Telugu Kavitha - Tolstoy KathaNaayakudu

Countries Debts

USA
debt $12.3 Trillion
GDP $14 Trillion
Annual Budget Deficit:

$1.54 Trillion
Debt as % of GDP 80%

India
debt $696 Billion
GDP $1.2 Trillion
Annual Budget Deficit $96 Billion
Debt as % of GDP 56%

China
debt $600 Billion
GDP $4 Trillion
Annual Budget Deficit $80 Billion
Debt as % of GDP 15%

Greece
Debt $332 Billion
GDP $343 Billion
Annual Budget Deficit $41 Billion
Deficit as % of GDP 97 %

Country debt can make or break any country. In 2002 Argentina defaulted on $90 billion external debt payments. This resulted in economic isolation of Argentina by bond holders and IMF. The currency (Peso) got devalued 75% making essential imports out of reach. It took 4 years for the country to stabilize and still struggling to have balanced budgets and clear off debt.

World economy is like living in a community of different families. Imagine a street with diverse neighbors. The street has a small community bank IMF.

One guy Mr. Greece makes 34k but has 35k credit card loans. Do you think this family will fall apart or since he lives in EU apartment complex, other rich flat owners will rescue him. do you thing whole apartment complex will lose its realestate value because of few flat owners living beyond means. Look at the chart above

How about wealthy neighbor Sam who is powerful and everyone in the street somehow linked in business with him. He makes around 1.4 mil p.a more than anyone on the street but also has equal amount of debt. He continues to make loans every year 10% of his pay. People are lining up to lend him. Do you think one day people stop lending him if he continues to live beyond his means. What happens to the debt he owes to the complete community.

What about the neighbor who used to be poor few years ago and now is on par with anyone. Currently he makes 400k and has just 60K debt. He is only one who saves money annually to lend it to others specially Sam.

What about Mr. India who has only 120k pay and has 60K loan. every year he adds 10k to his debt. Do you think he will soon work harder and pay off his loan and takes care of his big family

He has 10 children and 2 of them barely affording meals. 3 children cannot even read. Other 5 kids are doing fine with stable jobs and are recently able to afford new comforts like cars, T Vs, cell phones.

Tribute to an Artist:T Sunder Raju (1957-2007)

T Sundar Raju, my first cousin (Mena Bawa), suddenly left this world without any hint. Things got triggered from a chest pain in wee hours of Jan 28th, 2007 to a second fatal stroke at 10:00AM same day.

Association with him is a private experience. I thought, I will take few moments to pen fond memories and introduce who he was.. posthumously. it is my way of paying homage and last respects to my affectionate "Sunderanna"

I always feel that our generation is crossover generation, the one that lived thru' transition between centuries of lifestyle changes and always acted as a change agent. We are the last ones who still go back and forth between distinctly different generations ..our parents and our kids.. One of the fighters of the our generation was T. Sunder Raju. He waged this war of life with his own set of unique weaponry made of art, emotions, sensitivity, humor, love and affection. That old world of ours starts with a brother (my dad) and sister (my aunt) building houses next door in Aliabad, old city of Hyderabad. We are 5 brothers and 2 sisters and my aunt has 5 sons and 4 daughters. A total of 16 kids grew up together on the same street and had matched pairs according to the ages. I am the youngest of the team at 44 yrs and the oldest is now 60 yrs. The team of 16 included entrepreneurs, govt. employees, bank managers, NRIs (like me), nurses, teachers, housewives and one great artist T. Sunder Raju.

The artist is so picky about everything, that he added "Raju" to his original name "Sunder" in 70s. Somehow "Sunder" sounded too stale to him. Remember he is an artist.

In my childhood, he ran the idea by me - of officially changing his name (most of the time I was the scapegoat). I reacted that "Sunder" sounds OK to me, but still he insisted that he need to add "Rao" or "Raju" to it. We went all the way and released the mandatory name change advertisement in Deccan Chronicle in 1977. It was funny to read the ad. "T Sunder hereby should be addressed as T Sunder Raju". While reading his obituary of T Sunder Raju, I thought at least this dream of his life came true, as a last gift from this world.
Sunderanna was always creative and fun loving. I recently told my kids a story about him. Though he was studious and hard working, he struggled at clearing SSC exams first time. Our house (next door) was under construction. To divert "dreadful" discussion about him on results day, he enacted a "suicide drama". he made a noose made of white rope. He slowly walked upstairs with a full display of noose on his shoulder. He also made sure that we all had sufficient visibility to comprehend his "impending actions". Then we all went upstairs along with my mother and saw him slowly walking in "deep thoughts" with noose on his shoulder. My mother consoled him "Sunder, pooni raa..exams fail aithey ye maindi.." and both of them walked down with all cousins giggling in the back for his "ritual". He went back to his room and carefully hung the noose in his closet ..for his drama next year..just in case.

I wish it were another "suicide drama" from Sunderanna. Unfortunately there were no visible hints .. he was serious this time.

He went to Viveka Vardhini School. After inter, he joined B Com in Agarwal Signodia College. He used to speak in impeccable telugu just like my aunt. He always liked old telugu songs like "Joruga Husharuga Teli Podama", "Ee Vennela ja ja ja". He used to convert family anthakshari sessions to his non-stop songs medley..we had to physically stop him from singing by holding him and shutting his mouth.

His first job was in APSTC overseeing "Bhagyalakshmi Lottery". His working hours started at 5:00PM. His job was to inspect @40 lottery outlets in old city for sales, collections, etc. I used to join him on his old city bicycle tours areas like dabeerpura, yakutpura, charminar.. the trip would culminate in a watermelon treat for me in front of Mecca Masjid (10 paise a plate). He later resigned APSTC job and secured admission in Degree of Commercial Art in Fine Arts College, JNTU.

His first art work that I have seen was for a Diwali Festival in 1973…both families would compete for the "bommala koluvu" display. Sunderanna was always the best in his displays in terms of theme, concept, colors, etc. It would be a serious competition with Sunderanna leading the opposite team and my brother Rajanna leading our team. The decoration theme & material was always kept a secret till Diwali night. Kids used to spy by walking around the houses and asking around what Sunderanna is working on, everyone including elders guarded the secret and material ..

Finally on the Diwali night when the decorations get unraveled, it was a thrilling sight for both the families .kids will make umpteen trips between houses and make assessments.. For one Diwali night, Rajanna made replica of houses on our street. The display was stunning with exact dimensions, colored houses made of card board, roads and small street lamps. We thought, Sunderanna would not be able to match us. We went running to their house.. He unraveled his decoration .it was a sight that I won't forget in my life..the theme was "landing on the moon" .. Big round surface (5x5 ft) with replica Apollo 11, miniature astronauts climbing down the stairs..American Flag..moon surface made of sand ..Sunderanna won that year hands down. Next year, we tried even harder to beat him. Our display was fantastic ..we were thinking he will play some trick on us as there was no sign of any preparations ..finally on diwali night ..he personally decorated his niece Pallavi and made her sit as display …he won second time too ..we were no match for his creative mind ..

