Palliveedu .. a new concept from Bawa Thirumeni ..

HH Baselios Marthoma Paulose II, 

Our Bawa Thirumeni, HH Moran Mar Baselios Paulose II, Supreme Head of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the oldest church in the world, has been proposing this new concept called Palliveedu in some of his recent speeches ..

HH has been moved by the plight of elderly parents, mostly affluent, in our church, who have been abandoned by their loving children who have flown to foreign shores in search of a living, job, studies, less competition and an improved standard of living for the family.

The parents have gone out of the way to educate and nurture the kids in the hope that in their older days, their  kids will take good care of them. But to their shock they find, the children having abandoned them, returning to visit their parents and relatives once in two years or so.

The elderly parents, not wanting to stay in an alien environment, long to catch a glimpse of their children and grandchildren, if not through skype, in real life at least once in two years or more. A horrible and long wait !!

Some of these parents later even repent as to why they pushed their children to foreign lands for studies or jobs, even when their children were well off within the country ..

It is in these disappointing times, of desperation and helplessness both on the side of the parents and children, the proposal to establish Palliveedu ( meaning houses attached to the church) by Bawa Thirumeni finds great relevance. The children are able to give their parents the best of house, food, comforts and money, but not their love, care and presence in their final days.

If pallikkoodam earlier gave our forefathers a chance to learn the basics of language, physical sciences, spirituality and social sciences, palliveedu will give our elderly parents a chance to live a peaceful and prayerful elderly life, saving their self respect, in the company of like minded "suffering" elderly people, engaging in prayers and fasting, with caring people around to take care of them in their last days..

For we Malayalis, who in the hurry to make as much dollar bills and to flaunt a higher standard of living, have been global travellers for thousands of years in search of improved standard of living, (only to later realise how this has changed the lifestyle, values and spirituality of their children) this is a new thought.

There is no doubt that we will give Bawa Thirumeni full support in this grand plan to help our elderly people realise a peaceful, purposeful, respectful end to their lives. This is a changed reality of life .. We have to accept this truth  sometime or the other .. Let us not forget, like we treat our parents, our children will also treat us..

In foreign shores and even in our land, a place that care for elderly people are called old age homes. But this concept presented here is slightly different in that it is not simply an old age home, it is a home where the old are taken care of in divine, spiritual surroundings irrespective of your religious, social or economic background, where the young and healthy, in their spare time can go and help around with some social service.

Initially this is being proposed to be built around existing churches.. Later on depending on the availability of land, resources and cheerful minds of wilful donors, these can be set up in different places within India to cater not only to people from the Orthodox community but even elderly people from other communities.

Discussions and thoughts on this Palliveedu concept are welcome for discussions on this list.

Let us face reality and " call a spade a spade .."

George Easaw

Forbes releases Indian top richie-rich 100, 2 billionnaires ..

2 Malayali Billlionaires, Kris Gopalakrishnan and Muthootu MG George ..

No. 51 - Kris Gopalakrishnan (former Infosys CEO) $1.24 billion
No. 55 - M G George Muthootttu, (Finance companies) $1.14 billion

No. 70 - S D Shibulal, (present Infosys CEO) $ 0.77 billion
No. 77 - Joy Alukkas, ( gold/diamond jeweller) $ 0.7 billion

All the four rich malayalis have earned their wealth within India, no 2 and 4 within Kerala ..

Vijay Mallya drops out of the list (out of mismanagement of Kingfisher airlines where he has persuaded large state controlled banks, by fair means or unfair,  to sink lot of the common man's tax money into his business, which is now sure to be lost for the Indian public, about Rs 7000 crores INR, app $1.2 billion ..) and Muthoottu George enters the list as the newest billionaire of the world ..

As of 2012, 1226 billionaires in the world have combined wealth of $4.6 trillion., 7.7% of global annual GDP 0f $ 60 trillion.

List of Indian billionaires .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbes_list_of_Indian_billionaires

Kerala with a population of 32 million (out of global 7000 million)  - 0.45%, has two billionaires in the global ist of 1226 billionaires Kris Gopalakrishnan and MG George Muthootu .. - 0.16%.

India with population of 1200 million have 55 billionaires and is fourth in the world, after US, Russia and China.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billionaire#Statistics ..

Mukesh Ambani can buy Prince Al Waheed of Saudi Arabia (richest oil sheikh) once over  and be left with $ 8 billion in pocket ....

courtesy Forbes.

ge..

A hard, tough lesson for Indian companies in Africa ..

Indian leaders with Ethiopian Finance Minister 

Last year when PM Dr Manmohan Singh visited Africa, especially Ethiopia, he had signed agreements between Ethiopian govt and Indian private investors who were ready to invest anything upto $ 5 billion in Africa to help it grow. News was also rife that while the 17th and 18 th century were the times that Europe colonised the rest of the world, including US, the 21 st century is for Asia to colonise Africa and possibly Europe. Tata and Mittal taking over the world's top stellar companies were an instance at point.

The Hindu news item where Ethiopian Govt welcomed Indian PM and Indian companies.  
There was heavy international condemnation of how native farmlands in Africa were being grabbed by greedy Indian companies in the guise of helping Ethiopia and Africa develop.  Click here for link ..

Sadly the news we read these days is that these companies are facing tough times in Africa, especially Ethiopia. Initially these companies had plans to grow Jetropa, a plant used for the extraction of biofuel, which could revolutionise the world fuel demand. But sadly, the first year the results were not that encouraging and companies like Emami have come out of Jetropa cultivation and gone into other plants which require more water.

Arid land becoming green, courtesy Guardian UK.

  

Water scarcity is the greatest factor that is threatening Indian companies in Africa. While Chinese companies have also invested heavily in colonising Africa, it is known what their experience has been.

Some of the reasons cited for the slow development of the area is

1. non-availability of water, being an extension of the Saharan Africa, water still remains the greatest threat to this land
2. Non-availability of right modes of transport, the available ones often expensive
3. Poor infrastructure connecting towns and regions and within these places for health, education etc.
4. Absence of trained labour
5. poor transportation infrastructure
6. Government inefficiency, resulting in poor decision making, lack of planning and vision, non-uniform development of different regions
7. high costs of equipment by way of taxes, duties, service charges, maintenance etc. to help in mechanisation.
8. A hostile local administration and people is being silently mentioned as an important factor behind the slow pace of growth and development of the area.

