Tid Bit from My Diary

W indow shopping is one common colorful thread that ties human being across the cultures. The internet has made this pleasurable experience even more fun. What is that one odd stuff that you looked up recently at the eBay or another online shopping portal? Something that you searched for, with absolutely no intention to make a purchase. I request you to share your experience via a blogpost and let the fun flow though the blogosphere! If you decide to make the post then please link your post to this one. The queerest thing that I had searched at the eBay store happens to my spookiest one too. I looked for a “haunted mirror”, not for buying though but to verify if such items were offered for sale. One variety available are  “black glass mirrors ” that witches use for ritualistic spell or scrying. With the correct incantation these mirror would be the medium to connect with the dead or the Satan himself....at-least, so they claim! I was looking for another variety o...

D uring our school days internet did not exist in the form that we know it today. Newspapers and Radio was the only two source of news and views in addition to Chinese whispers. While the radio was predominantly the governments’ mouthpiece, newspapers were free to side either with the party in power or the opposition. Most of us kept a tab on both the perspectives. A breath of fresh air was however the programs aired by BBC and VOA. Newspapers had the freedom of opinions, although it wasn’t free of costs for the readers. For the price paid the papers were a great source of inspiration for the English language proficiency, writing style and trove of new words. As we approached the new millennium, the internet gained in popularity forcing the newspapers to go online. The digital version was an additional feature while to the printed version was their mainstay. It was a welcome move as they had their eye fixated on a slice of the online advertising pie while the printed ones...

The world, today is a different place. An era without IM Pei, the internationally recognized and one of the most celebrated architect of our times has begun. He died on Thursday May 16th at the age of 102. Ieoh Ming Pei was born in Canton (now Guangzhou) on April 26, 1917 to Tsuyee Pei, one of China’s leading bankers and moved to Hong Kong when he was an infant. He recalled that as child of 9, he was fascinated by the construction and knew he wanted to build. At the age of 17, Pei moved to the US of America and in 1940, he was awarded a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from MIT. Tributes have been pouring in from all over the world, remembering him for a lifetime of designing iconic structures worldwide. In his career stretching more than 70 years, he have amassed an impressive portfolio and the iconic glass pyramid of the louvre in Paris is the poster boy of his legacy. My favorite masterpiece of this great Master is the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar which was...

A picture is worth a thousand words and hence I let them do the talking. I trust these two visuals will  highlight the human face of a global crisis created by today's Social ( read evil ) Medias. "I nstagra m extended its sympathies to the teenager’s family, and said the company had a responsibility to make its users feel safe and supported." Remind yourself that you were not “ self-born ”! You have been brought into this world with lots of love. You do not have to seek others’ approval to boost your self-esteem, seek inner peace instead.  Go surround yourself with the best people you can find live life to the fullest. A few points to ponder.......... Will the Social Media corporations do anything? Are our children & youth safe? Who shall coach the vulnerable?

Y ou only live twice they say, once before the dream vacation and once afterwards! Who wouldn’t love to take one, but it remains unfulfilled for most and the culprit are the obvious ones - some times its  lack of time or money, while most of the times its  both. What they endure is continuation instead of a vacation let alone the dream one.  With a different thinking and right approach, we might succeed in circumventing both the obstacles and reap all the benefits that comes from a vacation.  Improve mental power by healing Improve productivity & focus Rejuvenate body & mind Improve physical health Improve relationship with people & work Improve sleep quality Strike the right work-life balance Research has shown that vacation is an antidote to chronic stress that builds within us slowly and destroys our body’s ability to protect itself. There are no reasons why we shouldn’t reap the rewards that a successful holiday has to offer util...

Western Union T his story starts in the year 1851 with the formation of a financial and Communication Company by a group of businessmen, notable among them Hiram Siley named “ The New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company ”. During the first five years of existence, the company went aggressively acquiring other competitors. On 8 April 1856, the name of the company was changed to “ The Western Union Telegraph Company ” to signify the union of “Western” telegraph lines under one system. During the American civil war Hiram Siley took the challenge to connect the 2000 miles of telegraph lines to the far west. He succeeded in accomplishing a task that president Abraham Lincoln termed as “ next to impossible ” . By 1884, they had monopoly across the nation. As other methods of telecommunications gained popularity over telegraphy, Western Union diversified its operation. It managed to retain the position of market leader during the 1960s and ‘70s wit...

Wikipedia Ruskin Bond said in an interview, “India could soon be facing a predicament of having more writers than readers”. The use of “Predicament” tells us the Padma Bhushan awardee foresees a difficult, unpleasant or embarrassing situation for the publishing industry which may impact the book sales. Watching him talk would have provided the opportunity to factor in his tonality along with the non-verbal cues to make a comprehensive sense of what the iconic writer meant when he said what he said. This post is not so much about agreeing or disagreeing with his statement, as it is about my interpretation of the “Why” and “What” of the entire interview. Being the grand old man of Indian literature, he is at a vantage point to review the Indian literary scenario and hence not many will share the same perspective. As hinted, I will not consider this comment in isolation but review it in conjunction with others from the same interview. He also stated " Publishing...