Ethics in a coffee cup

There are a few coffee/tea/vending machines - CVM in short, in the Academy-Mussorie. These CVMs have slots for certain tokens that one could to get for five rupees. These 5-rupee tokens would make one eligible for a cup of coffee etc. But the speciality of these CVMs is that these can be operated even without these specific tokens.(Unfortunately, I relised this only during the fag end of our Course there) This is by inserting any one Rupee, 50 paise or even 25 paise coin in the slot, instead of the 5-rupee CVM token. These CVMs are so intelligently designed!

I would have hardly taken four or five cups of Re.1 coffee when a friend disturbed me with some ethical lessons. He (not she) said that i was doing something immoral, cheating the CVM owner grossly. (i was paying at max only one fourth of the actual) As i was anticipating this issue to crop up some time or the other i did not have any difficulty in quickly countering this with my ready-made defence.

My primary line of defence is that it is purely the owner/designer/operator's job to ensure such glaring design flaws are rectified - after all the whole business runs around these tokens. It is also very obvious that these guys are well aware of this loophole, as the CVMs are opened on a daily basis to recycle the tokens and for accounting purposes. So if someone can be so very careless about his/her interests - probably due to sheer laziness - why should someone else be branded unethical?

In turn, I was posed with hard questions like - Is it ethical to takeaway items from an unmanned, open shop? Will you consider it ethical if someone picks your mobile phone while you are looking the other side? etc.

Need your help. Can I advise my friends in Mussourie not to waste Rs.5 for a cup of coffee or should I send a DD for Rs.16 (Rupees sixteen only) to the CVM operator?

Last minute

We are supposed to complete all our relieving formalities by today evening, returing this laptop is also a part of the activities. Before coming to Mussourie some three months back, I was very confident that I would be able to at least maintain my posting average of about one new post every week, if not better. But that did not click. Now am confident of something that is going to workout - I will not be able to make any new posts in the next 10 days! Lots of location changes in the anvil before I reach Nagpur on Dec 9th. See you then.

Btw, this is one of the very few good snaps I took here. Thanks to Arun's idea of posting more snaps.

Creative tests

I remember hearing in one of those psychology coaching classes that it's really difficult to objectively measure - most of the mind-related variables like intelligence, attitude, interests etc. And creativity is definitely not something that lends itself to metrics. Who is more creative - Maniratnam or George Bush? Can someone give a clear answer? No.
However that never deters us from designing tests that are most likely to measure creativity. The famous psychologist Guilford is known for developing many such tests, like Remote Association Test, Unusual Uses test and many more. Torrence Tests of creative thinking are also famous, such tests measured one's originality, flexibility, fluency and elaboration - thought to be the components of creative thinking.
Over the past two days I'm also testing myself on these four parameters, though that was not the intention of the individuals who administered the tests. Some good things happen without planning, they say. Coming to the tests, here are some of the items that really tested my creativity.

* Test 4/Item 4:

India is secular but Indian politics is communal. Please comment.
* Test 3/ Sec B/Item 7: What is the key assumption adopted in this working estimation model of social capital? (A complex Chemical Engineering-type formula followed this item)

There are many other gems, however I would like to end the list with this -
* * Test 5/Item 1: Why is the study of history considered relevant for a Civil Servant? Discuss.

Kamal - the boss

Got back from the village visit just a couple of hours back. Till the time I get ready with some real post just check out this interesting stuff.

http://www.hindu.com/cp/2007/10/26/stories/2007102650010100.htm

Village (Re)Visit

Same time three years back, I should have been following up some work in Tupni/Padli/Mojap or something like that. These are some villages of Okhamandal, Jamanagar district, Gujarat. As an MT (Management Trainee) with Tata Chemicals, I was expected to do a rural stint for 2 months. It was my first real experience of the Bharat and enjoyed every moment of it. Especially the exposure visit with about 50 Gujarati villagers to Bhuj, conducting some gram sabha meeting, lots of masala tea, sensitising the little chaps in the locals schools about sanitation and personal hygiene, long drives in a very old jeep with the super-driver Rambhai, stay at Tupni - that was the Dussera time too!, clicking some good and many not-so-good snaps, eating groundnuts - straight from under the ground, taking the Tupni Sarpanch's bull for a walk - was really scared, singing "Athaanda Idhaanda Arunachalam naanthaanda..." for the villagers, doing some PRA work etc.

