Scootaappaaa

 

Our Grand Dad have seen 4 generation in his life time and he never called me nor my brother by our real name, always Pattu & Jillu respectively !! He also lived by his nick name as we also never called him with his name :D To his delight and will power till the last day he was driving "Scooter" and since he was a Father (appa) figure to the whole family and his name was coined as "Scootaappaaaa" by my First Cousin - Krithika Akka, I thank her for this as he lives and for ever will live in our heart and memory as Scootaappaaaa only !!

 

What all I could remember of him, I want to add here so that I can just keep a tab of his memories intact ( already I might have lost something but I will seek inputs from my family for amendment ) !!

 

 My first remembrance of him, is also my First B'day (that I could remember) in Gobi, I still remember the dress he bought for me (cream color stripe dress with horse in it) and then the gift for us never stopped, it kept flowing every year for "Diwali" in the form of dress, crackers, mangoes, watermelon, chips, ride with him to finance and badminton court in Scooter & the first ever TV, Telephone and Car experience that we all had in our life time is because of him !

 

During Bagyam chithi's wedding preparation we all have been taken to Kancheepuram and Madras for wedding purchase, we also happened to see Sankarachariyar during this trip !! He has  bought small little things that I asked for and made sure I'm well fed as he know I have a liking for food (which he also enjoys) and always ask me during any trip - Pattu enna vennum unnaku (what do you want Pattu ?), pattu panneer soda kudikaraya (Pattu do you want Paneer Soda ? - Happened in our trip to Palani, where he was the first one who gave us the chance to get in to a Tram - new experiences that you can't forget easily !!

 

As long as I can remember, he always started his day very early with the best news paper in my country " The Hindu " & I wouldn't have read if not for him ! I also can't remember a day where he didn't devote a time to "God" and one of the best trips I have had with him was also a spiritual trip with him and scootamma to "Tirupathy". He was a strong devote to God and he dedicated part of his time towards spiritual activity in home as well as outside !! His contribution in building temple in Kaveri river - Soleeswarar Temple and just recently in Old State Bank Colony were immense and I like him for what he has done to the society and not only for family !!

 

I also remember the best times I have had with him was when I was in Erode and my parent's were in Hyderabad for attending some important things, he bought me the "Scouts Name Batch - My First Ever Name Batch" which  I treasured for the same reason he had one from Bank with his name and he inspired to have mine from my young days !! I used to play basket ball and while I was doing a district level camp from colony (this was like our second home during our growing up days and all the holidays were spent here) and I was so enthused to get a calling for State Level camp and he was the one (along with Scootamma) who gave a suitcase, bed and all that I need for those month long camp & dropped me in the VOC park and he used to visit me as well during these times to make sure I'm all ok - it might be normal thing for him but he did that for me !!

 

Last time we could spend some time was in Hong Kong when he and Scootaamaa were invited to come to Hong Kong and China by Parthi Chitaappa & Bagyam Chithi. It was a great co-incidence that I was moving to a new house and I got his & scootamma's blessing along with Chitappa's mom as well in the house warming function ! I remember one incident in that trip, he was slightly not comfortable with the escalators and once he slightly fumbled and I thought he might fall and I was trying to hold him, he steadied himself in no time and said Pattu no worries - I'm alright, when I shared this with mom, she told he was always "Self Reliant & Never Complains/Moans" which I felt is true, as I never seen him say anything in negative form even though he had multiple health issues for many years. Also never gave reasons not to be physically active as well, he told me he played as a goalie in School level Football and later went on to play badminton for so many years even with knee problem - I admire him for that character of his, where he never succumbs to situational pressures that were thrown at him and I'm glad I got a chance to take a snap with him in Hong Kong ( that happened to be the last ) !!   