I started growing taller and always measured myself against him. One day I declared ."Sunderanna ..look I am taller than you .." he quickly retorted "Thaati Chettu kooda podugga untadhi ..kaani eimi laabham..". He was always delicate in his style. He would never take more than a glass of beer. Most of the time, he liked to wear Jeans and T shirts. Even in my last visit, I saw him in Jeans. I asked "Sunderanna..nuvvee jeans eisthe..mem eimeyyallee". Even in this picture he wears a T shirt..he always looked young ..

As an artist, he used to draw few sketches now and then, the first art work I remember he did was a collage in 1976. All pictures were taken from Filmfare and other magazines with his picture on the side sipping coffee with big classes. In 70s, he painted his living room. On one of the walls, he used a primrose red color…contrasting with light colors on other walls. I vehemently opposed the dark color choice of his, until he explained what "contrast" is.. In real life, he was the contrast supporting light colors around him.. always different ..in life as well as in death..

I have never met an artist like him…He made a dining table out of 2 big tree barks ..personally went into wild and located the trees, cut them, seasoned them and then painted. The table surface is a glass and one can see all the tree rings from top. In his flat at Sithaphal Mandi, instead of regular calling (door) bell, I saw a decorative rope coming thru' the wall adjacent to the front door. When I entered the apartment, I found a small temple bell ..I stood astounded and he shook me back to normalcy by saying "it works even during power cuts". In his new flat in Barkatpura, he made almost 8 ft tall & 2 ft diameter HP pencil out of wood. It leans against the wall next to TV and changes your perspective about simple things in life. I have never met a genius like him before ..

He got married around 1985 to Madhavakka. He started an Advertisement Agency "SM ads" focusing on commercial ads. He did little business in commercial art work and then shifted his office to Himayathnagar flat. The first interior designing project, he took up was for his office (425 sq ft flat) in late eighties. He showed me around ..small recess lights, low ceiling roof. In business, he slowly moved away from screen printing / brochures to more interior house designs. Though he struggled in his initial years in business, past few months he has been very successful in interior design projects in Hyderabad.

Last September (06), when I visited his flat for breakfast & enquired about business, he said "I have sufficient projects and I cannot handle more than 5 projects a year". That's a very comforting statement coming from Sunderanna, after so many years of struggle. He tasted success in his life only in the last few months. I always used to ask him "Sunderanna when are you buying car ?". During Sep 06 visit, he replied "definitely this year raa".


I was told he bought a new car in Dec 06. He made a CD of all his interior design works till now. He recently threw a party to all his old pals from 1970s. People say it almost appeared he had premonition. He chatted with his sons night before. watched TV till 1:00am with them .. Kissed them good night, very unlike of him that night.

Stress was always his enemy. He took to heart small issues that bothers everyone which we all ignore.. whether it is an apartment association issue or a general social issue. He habitually called TV9 and other shows expressing his opinions. If he disagrees with something, he can't sleep over it. This month (Jan 07) during TANA members visit (my friends from Detroit, US) to Hyderabad, he heard about someone from TANA supporting "Jai Andhra" on TV news. That night, he called visiting TANA team every hour till midnight to seek clarification as he was against split of any kind in our state. Finally TANA president Dr. Hanumaiah Bandla garu issued a statement next day in favor of One State for all Telugus - "United SwarnAndhra Pradesh". Later that night, Sunderanna spoke eloquently at the TANA meet honoring my friend and ex-TANA President Gangadhar Nadella and also recited a poem on the subject. that's how he was ..

Though health wise he was not doing great, he looked energetic and passionate. In 1998, he had a serious pancreatic problem and recently I was told he developed Diabetes and BP. I never imagined for a moment that he will leave us like this .."Sunderanna, We miss you in this life"


- Chinna (Venkat Aekka)vaekka@yahoo.com

FEEDBACK

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Chinna,
Your Blog on sunderanna is very touching, thanks for your efforts.
Yesterday I spoke with sister-in-law (Madhavi) and she advised to make the following changes in it:
> Interior decorator should be replaced with Interior Designer

> Year of marriage is 1985, but not 1982.
>Screen printing should be replaced with Advertising Agency. Also wedding and greeting cards printing was small part of Advertising Agency and no need to show up separately.

Still not able to immunise Sunderanna's demise, it's a great loss to all of us.

Thanks,
Srinu

Srinivas Thokala (brother)
SPRINT, Kansas city

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Chinna,

It was a shock to me when i saw his photo in news paper obituary column.We immediately called your home only to know that funeral already took place on Sunday.Bindu visted Aliyabad yesterday.

I met him along with you in Devender's office and we had lunch together..during that time only you were talking about his car..Bindu bumped into him in Bhavani furnishing shop in Liberty..when we were doing up the home.. Further to this,he came to our home along with his wife early in the morning to advise on our colors/interiors..etc He saw the whole home and didnt say much..( I m sure he didnt like )..He encouraged Bindu and quitely left the home..

tears rolled down my cheeks when I read your mail on him..you are a sensitive and a humane person..someone who has a "feel" for others feelings..fortunate are all those who know you..thank you for being my best buddy..

Babloo

Sudershan Murthy
Genesis Computers


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Very well written piece! I like the flow of the piece. You may want to correct liver disease to pancreas disease also the year 1994 to 1998.
Love,
Aditya
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Venkat,

My heartfelt condolences . I can appreciate how much you must have liked him, by reading the narration of key events and pleasant memories.

Regards,

Nambi.
Geometric Software Systems
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Dear Venkat,
My condolences on your loss.
Its a very touching article. May his soul rest in peace.
May God give you the strength in these tough times.- Amol


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Chinna,

What you wrote is very touching. I am sorry to hear about this loss.

--Arun Mandhania
Xilinx


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Venkat, Sorry to hear the news. I know it is terribly bad thing to happen at this age. We can only pray god for his soul peace. Now let us see how we can help family/kids to settle. I will call you.
Thanks,
Prasad Deva
Vasudeva Realtors


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While reading the memoir I felt you have penned an heartfelt honest feeling about Sunderanna.
Regards,
Pramod Agarwal
Microsoft Corp.
Hyderabad.


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Dear Chinna,
Every letter and spirit of your homage to our beloved Sundaranna is touching. It is a grave and irreparable loss to our Vasudeva Realtors in general and to me in particular. I have lost a lovely brother, great guide and above them all a great human of our times.
There is a small correction in our article/homage where in it is quoted as "United Andhra" instead of "Jai Andhra". He was very much for a united Andhra and deadly against split of any part of Andhra pradesh. He spontaneously penned a poem titled " Oka samanyudi gunde chappudu" in support of United Andhra.

Devender Reddy
Vasudeva Realtors


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Venkat anna, my condolences. – Koty Velivela


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Venkat, Sorry to hear about your loss. The obituary is quite touching. 50 years too young - probably a warning sign to us all to take care in earnest. Please convey our deepest condolences to the family.
Regards,
Dr. Ramana Kappangantu


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It is very sad to know about sudden demise of T.Sunder Raju and is no more.I have noted your feelings that you had expiriences in different way of his artistic life style and are unforgetable during our life time.I sincerly requst your goodselves to convey my condolence to their family.

MAHATMA.


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Anna,

It was really painful to read your synopsis on a close relation.
I pray sundaranna's soul rest in peace.

Regards
Madhu
Inknowvate


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Hi Chinna, I am sorry to here about this news.
Thanks for sharing your cousin's personality with us.