We find all these point to the poor development of the area.

I believe the companies which hold on to Africa, in spite of all these disadvantages and inconveniences will emerge stronger and capable at the end. In the long run, it is not how smart one is that matters, but how persistent and hard working one is, that matters.

ge..

La Moriyo Zegtho . the orthodox symphony in Bangalore.. three videos ..

A first of its kind in the orthodox world.. 

Hats off to Fr John Samuel and his team of musicians and singers for their untiring effort of  four months and determination to go ahead with this .. Watch the able and professional conduct of the symphony orchestra by Fr John Samuel in black robes !! Watch how the baton in his fingers twitch and glide in the air while he conducts the orchestra .. ..  Read a brief writeup here ..

Welcome to everyone ..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioupk93eFIg  11 mins ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrMlJ8NosLk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_ROIHzhIUQ&feature=BFa&list=UL_Ioip44G-G4   Introduction  2 min..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIDWTagYDHk&feature=BFa&list=ULV_ROIHzhIUQ   3.5 min..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ioip44G-G4&feature=channel&list=UL    8 min long 

A big thanks to all the Cor Episcopas, priests of Bangalore diocese and all the silent efficient workers and volunteers of Bangalore diocese who have worked under the dynamic and able leadership of Metropolitan Abraham Mar Seraphim to make this small positive change and development in the oldest Indian church possible.. A herculean task indeed !! 

The dynamism of young blood is unimaginable.. 

Courtesy Jayce Philip, Mamachen for putting up the videos and Rev Fr. Aikkara, Chancellor, Christ University and CMI congregation for the Christ auditorium and its excellent acoustics ...

George Easaw

Bangalore

Bangalore Orthodox Symphony, 23 Oct 2012..

With trumpets and the sound of cornet
Make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King  - Psalms 98:6

This evening, 23 October 2012, in the Christ University auditorium in Bangalore the Indian Orthodox church was celebrating the centenary of the establishment of the Catholicate and the 1960th anniversary of the establishment of Christianity in the country. The chief guest was the Hon. Governor of Maharashtra, Shri Sankaranarayanan, Catholica Bawa Thirumeni and other senior bishops from the church.

It was really history in the making in Orthodox circles. For the first time in Indian orthodox history and perhaps may be, in any orthodox church in the world, oriental or Eastern Orthodox this evening, after the main programme got over the highlight was stolen by the Orthodox symphony choir of Bangalore. Under intense training for the past four months under Fr. John Samuel, Vicar of the London Indian Orthodox church, the group gave a splendid show . . Aptly named La Morino Zegtho, the performance of achen and the symphony was mesmerising  !!

La Morino Zegtho, Bangalore orthodox symphony ..
Fr John Samuel in black robes conducting the symphony ..

The symphony was mind blowing to say the least !! With twenty instrumentalists giving company and 70 youngsters singing the different aradhana kramangal (orthodox chants)  in Syriac and Malayalam language right from Jesus' birth to crucifixion, and resurrection, the three hours programme from 7.30 PM to 10.30 PM was a meditation by itself.

Fr. John Samuel in indeed a very talented priest of our church and we are so fortunate to be witnessing history in the making in the Orthodox Church today in Bangalore. The programme was a fusion of Western instruments (8 violins, 2 cello. mandolin, acoustic guitar, keyboards, saxophone and a 6' big violin like bass instrument) with singing in parts, of the Syriac liturgy of our church. Little bit of Carnatic fusion also could be felt at certain places.

Watch youtube videos here


The unstinted support given to Fr John Samuel by HH Bawa Thirumeni and HG Abraham Mar Seraphim , Metropolitan of the Bangalore diocese has been rewarded well.

This performance was the dress rehearsal for the Nov 15 2012 Catholicate centenary celebrations at Marine Drive in Kochi Kerala which will be attended by a minimum of a lakh of people.

HG Mar Seraphim , the youngest Bishop of our church, has proved to be an asset for the Bangalore diocese and Orthodox Church as a whole.The coming days will see lot of space being devoted to this evening's performance in Bangalore in the news as well as in church circles.

As someone was mentioning, our youngsters, the future of the church, are indeed being directed and ably led by a worthy shepherd.. The three hours at the Christ auditorium, about 3000 of the audience, were taken for a heavenly experience by Fr John Samuel and his team of young musicians and singers !!

And with the support extended by Bawa thirumeni, we all know this is just the beginning  !!

ge..

Canon EOS 1100D DSLR camera ..

