Happy New Year!

I came across this poem and thought of sharing this with all of you...

Let us all gather round and cheer,
With a drink of wine or an ice cold beer

Perhaps you're like me and don't drink the swill,
Or your like my grandparents who live on pills.
Maybe this world seems harsh at times,
Or its just that most of us just like to whine.

I'd say that this is a great place to be,
It all depends on how we can see.

True we've had bad things in the past,
But we know in our hearts that these will not last.

If we try our best to be simple and pure,
There's nothing our hopes and dreams cannot cure.

So, I don't know the value this is worth,
But lets all try to be happy and heal Mother Earth!

Happy New Year!

The New 'Jargon' in Outsourcing

Well, despite the global economic slowdown and WTC attack, one area which is generating lot of heat is outsourcing. Outsourcing in general is similar to IT outsourcing, although on taking a closer look, there are a few differences. Subtle distinctions between vendor offerings, the integration of some IT outsourcing with in-house efforts, and the terminology in outsourcing agreements exists. Businesses need to understand the differences to embark on a successful outsourcing expedition.

India Inc., surely means business in the area of business process outsourcing and will consolidate its reputation as the most favored destination for outsourcing projects and services from all over the globe.

We started with Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) and graduated to BPO, KPO, BTO and now what...ESO. Check out here.

BPO, Cricket & MunnaBhai

Industry pundits have been urging companies to address the manpower crisis threatening the growth of the ITeS-BPO sector, which, according to Nasscom (National Association of Software and Service companies), is set to achieve its projected revenue target of $8.5 billion in 2006-07, up from $6.3 billion in 2005-06. Talking about what is going wrong in this segment, Lucas says that in her experience, there is a lack of team spirit in the Indian work environment. People are not willing to share their skills and knowledge with fellow workers. This could be because of the deep sense of insecurity and the highly competitive environment of schools and colleges.

DLF Cup - it's all over for 'Team India' - entire tournament's performance indicated an extremely not-so-interested attitude from our cricketing stalwarts. So, the horror story for India continues with the Cricket giants...Australia. Well, have we run out of options! Let's come up with CPO - Cricket Process Outsourcing.

The latest buzz word - do you know? No, its not War on Terror or Osama or the Spinach syndrome but our own MunnaBhai and Circuit. See how MSN and Munnabhai have joined hands together. Check out here.

Omkara - Another Feather in 'V' Cap!

Othello...Omkara....Vishal Bharadwaj......Langda Tyagi.......the cream cast from Bollywood! What else could we expect from this excellent film-maker - Vishal from Meerut, India. This movie is a treat to watch.

Omkara is Vishal Bhardwaj's interpretation of William Shakespeare’s classic, Othello – a play that has been made four times in Hollywood but is being brought to life for the first time in a mainstream Hindi film in a commercial format. Credit is due to maker Vishal Bhardwaj for suddenly reviving Shakespearean literature. While he sprang a surprise at us with his adaptation of Macbeth as Maqbool, the successor Omkara Othello remained in the public eye thanks to it's star-studded casting. But this time, Vishal Bhardwaj tries too hard and the effort shows. He is straining to be realistic and it is evident in the sepia texture, profane language and disconnected montages.

Saif is a treat to watch as 'Langda Tyagi' - a sure-shot contender for Oscar!!!

Mumbai Explodes...Once Again!!!

A lot has been written after "another" series of attacks on Mumbai and our hearts go out for all the folks who have succumed to the injuries and also to those who have gone thru the trauma of being in Mumbai during this period.

There have been various thought provoking articles and blogs by Sidin and Sourin and this has been a part of discussions with the media, CNN, NBC and so on. In the midst of this, I received one email which was forwarded to me by a friend of mine which went on like this -

"I am an Indian citizen. One among 1 billion of us. When somebody bombs us we die. Just like Americans did when the Al Qaeeda drove their planes into the WTC. Just like Londoners did when terrorists attacked the city last July. But while Americans have the right to retaliate and bomb Afghanistan off the face of the map because the terrorists HQ was based there, we Indians have to negotiate, talk, send peace buses, and "build confidence" with the government across our border - the Pakistanis who are supporting the terrorists with money and explosives.

The world applauds how resilient we are in the face of our tragedy, how quickly we go back to "normalcy". Ironically we ourselves applaud our resilience. The fact is that the world expects us to be less than human - hey you fella, so what if you lost your colleague, friend, partner, husband, wife or brother, get on with it old chap, that's it my boy! No time to mourn. No time to fume and rail at the injustice being meted out, no time to even call the terrorists the filthiest of names, no time to give incompetent politicians and policemen, intelligence agencies and the powers-be a piece of our mind. (Shivraj Patil, our honourable defence minister said something
to the the effect that we knew that an attack was planned but we didn't know
the time and place.

