101130KatchKV42.mhtl 4.doc upload 081111 tue 2300
081025KatchUpKV
Katching up with Kendriya Vihar
Dear Viewers :::
This is your page. We have filled up with a few blogs that relate remotely to Kendriya Vihara. You may like to browse. Eventually we want you to populate these pages
Write about travels, predicaments, first interview, life as you see it – in fact anything that you enjoyed and experienced
Happy Diwali and Happy New Year
KVAOA, 26 Oct 2008 Sun 2300 hours
Dear Dr Acharya,
Thanks for the
letters dated 22nd, 25th and 28h October addressed to
all residents and
fellow members along with action points arising out
of the AGM-7 of Sep 08. A
number of important and urgent issues are
addressed. Wish you and your team
all success in maintaining a very
good ambience within KV as
envisaged.
As desired I am submitting below the Profile.
Dr.A.E.Muthunayagam Owner : D-5/81, 10th Nov 2008
081026GreenKV
GREEN KV
Dear Editor :::
Early in the morning today, I had a dream. It is believed that early morning dreams come true, I want to share with you, dear Editor
Every powered vehicle going out of the campus shall pay Rupees Twenty multiplied by {the number of wheels less the number of passengers on the vehicle}. An owner driving a Honda City alone, thus, will pay Rs 60/=, whereas a TVS moped with none on the pillion shall part with Rs 20/=
If there are five passengers in a Maruti 800, for example, KVAOA shall donate Rs 20/= to the owner, when six Rs 40/= and so on
An owner is permitted to push the car through the gate -- so it may be construed not powered -- to escape the penalty. On the other hand, the KVAOA shall have the option to fill the vacant seats in a powered vehicle with passengers waiting for a service at the rate of Rs 20/= per willing individual. The payment will be effected to the owner of the vehicle and the passengers are entitled to get a 10kM savari in the progressive route of the owner. Longer rides may be directly negotiated with the owner -- the final discretion, however, resting with the owner. Luggage is outside the purview of this by law
Cyclists shall part with Rs 2/= for every ride outwards -- whenever not carrying doubles and on driver power. Pedestrians shall be charged Rs 1/= per
The following benefits accrue on implementing the proposal :
1 Powered vehicle owners will be discouraged to deploy their machines -- so contributing to less pollution
2 Vehicle owners will be further encouraged to travel full -- that translates into fewer vehicles on the roads -- and signifies Greener KV and Greener Bengaluru
3 Consider the ATT advantage -- Any Time Transport. If you want to go to the town just reach the gate and flag down the first unfilled car. Transport can never be cheaper
4 Imagine, just imagine the extent of debate we can have on the subject, in the AGM, Xtra-ordinary GM, in the lawns, in the mall and in the Community Centre. It means more entertainment
5 Personally I shall station myself at the gate. For a consideration of Rs 5/= per, I will be available to play act as a passenger for any unfilled vehicle itching to save money. This way I hope to collect two grand monthly -- which is something considering I am currently unemployed and unemployable for life
Yours etc : Sudha Malhotra 25 Sep 2006
This blog appeared more than two years ago. Last July Dilbert -- yes, of the Dilbert comic fame -- blogged of a similar concept incorporating the GPS and carpool concepts. That night he received some 1500 comments. Here is the link for those interested:
http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/06/how_i_solved_th.html
080824TaleOfTwo personalities
A Tale of Two Personalities
I guess it was the I-day of 2003. The Community Centre at Kendriya Vihara had not taken shape. In a stage set in the lawns, the guest gave his address. In Kannada. He was a film personality -- we had been told. His name appeared familiar to me. Of that of a long forgotten comedian
Five years down the line -- it is the I-day of 2008. I tried to recollect his identity -- more as an exercise in recall. But failed. Miserably. There was no clue -- no picture except a vague clown like appparition. So I googled. Comedian old film -- was the key.. In fact there was no record traceable prior to 1979 by the Google. There was no IMDC equivalent. If there was any, it was privately held for a star admired by him/her. Nobody seemed to admire my hero
I imagined the Kannada Film Chamber of Commerce must have a list of its members -- and there he ought to figure. Jayamala as the President the KFCC couldn’t give any data