-Sreedhar (Boys Town)


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Venkat,

Sorry to hear the loss of your cousin. Based on what you written about him he sure was a kind man and you were very attached to him. I hope you will deal with loss appropriately. You have been through before. I am sorry.

Regards,


Sudhir Kulkarni


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Dear Venkat
Sorry to hear the sad news. Our prayers and thougts for his soul in peace. You have very good memories and narrated very well in an orderly manner.
We never know how ones life changes with out any signal. On the same day(1/28) my cousin in M.Nager died in a car accident. He was almost 70 + years.
We have to deal with all these situation staying far from our families
take it easy
Prabhaker Dhanwada


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Chinna Uncle,

This news is really heart-breaking for all of us. A very touchy but true reflections about Sunder babai.In my recent visit to India I could spend some good time with him and throughout our conversation, we had a difference of opinion but we still continued our chat till late midnight.

Both myself and Gopi have enjoyed a special relationship with Sunder babai. He was more like a friend to us and a good mentor to me. In my recent visit he was appreciating the way I have come up in my life and even commented that both of us have comeup in our life with many hardships.

I even had done my interiors done with him for my new apartment in Nallkunta and did not give any suggestions but left the total task of finishing the project to him and he had compeleted it with a great passion.

There are many fond memories which I have associated with him and it is hard for all of us to believe that he is no longer with us. Let us all stand in support of his family and give our best to help them regain the strength to live without Sunder babai.

Regards,
Ravi Thokala
630-400-1331


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Hello Venkat,
My heartfelt condolences on the demise of Sundranna.
If you were lucky to have an 'anna' like him he too is fortunate to have a 'tammi' like you.
Your piece on him was really very touching and brought out evocatively the life and times of a sensitive, talented person who was perhaps anachronistic in this callous and cruel age.

Ramendra
http://www.ramendra.com/


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Chinnanna,

Its very sad to hear that. I'm sorry and my condolences for you loss. Will call you soon. I don't know whats happening, but all sad news lately. Feels so depressing these days.

Chandu.


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Chinna,

My condolences to you and your family on this loss. We at Canon Health Care
deal with the loss of life of near and dear through professional counselling. After Katrena, there were several people who walked into our premises wanting to talk to which lead to a free service named "Grief Resource Center". You ar most welcomed to use the service or add to its resources.

We also have childrens camp to those kids who have had these sad experiences.

Sincerely,

Dr. Shiva Kumar Akula
Canon Hospice Center
New Orleans


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Venkat Garu,

Sorry to hear about it.May his soul rest in peace.
Manorama Gondi


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Hello Venkat,

I am deeply deeply saddened by this news. It is extremely shocking to me. When I went to India recently, Deva introduced me to him. Sundar helped me a lot, alot .. I can't even tell you. He was so reliable and so helpful. I don't have words to express. I will get in touch with Prasad tomorrow and will talk to him in detail. I will ask my brother to pay respects on my behalf.
I share and feel the loss with you
Uday Kumar Chapalamadugu


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Hello Venkat

Evidently he was very close to you. My condolences and May his Soul rest in Peace

Dilip Kuchipudi
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Dear Venkat garu,
I'm so sorry to hear your loss of Sunderanna. What I am feeling right now is hard to put into words after reading your fond memories and thoughts of your cousin. Though I haven't met him in person, reading your email gave me an experience of personally knowing him, h e was such a creative person, and I am so sorry.

We will keep you and your family in my prayers.

Regards,
Ravi (Charlotte, NC)
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Venkat,


I am very sorry to hear loss of Sunder Anna. So unexpected and such a young age.

My heartfelt condolences, I will call you today.

Sunil
Global Manufacturing Director,
Electronics Electronics Product Group
Visteon Corporation
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Venkat,

Sorry to hear your of your loss. Nice eulogy. All though I never met him, after reading it I all most feel like I have known him forever.

Regards,
Poorna.
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Venkat,

This is a very nice tribute to your cousin. Although he has passed this world and this body, he will be remembered for his actions and himself by all those touched by his life in this world. So, he will be with you always.

I wish you to cherish his memory - he is still with you.

- Subbarao
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Venkat Garu,
Sorry to hear about the sudden demise of Mr Sundar Raju garu.

My heartfelt condolences to their family members.
Regards

Sarma
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Venkat - Sorry for the loss. I am in FTSI chennai for last 2 weeks and will be leaving for pune tomorrow.

Sanjay Kulkarni
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Great Job Chnna!

It was very touchy and emotional. I appreciate you remembering all the event and drafting such a big mail.

Thank you very much for letting us know his background.

Praveena Aekka
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Hello Venkat,

We are sorry to hear about the news that your cousin T.Sunder Raju passed away. I appreciate your time and efforts in putting together his legacy into an amazing story. May his soul rest in peace.

Regards,
Andy Chiranjeevi
KBTS Technologies, Inc.
http://www.kbtstech.com/
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Please accept our condolences.

Regards,
Doraswamy Morasa
Ford Motor Company

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Venkat,
I read your 'heart' from your email and can understand how you feel. Your Sunderanna may not be anymore physically, but he is always alive in the hearts of those people like you who love him and adore him.
My heartfelt condolences on the death of your beloved Sunderanna...... My prayers for the Soul to rest in peace as well as give you the strength to rebound soon......
Thanks & Regards,
Siva Adusumilli
Uvis - Server 313 39 09629 313 62 18492 (Fax)
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Venkat, Sorry to hear the Sad news neverthless your eulogy is very thoughtful and articulate. May his soul rest in peace. Thanks Ajay
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Venkat!Hats of you sir!!
I read most of it and i really liked it.. and definitely we need to learn a lot from you.

Thanks!Manoj
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Dear Venkat, I am sorry to hear of the breavement. My short acquantence with him has left great impressions. In fact I have replecated a similar calling bell. Sincere condolences, life is full of suprises. take good care.
your pal sam.
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Venkat Garu,
Read your document on Sundar Garu. It is very sad to know he is no more available. A great interior decorator is no more. Thank you for sharing the article. Please use Ramesh@Rameshkaza.com email id or mail2kaza@gmail.com in future
Regards,
Ramesh Kaza
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Venkat: This is a beautiful homage and tribute straight from a loving heart. It is sure to reach heavens for your beloved Sunderanna. My condolensces and prayers. - Harish Patel
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I can comprehend what this loss means to you all.
Personally I had very few interactions with "Sunder Anna", The way i know him most is beacuse i have heard about him, day-in day-out from you all. I think he was the most talked about personality in your group ourside your immidiate family.
I have heard about his creativity from lot of people especially the Dinning table that he made out of the tree trunks and the sofa's that he decorated in his drawing room.The latest that i knew was that he was the brain behind Rajender babu's ( No offence ,I am trying to avoid Uncle word) new house at Medchal and i was told about the beautiful art work that was done in the false roofing.
Definetly now it makes sence to the words "Life comes fast at you "
Please convey my respects to his family .
ANILRAJ AKULA
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Venkat,Sorry to learn about your loss. Your article was very touching and it gave me an idea of someone so dear to you even though I never met him. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and fond memories about Sundar. It's one of best ways to remember someone.Sorry for the delay in reading/replying to your mail. Just didn't get around to this email earlier.