Really! What did he expect - a phone call from the terrorists giving him the details of the local trains, timings and compartments in which the
explosives would be kept! We also have to prove to the world that we are RESILIENT. Be happy with Musharraf's "quick condemnation" and go back to the business of dealing with old betrayers. After all we cannot "change the region's positive course", as LA Times' editorial put it. So what if a few hundred Indians die - Indians who are not into big time negotiations. Indians who just want to earn their living and return home to their families after a hard day's work. But well no, Musharraf and his terrorist friends will deny them the luxury of going back to his family because en route the train blows up! And our incompetent politicians and policemen will let
terrorists do their horrific jobs and launch a hunt post-facto...

So Bombayites died for a cause: for the peace of the region! As did Delhi-ites last year before Diwali. As did people in Bangalore when Pakistan-supported terrorists hit the city. As did Indian tourists who had gone to Srinagar for a holiday....And as many many more will die...Wow, that's some consolation! If you feel as angry about what's happening to us, please feel free to pass this on. If your reaction is: "hey nothing is going to change - this is India," feel free leave a comment"

A Run For Marathoners!

WOW! That's a great feat.
Rahul, Nita, Sourin, JT and Shantanu...this is for you to read and appreciate. A 4 year old boy runs 65 KM at a stretch in 7 hours and creates a record. Read here.

Farewell to Malhotras & Podars!

April 22, 2006; 7:00 P.M. EST......Farewell to Karan, Nandini, Vinod and Nita @ Waterford MI.

What a bash and excellent speeches from all our friends and families. Sourin dominated the stage and Nita made the crowd use there tissues inspite of several warnings...and, this one is for Karan, Vinod and family -

My friends to you I bid goodbye

To the friendship that brought me sky

The year has been swell

As if coming from a wishing well

But as all things do

I have to bid adieu

How it pains me to

But there's nothing I can do

Thank you for the memories

The laughter and the tears

They'll linger in my heart

As if we never part

If by chance we meet again

May it be full of blessings in the rain

Yet for now all that I can say

Is to God for you I'll pray

From Anshul's Desk...

Michigan's extreme weather conditions, Michigan Construction, the downfall of the Auto Industry and the drooping real-estate prices keeps us in the news! Rick Wagoner's claim for taking direct control of struggling North American's division, KMART's decision to move to Chicago, the Superbowl extravaganza in the Mo-town, opening of new restaurant chains like P.F.Chang (Chinese) and Qdoba (Mexican Grill) and the cricket season getting hot on Dish keeps us again in the news.

The first quarter of 2006 - has been a year with plenty of activity with Karan (Lason) and Vinod (Trilogy) relocating back to India, Sourin (Accenture) to Lansing. Nita gaining experience handling the kids (with Vinod away in Bangalore) and bonding with them :) and Seemz clearing her exam with flying colors. I moved to my new home and Pratibha has been busy furnishing it with her full enthusiasm. Shantanu has a hectic year ahead with his SAT's and ACT's in the pipeline, AP exams in April-May, track season in progress and looking forward towards the cross-country tournaments as a captain. Our nephew Kalind is in USA for the last 6 months working his butt-off exploring the medical opportunities over here. Kalind, we are all with you and pray for your success!!!

Blogging - i started last year and a special thanks to Sourin for bringing me into this. Thanks to him for recommending one of my blogs to the 'Blog Contest'. Since then, I have read some extremely brilliant blogs from Sakshi, Curious Gawker, Sujatha, and Vikrum. One of the recent additions to the world of blogging has been Karthik with some excellent jokes. Keep it coming, Karthik!

Looking forward to this summer, especially since my Dad is coming over here for the first time. I definitely want to spend some quality time with him, socialize with him and have a good time with Vaidyas, Gargs and Raos.

Stay Tuned...

Red Eye

Saw the thriller Red Eye during the week-end! A nice movie with effective screen-play, direction and chills! Rachel McAdams is wonderful as Lisa- she's a very believable character. Check it out and here is the synopsis...

'After attending the funeral of her grandmother in Dallas, Lisa Reisert must take the dreaded red eye flight back to Miami to make it to work the next day. Lisa soon meets Jackson Ripner and their attraction grows. But moments after take-off, Jackson reveals to Lisa her father's wallet that he swiped off his desk and his real reason for being on board. Jackson needs Lisa's help to kill the deputy secretary of Homeland Security who's scheduled to stay at the Lux Atlantic Hotel, the hotel Lisa is the manager of. If she refuses to help, Jackson will call his partner on the ground and have her father killed. At 30,000 feet, Lisa has no where to run and no time for rash judgement.'