In another three hours' I'm supposed to get going for the week-long village visit of the 81st Foundation Course, LBSNAA. This time I'm going to a village in Lalitpur,UP. But I feel, over the last three years, my skill-level when it comes to doing things like this - has in fact gone down! Will be happy if this feeling remains still a feeling even after this village visit; and not a reality.

Mouse trapped

Sometimes we let others decide for us, and sometimes such decisions prove to be quite fruitful - better than one's own decision. One latest instance of this was my involvement in the play Mousetrap, as a part of a competition here. Usually a reluctant soul when it comes to such things, I was somehow pulled in by one of my friends. I was asked to take care of lights/sounds etc. I picked up a little slowly, along with my two other crew-fellows. Soon we realised we were really interested in this job. I had always liked the job done by Lights/Soundz/Backstage Dept of BITS...and the feeling of doing that here gave me a kind of kick. The whole thing came out so well that Mousetrap was a roaring success…finished with three Awards including the one for the best Stage Effects!!!

I have many other decisions to take – some very important ones too – should I do what I want and should I take help? One more thing, till now I have not got the plot of Mousetrap properly – I just know when and how to coordinate sound and light to match the action on stage!

Muthuvel's Modification

Just thought of cutting off the floor from the previous photograph, as said by Muthuvel. Ya, looks like this is better.
?

Before you write off...

This has been the longest gap I have ever taken to add a new post. Though I do not have any new excuses to give, this is due to a fine blend of a tight schedule imposed on me, a bit of laziness and an overwhelming number of topics to write on!

Many things - some exciting and some not so interesting - have happened over the last one month here, in Mussourie. They go like this -

* Have made some really nice friends, have come across many frustrated souls too

* Have seen Charulata - Ray's favourite film

* Got to do a bit of trekking, quite enjoyable

* Resisted sleeping in many class lectures, in vain

* Have missed many deadlines, many phone calls

* Irritated by some insane rules, tea at 0515 hrs

* Enjoyed fried maggi, alu paratha and lemon tea

* Talking long walks with a friend

* Felt depressed and elated at the same time - at my first salary from the Govt of India!

* Clicked many photographs, my favourite one is below (taken at the Block printing section, Raphael, Dehradun - a centre for spastic children)

* Failed in Hindi test, attending Hindi classes

* Made some funny sketches in my notebook, including some Modern Art-types

* Getting ready for the 10-day long trek that starts tomorrow by 0600 hrs. Will be going to Rudraprayag, Hemkund Sahib, Badrinath and Valley of Flowers!

*Many more!

Twists and turns

Never expected my life to be drastically constrained within a matter of 5-6 days...I think things would settle by the first week of September.

Till then,
http://www.lbsnaa.ernet.in/lbsnaa/index.jsp

Academy Pictures

The great man after whom the Academy is named








I liked this snap







The view from the Officers' mess








Happy Valley








Somewhere in the campus










Appaney appaney...









Alert Avoid Accident
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From Mussourie

Mussourie has a special place in my heart, especially the Lal Bahadur Sastri National Academy of Administration (a.k.a IAS Academy) that's here. My first visit to Mussourie was around the same time, six years back. That was the time when I was at Dehradun for my BE project.That was also the time when we were kind of shocked by the UPSC exam results - my brother had not cleared it then. So when I had come to Mussourie with my friends for sightseeing, I was more than interested in going to the IAS Academy. I wanted to see what was in the Academy, click some snaps and send them to my brother - thought it should energise him. But hardly we had kept a foot inside the campus when the sincere men in uniform did their duty. They drove us out by saying that it was a restricted area. Ultimately I had to click a snap only of the campus gates and show him.
My next trip to Mussourie was in May 2005. This time it was an exclusive visit to the Academy, no security man stopped me now. I was walking in with that year's IAS Exam topper! I did not feel like clicking snaps this time, though.
I had made two more trips to this place after that, but this present trip is the most special one. I have full rights to enter the place now...thanks to the 2007 Exam results!