Cross sectional view of a DSLR ( Electronics and display not shown) (courtesy wikipedia.com) 1. Camera lens 2, Reflex mirror 3. Focal planer shutter 4. Image sensor 5. Matte focussing screen 6. Condensor lens 7. Pentaprism/pentamirror 8. Viewfinder eyepiece Click here for a DSLP photography guide (pdf ).. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_JM9l5CC8w Detailed Specs courtesy www.amateurphotographer.co.uk
International naming	• US: Canon Rebel T3  • Japan: Canon EOS Kiss X50  • Elsewhere: Canon EOS 1100D
Pricing	• US: $599.99 with 18-55 IS II lens  • Europe: €499 body only, €549 with 18-55 III lens, €549 with 18-55 IS II lens  • UK: £419 body only, £459 with 18-55 III lens, £499 with 18-55 IS II lens
Body material	Plastic (Stainless Steel chassis)
Sensor*	• 12.2 million effective pixels  • 12.6 million total pixels  • 22.2 x 14.7 mm CMOS sensor  • RGB Color Filter Array  • Built-in low-pass filter with fluorine coating  • 3:2 aspect ratio
Dust reduction	• Anti-static coating on sensor surfaces  • Software based dust-removal (camera maps dust, removed later)
Image sizes*	• 4272 x 2848 (L)  • 3088 x 2056 (M)  • 2256 x 1504 (S1)  • 1920 x 1280 (S2)  • 720 x 480 (S3)
Output formats	• RAW (.CR2 14-bit)  • RAW (.CR2 14-bit) + JPEG Large  • JPEG (EXIF 2.3) - Fine, Normal
Movie recording *	• 1280 x 720 (29.97, 25 fps)  • MOV (Video: H.264, Sound: Linear PCM)  • Max duration 17min, Max file size 4GB
Image processor*	DIGIC 4
Lenses	• Canon EF / EF-S lens mount  • 1.6x field of view crop
Focus modes	• TTL-CT-SIR with a CMOS sensor  • Auto Focus  • Manual Focus
Auto Focus	• 9-point CMOS sensor  • Cross-type F5.6 at center  • AF working range: 0 to 18 EV (at 23°C, ISO 100)
AF modes	• AI Focus  • One shot  • AI Servo
AF point selection	• Auto  • Manual
AF assist	Flash strobe
Shooting modes	• Auto  • Program AE (P)  • Shutter priority AE (Tv)  • Aperture priority AE (Av)  • Manual (M)  • Auto depth-of-field  • Portrait  • Landscape  • Close-up  • Sports  • Night portrait  • No Flash  • Creative Auto*
Metering*	TTL full aperture metering with 63-zone iFCL SPC*  • Evaluative metering (linked to all AF points)  • Partial metering at center (approx. 10% of viewfinder)  • Center weighted average metering Range : EV 1-20 (at 23°C with 50mm f/1.4 lens ISO100)
AE Lock	• Auto: In 1-shot AF mode with evaluative metering exposure is locked when focus is achieved.  • Manual: By AE lock button in creative zone modes.
AE Bracketing	• +/- 2.0 EV  • 0.5 or 0.3 EV increments
Exposure compen.	• +/- 2.0 EV  • 0.5 or 0.3 EV increments
Sensitivity	• Auto (100 - 6400)  • ISO 100  • ISO 200  • ISO 400  • ISO 800  • ISO 1600  • ISO 3200  • ISO 6400
Shutter	• Focal-plane shutter  • 30 - 1/4000 sec (0.5 or 0.3 EV steps)  • Flash X-Sync: 1/200 sec  • Bulb
Aperture values	• Depends on lens used
White balance	• Auto  • Daylight  • Shade  • Cloudy  • Tungsten  • White Fluorescent Light  • Flash  • Custom
WB Bracketing	• +/-3 levels  • 3 images  • Selectable Blue/Amber or Magenta/Green bias
WB fine-tuning	• Blue (-9) To Amber (+9)  • Magenta (-9) to Green (+9)
Color space	• sRGB  • Adobe RGB
Picture style	• Standard  • Portrait  • Landscape  • Neutral  • Faithful  • Monochrome  • User 1  • User 2  • User 3
Drive modes	• Single  • Continuous: 2 fps up to 5 RAW frames / 3 fps up to 830 JPEG  • Self-timer (2 -10secs)  • Self-timer continuous
Mirror lockup	Yes (custom function)
Viewfinder	• Pentamirror  • 95% frame coverage  • Magnification: 0.80x * (-1 diopter with 50 mm lens at infinity)  • Eyepoint: 19 mm *  • Dioptric adjustment: -3.0 to +1.0 diopter  • Fixed precision matte
Viewfinder info	• AF information (AF points focus confirmation light)  • Shutter speed  • Aperture value  • ISO speed (always displayed)  • AE lock  • Exposure level/compensation  • Spot metering circle  • Exposure warning  • AEB  • Flash ready  • High-speed sync  • FE lock  • Flash exposure compensation  • Red-eye reduction light  • White balance correction  • SD card information  • Monochrome shooting  • Maximum burst  • Highlight tone priority (D+)*
DOF preview	Yes, (assign via custom menu)
LCD monitor *	• 2.7" TFT LCD  • 230,000 pixels  • Wide viewing angle (170° horizontal and vertical)  • 7 brightness levels  • Up to 10x zoom playback
LCD Live view	• Live TTL display of scene from CMOS image sensor  • 100% frame coverage  • 30fps frame rate  • Real-time evaluative metering using CMOS image sensor  • Grid optional  • Magnify optional (5x or 10x at AF point)  • Autofocus: Quick mode, Live mode  • Manual Focus  • Remote live view using EOS Utility 2.0 (via USB or WiFi/Ethernet using WFT)
Flash *	• Auto pop-up E-TTL II auto flash  • Guide number approx 9.2*  • Modes: Auto, Manual Flash On/ Off, Red-Eye Reduction  • X-Sync: 1/200 sec  • Flash exposure compensation: +/-2.0 EV (0.3 or 0.5 EV steps)  • Coverage up to 17 mm focal length (27 mm FOV equiv.)
External flash	• E-TTL II auto flash with EX-series Speedlites  • Hot-shoe
Other features	• Orientation sensor
Auto rotation	• On (playback uses orientation data in file header)  • Off
Processing	• Highlight Tone Priority  • Auto Lighting Optimizer (4 settings)  • Long exposure noise reduction  • High ISO speed noise reduction (4 settings)  • Auto Correction of Lens Peripheral illumination  • Basic+ (Shoot by ambience selection, Shoot by lighting or scene type)
Playback mode	• Single image  • Single image with info (histogram brightness / RGB )  • Magnified view (1.5 - 10x in 15 steps, browsable)  • 4 and 9 image index  • Auto play  • Image rotation
Custom functions *	10 custom functions with 32settings
Menu languages *	• English  • German  • French  • Dutch  • Danish  • Portuguese  • Finnish  • Italian  • Norwegian  • Swedish  • Spanish  • Greek  • Russian *  • Czech  • Hungarian  • Romanian *  • Ukrainian *  • Turkish *  • Arabic *  • Thai *  • Simplified Chinese  • Traditional Chinese  • Korean  • Japanese
Firmware	User upgradable
Connectivity	• USB 2.0 (Hi-Speed) mini-B  • Video out (PAL / NTSC)  • HDMI mini output (HDMI-CEC compatible)*
Storage *	• SD / SDHC / SDXC card
Power *	• Lithium-Ion LP-E10 rechargeable battery  • Optional ACK-E10 AC adapter kit
Direct printing	• Canon Selphy Printers  • Canon Bubble Jet Printers with direct print function  • Canon PIXMA Printers supporting PictBridge  • PictBridge
Dimensions *	130 x 100 x 78 mm
Weight (no battery) *	495 g
	• Zoom Browser EX / ImageBrowser  • PhotoStitch  • EOS Utility (inc. Remote Capture; Windows & Mac except Mac Intel)  • Digital Photo Professional (Windows / Mac)  • Picture Style Editor Sanp with goat cub, Meenadom, Kottayam, 28 0ct '12.