 

I believe he was one of the simplest person I have seen, and he lived modestly even though he was one of the graduates in his times from Loyola (BA) and then went on to work in State Bank of India (SBI) and he also opted out of promotions as he wanted to stay with family in Erode itself. His last day in SBI was his FIRST & LAST JOB (very rare these days) and that was my first ever "Employee Leaving Party" that I attended, whole branch was there and applauded his work and he was sent off very well !! He sowed the seeds then for his grand children to follow his foot steps and he inspired us all with his "Actions" than talks !! I have rarely seen him loose patience and almost always calm but loud & gregarious when ever the situation called for !! He took the family duty seriously and made sure he dealt with all family members same !!  I can't call any better than him as my "Grand Dad" as he has given all of us the BEST CHILDHOOD MEMORIES we have got and we speak about till date & for ever. All I can think of is this, I will definitely miss him for now I can't put lemon juice for him nor he will be my side to see his great grand children from my side but I wish he will be reborn soon and live with us all again but as per Buddha if someone can do the best he could and which he did his soul will attain the divinity - "May his Soul Rest in Peace"!!

 

 

Candid Photographer & Blogger Friend

I started following Amrit from his IIT days & he is one person who has shown me "You Can Achieve Everything if We Put Our Heart In To It", he has done it in style many couldn't do !! I like his openess, rarely I have seen a person that much open in India !! I'm a silent spectator of his work for long long time, I started reading his blog then came the Shittons, from being a nerd (IIT) to a long distance runner, mountaineer, corporate hulk (PWC) to now his final passion - Photography,  he is an inspiration to me in many ways !! I would say he is evolving to be one among the well known Candid Wedding Photographers in India and hopefully in Asia as well in future ! He doesn't know me that well, but I thought this post will help spread the words & so he can continue the passion for long time to come. Amrit - Wish You & Neelab Highly Successful Stint in the photography work that you guys want to pursue !! His professional work of Wedding Candid Photography can be found here, Shaadigrapher

Husband & Wife

As the saying goes - "Marriages are made in Heaven" - Our Marriage was one such occasion where we were made to experience the words of the above quote & felt the "Best of the Vibes" in the unexpected setting possible with "Thiruvasagam & Thevaram" sung during the marriage ceremony on March 24th - from now on it will be treasured, remembered year on year by us. Words can't replicate the emotions, that we experienced during the last few weeks, as I know - it was done with great zeal, utmost care, and meticulous planning (months of hard work) from "The Creator's of My Soul - My Parent's" themselves & ably supported by my "Brother", along with Blessing from Family & Friend's for our well being - led to Happiness of a Life Time and we became Husband & Wife !!

HaPpY nEw YeAr !!

The bad news is time flies(2010). The good news is we are the pilot(2011),

Let's Drive Safely, to enjoy a Great Ride Across the Globe,

Happy New Year to All !!

Tenacious BUS Driver

Ranadivé came to America as a seventeen-year-old, with fifty dollars in his pocket. He was not one to accept losing easily. Ranadive reminisces, “I actually talked my way into the office of RBI. I was 16 years old at that time. I requested them that I should be allowed to get some foreign exchange so that I could go to MIT. After all the effort, I showed up on the shores of America (Boston) with one quarter’s tuition paid for because of the foreign exchange restriction and less than a $100 in my pocket. Since then I have been on my own.” He and everybody are on their own if we realize or not in life, with the company of many good hearted people on our way in life -- esp parent's,sibling's, friends, few good mentors, but still we will be on our own to create the world of our own and we combine it for everybody's benefit and so did he, and created the world of "BUS" - TIBCO (The Information Bus COmpany).

The idea was to have a software bus and plug applications into it and make it a real-time bus and Goldman Sachs was their first customer and from then on its been a ride of a life time for TIBCO BUS. He believes that "“If you have just a little bit of the right information a couple of seconds or minutes in advance, it’s more valuable than all of the information in the world six months after the fact" It’s a premise he calls “the two-second advantage,” which will also be the title of his next book, other than his best seller -- The Power of Now & The Power to Predict. Ranadive is a tenacious BUS driver - Paving and creating the blue book, road signs in the least traveled roads !! I hail his tenacity for putting his skin in the game and risking his life to make younger generation believe that "U R On U'r Own - Give U'r All Out", you can pave the way for generation to use and create one more like them !! Some of his philosophies, I enjoyed and liked it and hope you all too,

Business philosophy

Essential business philosophy: Always surround yourself with people smarter than you.

