The "Irony"

Well, today I went through an article in "Education Plus". Read it here.

Every word of it was what I wanted to express in my blog at some point of time. The author had beautifully captured where we are going wrong; the caste system , the colour consciousness among others.

Thought of applauding the author, when the article mentioned that the author is a student of Amrita School of Engineering and furthermore in Electrical and Electronics ( yeah that's what I studied) , well did I read his name, no I didn't, so scrolled all the way up the page and found this "..........................." :-) (read the name yourself and understand the IRONY)

India "DEFLATED"??? - Inflation என்றால் என்ன?

India’s inflation as on June 6^th is –1.6%. Now does that mean everything is damn cheap and the demand has reduced? Are we in a deflationary economy? Read on,

Here are the prices of the vegetables in Chennai’s wholesale market on May 27th and June 8th. These prices indicate only one thing; the inflation calculation is nothing but a serious joke.

To know why this –1.6% is a ridiculous number, let us see how inflation is calculated in India. Basically, there are two types of Price Indices that are used to calculate inflation in countries around the world; they are WPI and CPI

• Whole Sale Price Index (WPI): WPI is the index that is used to measure the change in the average price level of goods traded in wholesale market. Which means that the actual cost to the consumer is not captured here. This index is available in a weekly basis, with the shortest possible time lag of two weeks. That is why the inflation data for 6th June is published on 18th June. India is the only major country that is using WPI to calculate inflation.
• Consumer Price Index (CPI): CPI is a statistical time-series measure of a weighted average of prices of a specified set of goods and services purchased by consumers. It is a price index that tracks the prices of a specified basket of consumer goods and services, providing a measure of inflation. Which means that, the actual cost to the consumer is captured. But since it is a time-series measure, inflation can be calculated only on a monthly basis. Most developed countries use this CPI to calculate inflation.

India has a basket of around 435 items to calculate the WPI. The basket consists of items of 3 major groups: Primary Articles (98), Fuel & Power (19) and Manufactured goods (318). The three major groups of the commodity basket are divided into various subgroups.Primary Articles are divided into 3 sub-groups consisting of (i) Food Articles,(ii) Non-Food-Articles and (iii) Minerals. The Group of Fuel and Power is divided into 3 sub-groups; (i) Coal, (ii) Mineral Oils and (iii) Electricity. Manufactured Products are divided into 12 sub-groups; (i) Food Products, (ii) Beverages &Tobacco, (iii) Textiles, (iv) Leather & Leather Products, (v) Wood & Wood Products,(vi) Paper & Paper Products, (vii) Chemicals, (viii) Rubber & Plastic Products, (ix)Non-Metallic Minerals, (x) Basic Metals & Products, (xi) Machinery & Machine Tools,and (xii) Transport Equipment & Parts.

Ok, we have got the basics now lets go to the rubbish i.e. lets calculate the inflation

Calculation of WPI: Lets calculate the WPI of say tomato. Calculating WPI needs a base number and a base price. Let those be 100 and 10 Rs respectively. Now on May 27th the price of tomato is 20 Rs and on June 8th it is 16 Rs.

Since WPI base no is 100 the WPI Index on May 27th and June 8th is 200, 160 respectively.

Similarly WPI is calculated for remaining 434 items and then the weighted average of individual WPI figures are found out to arrive at the overall Wholesale Price Index. Commodities are given weights depending upon its influence in the economy.

Calculation of Inflation: Now we know the WPI of tomato on June 8th and May 27th

Similarly it is calculated for other commodities and a consolidated figure is obtained. Now tell me, what is the better word to describe this procedure, ridiculous, stupid or humbug?

The method is flawed because:

• It does not take into account the actual cost to consumer
• Most of the included commodities are meaningless from the point of view of a lay man
• The WPI is based on commodities included in 1993-94 and.... you know what :P

So what does –1.6% mean, as told earlier, it means nothing. This percentage is because of what is called the “base effect”.

An ordinary man like you and me, cares not about the inflation percentage, but for the money we pay out of our pocket for getting essential commodities. On that note, India is a big inflationary economy. With 60% of the population not able to make ends meet with the prevailing prices of essential commodities, you will see the economists, politicians and news channels debating on this meaningless –1.6%.