OP v/s PO

I have always felt that everyone needs to be optimistic to lead a more fulfilling life. Though there have been some of my friends, who say that merely being a pessimist is not something bad by itself. They say it's just another dichotomy like theism-atheism, emotional-logical, introvert-extrovert etc. They add it's not analogous to good-bad, ugly-beautiful etc.

I'm not sure if they are right. But there's something interesting that happened over the last week. One of my NRI friends had called me some days back and in due course of the talk he said, "If there is a problem, there should be a solution!". I found the one-liner really amusing as well an epitome of optimism. Feeling happy about such optimistic ideas floating I was reassured of my opinion that pessimism is bad. A few days later during a long chat with a local, self-proclaimed pessimistic friend, I was totally bowled over by another punch-line. That part of the talk was around this very optimism-pessimism dichotomy, when she said - "I'm proud to be a pessimist!".

Now I'm left wondering who is the better optimist?! The optimistic pessimist or the pessimistic optimist?

See July 08,2007

Shankar Rankings

Read that Tamil cinema is completing its Platinum Jubilee this year - 75 years of Tamil cinema. There was an article titled Film-makers' Favourites somewhere, where many successful directors like Shridhar, KB, Maniratnam, Ameer etc have rated their Top 10 films. "16 Vayathiniley" (1977) makes the maximum appearance in these lists i.e. almost all of these directors have this film in their top 10 list. As Maniratnam puts it, "...i like the film for its script, high standards and realism". I'm sure none of us can forget Ilayaraja's music too. And till date Sappaani-Mayilu-Parattai are fresh in our minds. One film that I surely want to watch now is "Andha Naal" (1954) . It's also in many lists, it was a revolutionary film as it was a song-less movie, especially in those days when there were more songs than dialogues! It has Sivaji Ganesan in the lead role, as an anti-hero. Now with Sivaji still blazing, here's my ranking of Shankar's works.

1.Indian
2.Muthalvan
3.Gentleman
4.Kadhalan
5.Anniyan
6.Boys
7.Jeans
Appo Sivaji? That should be in Rajni's ranking, not here!

Another Coincidence?!!

One reality. Two opposite views. Same time. For the second time. (Refer Communal Coincidence, May 30)

Which one is true? Who is right and who is not? I was taking the same line of thoughts like these, on the earlier occasion too. Frontline says the developments in the retail sector would end up making all the small traders paupers and the government is just a mute spectator. Businessworld says the retail sector is transforming the rural economy and the farmers have a bright future, for the first time after the Green Revolution. However it also agrees on the point that the government is not very active!
More on this soon...

STEREOTYPES

Mom: Hello...whats happening, how are you?

Girl: Hi ma, am fine. How are you? Has uncle-aunt left for the US?

Mom: Ya..I had been to the airport last night to see them off. You know what a terrible time we had!! It was raining so badly and the traffic was held up all over..really a terrible time. They got so tensed up...thank God! things ended up well for them...

Girl: Oh!! But uncle always takes things lightly...starts late always...always! And what about Ankit, they are not taking him along, right?

Mom: yeah..he's just a little baby, grandma will take care of him for a week. And these days the boy is trying to speak..he's making very short statements...his favourite is "tata polaam" !!

Girl: So cuuuute! I'm missing him so much. I will gift him a dress, like the one my warden's baby wears..it'll be so cute on our Ankit....and ma, I got a new suit for me yesterday. Remember?... Preeti didi's marriage is next month...