Lt. Gen. Tejinder Singh, a disgrace for the nation ..

A total disgrace to the armed forces !

I am amazed at the guts shown by the most disgraced Lt. Gen (retd.) of the Indian Army, Tejinder Singh. What low IQ this person has ?? Does he think he can take the people of the country for a royal ride ?

Even after being exposed, Tejinder had the temerity to file a defamation case against VK Singh for dragging him into the Tatra Truck corruption case.

With the CBI finally filing  case against him, six months after he filed a case against the Army Chief for unnecessarily dragging him to the Tatra case, Tejinder should be stripped of his army honours , if any, as also his pension and other benefits. In addition, he should be made to pay a hefty fine for filing a false case against the former Army Chief for causing lot of tension and hurt for Gen V K Singh. Such menaces in the army are a menace for the country too ..

It is a disgrace that when we have such people at the helm of the Indian army,  can we expect the country to develop and modernise itself ? These people are so selfish, anti-national and anti-social that they pull the country backward and put it to so much risk. When the soldiers are risking their lives and fighting for the country, such jokers play spoilsport !! He deserve to be sent to the gallows straightaway..

It is the negative agenda of these worthless individuals which is causing so much of heartburn for the masses and taking the country backward. When able, smart people like Kejriwal are trying their level best to eradicate corruption from the country, these stupid people are bringing down the repute of the armed forces and playing into the hands of the politicians.

Lone bull Kejriwal fighting a lethargic goliath ..

 
History tells us throughout the past sixty years, some of our Army officers have been equally corrupt as our politicians .. By this act, the doubt with the common man whether his country and its funds are being properly used by these soldiers is only getting stronger day by day.

These people are reminding us that the defence expenditure which is the most unproductive expenditure for the country, is indeed the most unproductive and being misused by a section of the officers in the army. The people of the country have great mistrust for these leaders from our armed forces.

There are second thoughts whether the funds of this country which is given to these soldiers by the people with great trust through the democratic setup needs to be curtailed as it is being misused and abused by these wretched soldiers.

Was it an error of judgement by Tejinder Singh ? If he was not caught, he would have still been moving in respectable circles after committing this great crime.. I doubt it was poor merit .. I would say poor upbringing ...

Where are our corrupt army officers taking us ??

ge..

Kingfisher grounded ..

It is indeed a sad news that  Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher Airlines has been grounded after their flying license was suspended this morning..

When Vittal Mallya with his liquor business made illicit billions and robbing mothers of their sons, wives of their husbands falling prey to liquor, little did he realise that the past will cath up with his son, Vijay.

Vijay a silly nouve riche inheriting liquor money from his father Vittal Mallya, showing that cheapness in all his moves, the fall of the family should be a lesson to all liquor barons and corruption barons in this country. Out of their low IQ and poor and valueless upbringing, they may indulge in all these cheap acts, but then the repercussions will go to their children and grand children ... How sad ..

ge..

Land, the most dangerous asset to be grabbed in the modern day world..

It is a great thing to grab land from the common man, but when it becomes a farmer, the tenor and tone of the whole deal changes. 

The present day revelations points to one thing, LAND IS THE MOST DANGEROUS ASSET FOR POLITICIANS TO GRAB FROM THE FARMER / COMMON MAN OF THE COUNTRY. Robert Vadra, Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Nitin Gadkari and their clan are going to face some tough questions from the media and the people of the country trying to answer the questions on their illegitimate grab of the poor man's land, in the name of development ..

If one is lucky, you will  have many low IQ people to support you whatever you do, especially if one is from the FAMILY !

The only fear is whether these same low IQ people will manage to make up so much of noise that the public forget the real issue and hold onto other less important issues.

ge..

Mr Ramesh, VP, Toyota in Alliance

Mr Ramesh, 2nd from right interacting with faculty..

Interacting with Prof Ramadosss and Gundala 

 

 

Great interaction,

Mr. Ramesh the senior most representayive from Toyota India was so simple and approachable in his style and demeanour ..

According to him, Toyota is all about concern for people, their growth and shop floor processes ..

Planning next visit to Toyota shopfloor on Nov 1.

That should be a good one considering that last year when I visited, the Etios line was getting ready, now we get to see both the lines..

Ge

E Sridharan , more than the metro man .. Forbes ..

http://forbesindia.com/article/leaderhip-award-2012/e-sreedharan-more-than-the-metro-man/33847/1 

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/11148001.cms?prtpage=1 

He is a wonder, at the age of 80, he looks like a 40 year old person, bubbling with energy and enthu ..

If only the CWG was given to him, we would have saved at least $ 5 billion !!

ge..

Online mega courses changing the face of education .

Can online mega courses change the face of education ?? 

http://nation.time.com/2012/10/18/college-is-dead-long-live-college/ 

Are we seeing a new concept of mega online courses coming up ..?

ge..

Use of intemperate language by the Law Minister of India ..

It is very difficult to believe that the Oxford educated grandson of Dr Zakir Hussain has no qualms in using the intolerant language of a rowdie / anti-social element against Kejriwal, the IIT Btech and IRS (Retd) citizen of this country.

It is difficult for the common man to believe that the "Honourable" Law minister of the country could threaten the citizens of this country, the public, the real masters of the country, with such intemperate language..

Only a person of the stature of Salman Khurshid can go to such low levels and issue threats to the hapless citizens of the country. By this act, Salman has not only brought disgrace to his own community, Oxford University and his grand father, but also to the BIMARI states of the North of the country. We were waiting for his true colours to come out !!

Clearly reminds that an education in Oxford won't even match to what you get from the local market place in any of the rural towns in the country.