That’s our India for you!! Mera Bharat Mahan!!

IT Happened in India - my humble opinion

Well if you think IT stands for Information Technology, sorry, it is just IT :) . "IT HAPPENED IN INDIA" is a book by Kishore Biyani. Now you may ask Kishore Biyani? who? Even I had the same question...

People who know me know what books I read( tinkle, tenali raman and birbal stories :) ). So a book review (not a traditional review, but my opinion) from me is one of the most unusual of things to have happened in this earth thus far :P . Seriously speaking I felt that the book deserved to be comment(d)ed, so this post.

This book was a gift from my friend Sasi.

Kishore Biyani, is the founder of Pantaloon Retail, Big Bazaar and now the Future Group. This book talks about how he along with his team built the retail empire and his vision for the future. No, this is not an autobiography, but a business (Success) story. Lot of people who were (are) involved in building the chain have shared their experiences, making it an interesting read.

I am one of the biggest fan of modern "value" retailing in general and Big Bazaar in particular. Because, my TV, washing machine, mixer and many things here in Hyderabad are bought from Big Bazaar, at almost a steal. So I felt lot more attached with the book :)

Kishoreji (as people refer to him in the book), talks about his background, his vision, his belief in the great Indian Consumer, his (dis)belief on the conventional (mis)management theories :P and the concept of "Brand Building".

When the whole business concept was "start, earn and consolidate", he dared to take the risk of setting up new businesses in the constantly dynamic environment. This story of his, which talks about "indianness in thinking, building trust and relationship, design as the center of building organizations", is truly inspiring. I think one would become kishoreji's AC (remember this? if sonia is my fan, then i am her AC; andha AC :P)

Kishoreji got this "gyan" on opening a retail format from, guess where? Walmart? NO hmm Marks & Spencer? NO. Then? namma Saravana Stores pa... He was amazed at how people vied each other for space and returned home with big baggages. Saravana Stores was his bodhi tree, which showed him that businesses that sell variety of consumer goods like utensils, clothes, etc under one roof can succeed. (collara thooki vittukunga :) )

He talks about creating "win-win-win" situation. Where the business owner, the supplier and the consumer benefit symbiotically at the same time.

Though there were many theories which he had proposed in his book, the one which I liked the most was "time pass" theory. Everyone in the world have to do something to keep them occupied from their birth till death. It is for passing this time that we study, work, talk, blog etc. He says, to "pass his time" he is doing this business(namma enna panrom ?!!) this may sound spiritual, but he calls himself a non-believer!!!

More than all these things, the book dispels fear and instills confidence in the mind of an upcoming entrepreneur. For those people who are like "cat on the wall", wanting to, but, holding back their ideas for new business ventures, this is a must read. Cos this book says how a "baniya" became a "Biyani". Take the plunge and take the risk he says, you actually fail when you don't try!!

Definitely a book to read!! Thanks Kishoreji for sharing this wonderful story with us, hope "IT will continue to happen in India" and we have a major role in ensuring that!!

விடை கொடு எந்தன் "Naan" னே

You read it right!! Gundu Prasanna is going to follow strict and military regimen to reduce his weight!!

I can hear you guys saying this the "n+1" th time you are saying this...

But this time prasanna எடுத்த சபதத்தை முடிப்பான்!! இது தாய் தமிழ் மீது ஆணை :)

August 16th is the deadline!! Prasanna going to lose atleast 15 kgs by that time...

இத ஏன் blog ல எழுதறேன்னு நீங்க கேட்கலாம்.. எங்கையாவது பப்ளிக்கா எழுதி வெச்சா தான் நாளைக்கு உங்களக்கு பதில் சொல்றதுகாவது நான் கொஞ்சம் sincere ah இருப்பேன் அதான் :P

70 லட்சியம் 75 நிச்சயம் :P (target weight on 16th aug)

அது வரை விடை கொடு எந்தன் "Naan" னே (panner butter masala, fried rice, noodles ellam dhan bye for now !!)