Best way to keep competitive edge: Create an open environment within your organization that enables your top talent to flourish. Put your customers first and when you see an opportunity, move quickly.

Guiding principle: Never, ever give up.

Yardstick of success: I measure it by how many people's lives you can impact or help in a meaningful way, whether that be through technology innovation, sound business judgment or lasting personal connections.

Judgment calls

Best business decision: Becoming an entrepreneur and taking the path least traveled.

Worst business decision: Not going with my gut feeling. You need to trust your instincts.

Toughest business decision: Having to let go of an employee is never an easy decision.

The one word that best describes you: Tenacious.

True confessions

Like best about job: Working with really smart people. I love the fact that I am continually surprised, enlightened and motivated by the talented individuals that I collaborate with every day, both within my own organization and throughout the tech community.

Like least about job: The bureaucracy involved in building a global organization. Too much of it can stifle innovation so you have to be careful to strike the right balance between process and flexibility.

Most important lesson learned: When you make a mistake, acknowledge it, learn from it and move on.

Person most interested in meeting: Leonardo da Vinci -- he was a true innovator.

Most respected competitor: IBM

Three greatest passions: Spending time with my children, playing and watching basketball, cricket and baseball, and, of course, applying my competitive skills in the business world.

First choice for a new career: Basketball coach. (First Indian American to have a stake in NBA Team), Coached her daughter & team to National Finals with no prior experience, http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/05/11/090511fa_fact_gladwell

Predilections

Most influential book:

Gödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter. It combines an exploration on the mathematics of Godel, the art of Escher and music of Bach with a look at the relationship between computers and the way humans think.

Most influential movie: Shawshank Redemption, protagonist's attitude of Never Giving Up.

Read more: Vivek Ranadiv

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrJZOTVBSCA&feature=related

tHaNkS GiViNg

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "Thank You," that would suffice.

~Meister Eckhart

Now a days all are celebrating more of western culture than our own(Esp in the countries I work/ed they celebrate X'mas more than their traditional festivals), but if there is any great things that exists else where we shall observe, ponder and if it doesn't affect us much in our day to day life and if we are not neglecting our own tradition, then we can start practicising it for the happiness & well being - why not !! Thanks Giving - Its a new concept for me, but I liked the reason behind it " It is about showing one's gratitude for the blessings that we are showered with" and so here in this post, I would like to "Thank" - All of them who shown gratitude to me !!

a) Parent's - They are the BEST, I have told many a times "We are Blessed" to be their Children, I have had always Loved Them, but this year was more the more special as the way they understand/stood me is "Spot On" and also how much support they give me is beyond any of their peers. I'm proud to say -"No One Can Be Like Them in Understanding & Supporting Me" and I doubt will there be any, but I wish I have one/two more persons in the future who want to reach that spot - Thanks Dad & Mom for being so nice to me - There is no pay back for all the LOVE you guys shower on me & bro, but will try my hardest !!

b) Brother - For being my God Father as always, asking the tough question and making me feel, just don't play with your own life and says often - "Wake Up" kiddo, u have lot of aspiration but start working @ it, I need that to rejig myself once in while and here he was doing that everytime when I was in need and he delivered with out me asking for it - Thanks Bro !! U'r comments in the blog, atleast I know u read the blog - that keeps motivated to write again :)

c) Family Relatives - The nicest people other than immediate family have tough fight and this keeps getting interchanged b/w relatives & friends. This year I would like to Thank Relatives as lot of good memories starts with them during childhood, esp first circle of relatives - "Uncle & Aunts" , "Cousins & Nephews/Nieces", and gets to backstage after we start moving a lot with Friends and colleagues. This year I got pleasant surprises and back in good touch with all of them, which was missing for sometime. Thanks All for making me feel that way !!