Let God give some sense to Salman to realise that he is just our servant, not our master !! Let him realise that he derives his powers from what we give him, he becomes a virtual nobody if we , the public decide to kick him out !!

ge..

Fragmented farm sources .. problem for Walmart ..

Fragmented farming community is the biggest problem that Walmart is going to face in the coming years in the country. They have plans to sign up with almost 35,000 farmers across the country, training in growing good quality produce, who will supply them with 30% of the items which are to be sourced locally as part of the conditions imposed by the Govt on these foreign multi-item retailers.

Being ready to give 3% more than the market price and immediate payment, combined with the refrigerated chain network, Walmart is planning to introduce in the country on a big scale, will go a long way forward to control the 33 % wastage / rot that happens for fresh vegetables / fruits in the country. Eliminating the middle men / traders in the process who add no value to the system, than being a cost or burden to the farmers, acting as parasites, preventing farmers from getting a good price for their produce, will be a big challenge for the farmers and Walmart as a whole. 

The lessons learnt by Reliance and Birla in making their supply chains more efficient should open Walmart's eyes at how to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the supply and sourcing network.

read this TOI article

The coming days will see lot of innovations happening in the supply chains of these majors in the country which can benefit the country a lot by helping preserve the vegetables and prevent loss to the farmers..

ge..

Should Robert Vadra, outsider in the Gandhi family, continue to malign their name ?

It is a serious question every Indian would have on their tongue tips.

Should Robert Vadra son-in-law of Rajiv Gandhi be allowed to malign his name and that of his mother and grandfather for a petty 58 crores on land he initially bought from DLF for Rs 8 crores and then later sold back to DLF for Rs 58 crores, misusing his relationships with people in power ?

It is a known fact that money is the weakness of everyone, however powerful or weak they be. When they find money through legal means is insufficient to lead a luxurious life, these people, who cannot think enter into unholy dealings to make a quick buck.

Sadly this whole episode has maligned Sonia Gandhi's stand of probity in public matters. Before more muck falls on anyone's face, she should put an end to this !

Let the authorities investigate as to why DLF sold land to Vadhra for 8 crores initially and then bought it back from him for Rs 58 crores later ? Were there any quid pro quo dealings here which has not been made public. Of course the people of this country would love to listen to the defence of Vadhra, who has been teasing the IAC volunteers trying their best to make public the truth, trying to trifle the controversy !

Have the Haryana officials and politicians also played hand in gloves with the real estate sharks ? Should not the govt probe their dealings too ?

As the media puts it, 3.5 acres of land, 65 days and Rs. 50 crores profit.. If only every Indian could be so connected to have such dealings with DLF ..

ge..

Salman Khurshid, Dr Zakir Hussain and Kejriwal ..

Salman Khurshid is now in the eye of a storm related to an NGO he has been floating these years and getting govt funds to fund it. It is pathetic that Dr Zakir Hussain's name is being unfairly dragged into this controversy by Salman Khurshid. Nobody doubts Salman's ill intentions, but the fact that he tries to take cover for his ill devised actions behind noble souls is the curse of our society.

I have a few questions to ask the govt or the commissioner who decides to give money to these NGOs. 

1. How many NGOs in the country get funding to the tune of Rs 70 lakhs ?

2. Did Salman Khurshid's proximity to the corridors of power help him get so much money for the NGO ?

3. If Kejriwal's revelations are true, then why is Salman Khurshid trying to run from facing Kejriwal ?

4. Final one, has Salman Khurshid grown in intellectual stature to match up to Kejriwal ?

5. As his ministerial colleague commented, Salman would not indulge in such petty activities staking his reputation for 71 lakhs of rupees, (if it was 71 crores, there is some meaning), what does that convey of the intention of the political elite in the country ?

The country needs answers from the political leaders ? Let the people remind them yet again, India is no banana republic !! 

As a public spirited citizen, Kejriwal has all right to raise in fora issues which involve our tax money. No one can stop him, The whole country is behind Kejriwal's attempts to hound these birdbrains and chase them till they give up their ill-used and misused public positions ..

ge..

should Salman Khurshid try flexing muscles with Kejriwal ..?

The present spat between IAC ( India Against Corruption) leader Arvind Kejriwal and union Minister and Congress Leader Salman Khrushid (on behalf of their party leader Sonia Gandhi and her son in law Robert Vadhra) is turning for the worst. With Kejriwal being arrested and detained in jail overnight and released this morning, the spat is continuing.

The low IQ Salman Khurshid sadly is no match to Kejriwal with his high academic and professional qualifications. Kejriwal's revelation yesterday of how Salman Khurshid's trust (money squandering and eating trust) had misappropriated app 70 lakhs of govt money on forged signature is adding fuel to fire. Corporation Bank denying ever having given overdraft of app 12 crore to Vadhra which was claimed by Vadhra, all points to the fact that indeed Kejriwal's revelations are damaging reputations and sending shivers among politicians,. Kejriwal cannot be said to be doing all these longing for political fame more than exposing corruption in the country.

Nitinn Gadkari having started to pee in his pants fearing which of his shady deals Kejriwal is going to expose, is to say least comforting for the opposition party.

ge..

depression of your spouse and how to deal with it

With a higher standard of living, tension in daily lives and less of concern for others, most of the educated and affluent couples, middle aged, these days pass through a phase of depression in their lives. In most of cases depression recurs in couples.

Depression as different from other physical ailments , is the result of ill health of the mind due to many pressing factors over a long period of time... Total detachment from all things worldly may not be a possible remedy to escape depression for the majority of people in this world. How can society help these needy people ?

What causes depression : A constant source of irritation, tension at home, illness of children etc can result in depression that can cause lack of enthusiasm for active life, feeling lonely, lack of interest in others, disinterest in sexuality, suicidal tendency, inability even to do household chores etc .. This is not an irreversible process and if treated can be reversed leading back to helpful and active life.

Is this like cancer, the curse of affluence and neglect of the poor in society ? A life style disease ?

Please read the basics of what depression is and how to handle it effectively at nimh.nih.gov US govt site. Wealth of resources. For pdf form (27 pages), pl click here .. Updated 2011.