Mom: yes, met her in temple some days back, she's already on a leave..and what about Ananya, has she come back? What has she got for you?

Girl:Oh..I forgot to tell you that. She reached today morning and you won't believe what i got....

Mom:...what's it?!!

Girl: Remember the Lakme ad on TV, those ear studs that I had wanted so badly....that very same thing!! Its a total surprise for me!! I'm so happy....Ananya is so good...I will wear it for the didi's wedding..it matches my new suit so well...

Mom: That's really good of her..nice girl..

Girl: Ma..Vinay is leaving for Shimla next week na..tell him to get something good for Ananya...he will not listen to me. I have told him already....you say na..or ask appa to tell him..

Mom: Okay..I will tell him. But will he be able to get anything good..will he know what suits her? Last time he had got some kurthas from Jaipur and just after two washes the

(Connection goes off. Signal problem)

Son: Good evening pa...

Dad: Hello..mmm..how are you?

Son: Am fine, attending classes, some tests...

Dad: Have you paid the last month's mess bill?

Son: Yeah pa, that's done, but my friends are planning a two-day Shimla trip soon..

Dad:Oh..but its monsoon all over and especially Shimla areas are dangerous...be careful. mmm...don't you have any tests then?

Son:Just two days, we are going by a tourist cab..my friend from Shimla is arranging everything...so..

Dad: Ok..be careful, all of you. Don't try out any adventures there. I will go to the bank in two days...and you take only mineral water wherever you go and don't go to local, cheap restaurants...its not a good season. See, there's even chickungunya in you area..take all precautions.

Son: No problems pa, everything will be ok. By the way, Am using my friend's computer for my projects these days...its a superb machine, dual core and 1 GB RAM!! So fast....

Dad:Good...where's it made..China? These days everyone wants to manufacture there, its so cheap there.

Son: Yes pa, China..but my seniors say India will be the best place for software work in the future..

Dad: That's right...IT sector is booming..you need to have the right skills for...

Son: Yes pa...Ok..my cricket team is waiting for me..we have a competition match today...

Dad: Oh..ok...ok carry on..bye! Will tell you once the money is credited..carry on..

Son: Ok pa...bye!

Why so?

Was trying to focus on History when I heard some haunting cries, quite terrifying. It was just late evening not midnight or something, still those evil noises disturbed me so much. Quite frightened, still I got out to see where this devil-tones were from. Just peeped over the balcony down the road, and to my shock and surprise realised that these strange sounds were from - cats! There were two of them, not looking at each other directly these two were apparently preparing for a fight. Strange creatures, what kind of sounds they make and look at the way they prepare for a quarrel. I really do not know how people can have cats as pets. One famous lady who had so many cats at her home was our French teacher. For every person at her home, there were approximately 3 to 3.5 cats. In fact, we used to sit among the cats and tried learning French. Ultimately, I ended up knowing more about the Meow language than French! Really, cats are a catastrophe and I always fear that they can attack us anytime. Also, am yet to figure-out how the word "catwalk" came into use.

There are four wonderful, black, cute puppies just outside my house.Their mom is also black. Info about their dad is unavailable at this moment. They are so small that I was the first one to make them eat solid food, biscuit. It was really funny to watch them struggle to get hold of the biscuit pieces. Also they are so small that sometimes they don't even know food is being offered, they seem to be more interested in playing. Looking at the colour of their feet - all white - I'm searching for a white dog around the corner. Pappu, Dappu, Sohan, Mohan - these are the names that our Psychology teacher uses for examples in his classes. So I did not have any problems naming these four. One of my friend also suggested Franky. We can add Cranky, Hanky and Monkey to it. But many others are also feeding these dogs, so on all likelihood each one of them will end up having about 4-5 names. That is a mind-boggling 20 names shared among four siblings!! (Recently read in The Hindu that there is a surname-crisis in China; if all people with the surname Wang were put together they will form the 12th most populous country!) And these days they are trying to bark, it's really enjoyable to hear those attempts! But while three pups are full of enthu, one looks so weak and laid-back. Why so?