d) F-R-i-E-N-D-S - I have seen some phases of it, some never stops growing, some dwindles when we thought it will never happen, some started off with a bang and didn't even move beyond a week, some we know we had a great relationship even when we don't speak that often, some changed after they get a family, but yesterday "Tour De School" brought back lot of good memories of our school friends - we still are a close knit gang - Thanks Guys & Gals for being my friend and bring happiness, joy and helping me to overcome some really sad days/things that otherwise would have been difficult to contain !!

e) Colleagues & Job - Last 2 years, I have been seeing more of the South Horizon and in the middle of the year, even I have seen the tip of the south, luckily "Thanks Giving" is in the year end and things are looking better, still covering the south and climbing up toward north and I'm in the median and would definitely like to see the North Horizon soon. I have to unofficially Thank my boss who have shown/showing both the horizons of life and definitely he is nice to me !! There was one person who is Sr and we worked very closely last year and she was part of the successful project win in one of the leading Insurance firm - Thanks a Lot for being there !!

f) Clients - Thinks again was tough for the last two years and picking up and there were couple of clients who have helped me to climb from the tip of south towards better horizons and this is the best time to Thank them for believing in me and I need to Special Thank to One person the most for making me work @ a crucial juncture of almost giving up and inch towards my first deal - Thanks will not suffice for resurrecting my career !!

g) Tutors - Lot of tutors we would have come across in our school & college and very rarely we remember them for long. Few of them I would like to thank are my X grade "Maths" tutor for being so helpful and hardworking. My first year S/W Engg Tutor & OOAD Tutor for their teaching and finally becoming friends !! Glad that I met them and got tutored by them, in corporate life I would say my biggest tutor was "Experience" and I got loads n loads of them as I experimented enough and circumstances allowed me to experience more than what I could handle sometimes. Thanks all for teaching the best you could & shaping me for a bright future !!

h) Others - Who have discouraged me, who have encouraged me indirectly or directly, they have in a way induced me further in climbing the ladder for sure, Thank You All for being part of this year journey and I know you guys will come up next year too - to scale me up in LIFE !!

I) Myself - I Thank My Gut Feel/Instincts/Blind Confidence(tho less compared to my peak) for "Not Giving Up" in so many instances, when Doubt & Only Doubt was my company and I was walking a path - few have taken and with no experience to handle - I Struck Around and I'm seeing the light @ the end of the Tunnel !! Pls share your thoughts in your blog/FB/Twitter/Mail Them - who ever touched you this year.

Have a Happy Thanks Giving to All !!

Happy Kaarthigai Deepam

Wish You All a "Very Happy Kaarthigai Deepam" !!

It was colorful this year as you can see above, unexpected but enjoyed nevertheless with Sreeni & Family along with another Polarite - Balaji. For myself and Balaji this is the second visit to Sreeni's place in Hunghom in HK and its a win-win for all of us. Sreeni's family like us to be invited as his daughter - Harini(below) enjoys spending time with us (Balaji & myself) and for us a good south Indian meal s0 quite understandable why I said Win win for all :) Had a good fun there watching cricket match, walking to wet market and had a good lunch (Sambhar, Rasam, Valaikai Poriyal, Vadam, Payasam, Nanari Sarbath, Adai in the evening) and good Kaarthigai Deepam ambiance and lot of new faces from their friend's circle to chat !! Nice day spent again @ Sreeni's place. After a long long time celebrated Kaarthigai Deepam and felt the color with the Deepam and light spreading across the place and myself too !!

C-O-U-S-I-N-S

Naanga 5 peru, enga kelvi kekka neraya peru, vali nadatha oru patalame irunthithu, vera vera oorula irunthom, varashum naaalanju vaatiyavathu kandippa meet pannipom chinna vayasula - Quarterly/Half yearly/Annual/ Deepavali/ Pongal/ Ethira leevanu ella leavelayum onna suthirukkom - antha naaatkal "Endrendrum Aliya Ninaivugala Manasula Pathinchirukku", itho ovaruthoroda pagirthalum intha varuda "Deepavali" ONLINE celebration thru maila irunthu,

Vijay aka Bro says, "Ultimately what brings the real happiness is this relationship and the memorable moments,lets cherish this forever".