Presently a very close friend of mine is passing through this stage of mental ill health and I am in a process of helping them ( that does not preclude the possibility of depression not hitting me either..)

This Reader's Digest link gives an article that helps to understand causes of depression and how to handle it. ( From the book '7 stages of marriage', by Sari and Rita

Most of us refuse to accept or are ignorant that we or our spouse is affected by depression. Statistics show that one in five women in Europe is afflicted with depression .. About 18 million out of 320 million people in US suffer from depression, ie. 5 %. Statistics in other countries is unavailable as they have not yet understood the magnitude of this malaise.

The recent suicide of playback singer Asha Bhonsle's daughter in Mumbai out of extreme depression points to the reality that wealth and pleasures cannot get any one peace of mind, on the contrary it can only bring extreme misery and depression !!

helpguide.org in collaboration with Harvard Medical School has come up with this site that gives extensive reading material and advice on how to cope with depression. Last updated Oct 12.

If not identified early, it can even lead to divorce. No one and no medical science talks of GIVING BACK TO SOCIETY !!

The first billionaire John D Rockefeller in 1912 also suffered from a similar malaise of dropping hair and shrinking skin at the age of 53, when his close confidant at that time advised him to give back to society. Rockefeller got rid of this unexplainable malaise when he decided to give back to society all his wealth and lived happily till age of 98. Then was born the Rockefeller Foundation .. Warren Buffet, Bill Gates and other millionaires are now practicing these principles of giving back to society basically to keep them in good mental and physical health.

Hands that serve are more sacred than lips that pray - Mother Teresa. Let your spiritual life be just not restricted to praying and lip service, it also demands serving the society .. Gautam Budha gave all his worldly possessions and went out to pray, preach and serve the society, escaping depression. In a joint family the comfort and solace of other family members often was a great social medication, unlike the nuclear families of today where problem arise within families and end within families itself. The spiritual and social bonding from attending church services and cottage prayers go a long way in helping meet this malaise..

How far can medical science help to treat this ill health of the mind ? The societal support to such activities is it sufficient ?

Let us ponder !!

Ge..

Intolerant quran burning pastor blocked at Canada border ..

The US pastor from some breakaway protestant faction who has caused much of heatrtburn for Muslims all over after burning of Quran does not have any idea of history and the need to  be tolerant of other faiths and beliefs.

Read the TOI article  here..

Preaching and practicing love for all, hatred and venomous speech with vitriole has no say in any civilised society. The pastor has got freedom of speech but that stops when your neighbour gets hurt ..

Does Christianity preach hurting other religious beliefs ?

The protestant faith is coming up dime a dozen all over the world, mushrooming all round , whoever has money to throw around and who desires to make money through spiritual entrepreneurship, sets up a new church. These people have no qualms in abusing other religions and hurting the beliefs of those people.

Is it reflective of civilisational immaturity (a 300 year old culture..) in US ? Militant, abusive, intolerant spiritualism as practiced by these brands of protestants and born-again groups freely in US is a threat to the civilized world.

ge..

Rail Radar, by Indian Railways - first time in the world ..

In collaboration with google maps Indian Railways has come up with a graphical tool to identify and track movement of almost 6500  important trains in the Indian subcontinent in real time.

http://railradar.trainenquiry.com/  Overlaying the digital information of train running time on a geographical map using google maps has been tried innovatively for the first time in the world as an application. Lot of apple and android apps will come out soon ..

Read more here from TOI ..  Trains running behind time are coloured red and all over India we find almost 50% of trains are coloured red, ie. running late ..

Track your fav trains and see how user friendly it is,, At any time during day almost 1600 trains are active running ..

ge..

silky waking chinnu for her milk share ..

Everyday morning my daughter Chinnu after drinking milk gives the last 20 ml or so in the glass to our pet Labrador dog silky. This is a practice that is continuing for at least the past 6 years, ever since Silky came home as a puppy. 

When Chinnu does not get up even by 7.30 am or so, Silky gets a little concerned as to why her daily sweet chocolate milk dose is being delayed. Silky goes to Chinnu and makes a whining noise to wake her up and more often than not, Chinnu gets up then. 

The snap shows Silky already having given the whines and waiting for Chinnu to get up, while Chinnu goes deeply inside her woollen sheet to catch a few more minutes sleep .. !

ge..

The three IIT trained politicians in India who really matter ..

The first and foremost is Jairam Ramesh, the Union Minister of Urban Development. (IITB, CMU and MIT)

The second is Manohar Parrikar, (IITB) the present Chief Minister of Goa. If he sticks to his words, it can see the end of unauthorised iron ore mining in Goa to end once and for all. and the jailing of the business barons of Goa, Chowgule, Salgaonkar etc..

The third is Arvind Kejriwal who parted ways with Anna Hazare to start a new party. (IITKgp and IRS). He was with the Income Tax dept as Commissioner and is the most active and intelligent member in the India against Corruption movement.

These people got their basic BTech degree from IITs.

Let more IITians join the political mainstream in India and help make a difference in the country.

ge..

Depression - the whats, whys and hows.

With a higher standard of living, tension in daily lives and less of concern for others, most of the educated and affluent couples, middle aged, these days pass through a phase of depression in their lives. In most of cases depression recurs in couples.

Depression as different from other physical ailments , is the result of ill health of the mind due to many pressing factors over a long period of time... Total detachment from all things worldly may not be a possible remedy to escape depression for the majority of people in this world. How can society help these needy people ?

What causes depression : A constant source of irritation, tension at home, illness of children etc can result in depression that can cause lack of enthusiasm for active life, feeling lonely, lack of interest in others, disinterest in sexuality, suicidal tendency, inability even to do household chores etc .. This is not an irreversible process and if treated can be reversed leading back to helpful and active life.

Is this like cancer, the curse of affluence and neglect of the poor in society ? A life style disease ?

Please read the basics of what depression is and how to handle it effectively at nimh.nih.gov US govt site. Wealth of resources. For pdf form (27 pages), pl click here .. Updated 2011.

Presently a very close friend of mine is passing through this stage of mental ill health and I am in a process of helping them ( that does not preclude the possibility of depression not hitting me either..)