Best Wishes,
Tarun Mandhania
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Greater Hyderabad Opinions

Reporting from Hyderabad - Dec 13th, 2009
Last 15 days have been historical ..on Nov 30th, 2009 the announcement of fast unto death by KCR was initially treated as another gimmick and was riddled with false starts like drinking juice by KCR on 2nd day itself ..Students who took out mock funeral processions of CM Rosiah and Sonia Gandhi, suddenly took KCR's mock funeral after they heard he broke the fast.

KCR soon became lead character "Raju" of RK Narayan's classic novel "The Guide" where villagers forced Raju to take up fast for rains and eventually see him die making him a martyr. Well this is history and not a novel .. the second time KCR took his fast seriously and this time he was willing to give his life for Telangana..all prior allegations like he took 100 crores from TeluguDesam for being part of "MahaKutami" slowly fizzled and replaced by his near death visuals from NIMS..it is grave mistake if someone says it is acting ..man with several ailments did not listening to doctors to break his fast..

NIMS visuals slowly transformed "canny and articulate" politician into a "Mahatma" and "Potti Sreeramulu"..another couple of days would have driven frail KCR into coma or other health situation where we could have lost KCR to the cause.

Congress was very quick and impressive in averting the tense situation in Hyderabad on Dec 10th, 2009 by announcing "process to separate the state has been intiated" statement by P Chidambaram. Protest Rallies turned into Victory rallies.. Everyone in AP was dissecting words like "process" and "resolution" and started interpreting them to their own advantage ..

Again like another unpredictable turn, there was huge uproar from Andhra and Rayalseema regions on the "Telangana" announcement.

Though parties have expressed support for Telangana formation including TeluguDesam, apparently no one saw it coming..In fact there was the assumption that there will be somehow status quo and they can continue to express support for Telangana without any consequences..

But KCR's fast has changed everything..Political leaders were changing tones like there should have been prior consensus from public..In all party meeting by CM Shri Rosiah everyone expressed support to abide by the decision from High Command.

After the decision, they have started questioning powers of Sonia, asking what she knows about AP history ..Naturally Sonia Gandhi will look at her party's future interests and doesn't have time and energy to learn about AP history.

Then started the Samikhya Andhra rallies followed by resignations from 130 MLAs from 190 Andhra and Rayalseema MLAs..22 ministers are planning to resign today including possibly CM also ..

Noone saw this coming ..such a huge response to keep our state in tact and as one Rashtram..I am thinking that there are compelling reasons for these reactions ..

> contributes about of total AP employment. IT sector alone is Rs 8000 crs ($1.8 Billion) which is predominantly based in Hyderabad

>Out of 63 lakhs Hyd population, 40% are Muslims, 10% are Andhrites and rest from "core" Telangana. Telangana people are the most affectionate ones and go about themselves with their grand "Daawats" and "Mandu parties" for even small milestones like "Vollelu or "Dhootulu" ceremony with thousands of guests. They are never divisive in nature and always accommodating of any culture whether it is Marwadi or Gujarathis or Andhras.

They make special efforts to change their slang like "cheppandi, vachaaru" before an Andhrite and turn to "cheppe and vachindu" as soon as he leaves.

There is no region in the world where locals modify own slang just to please an outsider..that is the greatness of Telangana people.

That's why Samikhya movement is gaining traction because Hyderabad has quickly become more than hometown for most settlers ..we are all used to see "rallies" to seperate regions..nowhere in history there were "protests" for uniting 2 regions of people .. ..that's the greatness of Andhra Pradesh.

Looking at students in Vizag and Vijayawada, their expression is very genuine to keep the AP united.

> There are several proposals flying around like "Dual Capital", "Union Territory" to retain status quo on today's Hyderabad.

Change always is harsh and it is naive to imagine that there won't be any change. As KCR says we can't reverse a released arrow.

Now time only will decide how much of a deviation KCR and people of Telangana can make to separate state announcement to appease all groups.

2 weeks back no one imagined president's rule in AP and destabilized Central Govt due to one man's fast in a remote town of Telangana.

I am sure there will be deviations to the proposals specially looking at nation's and state's interests.

My proposal
We should look into making Hyderabad as "dual capital". The only objection from KCR last night was geographical nature of Hyderabad not allowing Chandigarh like capital where is it accessible from Punjab and Haryana.

Along the Hayathnagar Highway to Kodada of present Nalgonda, declare 20 kms on each side highway as extension of Greater Hyderabad and develop a new capital for Andhra near Kodada.

New Investments shoud be made in the new capital for Andhra, which will also develop backward region of Nalgonda

Hyderabad will serve as dual capital and cater to all Telugus as before.

One should look at history before embarking on defining boundaries.

East Germany was like Telangana of Europe and after Berlin wall construction became one of the most ignored and backward region in Europe. Only in 1989 and after merger of East and West Germanies, East Germans seeing growth prospects and even elected Merkel, The first lady Chancellor from East Germany.


Regds,
Venkat Aekka
vaekka@yahoo.com
http://vaekka.blogspot.com

91 80990 36160 (Hyd Cell)
001 734 674 5060 (US cell)

Chaalisi Mein Aashiqui

Bahut saalo baad, Nazar se nazar mili..
Chaalis saal ka pyar, Ek din mein jaag utih..
Bahut ummid se , Meri dil ki baat kahi..
Bahut bechaini se, Aap ki jawab ka intazaar kiya..
Naa jawab hai, Na kuch ishaara hai..
Maana ke aap bahut khubsoorat hai..
Hum bhi tho kuch bure nahi..
Khoobsoorathi mein aap Madhuri Dixit nahi..
Umar mein hum bhi M F Hussain nahi..

Venkat Aliabadi

telugu poetry published in Palana Baasha of Andhikara Baasha Sangham

my interview on teluguone..click on the link

Excerpts from the Book - Vivekananda - The Living Vedanta

Swamy Vivekananda ..The Living Vedanta ..by Chaturvedi

Little known facts about Swamy Vivekananda

1) I never knew that he fought for women so much ..he thought America has progressed a lot because of women liberation whereas in India, though we all prey to Shakti as our creator and destroyer ..we still ill treat our women and that's bringing down India and Hinduism.

2) His sister commits suicide (Sati) and that disturbs him a lot during his penance in Himalayas

3) He was born on Jan 12, 1863. His dad was a rich lawyer and was giving away property and money to relatives and Vivekananda asks him why he is wasting money on relatives and what he plans to give him as a son. His dad takes him to the mirror and says " I gave you him - Narendranath (Vivekananda). You don't worry about money"

4) He loves his mother so much that after becoming Vedanta, he never meets her. Few years before his death, he takes his mother and her friend for 2 months vacation to Kanyakumari. When Ramakrishna mission asks him to visit Chennai center, he says I am on vacation and I can't visit Chennai center

5) His friends in Chennai (he used to address them Madras Boys) raised money for his trip. in US, his savings dwindles down to $140 dollars and he writes a SOS letter to Madras Boys to send him money and he can survive till their reply

6) His had same issues like you and me, his brother was in UK looking for jobs and he supported and gave him accommodation in his room and started referring him to his friends

7) After Parliament of Religions in Chicago, he was a big hit in US. He used to stay in Michigan Governor's house for lectures. he charged $1400 per lecture in 1890s. He sent all earnings to the poor in India.Vivekananda successfully introduced yoga and Vedanta to the West and lectured around America introducing the topics (1894-6). Later, he started Vedantic centers in New York City and London, lectured at major universities and generally kindled western interest in Hinduism. His success was not without controversy, much of it from Christian missionaries of whom he was fiercely critical. After four years of constant touring, lecturing and retreats in the West, he came back to India in the year 1897.