I googled renowned, redoubtable, famous, popular -- my hero didnt posses any of those qualities according to Google
Madam R asked for some help in dimensioning the Q size in front of a group of ATMs. Specifically it was to predict the number of people waiting [near Sharavati, maybe] to gain attention of the ATM Deity. I could have easily answered that. Plenty. But Madam R desired justification. So I rattled some names
Like Dr Jacobius. The Doctor from the Swedish LM Ericsson is a renowned authority on the subject of teletraffic -- but the google had no idea about him. So my funda[mentals] of the traffic theory was rattled. Then I wanted to consult the only Bible we had been trained to rely upon
It was a fat book. The book was written in pure mathematics of the probability kind -- nobody understood a microgram of that -- and thus it became a good defence for any argument --- when in trouble throw in the book
The problem was I couldn’t recollect the author -- again I tried scholar, savant, expert, source, textbook -- and none worked to pull the name out. Since he was an authority on the subject I looked into the citations and the references of many an article -- still no luck
When even a redoubtable Google cannot work -- I should have asked, say Dr Manjunatha of the comedian of the yester years -- or ask Nagendra for an authoritative opinion on Telephone Traffic theory. If that had failed too, I would not have known where to go or whom to approach
It was then by chance I tried eminent -- and there he was -- P Vadiraj -- a producer, director, twice winner of the state awards -- Vadiraj passed away in February of 2004 after a brief heart ailment -- there were two obituary references in the dailies -- and one of them was The Hindu
I tried congestion -- by chance again -- it pulled R Syski out. It transpired his scholarly expertise was published [as an unintended textbook] in 1960 for AT & T, a British company that had transferred the [Strowger] know how to the Indian Telephone Industries at KR Pura in 1947 [the first PSU to be set up in the independent India]. When I joined the Telecom Research later in 1965, it was a fashion statement to drag Syski to defend any argument -- and it would leave a rival clueless
So if you asked what is not necessarily black or white but read all over -- you can safely respond, it is google, after all
ckd_coffee
CKD COFFEE
The Udipi restaurants dispense coffee -- that is ready to be consumed. Like ready-to-wear T-shirts. Is that anyway significant? Of course! The coffee may also be served in a System Knocked Down -- SKD condition, to those who desire some programmability. That is, milk and sugar separately delivered. Make your coffee black, white, brown or whatever. The Component Knocked Down -- CKD service is a further refinement. You get a buffalo for the milk and a cane for extracting sugar. You can have never-before coffee ! Oh Boy ! What a way to start a day!!
I was obliged to tell a story to Sudha. Every day. As she used to wait for the school bus. The bus was never consistent in its delayed running. Some days it was only ten minutes late. Some other days, twenty minutes. And less often, thirty minutes. The stories had to be structured to match the extent of waiting. It was a task to discover stories that made a perfect fit. But I had my methods. You see I had been trained in user friendliness, sufficiently, to be able to convert that disad into an advantage.
Therefore I volunteered, " What story shall I tell you Sudha, today?"
"Any story", she said.
"My repertoire is vast. You will have to help me in choosing a right one for you".
So I unreeled the menu.
"Okay", she proposed, "tell me a story of an elephant"
"What kind of an elephant?"
"A revengeful baby elephant, should be okay"
"Tell me, Sudha, why should the elephant take a revenge?"
"Because," she thought for a while and suggested, "the tailor hurt it"
"How could a tailor harm a little elephant?"
"With a sewing needle, of course"
"So Sudha, You want me to tell you a story -- of a sweet baby elephant that used to go for its bath every day along the bazaar. Passers-by used to present fruits. One day, however, a mischievous tailor pricked its trunk"
"Yes, of course", Sudha would add, "I shall suggest how the baby elephant would return the tit for tat..."
By that time, the bus would arrive. Throughout the time Sudha was in the school, the story was never completed.