இப்படிக்கு
விரைவில் "ஒல்லி" பிரசன்னா வாக
மாற இருக்கும் "குண்டு" பிரசன்னா

ANTI MATTER?? No SAPPA MATTER!!!

For everyone of us movies are part and parcel of life ( may be except for some nerds(psychos?)). There are various kinds of film goers, some are obsessive, some are passionate, some are watch-in-once-a-while and some are reviewers/appreciators. Well I am a passionate film goer. But my passion is limited to Tamil movies. Because, well that is the only language I can understand well :-). Seriously speaking, I cant relate to other language movies(atleast non-Indian), their emotions, their problems, their inventions, and finally their accent!!

Two kinds of films (rather woods :P) I know are Indian [B,K,T,M]ollywood and Hollywood. There are two basic frameworks for these woods.

Indian wood: A Hero, A Villain, Heroine(mostly villain's daughter :P). Hero loves heroine, faces problems, fights thugs, breaks plots,challenges villains, sings duet (with 1000 dancers in foreign location or an extravagant set) and finally emerges victorious.

Hollywood: Either the US, or the world is facing a serious threat from aliens/nuclear weapons/terrorists/jumbo size creatures/fancy chemicals/etc, a team of scientists led by the protagonist and later joined by a lady scientist(the love interest) are breaking their head to solve the problem and finally emerges victorious.

7 out of 10 films made in these woods extend their respective framework. OK, now you may ask why all this now??? well, after a long time I saw one English movie, "ANGELS AND DEMONS" and just wanted record my opinion about the movie here.

ANGELS AND DEMONS : I knew that it was a book written by Dan Brown and thats that. I generally don't read novels and I haven't bothered to hear this one's story too. Balaji, Veerakumar, Ramarajan and myself decided watch this movie at the Imax.

When we entered, the film had already begun and a team of scientists were seriously discussing something in an unknown language. The team was researching on creating something called as "Anti-Matter". They finally succeeded in creating it and had it stored in a charged canister. As expected the "Anti-Matter" was stolen. There is another plot, the election for the next pope;
the "4 cardinals" or the "pope-in-waiting" candidates are kidnapped and an anagram "ILLUMINATI" is left behind as the message by the kidnapper.

Here enters our protagonist, Tom Hanks, who is a professor and researcher on symbols. The Vatican police request his help for deciphering the anagram. The plots are now linked and the antagonist, has promised to kill a cardinal one at at time from 8 PM and blow Vatican and Rome at midnight using the antimatter. Our leading lady, the scientist, joins our hero here.

He is the hero, right? So he succeeds in his mission and all ends well. The film's trump card (joker rather?) is the suspense on who is the actual reason behind all this mess. To keep us guessing (??) we have a haughty, loud mouthing Swiss guard's boss, an over(re)acting bishop, queer looking guards, dull lit buildings with lot of secret doors, pathways etc.

One good thing about the movie is history, I like history and a lot of historical facts have been explained and elaborated. Other than that, well, the film falls apart. Mainly because I was able to guess what will happen next and who is the villain. Though it was just a guess initially, I was able to confirm it half an hour before the culprit is unearthed, this particular dialogue gave it all away "Do you have the news to make me immortal??" .

The climax was intended to be spectacular but ended up being funny. The leading lady keeps emphasizing every other scene, about the power of the "Anti-Matter", but our bishop takes the canister, which is about to lose charge and explode, in a helicopter as high as possible, makes it to explode there, the huge crowd recovers after being "blown away" by the energy generated, while our bishop lands in a parachute.

When the entire land wants the bishop to be crowned as pope, our duo finds out from recorded cctv's footage that bishop is the actual culprit (yawn!!) and he immolates himself fearing arrest.

A lot of questions are left unanswered, If the antimatter is so powerful, how can it cause only a small effect when it is exploding at an height of say jus 25000 feet? Why is the antagonist so dumb to leave the cctv footage accessible, when he plans the murders so meticulously, with lot of attention to detail?