8) He was against brahmins. He said they created barriers between man and God. He started eating non-veg and occasionally smoked pipe. He wrote about harsh weather in Chicago specially during winter.

9) His life was for 4 decades. His first 2 decades was consumed in childhood and learning, his 20s was transformation into Advaita Vedanta and 30s spent in US/UK trips. He came twice to US/UK. His started in a boat from Chennai to Vancouver and travelled to Boston by train.

excerpts from his wandering days after Ramakrishna's death ..

---------------------------
During these wandering days, Vivekananda stayed in kings' palaces, as well as the huts of the poor. He came in close contact with the culture of different regions of India and various classes of people in India. Vivekananda observed the imbalance in society and tyranny in the name of caste. He realised the need for a national rejuvenation if India was to survive at all. He reached Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of the Indian subcontinent on 24 December 1892. There, he swam across the sea and started meditating on a lone rock. He thus meditated for three days and said later that he meditated about the past, present and future of India. The rock went on to become the Vivekananda memorial at Kanyakumari.

Vivekananda Temple on Vivekananda rock at Kanyakumari, India
Vivekananda went to Madras and spoke about his plans for India and Hinduism to the young men of Madras. They were impressed by the monk and urged him to go to the United States and represent Hinduism in the World Parliament of Religions. The Raja of Ramnad, who was originally invited for the conference, promoted Vivekananda as the right person to represent the views of Hinduism in the Parliament. Thus, helped by his friends at Chennai, Bhaskara Sethupathi, Raja of Ramnad and Maharajas of Mysore and Khetri, Vivekananda set out on his journey to the USA.
In one of his lectures in California, the swami described about his condition during wandering days as follows: [2]
“
Many times I have been in the jaws of death, starving, footsore, and weary; for days and days I had no food, and often could walk no farther; I would sink down under a tree, and life would seem to be ebbing away. I could not speak, I could scarcely think, but at last the mind reverted to the idea: "I have no fear nor death; never was I born, never did I die; I never hunger or thirst. I am It! I am It! The whole of nature cannot crush me; it is my servant. Assert thy strength, thou Lord of lords and God of gods! Regain thy lost empire! Arise and walk and stop not!" And I would rise up, reinvigorated; and here I am today, living! Thus, whenever darkness comes, assert the reality and everything adverse must vanish. For after all, it is but a dream. Mountain-high though the difficulties appear, terrible and gloomy though all things seem, they are but Maya. Fear not, and it is banished. Crush it, and it vanishes. Stamp upon it, and it dies.
---------------

10) Official Indian representative for (PoR) Parliament of Religion was a Bengali. He goes to Boston in Aug end 1895 and meets PoR coordinator and gets himself permission to speak at PoR on Sep 11, 1893. The first week of Sep, he travels back to Chicago and loses his friend's address. He lives on streets of Chicago for few days. His sleeps in cardboard boxes. In the suburbs of Chicago, weak with several days of hunger and cold, they mistake him for a homeless man. He knocks several doors and finally one old lady open the door & sees a glow in his face and takes him inside her home on Sep 10th. He goes to PoR with her the next day ..Sep 11, 1893. The rest is all history ..When he started his address by "Brothers and Sisters of America", there was a standing ovation & applause for 2 mins
11) He was good singer and he was introduced to Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansa by a common friend in Nov, 1881. First time, when he met Ramakrishna takes him to a room ..says "where were you all this time" ..Vivekananda himself says his first time interaction with his guru was weird and he thought he was a madman. In his first meeting, Ramakrishna tells him that he is avatar of Narada Muni and he has a mission in this world. Ramakrishna treated his wife Sharada Maata as Kaali and preys her daily like mother. Sharada Maata takes care of him till his last breadth (1886) as he suffered from throat cancer. Instead of critiquing other religions, Ramakrishna converted himself into Sufi Muslim for 6 months and Christian for sometime. He came to Ashram and preached about Advaita Vedanta. Once Vivekanda goes to a bar in Calcutta and Ramakrishna sees something different during evening prayers. Vivekananda admits his mistake and Ramakrishna says he is proud of him as his disciple is courageous to admit mistakes.

12) Vivekanda senses his last days during last phase of his 2 nd trip to US/UK (1899-1902). He was in Greece during June 1902. He tells his friends that he needs to go back to India soon. He says that can't die anywhere else other than his MathruBhumi. His friends in Greece raised money for his trip to India as he needs to pay first class to travel unreserved. He reaches India last week of June, 1902. After reaching, he tells his disciples that his last day is July 4 th, 1902. On his last day takes a walk with his disciple and gives him instructions about Ramakrishna Mission and Mutt activities. He watches Ashram kids sports competition from his window in the evening. He last breadth was at 9:00PM on July 4th, 1902 at 39 yrs of age.



Regards
Venkat Aekka

NRIs dos and donts

Recent months, there is a significant jump in number of accidents/violent incidents/crimes committed against/by NRIs in North America.

 

I don't have to enumerate them as they are all over the web and newspapers in India.

 

What's going on..

 

As with any systemic issue, it is very tough to pinpoint the tipping point for a trend like this. There could be several reasons behind spike in these incidents. The question to ask is why now.

 

I came to this country in 1991 to pursue MS. I personally think NRI landscape starting changing between 1998-2003 when H1 quota / offshore work got substantially increased providing increased opportunities in IT.

 

In the process, we didn't have sufficient time to take new comers thru' the vetting process with American etiquette and culture. For us, who came on F1 visa in early 90s, we had a different orientation and introduction to American culture. We got crammed into student dorms where in seniors / friends constantly coached on do's and dont's of this Great Nation. Since we were under severe financial stress to pay college tuition and loans, affording cars in first 2 years was a distant dream.

 

In the process, we had time to learn how strict US laws are, not to chat on line with any strangers, not to drink and drive, etc.

 

I am thinking there are large numbers again entering US on F1 and there are few seniors to coach new students as most of them have come thru' H1 visa in the past decade.

 

Added to this, we specially NRIs are adventurous, have inner competitive spirit to settle down faster, acquire new luxuries like car, condos before our first cousins.

 

In the process we cut corners in not spending required time to understand all US laws, driving skills, ..