Today, there is user friendly software.
"So I believe you wanted to generate some word processing software", the computer told me.
"Yes, you heard me right"
"What language?"
"Say, French"
"OOPS", said the computer, "I meant, amongst others -- Ada, Pascal, Einstein or Clinton"
"OK, then make it simple so I may C through it"
"OK, I suppose you like use a keyboard. What kind of a board have you?"
"A rugged one -- I suppose"
"I was wanting to know - if it was QWERTY or ASDF ?"
"How about a keyboard with letters on it -- is that too demanding?"
"No, not at all. Only that I was worried about my Font Manager"
"Who is he? Is he the one who sits in the Font Office?"
"Yes and No. Do tell me what kind of paper you use?"
"A--one"
"That is no size. You have to choose from A -- 2,3 through 6. It depends. Say, on how many lines you intend to place on a page"
"Two hundred, if that is not very difficult for you"
"My counting stops at fifty five. You have to name a figure within that "
"Look here, Computer, you seem generous. You sure allow me to have an opinion, so long as that matches with yours. Tell me if I were to organize all these things, myself, why would I need you?"
"Mortal! This is coffee by CKD. You are getting a Designer Version of custom software, made only for you. If you do not like, you are free to quit this installation program. And have ready mixed coffee in the Udipi restaurant opposite"
As usual my computer has the last laugh. Worse than that. The computer makes me fantasize it is obliging. In point of fact I am made to write a complex software -- for word processing or whatever -- all by myself. To suit the environment in which my master, namely the computer is living in. And the game is called user friendliness. I hate licking my computer -- having to listen to whatever it says and submit to the only option forced into. It is therefore my prayer every morning -- Oh God! Give me the courage to fire my computer today. I know, one day, the Gods will listen, understand and act. But till then, remember, the power of the computer extends only until the length of its power cord. Is that not great news?
[Telematics Magazine of India, October 1999]
010418what's-In-A-Name
What is in a name ?
Today there is a middle in the TOI lamenting on the political desire to rename things? The quoted examples are the too well known Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai. What is wrong there-- I mean what's in a name after all?
I was wondering about the same, the other day, as I was proceeding on the Anna Road from Annanagar to meet my Anne at Anna Square near the Anna statue. Suddenly it dawned on me that shortly we shall be running short of places, localities, cities, towns, roads and squares itching to get renamed -- just because the prevailing political will has since renamed all of them. And then what? There will be vacuum everywhere.
Politicians will need to build new townships, roads, dams and hospitals, maybe, in order to draw attention of the tax payers and be noticed. And that very thought threw me in despair and distress -- mainly because I want to grow up into a politician when big and a Prime Minister eventually.
Too bad. Too bad there are only a handful of these locations that can be renamed. But wait. Happy Days are here again! I hit at this wonderful idea. What if we run short of places? We can rename festivities, practices and say the common things. I guessed daru, for example, can be renamed as milk, for a starter. And blood, next, as honey. Look! milk and honey will be flowing on the streets of the country for ever! Diwali can be called as Christmas. Easter as Holi. Palace as a penitentiary. Jail break as jay walk.
When we asked the British to Quit India -- they concurred and left quietly. But when we proposed to poverty to quit, it refuses to oblige. Here is then a flash in the pan -- now rename poverty as prosperity. This new found prosperity will flourish in the subcontinent. It will never be dislodged!
In some societies an individual is given many names. Whenever he fell ill, his name used to be changed. The malady will be thoroughly confused. It had been ordered to inflict a certain X but this individual happened to be Y. Unlike us, it has some integrity, it will set itself in search of the evading X, who will never be discovered, and in that process the recently rebaptised Y will be saved. Look at the illustrious list of places that have flourished since they were renamed likewise -- Rhodesia, East Pakistan, Ceylon, Burma, Peking, Baroda. The list endless.
If Delhi can henceforth be called as Indraprasth, Ganesha says, there will be no water problem, no road rage, no pollution and in short no crime. There will be plenty of CNG. Will the powers to be listen?