Balaji said the book will be too good and everything will be explained and connected in a brilliant manner. This is the risk of filming a novel. Not all the emotions of the writer can be translated onto the screen. The camera, editing and background score were good. This particular camera angle on zooming in on a shoe from the bottom and panning up still further up showing who was standing there ( :-) ),was just innovative. On the whole, a pat on the back for capturing historical facts and connecting them, but the screenplay could have been a little better especially in the climax.

Bottomline : Anti matter, Sappa matter :P

One Year with the Great Enterprise

Every journey begins with a single step. Yes, I have put my best foot forward to have completed that single step in the journey of my "CAREER". This day June 2, 2009, marks the completion of my 1st year with GE. A sense of overwhelming pride, satisfaction and happiness transpires through me as I look back at the year gone by.

How it happened

4th July 2007 : GE was initially not opened for EEE, at the last moment we got information that it is being opened for EEE and that only 10 people from a class were allowed to write the test. I had to do a lot of persuasion to be one among the 10.

5th July 2007 : The pre-placement talk happened and most of us were disappointed with the package they offered. But I took a chance, cos brand value mattered more to me, as my ultimate aim was to pursue MBA and GE is not a bad company, after all, it was the company started by the man who gave light to the world, Thomas Alva Edison (there are some contentions about this, but anyway).

The written test was quite easy, and I completed mine 30 mins before the scheduled close and left the hall. The interview, contrary to my expectations and to the sample papers in net, was based fully upon core electrical and electronics. How I passed the first round, I still don't know!! The next round was with Ravi, (my current manger), it was more of a discussion than an interview. The HR round was a mere formality and guys, the process was over for me at 12.40 am on July 6th. Tense hours passed by, as the result was announced at around 2.30 am, finally I was selected in GE!!!

The Internship

10th Dec 2007 to 4th April 2007 : I did my internship here, again disappointed at the fact that, where I was to work was a software product company, shattering my beliefs that it would be more factory or plant oriented job!! But even during that time, one thing which I really loved was their work culture, it was so open, relaxed and professional. That along with the brand value did it for me.

Finally with GE!!

2nd June 2008 : With lots of dreams, expectations and a first hand knowledge about the company and the place I was going to work, landed at the office. The induction program followed for 15 long days, some days interesting and some days outright boring. Joined the Smallworld, GIS team, under Ravi as a software developer. Confusion prevailed initially on which product I would work on. So generic trainings about Smallworld followed. And finally on august end it was decided I would be working on Design Manager, an engineering work flow management product.

November 2008 : It was from September 22nd that I became productive and fixed 8 defects in the month of October ( a new record of sorts!!) and was nominated for the developer of the month award, just a month after I started contributing!!! But unfortunately missed it by a whisker ( as told by my manager :))

December 2008 - March 2009 : From this time onwards I was moved to NPI(new product introduction), to develop new features in the application. This was indeed a great opportunity for a guy who has just started on. Those 4 months were hectic and challenging indeed, but I relished it and enjoyed that time to the fullest!!("The Week That Was", actually happened after this time) In the process was nominated for developer of the month for December and January. And finally won it for January 09, for contributions in NPI!!! That really gave me a lot of satisfaction and an urge to do more!! What more, our product won the prestigious "Best Software Project Award" in our annual Engineering Recognition Day (ERD)!!!

April 2009 - present : I was moved from Design Manager to Core Spatial Technology, the mother of all smallworld products, because of my flair for NPI, sharp thinking and fast execution (again as told by my manager!!).

All work and no play makes "pras" a dull boy, is it not? So kept myself cheerful by taking short afternoon naps(!!), playing Table Tennis, Carrom and now recently (last sat) cricket!! Actually I won the Table Tennis singles and our cricket team was runner-up in the intra- HTC sports meet, when I was doing my internship

A year has gone by, a fairly good one at that and I have made the right decision of joining GE, cos what more a Growing Engineer, like me, need, than a Great Enterprise like this. At this point I thank all my family members, friends, fellow colleagues, managers, HR and all the staff at HTC and Smallworld, who made my first year a pretty eventful and enjoyable one!!

At the start of the second year I see the huge mountains I need to climb, the vast oceans I need to swim and the tough obstacles I need to cross, to reach the "destination". The only vehicle, which I believe, will take me(you too!!) there is "continuous learning".

Because