This Reader's Digest link gives an article that helps to understand causes of depression and how to handle it. ( From the book '7 stages of marriage', by Sari and Rita)

Most of us refuse to accept or are ignorant that we or our spouse is affected by depression. Statistics show that one in five women in Europe is afflicted with depression .. About 18 million out of 320 million people in US suffer from depression, ie. 5 %. Statistics in other countries is unavailable as they have not yet understood the magnitude of this malaise.

The recent suicide of playback singer Asha Bhonsle's daughter in Mumbai out of extreme depression points to the reality that wealth and pleasures cannot get any one peace of mind, on the contrary it can only bring extreme misery and depression !!


helpguide.org in collaboration with Harvard Medical School has come up with this site that gives extensive reading material and advice on how to cope with depression. Last updated Oct 12.

If not identified early, it can even lead to divorce. No one and no medical science talks of GIVING BACK TO SOCIETY !!


The first billionaire John D Rockefeller in 1912 also suffered from a similar malaise of dropping hair and shrinking skin at the age of 53, when his close confidant at that time advised him to give back to society. Rockefeller got rid of this unexplainable malaise when he decided to give back to society all his wealth and lived happily till age of 98. Then was born the Rockefeller Foundation .. Warren Buffet, Bill Gates and other millionaires are now practicing these principles of giving back to society basically to keep them in good mental and physical health.

Hands that serve are more sacred than lips that pray - Mother Teresa. Let your spiritual life be just not restricted to praying and lip service, it also demands serving the society .. Gautam Budha gave all his worldly possessions and went out to pray, preach and serve the society, escaping depression. In a joint family the comfort and solace of other family members often was a great social medication, unlike the nuclear families of today where problem arise within families and end within families itself. The spiritual and social bonding from attending church services and cottage prayers go a long way in helping meet this malaise..

How far can medical science help to treat this ill health of the mind ? The societal support to such activities is it sufficient ?

Let us ponder !!

Ge..

Express mail delivery and DVD renting kiosk - service blueprint

Express Mail delivery Service Blueprint 

DVD renting service service blueprint

SC speaks firmly against unauthorised construction by the rich .. Bangaloreans ready ?

While only the slums and hutments of the poor are demolished by the state in their enthusiasm to prevent unauthorised construction, the rich and their construction are left untouched, probably because of he great healing power of grease money ..

The SC has come out against this discrimination by the state against the poor sparing the rich. Let the rich also feel the brunt of this.

It is said in bangalore almost 95% of houses are illegally constructed and unauthorised parts needs to be demolished. Are the people of  Bangalore ready to show the example to the people of the country by being the first to come forward and get the unauthorised part of construction of their homes removed or demolished ?

Are Bangaloreans game for it  or as cowards they wish to hide behind mama's petticoat ?   shameful ..

ge..

Great performances on asianet star singer..

Last evening it was simply superlative performances by Gayathri Ramanathan (tvm), Nandu (pala) and merin (kozhikode) on star singer season 6.

Gayathri came up with a mind blowing performance which was however not the star performance of the day.. Gayathri took me back 30 - 40 years when I grew up listening to these songs.. Fantastic rendering..

It was topped by Merin (left) who scored a perfect 100, song was Ooh la la by Shreya Ghoshal and Bappi Lahiri, out of the world performance .. for the first time a perfect hundred .. Single handedly Merin managed both Shreya and Bappi..

MG Sreekumar even remarked that if the original music director had also heard Merin singing the number, he would have asked Merin to sing it and dumped the famous Hindi duo..  So terrific, electrifying and thunderous performance ..

The original version of OOh la la by Shreya Ghoshal and Bappi lahiri from the movie "The Dirty Picture"  is here ..

Merin's singular effort is shown here  Fast forward to the third performance of the day from 19:12 minutes .. Gayathri's performance is the first one..

Very talented, spirited and enthusiastic, blessed youngsters rocking the stage beyond expectatiins !!!

Ge..

American apparels RFID experience ..

RFID youtube..

In the process of taking Inventory control classes for the MBA sem 1 students, this semester I have started the practise of giving case studies to students for reading and research offline and discussion in the class. So far I have finished Hard Rock cafe (op strategy), Apple (product design), Narayana Hrudayalaya (service design and strategy) and today I discussed American Apparels and their use of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Devices) technology (Inventory management). Discussion of these cases is sure to improve the understanding of the industry operations management practices for the students, leading to a better appreciation of the concepts.

Here is a short youtube video on RFID benefits at American Apparels. At AA, the items of cloth taken out by the customers on the retail floor are immediately informed by RFID readings and associated software to the employees on the warehouse floor, who after validation replenish the items immediately on the shelves. Thus only one item of each size and colour (stock keeping units is displayed) at any time on the display floor, increasing the variety of inventory visibility to the customer who can then make a wiser and effective choice.

The benefits of RFID implementation is numerous for American apparels, the largest in-house clothing manufacturer in US, apart from a 62 % rise in sales from 2007 to touch $ 341 million in 2012 and a  growth of upto 360 shops. They are

1. since only one item of each SKU is displayed on the shelf/rack at any time, the replenishment and the speed at which this happens is critical to the success of the shop. Using RFID AA has been able to replenish cloth SKUs on the rack in between 30s to 1 minute.

2. Since only need items are taken out of the warehouse and displayed on the rack, there is more accountability of stock, better keep of inventory count. less internal loss due to theft, pilferage etc.

3. In the conventional bar code system counting of all the dress items on the display floor takes  5-6 employees, 5 - 6 hours . With RFID it takes an employee only 2 hours to take stock of inventory across the whole display floor, accurately. 

4. Since the reader is capturing signals transmitted by the tag (transmitter) on the cloth piece, it is easy to find lost items and misplaced items on the wrong shelf.

5. With less of time spent in taking count, the employees have more time with the customers, giving them a very pleasurable experience, getting to know the merchandise well, good stocking and display styles etc..

6. More tiems are on display on the racks / shelves for sale to customers

7. better customer service possible

8. Due to the above positive factors, about 40% increase in sales in RFID stores have been realised over non-RFID stores

9. RFID can be used not only in cloth items, but across a large variety of items from books, medicine, files, hardware, vehicle parts, electronic components etc.