Now that Supreme Court is administering the country, it may be rechristened as the Parliament. For all the din that we have to hear, the Parliament may hereafter be known as the Fish Market.
Did you ever notice -- tooth paste tubes are never small? For the sake of prosperity, sorry, I mean poverty, -- toothpaste tubes are always large, then economy if not giant sized. Call your office space as the newly acquired chamber -- you will get more business. The three wheeled autos call themselves taxis. That is the secret of the success customer friendly TSR drivers. Call your babu as the Secretary. He will metamorphose into a respectable executive, instantaneously. I promise.
Where do you keep your riches -- used to be the question I have often be asked by my extremely courteous friends. I immediately recognise that I no longer live in a chawl -- but in a Treasure House -- what a wonderful place to live in -- just think about that.
So you want to know my good name. I have decided to change my name. There are so many to choose from and I am at a loss to make a strategic choice. I have hit at the following schedule. On Sundays I shall be known as Bal Thackeray, Saturdays as Karunanidhi, Tuesdays as Murli Manohar Joshi and on Fridays Jyoti Basu. On the other days I shall be my usual own self, namely -- Tom, Dick and Harry!
060830HariSado
Hari Sado chairs a meeting
[themes with Dunston checks in]
Hari Sado was my boss. In those days when I had been posted to Delhi
"Ok then! What can I do for you?" he asked, after I entered, took a chair myself and studied the abstract painting behind him on the wall for a full 300 seconds
"Sir, you have a meeting" I said
"When is the meeting?" barked a H[itler] A[rrogant] R[ascal] I[diot] Sado
"Just now – in your very chamber, Sir" – I replied
"How come you tell me just now? I am not even prepared for it"
"Sir, the Notice was issued with your concurrence" – I volunteer
"When was that?
"About a month back"
"How do you expect me to remember what transpired last month? I cannot recall whatever happened just an hour back"
"I reminded you – last week"
"Did you tell me this morning?
"No"
"Then? Whom all have you called in?"
"Correction – you have invited all the members of the Strategic Business Group, Sir"
One by one members trickled in. First to announce was Roy, then Menon and afterwards Gupta. The quorum was now full
"Tin," Roy called me "when was the last meetimg?"
"That was in October, Sir"
"Did you circulate the minutes?"
I said I did
Roy mumbled he had not seen that
"Here is a copy for your immediate perusal, Sir"
Menon said he would also want a copy
Gupta inquired if there was a brief for the meeting. He was attending for the first time
"Yes, sir – it was also appended to the intimation Notice. I have a spare copy, here and now – should you want one"
Gupta examined the document and opined "two pages and you call that a brief, man! – tell me in ten seconds what is it all about"
"It is about the strategies for the new numbering plan for the mobile network – the options, the migration and of the fall back"
"So you need to fall back also" smirked Sado Hari
"In an unlikely event of any trouble" I appended
Tea came. I mixed five cups – one without sugar for Hari, light for Menon, a black one for Roy and an empty cup for myself because I am a teetotaller
Then they discussed the promotions and postings with agitation. The forthcoming deputation of the senior officers to Germany was the next item in the agenda
"Ok, gentlemen" Roy chose to get up "I need to quit – I have another meeting in five minutes"
Menon and Gupta also took leave similarly
"You issue the minutes as discussed" thundered a relieved Hari."and be fast about it"
"Yes, Sir"
I will circulate the minutes as detailed in the brief – for it has been discussed, you see. I am sure nobody will have any objection to it. The next meeting will be called in another four weeks. It will also review the progress made in the interregnum
"Sir, you have a meeting" I would say
"When is the meeting?" would bark a H[itler] A[rrogant] R[ascal] I[diot] Sado
"Just now – in your very chamber, Sir" – I would reply
"How come you tell me just now? I am not even prepared for it"
How do I know all these?