First day, first show

"Panninga-thaan da kootam kootama varum, singam single-la thaan varum"

One of the very few punch-dialogues by the Super star in this film. In these days, even when adloscent heroes have punch dialogues, its quite smart of Shankar to make the comedian Vivek speak such dialogues instead of Rajni.

Sivaji -

This is not a Shankar film.

Just like for most other films, do not look for any logic here too.

Sivaji is a must-watch, fantastic Rajni film. It would be difficult for the SS to better this film in terms of style, risks and experimentation.

Though the title sequence evokes interest, the introduction sequence and the song are do not bring in energy, unlike Rajni's usual opening sequence. But the film slowly picks up and the first half is quite humorous and stylish. Rajni-Vivek combo supported by an array of artists make us happy. Even the stunt in the first half is a light one, though executed well. The comedy is drawn liberally by spoofing many old films and dialogues, like the SS saying - "Enna vacchu comedy yethum pannaleyae.." in Vadivelu style. Or the Chandramukhi song sequence being enacted by Shreya-Rajni. And from many other places like Anniyan, Sivakasi etc. Quite fun. White Rajni is awesome. Rajni style stands out from the very first scene.

The second half is a Rajni riot. There is nobody else on screen. Suman does an impressive role, though subdued. But there are a few really humorous sequences in this half too. Also unexpected dialogues like "Motta boss.." and "Parasakthi hero.." make the film more enjoyable. Nothing more to be analysed here, only experienced. Watch out for the boss in the climax. Rajni establishes himself as the boss, for ages to come.

So, what's Shankar doing?

He has shown who he is in conceptualising and executing songs and stunt sequences. Especially the "Adhiratikaaran..." has almost realised Rajni's full potential. "Oru koodai.." is wonderful. Awesome. The sets for "Sahaana.." and "Vaaji vaaj.."" are breathtaking. KV Anandh has done a great job here. However Shankar has failed a bit in "Ballelakka..", its so much inspired by "Konjum mynaakalae.." and "Andan kaakkaa.." songs. AR Rahman has infused so much energy into the film. The stunts have taken Rajni to a new plane.

With that, I abstain from carrying on with this highly biased, pro-Rajni review.

What is your caste?

Easily the worst question I get to hear from somebody. My reply is one of these depending on my mood and my relation with the person asking.

* How does it matter to you?

* Don't you have anything else to ask?

* I'm a human being.

* How is it relevant?

* I'm an Indian.

* Don't irritate me.

And I really mean every reply I give. How does it matter to someone to which group I belong to, if at all? I feel if there is nothing else to ask it's better to give some rest to the mouth. And I can understand if somebody above 60 years of age or having a couple of grandchildren asks this, then it can be called the generation gap. But what's disgusting is when people from the so-called young India put up this question!

Worse is when the so-called educated even start orkut communities on caste lines, probably they took the word "community" too seriously. And what to say about the souls who become the members of such online caste groups. Hopeless. Apparently these communities are dedicated to - "...enlightening people about (community name here, deleted) values, traditions, beliefs, culture and also as a platform for entertainment." Quite euphemistic, these guys are. Naturally, they are all well-educated isn't it!

Either, these people have a serious sense of insecurity or not able to control their urge to assert their illusory dominance. In either case, it's highly regressive. These netizens are no better than the local goon who plays with people's sentiments to meet selfish needs.

There is also an argument that caste prejudices will not be removed unless there is an active discussion on it. Let me think more on this. I 'm very happy that most of us in Tamil Nadu do not have surnames.

Cheeni Kum

Had seen this film's trailer some days back, was not impressed. Looked like one another failed attempt at making a fine film. But having watched this film last night, I realised this is one of those rare cases where actually the film is much better than its trailer. Ironically, the film director happens to be the Executive Creative Director of India's one of the best ad agencies!