In Bangalore, Pantaloons used RFID tags and readers supported by Wipro, A demo stall of RFID hardware and software is on display at the Wipro corporate HQ in Bangalore. The Elevated Highway in Bangalore near Electronic city uses RFID on vehicles who have been given tags to enable faster processing of vehicles, avoiding waiting at queues. Wonderla in Bangalore uses RFID wrist band on their visitors to keep track of their rides, expenses and personal details.

In short, this is a very promising technology which has terrific applications across sections of the economy. In Govt offices files could be tagged with RFID making it easy to keep track of their progress and to trace lost / hidden files for faster decision making by the officers.

The capture of data regarding items and visitors can be misused leading to legal issues and claims. The electromagnetic radiations can damage tender human cells and damages the environment in the long run, example the case of vanishing sparrows from Bangalore city.

ge..

Seraphim Thirumeni at home ..

HG Dr. Abraham Mar Seraphim, Fr. Philip, Vicar,
Cathedral church, Bangalore 

HG making the discourse at the meeting ..

A view of the gathering of parishioners from Koramangala
at my home yesterday 7 Oct 2012.

It was a great occasion to welcome HG Abraham mar Seraphim, Metropolitan for Bangalore diocese of Malankara orthodox syrian church to my home for cottage prayer yday, 7 oct 2012.

HG spoke of the need to aim for salvation and redemption in eternal life than for worldly material and temporal gains by miracles and other myopic approaches ..

It was also taking a potshot at the miracle healers like M Y Yohannan ( who was camping in Bangalore on Saturday and Sunday) who give their talks to an innocent, gullible, materialistic, worldly, miracle and pleasure seeking public who seek instant gratification .... (Let us ignore the other spiritual entrepreneurs out there to make quick money like KP Yohannan, Dinakaran, Thangu and their likes, playing to the soft underbelly of the believers !! so pathetic ....)

Ge

51 things to do in Kerala ..

http://www.thrillophilia.com/blog/things-to-do-in-kerala/

Yes, in God's own land, a land that has never been invaded by outsiders, has always welcomed traders, religious persons and travelers, allowed people fleeing from persecution in their native lands to settle down, been plentifully washed by monsoons for billions of years and not had any natural calamities for thousands of years !!

welcome to Kerala ..

ge.

Stradivarius violin being played by Grossman ..

A 1717 Stradivarius violin called Antonius ..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7W3qbng4t0 

ge..

Human Development Index and incidence of cancer ..

The changing face of cancer - from hygiene related to life style related.

40% of cancer cases in the world are in countries with a high Human Development Index (HDI) who house just 15 % of world population. Doesn't this look strange ?

93 in 100,000 in India suffer from cancer, ie 1 in 1075 people. In China it is 211 people per 100,000, ie. one in every 474 people suffer from one form of cancer or other. It is even severe in Japan, where 248 for every lakh of population suffer from cancer, ie one in every 403 people suffer from cancer. 

The hypothesis thus goes to prove beyond doubt that higher the human development, higher the incidence of cancer in that community. Is man's quest for growth and development killing himself leading to his downfall.. ??

The International Association for Research on Cancer (IARC) at Lyons France, part of WHO, does pioneering research to find the relationship between the incidences of cancer and the various causes for it.

The abstract of a paper which appeared in The Lancet relating human development index to incidence of cancer, where incidence of cancer is moving away from hygiene related forms to life style related forms is very alarming and shocking.. With increased life expectancy of people, in India it has increased by 4.7 years over the last decade, this leads to lot of problems in society like costs, care, treatment etc.

From about 12.7 million news cancer cases in 2008, it is expected to touch 22.2 million new cases by 2030, ie on average an increase of about 0.432 million new cancer cases every year (430,000 new cases globally), considering a linear growth rate, ie. by 2014, we can then expect at least 15.3 million new cases of cancer. Will I be one of them or you is a question to which the Medical scientific and research community is unable to give a firm answer. Like a Damocle's sword, this hangs over every one's head.

The recent Pulitzer winning book "Biography of Cancer - The Emperor of Maladies " by 42 year old Dr Sidharth Mukerjee, Assistant Prof of Medicine at Columbia Uty was a real eye opener of the history of this curse on mankind. Dr Sidharth has traced the first incidence of cancer being reported from an ancient Egyptian mummy of 3000 BC. Time magazine honoured that book as one of the top 100 non-fiction books of all time ..

How cancer acquired its own biographer in Dr Sidharth Mukherjee is a story by itself.. Read this link ..

While the poor strive to make ends meet, the rich and affluent strive to ward off such lifestyle diseases ..

Tata Memorial Hospital Mumbai is now the only hub of IARC outside of its HQ in France. It shows how important India and Indian surgeons can be in the fight world over against cancer.

WHO website on cancer ..   www.iarc.fr

WHO doc..
A number of common risk factors have been linked to the development of cancer: an unhealthy lifestyle (including tobacco and alcohol use, inadequate diet, physical inactivity), and exposure to occupational (e.g. asbestos) or environmental carcinogens, (e.g. indoor air pollution), radiation (e.g. ultraviolet and ionizing radiation), and some infections (such as hepatitis B or human papilloma virus infection).

Key risk factors for cancer that can be avoided are:

• tobacco use - responsible for 1.8 million cancer deaths per year (60% of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries);
• being overweight, obese or physically inactive - together responsible for 274 000 cancer deaths per year;
• harmful alcohol use - responsible for 351 000 cancer deaths per year;
• sexually transmitted human papilloma virus (HPV) infection - responsible for 235 000 cancer deaths per year; and
• occupational carcinogens - responsible for at least 152 000 cancer deaths per year.

Cancer prevention is an essential component of all cancer control plans because about 40% of all cancer deaths can be prevented.

The cancer incidence in India as highlighted in The Lancet and New England Journal of Medicine is given in this news report in the Hindu of 2012.  Richer states in the South have higher incidence of cancer than the poorer states of North ..

When medical fraternity has failed utterly to understand cancer in its varied, demonic manifestations, how can human society and civilization transform itself to fight this "grand" malaise is a challenge we need to deeply ponder and take up in all sincerity and dedication.

ge..