Vinod aka China says, Deepavali's in the past, where we all assemble and scottapa already have had purchased the crackers for us and then we try to kayavechufy, then get money from all esp aaaya to buy the crackers from Bangar kadai !! Rain will come n play spoil sport and we waking up in the early morning and perima being the first to get up and help us all apply oil along with mom n chiti and all patasu assembled in the front Thinai & make sure the velakku is placed away from the air n crackers for safety and then counting chettiar veetu paatasu paper Vs Ours - those lovely days !! Then going to temple, having a poori chenna breakfast and also the SUN TV programmes used to keep us busy for the rest of the day - lingering moments for all of us and we used to have a great time !!

Vicky Aka iPhone says, Wooow you covered everything except the carrom board game we used to play in the late afternoons. Still I can remember those awesome days!

I really hated going to school after having such a wonderful diwali.

Vijay aka Bro says, Vikku - You forget to mention who usually win, anyways I don't want to tell myself ;-)

Krithika Aka Gang Leader Says, Its great to c the mail, and its even great to know that everybody share the same thoughts. Even i was thinking gone r those days....This generation dont have the same atmosphere v had. It's something special and unique. Not only diwali days, vaadagai cycle, hindi tuition, kites v used to fly, puli mittai, horlicks and maltova (even though they r available now also), nostalgic...,

Vinod aka China says, Sis, tats definitely was those gr8 days which lingers in mind every passing Diwali these days...since u brought the kites, hindi tuition n all, I wish to add one morething that we used to do every summer - swimming in kaveri aaru and adi perukku n mariaamman kovil - bajji, sugar cane juice and also the pariyur pandigai - peengal plate, rubber banthu, suttu velaidrathu, perunkaya dappa, koiya maram, elantha maram,maatuu pongal OMG list was endless - but did all these things year on year !!

Even after doing so much for years we forget something - tats wat this age n time brings to us n not the enjoyment we had and its getting worse for younger wards @ our home too !!

Very nostalgic.....

P.S : @ Akila aka Silent Book Worm - Yet 2 Say ;)

@ All - Just captured the moments from mail to Blog - Add ur comments here so as to enjoy reading in future as well.....

Chinaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

"Invisible China in China" happened at-last and I loved each & every moment cos of my Chitappa(uncle) who took good care of me in China even at this age, like he did when I got sprained my leg in the Marina Beach 15 years ago - that's true affection & I felt it in every movement as well as moment, Chithi gave the same warmth thru phone calls this time around unlike then CITY Life "Uyirulla Kathirukkai, Cards Playing, Daily Shopping" experiences @ Chennai!! Chitappa - Thank You for showering me all those care which was overwhelming at times and at the same time made me realize after a long time - I'm getting to feel the need of relationship and relatives after few years of seclusive life style in Singapore & Hong Kong !! We cousins have got the best affection, learnings & treatments from All Our "Appa's (Periappa, Appa, Paneer & Parthipan Chitappa) & Amma's(Periamma, Amma, Uma & Baghyam Chithi)", Touch-wood let that continue for ever for us and also hope we do that to our generation as well !!

Moving to the heart of the trip - "Guangzhou" - A place my Chitaapa & Chithi along with their daughters Deepu & Mahisha inherited and consider as their second home & it indeed made me also feel the same way. Guangzhou - I loved the City for the weather, wide roads, good infra n food too !! I liked the place for the "Legacy Modernization" approach they have handled thru SEZ route and Chinese Govt have transformed this normal place in to a "Commerce Hub" where people from all over the world visit to do business - All in less than 20 Years !! I saw so much of sky scrapers and well paved roads and multi layered fly overs and was in awe. But China shows the world "If There is Will, There is A Way" and being a corrupt nation themselves they could do so much that we sud be learning from them and step on the pedal to rise the bar soon to lead Asia & World, like China is doing now in Asia !!