 

I sincerely think that everyone of us specially new F1/L1/H1 visa holders should take a moment and look at followin dos and donts

1. Importance of planning a road trip is not assimilated among Indian students. In India, asking directions, following safety rules like seat belts, sleeping before long drives are either frowned upon or made fun of. After securing visa, suddenly young desi students lives are getting transformed from BTech to MS within weeks, and they still think it is OK to voilate safety rules. More information on planning for long drives is at http://www.independenttraveler.com/resources/article.cfm?AID=34&category=2
2. Plan ahead if you are driving by taking sufficient rest/sleep. This I think is the biggest cause of accidents for Desis. We suddenly plan to meet someone in other city during the weekend and all roommates jump in last minute. After reaching, we will have fun ..bdays, movies, drinks, night long cards, partying..we never get sufficient sleep for the long drive next day. If everyone needs to be at school or work we start like 3:00am the night before for 90 mph drive increasing vulnerability for accidents.
3. Make sure everyone wears seatbelts and always signup for sufficient driving lessons even if your roommate makes fun of you..it is dangerous to drive on freeways without proper skills
4. Make it a rule not take any cell phone calls while driving or any other form of distraction like food, music, navigation maps,

Other Safety issues for Desis

1. Get to know about American laws. One example is that everyone should know that there are always cops online as "disguised teens" responding to your chat requests.. definitely it is not worth it to chat on line. ..it is a trap ..if you are bored go to a Desi movie or Telugu Assn function, Temple or visit a Friend or subscribe to MAA TV or watch Brahmanandam comedy clips..lot of fun-filled activities to kill boredom
2. Laws here are very strict. Even pushing someone in anger results in a "aggravated assault" felony charge. Property damage, slips on walkways / driveways can result in law suits. That's why Americans are extra cautious about law and very rarely indulge in risky behaviors like arguments in public, road rages, domestic voilence, etc.. They know one can spend years in jail if the other party chooses to press charges.
3. Get to know American culture. There are stark differences between our cultures. Americans are good in planning ..recently I was in a salon, someone was calling a stylist for an appointment. She gave 2 appointments 3 months apart. I curiously asked her why the 2nd appointment. She said he wanted to book next appointment also.. he knows when he will be ready for next haircut..how many of us do this kind of planning. Dress code is another big thing in this country. Benjamin Franklin in 19th century itself coached young entrepeneurs how to dress and communicate to be successful in life. We fail to recognize that dress code/maintaining eye contact during conversations/firm shake hands are something that are engrained in this society for centuries ..
4. Make every attempt to make new friends and try to be a good listener.
5. Never aspire for all the things in this world overnight just because you have a monthly paycheck..sometimes even if you can afford to spend, you might be buying new risks ..like stocks, houses, condos, cars. It's OK to drive around old Chevy Your parents understand you better in an old Chevy ..be yourself and take time to relay your successes backhome> most importantly enjoy your life, celebrate your friendships, get involved in the community..signup for local Telugu Assn, Local Temple membership, volunteer in charity organizations like SpreadIndia, Asha for Education
6. Always be connected to our Motherland whether it is visits, calls, reading, movies etc..

 

 

Regards,
Venkat Aekka
vaekka@yahoo.com
http://vaekka.blogspot.com/

First Day on the Job - Oct 24th, 1984

Today is my 29th anniversary of my first day at work .

On Oct 24th, 1984, I joined Sriram Refrigeration, Balanagar.

Prahlad and myself have started our careers as (GET) Graduate Engineer Trainees (with Rs1400 per month stipend) and never stopped working since then ..It has been a long journey ..

Our designation was graduate engineer trainee with a salary of Rs 1400 per month (Rs 8.75 or 21 cents per hour..wow ..it increased by ~350 times in 29 yrs ..outpacing CPI ..). I was posted in R and D and Prahlad was in maintenance dept.. My job was to help Dr. Bannerjie (my boss) run experiments in reducing heating of motors (in hermetically sealed compressors used in Refrigerators and A/Cs).

We used to start at 6:50 AM from Chikkadpalli on Prahlad's scooter (Bajaj Priya) to reach the Balanagar at 8:00AM.

We are supposed to reach the plant sharp at 8:00AM.

The company rule was to accumulate all tardy minutes from punch card and if they exceed 15 minutes for the month, you will loose 1/2 day vacation (15 minutes late equivalent to 4 hrs of salary deduction ..isn't it harsh).

For example, if you show up at 8:01 on first day and then 8:10 the next day and for the rest of month ..you are on a borrowed time of just 4 minutes ..one more 8:04 ..you are doomed ..

One day I made a bold decision to sacrifice 14 minutes in one day itself for the sake of .... none other than actress Sridevi ..my engineering classmate Premnath was going to US (Dec 84) and I went to see him at the airport at 7:20 AM.

I knew it would take exactly 20 minutes to reach Balanagar from airport. After seeing him off at 7:40AM. I was walking out of the aiport lobby and saw Sridevi waiting for her Madras flight Suddenly I was in a dilemma thinking about my monthly quota of 15 minutes vs looking at Sridevi.

I stood there for 14 extra minutes (till 7:54) and took next 20 minutes to drive to Balanagar . Rest of the month I had to eek out on the remaining one minute .. never regretted on throwing away 14 minutes in a day .. well deserved ..

It was almost a prison once we entered Sriram. We couldn't go out and lunch was exactly for 30 minutes and we would leave only at 4:30PM. Weird thing was the week off used to be on Mondays. When the whole Hyd watched Ramayana Serial on Sundays, we were taking assembly rounds in electrical motor winding shop.

I have learnt a lot from my boss Dr. Bannerjie. He was a UK returned Bengali and originally migrated to UK in 1940s

He married a Britisher and had 2 children.

After 35 yrs of British life and family, Dr. Bannerjie decided to return to India in his early 60s.

He joined Sriram Refrigeration as R and D consultant.

Despite so many constraints to settle in India, he was determined to start a new life in Hyderabad at almost his retirement age..

He had to lower his living standard to make his Indian dream come true.

He went down from 4 wheels to 2 wheels.. Lambretta in Hyderabad ..

One defining character of Bannerjie was that he would never pay bribes..

imagine in 1984 getting (Road Transport Authority) RTA driving license without paying any bribe ..

The whole RTA (license brokers and staff alike) went crazy to see this Bengali old man
..not accompanied by any broker ..talking fluent English ..filling in and submitting applications thru' RTA office windows with no references to "commission"..

It was bringing down a big bribery engine to a screeching halt to let go one application with exact Govt fees with no other accompanying cash/letters or phone calls..

RTA staff never imagined to see a day like this in their lifetime of service ..

Finally Bannerjie came out in flying colors with his license ..

following are his travails ..

First time his license was rejected because application was not submitted thru' broker..

he contested the decision on the grounds that he drove for 40 yrs in UK.

RTA was confused as the customer was offering to take driving test and they had to find the driving test examiner / scorecard for this customer..

Finally he was asked to come with his Lambretta to the open field in front of the office .

He was asked to take his scooter around a tree.

As instructed, he carefully drove his scooter around the tree and came back to the examiner. The RTA examiner again failed him.

Bannerji asked "What happened this time ?"

RTA examiner replied "When you took turn at the tree, you never waved your hand indicating your turn"

Bannerji "Indicating whom ? That stupid tree ?"

They got tired of him and finally gave him the license.

There are many more stories that we can share ...

Hi Prahlad, Have a wonderful 29th working (son, husband, dad) anniversary ..