Cheeni Kum is a refreshing film. Good script. Ilayaraja's old melodies are given a new lease of life, which in turn blends with the natural perfomance of the actors. Every role is given its due place by the director, right from Big B to Colgate. The film is never a one-man/woman show. A realistic script that is never over-burdened with sentiments. Quite humourous, most of the converstaions between the hero/heroine are sarcastic, witty. The kitchen happenings and the bunch of chefs provide a pace for the unfolding of the interesting relationship between the two - a very old man and a slighlty old female.

Though the character of the kid with blood-cancer is cliched, the little girl has put up a stellar performance. The interactions between the little kid and the very old man are quite funny yet meaningful, though a sad tone always lingers in our hearts. The second half is not as interesting, and the script has failed to keep the audience glued to it. Paresh Rawal raises our expectations, only to let us down after the first few minutes. This character needs more life. However the film picks up towards the end, when the iron pillar in Qutb area comes to the rescue of the script. Quite innovative. At many places, very simple happenings of our lives are captured well - like Amitabh's mother always stressing on his health or the nicknames that the hero/heroines give each other or the efforts required to apologise to somone whom one had had a fight with . I also see a tinge of Maniratnam in the dialogues.

Watch it.

For Balki's interview

http://www.blonnet.com/catalyst/2007/05/17/stories/2007051700140300.htm

Six Reasons to Smile

A couple of days back I came across a poster with this post's title, and the following lines.

* Smiles make others believe
* Smiles are contagious
* A smile makes your dream come true
* Smiles make your eyes sparkle
* Smiles are stepping stones to great things in life
* I forgot this verse

(Insert: Ronaldo, the highly successful chimp.) I found some of the lines really funny, especially the second and fourth ones.(Are they meant to be funny? I don't know.) Should we do something just because it is contagious?! And here my friend asks, Do we really need a reason at all to smile? Point.
By the way our school motto is "Keep Smiling".

t.h.e.b.o.s.s.

http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/41628/exclusive-trailer-rajni-in-sivaji.html

1218

Got to see my CSE marks just some time back http://www.upsc.gov.in/. Its here now. This might not make any sense to persons who are not connected with the exam by any means, but I hope my mark list will be of some use to those who are appearing in this Exam. Please excuse me if you are in the first category.

Subject - Marks Obtained/MaximumMarks
Essay - 140 /200
General Studies I -175/300
General Studies I - 142/300
Geography I - 197/300
Geography II - 134/300
Psychology I - 075/300
Psychology II - 160/300
Written Total - 1023/2000

Interview -195/300
Final Total - 1218/2300

It's time for some hardcore analysis and action now...!

Communal Coincidence?

Just have a look at these two covers of the latest Frontline (June 01, 2007) and Outlook (June 04, 2007) magazines. I need more time to think whether this is a sheer coincidence or just a nasty mischief by some. And more importantly is it right to have such cover stories? Is the media sensationalising imaginative trends to satisfy their bosses and audience? Will this not add fuel to the divisive forces that are already quite successful? Is this healthy for us in the long run?

That One Starfish

This is going to be sensible and insipring, as this is not my creation but a popular story retold by one of my earlier bosses.

One day I was walking a beach which was littered with thousands of Starfishes which had washed ashore. It was still early morning and as sun would come up - these starfishes would soon die in the scorching heat. The beach was largely deserted, however my eyes caught a small boy who was merrily jumping along the shore picking up one starfish after another and throwing it into sea. I walked upto the boy and asked him - what are you doing?

He answered throwing starfish back to sea - so that they at least survive rather than die on the shore. I told him - this is going to take you years - look there are thousands of starfish littered all over - can it make a difference?

The boy turned around and said - Well you ask me will it make a difference - and he added as he threw another starfish into sea - it did make a difference to this starfish is it not?

Each one of us will and can make a diffference - provided we pick that one starfish and have the courage to throw that back at sea.

177

Rest later...