Because that is what happened in the last eleven sittings of the Strategic Business Group
061029TomFriedman
BOOK REVIEW
An appreciation of
the world is flat
by Thomas Friedman
I am grateful to Mr Ramachandran V [from Malleswaram] for having introduced me to Friedman with his book [of vintage April 2005], the world is flat. Friedman is stated to be a NY Times Reporter and a three time Pulitzer winner. Great
Tom is pleasantly generous. He believes the Indians would wake up. Some day! He however refrains from stating the obvious, namely, China may still have an edge over this country. Wishful thinking
The high theme in his book is the power of the people. He quotes two typical examples. The first one is the phenomenon of bloggging. Ignoring the superlatives for a moment, Tom feels the news is now made by the people, for the people and reported more precisely. Let us give the benefit to Tom
Long ago I was contributing articles to Sulekha. One day, all of a sudden [was that 2001?], the articles became blogs. Satya Prabakar, the owner of Sulekha was quick to adapt to the trends. My bragging is different from blogging. So I stopped contributing to Sulekha
Before that Kumudam was doing that. I mean -- causing a readership participation. A reality show like Indian Idols, wants those sitting in front of the idiot box, believe that they alone select the winners. Y'day the Gajender Singh's show proclaims 89 lakhs votes have already been cast. Very soon the figure will touch one full crore. That is to say one out of every thousand Indian has no business whatsoever, but to take the mobile phone and transmit an SMS indicating his choice for the most appropriate Indian Idol, to be next decorated. Short of a padmshree
The next example Tom shows is that of the Wikipedia -- which has come to the current shape only because of its customers. To this wonderful list we may also add DiGG, You Tube, My Space etc -- all believed to be blessed by the viewing public
There is a lot of rigging that goes on, however. If we do recognise them, the rigs, it will be doing those businesses a favor. So we refrain
So long the make believe was only from the politicians. In UP, for example, the Mulayam's government has issued cheques for Rs 3/=, Rs 10/= and so on as drought relief. So we ought to know his government has distributed the aid. What if the 97%++ of the dole is leaked on the way to middlemen? The game goes on. Now is the turn of the visible loud media. We hope one day the audience will wake up from their slumber
For Tom, Bangalore is India and vice versa. Madras, Hyderabad, Delhi and even Bombay do not exist for him. Tom finds justification in the customary mamul that an Indian policeman demands. He calls that a working arrangement
One would wish Tom had spent some efforts doing more research. If you forgive the repetitions, it is a good time pass
Not a target for Pulitzer, despite abundant generosity showered on namma Bangaluru
060729Tattooed
Kaleidoscope:
Tattooed…
MSOs Unite -- Clarion Call from the Chief
The MSOs [as in Multi System Operators] are about to install a network of Caesium clocks spread all over the country -- if they would only listen to their Chief. The Caesium clocks have an accuracy of one in ten billion. In a layman's lingo it means that the clocks may lose or gain one second in 300 centuries! The clocks are a technical requirement, the Chief volunteered to explain, hastily
However, observers feel the clocks to be a pre-requisite essentially for the commercial telecasts. The MSOs, today, are helpless [and clueless, too] if the audience surfs out of a program at the slightest hint of an oncoming commercial. The probability almost borders on certainty and cannot be ignored. It can be prevented if the commercials in all the channels are synchronised to occur simultaneously, with the help of the Caesium clocks of the stated accuracy. That is to say, the viewers would only land on an yet another commercial after the clocking network is implemented and not on a different soap, if ever they attempt to surf out of an already selected channel
The MSOs are also reported to be working with the TV manufacturers, nudging them to come out with a new version of the remotes. Christened the Telly-marketeer, the new remote would prohibit a channel being taken off the selection especially when a commercial is already active on the screen. It will allow a change only when the commercial completes its message and a non-commercial telecast is on
Astrologers of the world agree on a common code :
The astrologers met in Bangalore this Wednesday outside the stipulated rahu-kalam to decide on a formal format for the forecasts henceforth. Called the Official Bhavishyavani, it will have
malefic predictions limited to 27.4 percent for each sign of the Zodiac. Other benefic forecasts under each sign shall also be exactly identical in language. To enable this, a committee is to be set up and it will define the precise expressions to be deployed in any narration. This will henceforth prevent customers accusing one astrologer contradicting another fellow professional. Those astrologers who do not subscribe to this code of conduct will be ostracized
If a windfall is to be foretold for Aquarians, all astrolgers henceforth will follow the code and foretell the same benefit and quantum to each inquiring Aquarian and shall not disclose anything different. It would then pre-empt the devotees of the conventional Jyotish Vigyan running from one astrologer to another until they hear what they want to
It may be recalled that the meteorological pundits of the planet met on similar objectives last fall in California and ever since the weather has condescended to dance to their tunes. You would have also observed the forecasts coming from Simla or San Francisco the same
Barbers, porters and autorick drivers unite on a common platform:
If a customer is refused by a fellow member, he or she shall be refused by the communities for a similar or identical service -- decrees the outcome of a conference held at the Island Grounds last evening. That is to say, if an autorick has refused to ply his machine to Mylapore for a specific customer, all other drivers in Chennai, Delhi, Brighton [in UK], Boston [in Mass, USA] and other places shall refuse to take him to Mylapore.