Venkat Aekka

P.S. Prahlad Venkatapuram now lives in San Jose with his family. His startup Mediaq got acquired by NVIDIA in 2004 making him a wealthy guy.

down to earth

Last Sunday, I was taking Anuraag (my son) to the soccer game near my house. This is an indoor soccer field in Canton, MI.In the parking lot, 2 cars away from my car (Jaguar), I see a Lincoln Zephyr (smaller, less expensive car than Jag) and middle aged dad with his son coming out to the soccer game.
He resembled our (Ford Motor Company) chairman Bill Ford Jr.- great-grandson of Henry Ford. The chairman who represents Ford Family (owns 40% of FMC) and the company has presence in 23 countries.
He was going to same soccer field as Anu. I introduced myself and he asked me which organization do I work for. He enquired about the soccer score and Anu briefly and left to watch his son's game.
The following day (Jan 21st), he had to make big announcements like plant closings etc. which was covered in the media all over the world. The incident has broken lot of myths about people and their lifestyles .. The incident reinforced hard to believe facts like ..
> Son's soccer game is more important than anything else

> Rich people do not necessarily drive expensive cars nor employ chauffeurs, while employees are parking Jaguars next to owners of the company

> Weekend before major media presentations affecting 30,000 families is like any other weekend

> Rich people do not necessarily live and commute in rich neighborhoods (Canton, Ann Arbor are mediocre communities in MI)

> Successful people take time to be acknowledge and talk even in a uncomfortable setting

> and many more ..

Down to earth living and taking time to appreciate all aspects of life is key. You can deduce & learn a lot more from this incident.Sometimes we strive so much for things that are not necessarily important like money, social status, etc. The guy who has everything in life is spending time understanding soccer game plans for his son.

The key is to prioritize and control what is driving your life.
Please do not forward the email as it is a personal experience.

Hiroshima, Japan

Please visualize this ..

An ATM machine in Mumbai has unclaimed cash at night. There is a passerby who saw the money,
called the cops about the ATM. Since there is no one to claim the money, the ATM is shutdown temporarily ?

You are in a cab in Hyderabad and you have asked the driver to take you someplace. The meter
showed Rs 500 and cab driver is insisting that he needs only Rs 300. Upon relentless questioning
he meekly admits that he had made a wrong turn and hence the fare is Rs 200 more.

Imagine you are traveling by Minar express from Hyderabad to Mumbai. You got off at Pune and realized that you forgot your expensive jacket in the train. You pick up a phone and call VT station, Mumbai about the jacket. VT station officials call you back in few hours and ask you few questions about the jacket and send you the jacket by mail.

Are you wondering if this is possible at all anywhere in the world …

Having visited Hiroshima, Japan, I wiould say that this is exactly like Japan.

Japan is very very different .. I wanted to add few more verys and one go so far to describe Japan.


Country with few natural resources, no army to defend, so little land (30% livable and rest mountainous) and still is the second dominant economic force of the world. That's only possible with hard working people with strong values engrained to the core. The people are bound, secured and protected by the Japanese culture. Plain hearted / soft spoken people and always ready to help others. It is not putting an act for few hours but being themselves every second of their lives. They will do their best and never get annoyed by anything.. No need of motivational speakers to change thinking as they are natural in thinking positive.


No customer satisfaction training / seminars for the sales guys, would yield the customer satisfaction results seen in Japan. They literally fall over you, keep running, asking bosses, and will get you what you want with a smile. I heard that customer is God and in this trip I have seen and experienced worship (feeling Godly)

This is an attempt to capture my limited understanding of Japan seen in 2 weeks and I think there is nothing different these 2 weeks in Japan and never has been for thousands of years.

90% of Japanese believe in God and at the same time not religious. They are honest to the core, hardworking, respectful of everyone especially to elders like bosses, parents. They don't look into adopting any western cultures and never have immigrated to any country and at the same time never allowed anyone outside to settle in their country. Even child born to a Japanese parent may not be get citizenship automatically..
Trains, Planes and Automobiles ….

I never realized the importance of ISO 9001 until I saw the taxis in Japan. They recently got ISO 9001 quality certification. Cab drivers with white gloves, emaculately clean cars, laced seat covers and dress in Boeing 757 captain like uniform (suit, cap, shoes). I have seen heard a honk and anyone getting upset over his own or other's driving. Driving is a non-event in every day Japanese life. No stress, no construction signs, no peak traffic chaos. Oh God! I miss my construction signs, honks, stares, fingers of Michigan

I have had my visions about Bullet Train. I missed that 70s movie very badly and had to listen in to second hand versions from my friends literally hundreds of times. How one bullet train at 300 km/h speed cannot stop and the rescue train travels at the same speed and someone crosses over using a ladder with two trains at 300 km/h .scary stuff...
While my Bullet train ride was uneventful at 300 km/h and I slept most of the time … relaxing after the ladder episode maybe.

I have seen people mention about train timings and punctuality. Never seen / heard the timing culture of the Japanese. On the dot and the dot is very very small...
Bullet trains going over 300 km/h and are spaced 10 minutes apart.

My friend (who lives in Japan) went to the station and enquired about an 8:30 train. The information desk said there is no train at 8:30. While he was waiting he saw a train go by towards same destination. He asked again about the train that went by. The information desk reminded him that he asked for 8:30 train and not 8:29. The moral of the story is 8:29 always comes at 8:29 and not 8:30.
Prior to this episode, he used to read train #, platform # and time of arrival. Now he always reads time and then finds out about platform # and train #. Suddenly unique key is switched from train#, platform# to train time .. more granular key …

One of the Desis at a party mentioned about the Indian style of re-confirmations every step at the railway station made him miss his Bullet Train. He meticulously planned to catch his Bullet Train and was on the right platform in time and did several reconfirmations at the information counters, stalls, coffee shops and co-passengers. Finally when the moment arrived, his Desi "no-confidence in any system" hormones kicked in and he wanted to confirm one more time with the train official at the platform who would signal the train. He thought who else knows about the train better than the one signaling it. While few passengers were getting in, he took his own course towards the Official...

Desi: Excuse me, I want to go to Hiroshima, Does it go to Hiroshima?
Official: one minute, Sir

waves his flag at the train and replies
Official: Yes, it left for Hiroshima.

The official thought, everybody got in and train is ready to leave and there is no way this Desi will get into it on time. Moral of the story, shed your Desi fears and start believing what you read at the station.

Hiroshoma Bombing .. 130,000 killed. The whole city brazen to ground .. first time in history an atom bomb was tried on humans. black rain after hours more deadly than the Bomb. Unbelievable destruction to human bodies, skins .. Many school children going to schools got killed (8:15 am).. Current Nukes 1000 times more deadly.. Few cities short listed for bombing on July 25th. 1945 and Hiroshima was picked among them due to its unfortunate clear weather on Aug 6th 1945.