Chitappa offered me the best food of the trip @ home during the first & second supper - "Pepper Chicken" from his culinary skills that was seasoned during his studying days, supplemented with the better known local cuisine from Guandong province - which are normally less spiced, less salted, but ate a lot of variety which I never ever consumed in life till then - Dumpling with Veg stuffing, Pork, Cow stuffing, Brazilian Buffet with all parts of Beef, Japanese Sushi, raw Solmon Fish, Oats, boiled Bracoley & pumkin, lot of fruits - Dates(for the first time I ate the fresh dates and it was really good)

Visited "Pearl River(In the Photo), Fushan(reaching this place took lot of effort for even Chitappa to make the local understand n all my thoughts of trying to find my way in China myself in the next trip was slowly vanishing), Banyan Tree Temple(1400 Years Old), Beijing Lu (Shopping Street where we bought the Warmers/Jackets for winter from Jeans West where the quality and options are more and Beijing Lu is like Nanjing Lu in Shanghai I was told), Leather Market - offered wide variety of shoes for whole sale and fake shoes with all "Hi-End Designer Labels like Gucci, LV, Clarks" too !!

In the Central Guangzhou saw - Big malls (Next to which Govt destroyed a 3 store tower to build a park for people to relax), Samsung Ad-Covered building that welcomed the athletes to the Asian Games in Guangzhou, Tien He sports Center and also the TV Tower (in the photo) is so brightly colored with the best of the bulbs for the Opening ceremony of Asian Games. I would have felt sad if I had missed that view from the Harshvada along the "Pearl River" that plies between the Guangzhou @ a beautifully done pavements on both the side of the river which has good area to walk, sit, jog and reside - I loved the whole sight of It. The pavements on both sides invited me to jog again after a long long time !! I LOVED Guangzhou as a whole but this night view of this river captured my heart n mind !!

We also went to Shenzen and luckily we kept the luggage in the station itself before moving on to the best attraction - "Windows of the World". This place provides the miniature of all the best places in the world, esp most of the 7 World Wonders !! Had a tough time capturing them with out ppl or buildings in the background as its crowded and covered by buildings even thought its in outskirts of Shenzen. One bad thing was no where in the MTR station they mentioned about the attraction, if we need to take a tour it will take 4-5 hrs minimum and even after walking the whole length & breadth of the place, I missed some of them as its big and worth a visit once. We had our dinner in one of the Pakistani/Indian restaurant & Chitappa came almost till the gates of immigration and we bid adieu to one of my first trips to China !! Chitappa thanks for showing me the best of Guangzhou & Shenzen and it was indeed a memorable trip for me - worth the wait of 4 years since the time you invited me to China !!

Theoreneurial Life Cycle for Winning Companies !!

Corporate job's are risk averse and but less fun as we don't get to do "What We Feel Like", unlike doing a Business!! From "Rags to Riches" stories comes from Entrepreneurs and not regular 9-5 job seekers. I also come to understand all can't become "Entrepreneurs" but have to go thru the below life cycle, either thru our - day today job as Head of XYZ or as Entrepreneur. "Theoreneurial Life Cycle" is must know for all who are doing/will do business or Lead/leading a company !!

"Business Planning, Economic Environment, Business Economics, Industry Analysis,Business Strategy, Product Development, Marketing, Sales,After Sales & Services Marketing, Product Management(Version/Upgrades), Operations & Supply Chain Management, Accounting, Costing, Working Capital Management, Pricing,Finance, Banking, Budgeting, Managing People, Law, Taxation, Communication, Negotiation and Networking "

Practicals Learnings from the above life cycle will be experienced early by real guys out there doing "Entrepreneurial Work" and those who learn these concepts thru' "Theoreneurial Learnings" llike MBA's/Managers who lead/will lead a company will make use of it to grow the organisations they work by acquiring the "Entrepreneur's - Start Up's".

Winning companies do also these four things right,

"They slim down to a few key simple goals with Clear Targets and CarefulFollow-Through; they maintain High levels of Trust with their Customers, Employees, and Suppliers; they do more of what matters to their consumers and lastly they Channel the Anxiety of their People into Results."

Reference: Stephen Covey, IIMB & Urs Own - Invisible China's Daily Experience :)