome^^. I can't run away for ever, so started on emptying wardrobes and to my disbelief, we had clothes that was not worn for years. Like treasure hunt, I found my old favorite baggy T-shirt. I had an urge to stop the laborious task and wash that first, so that I can use it, but refrained myself. After two hours, I seized my operation and I started to rattle, to unwind. 

Well, am reminded of a different kind of "spring cleaning/house keeping" that was scheduled so often, but with no use. Yes, there were endless hours of "planning" to clean up codes/contents. During this phase, the pointless meetings and discussions used to irk me. To throw away any unwanted stuff, you need prove that it is not needed and on top of it "convince" your boss. Phew!, that needed more time than to plan for the constructive stuff. So, I've even noticed some of them taking easy way out...

In a recent post Tom Johnson explains why and how Technical Writers (TW) can overcome the defects that arise from "trust". Well, I would say he is polite by using the term trust. I would say that TWs are totally ignored during the major stages of the software development cycle. This leads to major usability issues and low quality documentation. Most often TW thinks from user point of view where as the business and engineering team concentrates only in satisfying the so called requirements. But, towards the end of the project, they say that help is not helpful. An easy way out, right?

Predictors in Demand!

It is a human tendency to start looking for relief and change when distress sets in. Especially, during recessions like now, astrologers are often sought after to hear good words and make right decisions! Now, the question is not on the validity of their predictions... but, is about the belief of the industry giants who seek astrological predictions.

If everyone starts relying so heavily on astrology, then what happens to the so called "managers" who are supposed to handle critical situations and come up with solutions to manage the problems? Wha, world becomes so rosy, just with the predictions and counseling of an astrologer the decision makers financial troubles can be blown away.

Excerpts from an article that came out in Times of India shows the current market demand for astrologers:

Hired as vedic consultants, financial astrologers and vaasthu experts both in India and abroad, they'll be required to make predictions on the stock market, the success of business ventures and offer astro-tips on financial management. Students specializing in financial and vedic astrology are being lapped up by websites looking for such certified professionals, according to university officials. The packages being offered range from Rs 8.5 lakh to Rs 18 lakh per annum.

Interestingly, those who took this evening course have a finance background, with some bank employees and chartered accountants switching gears to fulltime stargazing. Engineers in the course are also changing streams. For many of these students, the course working out as a fulltime career option, at a time when the job market is shrinking.

It is clear that job market for astrologers is in great shape! Well, am not totally against astrological predictions or astrologers. There are limitations in astrology and to its predictions. If one starts relying on it heavily, then that person might be led into believing something that might be incorrect and phew! the negative influence itself is enough to kill the chances of a positive outcome...

Great way to start a day!

It has been two weeks since I clicked any "clouds", and today when I was having morning tea in my balcony around 7 AM, they were trying to catch my attention by showing their colors:) Here we go:

After clicking this, I started whistling softly. Suddenly I stopped in my tracks mid way AND realized I've done something that I'd almost forgotten for more than a year:) Yup, I think am getting back my "colors" as well!

Yet another leap

Some said it was too sudden, though they knew it could happen anytime. As I kept about rattling about it for more than a year! But, I did it!


For the past couple of months I was like a zombie undecided, confused and not willing to listen to my husband or anybody, for that matter. Finally, circumstances changed and the right choice presented itself so that I could let go of something that I was hopelessly clinging to!

It is one of the unforgettable moments, as I felt a sudden gush of relief just like how legendary Atlas would feel when he unloads the Celestial bodies from his shoulders! And, a well-wisher commented that I was glowing:)

Now, I sense that I've broken the barrier and marching forward with a smug satisfaction, like how I used to feel several years ago:)

Changing landscape in education and career

Recently read about how Indian industry is trying to train their resource pool right from the college. This sounds cool and I can't stop from thinking about the days when I opted to do English Literature. By then, my only aim was to have fun for 3 years, before getting married:)

Partially this was because of my conservative family background, the rest, due to the lack of awareness! In those days, I used to wonder why the heck should I study Biology, History & Geography as it has got nothing to do with me. This was because, I was not able to see a connection between the theory and its practical application!

Though the organizations' motive is to train human talent to be employable, I think would lead to tying up education with real life needs, which in turn would empower the Gen Nexters to make informed decisions!

Wild goose chase

Often we used to go on wild goose chase for fun, in this context I meant our aimless outings, which were only targeted for new/different experience.

Dunno why, today am deeply thinking if my whole life has been a wild goose chase! As soon as the target is achieved I start thinking what next? and the satisfaction is very short-lived. This makes me restless and seek for new challenges.

For a while I succumbed to shopping sprees. Later realized that am becoming a shopaholic and buying things just for the sake of buying something. Nowadays, there is nothing much that I like to buy! Even if I buy something expensive I get bored very soon and then feel guilty for spending. Come to think of it, even material acquisition seems insignificant.

It feels like several years ago before we relocated to Malaysia, when I was dying to break the monotony. May be the nomad in me is asking for a change, rather radical change in life style?

Identity Crisis!?

When I entered my favorite temple ( will rattle about this in another post, after I download the photos), a tourist guide rushed to me and offered to be my guide in the temple, in broken English. When I refused, he tried to convince me in Hindi!! I had to shoo him away by talking in MADURAI TAMIL. What a shock! This IS MY HOME, and am not even attired in western or fancy outfit. Generally, locals will not be bothered bu guide. Then why am I bothered by a guide?

Later, I was reminded by my sister - in -law that I was still holding my sun glasses inside the temple, which is not a common sight among the locals. Well, I told myself, that I will watch out and be a "Madurian when in Madurai", as I dont wanna loose the identity when am in my home town^^

We went to one of the Hindu holy places, Thiruchendur, which is a seaside Murugan temple. After very long time the sight of baby elephant, local food n snacks, seashore, and all looked attractive, & I was reminiscing about my childhood days and wondered if I can do a time travel!

Here are some of the best snaps that I caught!

Prayer items

Taking holy dip

The beach was not maintained hence, dared not to try, especially as the sea keeps receding often after tsunami!

Elephant food- Rice cooked with more than 10 types of herbs


Mahut feeding the baby elephant
Typical Indian ice cream, which is called as "iceprute"Sliced Mango seller

No Tension No BP

XMLs and Wiki content keeps swirling in my head! Tried to relax, by looking at my photos collection that I shot in Penang and see what I hit...

Ah, ironical content that changed my mood and I started rattling. Of all the places, this was taken at the War Museum in Penang!