I did mention about mannerisms and friendliness about Japanese people. I was also curious about what is more important to Japs. Some of things that caught my attention while in Japan

Ø Sakhi (rice based) and Soochu (Vodka like) drinks are very popular Japanese drink. BTW it is served cold or hot in small cups (like tequila shots). Sipping hot Sakhi, I felt like getting high drinking tea.
Ø Karaoke rooms are very popular. Family, friends rent Karaoke rooms (sound-proof small rooms) and start singing taking turns in singing.
Ø They are many activities for kids at schools. There are many schools, after-school activities which parents participate. The education, I heard, focuses on character building along with learning subjects.
Ø Desis have slowly started percolating into the system (H1 like visa) and contracting companies take care of the housing, admissions into schools (more support than our US Desi employers)
Ø After work parties are popular – usually 7:00PM after work on Fridays and they meet in a bar and have some drinks and catch the midnight Shinkansen (Bullet Train). Japanese say it is a good communication tool for discussing office politics. No one discusses personal issues, politics, not even make personal calls at work. I went to after-work office party with my Telugu friend and his colleagues and had fun trying all Japanese delicacies and drinks. Everyone splits the bill equally (ABVP – Avery Bill Valley Pay). There is the blow-fish which only few Chefs are certified to cook. The fish apparently has poisonous glands and if he makes any mistake in slicing the fish, he will take down his customers along with the fish and his license.
Ø Work culture is different. The day starts with some announcements at 9:00AM (PA system). People arrive at 8:45 AM and get their coffees etc. and will be at the seat 9:00 A.M. sharp. The boss leads the whole group in few warm-up exercises. At NOON, there will be lunch break for 45 minutes. At 3:00PM people discuss about safety precautions (mandatory safety rule) for 5 minutes – should share few safety tips / stories from home, neighbors, schools etc. At 4:00PM, everyone cleans the workplace and everyone take turns to pick up papers, trash for the aisle. The day closes at 9:00PM except for Wednesdays (6:00PM). Between these breaks, I have never seen anyone taking their eyes off their terminals.
Ø There is no office cubes concept even for the managers. Everyone gets to sit in hall with few conf rooms along the wall. One can make out the position in the company on where he/she sits in that hall. Manager sit along the wall and direct reports take the next row and so on. An Aerial shot of the floor plan can also be the updated org chart
Ø The killer-app "Excel" is making a killing at Japanese work places. Every monitor has Excel open with few numbers / graphs. They write memos, letters in Excel. My friend asked his Japanese friend take few digital pictures and asked him to send pictures next day. Boom .. next day he got a note with Excel attachment. He immediately called his friend and his friend replied the pictures are embedded in Excel
Ø Fashion is a big industry in Japan. Everywhere you see you find people wandering in malls (malls (underground, strip, 100 yen shops). UniClo is a Chinese brand name of T-shirts with good quality/price.
Ø I didn't any see any cop on the street for the whole 3 weeks - no one getting ticketed, no speed chases, no mob controlling cops, no cops on bikes, none what so ever )
Ø Bike is basic means of mobility. Children come back alone at nights from friend's home and get to stay home alone – no laws around child care ..
Ø TV is not as big as you think, no unending soap operas, only few game shows, local news..
Ø Base ball is big and a very popular sport. Golf is picking up.
Ø Lot of recycling at work/home. Cans, coffee cups, burnable trash. Every floor has different recycling bins, you need careful read before you get rid of your trash (almost has as many selections as a vending machine). Talking about vending machines, one can get cigarettes, beer at the vending machine. Wonder how under age drinking is controlled without anyone regulating/monitoring it.
Ø Like every country in the world, there are social changes. We heard that women are opting to separate from husbands in their sixties. They make sure kids complete college and get married before the separation. In western countries, people separate as soon as they disagree while in Japan they wait for decades to separate. For a strong family man like me, it is a tough choice. I told my wife that both look appealing to me ;-)
Ø During my stay I tried to learn Japanese Kanji (symbol language). I asked a Japanese to write Hiroshima. He wrote 2 symbols. One stood for Hiro (means big) and the other one for shima (means island). Since each symbol gets differentiated by # of line, dots, ticks, Japanese are natural artists. Some of things we all need about Kanji
o Kathakana and Hiragana are 2 languages. A mixture of these languages is Japanese. Kathakana is written only with symbols and Hiragana is phonetic (like TV, fox channel, etc.)
o Obviously you can write the language vertically or horizontally (left to right or right to left)
o Water drop , cloud, rain use the same symbol with small variations. You will know the context as you soon as you look at the symbol.

Bridegroom Venkat Aekka singing in his marriage reception - Nov 1989

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4-OfRn6PH8

Sweden trip

The moment I entered Gutenberg (Sweden) airport, many small things caught my attention. After the passport verification, I found that they have to open a door to let us in. Every other airport I visited have immigration officials sitting in glass cubicles, whereas in Sweden they have doors, officials sit on the other side of the door .. door to heaven perhaps ..

On my way to hotel, I saw a 2 storeyed sized SKF ball bearing with caption "We reduce friction in the world". As you might know, SKF originated in Sweden.

The technology advancement in little things are amazing. Every hotel I visited elsewhere has plastic cards with magnetic stripes whereas Sweden switched to paper cards with digitized personal information. To avoid strangers entering hotels, the elevators start only if you insert the card, I didn't see any stairs next to elevators.

The bathrooms are innovative too.. There is no Left Hot, Right Cold water rules you need to remember .. Temperature setting is on the right and water flow control on the left.. simple and you need not remember "water rules" that change by state in US. In hotels, they solved a big problem of energy wastage. Guests usually leave the lights on when they go out. In Sweden, the lights come on only when you insert the access card. Since you need access card to go, the lights are automatically switched off when you take the card out

The cheapest car on the road is VOLVO - government subsidized. Offices have made lot of small improvements which are simple and innovative. First time I have seen bar stool computer desks. I was familiar with walkups but not "standups". How many times you run next cube for erasers, markers in offices. They solved the mysterious "missing markers/erasers" problem by making them magnetic. They all stick to the white board.. where they belong

The richest man in the world today lives 1 hour away from Gutenburg, IKEA founder. It's like brahmam gari sooktulu "wadla waadu bhoomini palinchunu". He started making furniture in the garage and now is the richest man leaving windows inventor Bill Gates & Walmart owners behind. If you want to be rich make real windows for people.. BlueTooth technology inventor is from Gutenberg.. The list goes on.. Astra, VOLVO, HasselBlad cameras, ASEA, computer mouse. Everything is so relevant to our everyday lives ..

I was so surprised to see everyone with "contended" and "not having issues" look. May be that's key to innovation. In Sweden, mind is doing what it is good at - innovation. We tend to give it a different job .. bring bread to the table .. pay that mortgage every month .. and cool it down with beer if it complains too much about "job satisfaction".

What amazed me the power of socialist economy. The income tax are at 60% to 70%. People give everything to Government and Goverment gives everything back .. The benefits' list goes on and on
> free health care - best in the world
> free schools (best schools afforded by any common man .. no private schools)
> 3 PCs per family provided by goverment
> 18 month paternal leave (for dads too..) per child. If you have 3 children, you can pretty much sit at home with full pay for 6 years at the brim of your career

The taxi driver was telling me that the benefits are so good that he can go to a doctor and complain that he has headache.. after 3 months again complain about eyes..
Obviously doctor will not be able to diagnose and finally puts him on the benefits program .. Life long pay worth $800 per month, free pass to ride taxis anywhere in the city .. paid apartment for life .. One of the managers at Gutenberg said "our definition of poor is not the one who can't afford food but the one who can't afford vacation" I don't think I will hear anything close to this in India in this century

In my own capacity, I tried to rationalize why the country was so advanced. Sweden is a peace loving country. They don't get into wars like we do .. The last war they fought was with Napoleon 200 years back .. World war I and II, Vietnam, India Pakistan, Gulf, Iraq wars have been just evening news to them all these years.

Overall I was lucky to visit "Land of midnight sun". I timed my watch during sunset.. It went down at 11:30PM and came back at 2:30AM. If I traveled 1000 kms north, people said I would see sun going round the horizon 24 hours a day for 6 months ..

Chinna