Baba counting starts

120,119...
Just about 2 hours to go for the results.
(And the last year, the same day I was taking my Prelims Exams)

150 years

This day 150 years ago our country saw the first major uprising of us against the British. Termed by some as the Sepoy Mutiny and by others as the First War of Independence or the Great Revolt, what stood out in this uprising was the commendable Hindu-Muslim unity.

Though with roots in religious sentiments, this uprising quickly got the two religions closer in the fight against the common enemy. Lack of a political vision and able leadership are cited as the important reasons for the failure of the Revolt. However, this came as a rude shock to the British, who again let loose their oppressive forces on the Indian population.

Will there be another Revolt, with a firm base of religious unity, to attack the common enemy of hunger, illiteracy and intolerance?

Hall of Fame

It is depressing to know about the atrocities let loose by a group of vandals in Madurai (TN) as a protest against an opinion poll conducted by the Tamil daily Dinakaran. The survery was about `Who should be Kalaignar [Karunanidhi's] political heir?'. Three persons have been murdered, the office of the daily has been burnt and the whole country is terrorised. However, it is a welcome consolation that a CBI probe has been ordered by the state CM. For more - http://www.hindu.com/2007/05/10/stories/2007051010870100.htm

It is a kind of coincidence that I too had planned to post the results of the opinion poll that I conducted last night. The question's very simple, "Who comes to your mind when I say IAS/IPS? ". Here are the findings.(not necesarily in any order) I have added a line or two, to make things clear!


T.N.Seshan - Invariably this is the first name I got. Known for changing the face of the Election Commission of India.



Kiran Bedi. Magsaysay Award Winner. The first lady police officer of our country. Known for her Tihar jail reforms. Presently she is heading the Bureau of Police Research and Development.http://www.bprd.gov.in/




S.Nagarajan. CS Exams topper, 2005. Popular among many IAS aspirants and BITSians.




R.K.Raghavan. Former CBI Director. Known to be one of the most honest officers to have served.





Our Hall of Fame also has the following.
Anbuselvan. ACP, Crime branch, Chennai.Encounter specialist. Gautam Menon was his mentor. His ultimate assignment was eliminating Pandya, who terrorised Chennai through extortions and murders.


ACP Rathore. Crime branch, Mumbai. A fearless officer who broke the arms-supply network that operated across the border. He has a taste for Gazals.




Raghavan. DCP, Crime branch, Chennai. Known for "Raghavan's hunch". Shot to international fame in the Maran-Ila serial murder case. His career was shaped by late Mr.Arokiaraj.



For those sceptics who are looking for the statistical validity etc, here's the technical details of the poll.

Sample population: 3 (including the surveyor)
Sampling technique: Highly-biased sampling
Methodology: The question was asked orally to the respondents, who had about 2 seconds to respond, failing which the surveyor made his own entry on the respondent's behalf.
Poll duration: About 150 seconds.

Please leave your suggestions to help me fine-tune the survey process. Thanks.

Vision-Mission-Values

( You see, I have done an MBA and also had participated in a Strategy Workshop during my Corporate days. So the title needs to sound hi-fi.)

Basically, I have started this blog for the most common reason of all:
To find takers for all the junk that one feels like saying, but does not find anybody around.

Conversely also for those who have nothing else to do, with free 24X7 net access, a great apetite for reading anything comes-by and lots of patience. Many software engineers, housewives with a rich academic background, students who are allergic to class rooms, middle-level HR managers, Research Assistants, old uncles trying to be tech-savvy etc all fall under this category of junk-takers, by meeting one or more of these qualities.

PP - this title was chosen a long back, by my then sidey Sombu and me. Though for a different purpose. Let's see if there is a chance to use this title for what it was meant for.

Here we go...

The next four or five days will likely decide where I will be taking my life towards. My 20-month saga of the Civil Service Exam (CSE) is coming to an end, with the results of the exam to be out soon.

Neither in a mindset to sit and prepare for my next shot at the exam, nor in a mood to freak-out, founding a blog is the best available option, I thought. So here is Pilani Pictures - in short, PP.