The Conference appreciates the logistic constraints in implementing this code in practice. To enable the same the Conference has recommended that non-co-operating customers shall be tattooed immediately at site
The conference then recognised the employment potential it can create through such a recommendation -- such refusals and the need for the tattoos being already abundant
There was a meek voice that called for decorating an obliging customer, on the contrary, with a suitable mark or a headgear for his immediate identification. An obliging customer, for example, could be one, the voice opined, who would go where an auto is ready to ply, directly or via Miami-Madagascar, and would pay 50 percent above what the meter has settled in. The Conference, through a voice vote, vetoed the suggestion declaring such prerogatives already exist in today's practice and a new code is not mandated for that purpose
Dry Cleaners, Tailors and Dhobis want a better appreciation of their promises of delivery :
The dry cleaners today staged a dharna at the Mount Road opposite the Post office. They want the consumer laws to be reiterated incorporating their annotation. They insist on a tolerance to be legally prescribed for all the delivery commitments. If a delivery was promised in three days, the service provider shall be given time upto three plus thirty days. If the delivery is not made within that period, more tolerance has to be extended until the three hundredth day. If the job cannot be accomplished even then.. [more to follow after the conference concludes today, tomorrow or the day after]
071104Touched_By_Angel_2
Techie Guru :
Touched by the Angel
Then we had two hand units from Jaguar in the bathrooms. Almost four years old. We went frankly by the brand image of Jaguar
Promptly after two years of use they started leaking. The assembly indicated special jigs to even attempt open the fittings. And on top was the first aid -- a replacement of the washers -- that came in pairs for the hand units
Ekambaram
is a renowned shop for plumber wares, located near KR market. They didn’t carry any spares for Jaguar. And they couldn’t tell who would. For once I regretted choosing Jaguar. If I were to be taken for a ride, I should have chosen a less expensive mode than the one from house of Jaguar near Delhi!
So days went by. As also the suffering consequent to the leaks. One of the baths was fitted with an extra valve to cause terminate the leak externally. The hand unit thereafter appeared redundant. What otherwise could not be cured had to be endured -- and the patch work so continued
Then one day I brought Balram, the state plumber of KVAOA. He could not do anything to repair but suggested my going to a dealer for Jaguar just outside the KV campus. Go do consult them -- I was told
That I did promptly on a Saturday evening. The dealer advised my talking to Jaguar for relief. It came absolutely free -- I was further informed
According I made a call to Jaguar IVR who took my kundali. They promised to react. By Monday afternoon the Jaguar man came -- one named Nadeem. Who took less than two minutes to replace both the pairs of washers and make the units healthy again
For all this Jaguar nowhere told me that their devices carry a lifetime guarantee [seven years is that much] and all one needs to do is to contact an undisclosed IVR line. If that is not divine what else is ?
UPLOADED : 30 nov 2010 tue 11 Nov 2008 Tue 2300, 26 Oct 2008 Sun 2300
