Tid Bit from My Diary

O ur motherland is as diverse in its customs and practices as it is with individual and collective social values. Some people despise others’ patriotic or nationalistic fervor. Despite staying outside for two decades, I am on that side of the fence where people cherish these values and naturally the news about Jammikunta gave me a pleasant feeling. Jammikunta is situated in Karimnagar district, about 140 km from Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana. Life comes to a halt every day at 8 a.m. as people pause for a minute to sing the national anthem. This has become a daily routine of the people in this sleepy town since 15 August 2017, following an initiative by a local police inspector. After many centuries of subjugation by foreign invading forces, I strongly feel there is a need for a nationalistic approach to reclaim our lost identity. Without a strong identity, I am afraid there will be no we tomorrow but for our shadows. At this point someone might bring the statem...

Today we were strolling on a park as the Sun was leaving for the day. My wife's phone camera came handy to capture this magic moment as I left mine inside the car. There I am ready to feed my Instagram account after a very long gap. I thought it is a good idea to introduce myself through my various social media existence. My  Instagram  account is  sumandebray  and I post photos taken  exclusively with my phone's camera. It will be a pleasure if friends from my blogsphere  comes along and joins me, I shall be a follower too. I not particularly interested in individuals who have thousands of followers while they follow a handful....in other words, I stay away from the celebrities. My Twitter handle is @Sumandr and I am already connected to some of you. Then there is the professional social media that I am part of as well. This is the linkedIn and you may find me  here . You are invited to come and be part of my network. A few screenshots f...

T here was a campaign to convince the companies that cardboard packaging for toothpastes were a complete waste. Being one of the most common household product in everybody’s life Toothpaste have a huge multiplier. After all this product used at the least once a day by old, young and everyone in-between.     A few days back we bought a promotional pack of three toothpaste and it’s unfortunate that we were given 3 cardboard boxes while we desired none. It’s a fact of life that most of us will discard the boxes into the bin without a second looks. There are no doubts that by changing this habit, a substantial amount of burden on our world will be reduced. Don’t get me wrong, I very well understand the significance of packaging and am not advocating to deprive consumer of this experience. I shall never forget remember my experience of unpacking my Tissot watch. Back in then, it was a luxury product for me long before I learnt later that it doesn’t qualify to be one...

T he other day I took my daughter for her choir practice where they meet two or three times every week to rehearse for an hour. I was strolling in the school corridor looking at various displays, notices and bulletin boards while they were busy inside. The fourth graders of this Swiss school had prepared a bulletin board based on their self-research and it was very impressive. I am glad that I stood there for few minutes as it made feel more about the plight of the farm workers. Being enlightened early in life about “Fair Trade Practices”, I am optimistic that these children will grow up to be a more socially responsible generation. They have noted down the following for the banana plantation workers who gets the lowest reward for their efforts as per the banana split. Work for 14 hours a day in harsh weather conditions Have poor working condition Spray fertilizers and pesticides Cut down the bananas Carry heavy loads of bananas for washing Wash the bananas Can...

This week Indi-blogger inspires us to ponder whether “ we think inspiration books are really useful ?” I need to get the ambiguity out of my way and therefore the first question I ask myself is “ How do we define the genre Inspirational Books in this context”?   Let me adopt the simplistic path and consider those to be a subsection of wide variety of inspirational literature that are promoted aggressively by the marketers. Let me start with the books that made their authors not only very famous but rich as well. This genre include books like following along with their prequels and sequels. Chicken Soup for the Soul The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari Rich Dad Poor Dad Think and Grow Rich You Can Win I believe those became bestsellers for a reason and that being marketed differently. People have either fallen for celebrity endorsement, followed their peers or impulsively got motivated to buy it. As we understand sales make books a best seller while reading tho...

Through the barren meadows, Hand in hand, we walked along! With birds shunning our trees, Undeterred still, we sang along! Trees around were shades of grey, Your laughter, brought color along! A sight to cherish it is today, Thousand birds, came along! Flowers sprayed resplendent hues, Colors the leaves too, brought along! With trust we walked unknown paths, Love always stayed along!

Two weeks back, once I switched on the laptop in the evening, I made an important announcement at home. My daughter could not believe her ears when she heard, I was not going to use Google any more. “ What do you mean? ”  “ Henceforth I shall not use the Google search engine ”. “ But you are still using Google ” a bit perplexed. “ I shall abandon only the search engine, while I shall continue to use chrome, Blogger, YouTube as usual ”, I clarified.   “ Aren’t both chrome and the search same! ” still confused. “ They are not the same although it is designed to have that look and feel .” I told her and further explained, “ Chrome is a web browser similar to Internet explorer, Mozilla Firefox or Safari while Google Search is a search engine that could be used with any of the browsers.  There are other search engines available such as Yahoo search, Bing search, DuckDuckgo  search, SwissCows  search, DogPile  search etc . “I...

Business Insider G oogle mail started on 01 April 2004 and along with other early adopters, this time #metoo started using this. In those early days an account could only be registered via invitation and I was so much impressed by the service and progressively increasing storage space that by 2006, Gmail became my principle email address. By launching Gmail on the 1 st of April , Google have their conscience clear! It was poor me who missed the cryptic message. I ought to have realized the fact that if something is too good to be true then most probably it’s not! Today, all my important emails are stored within the limited storage space of 15 GB available in the Google’s mail server. The good news is that there is an option to purchase additional storage space although I am not sure who benefit more from this option. Moreover the storage space is available till one putting up the rental fees and there is nothing tangible that one can take home. I am having a fear...

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...

T his story started at the local hair dressing salon last weekend where I went for my haircut. The person in charge was a man in his fifties and it was a one man show. After initial pleasantries I asked him, “Where are you from as you speak the Ganga kinare bhasha ?” (The dialect associated with the banks of Ganges). I told him that the mithaas “sweetness” that Bhojpuri language has makes it standout from all other. “I belong to Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh” he announced and suggested I should listen to the dialect of Jaunpur to get a taste of real mithaas. The conversation went and so did the scissors, while I was in the quiet end of both.  Learning I was from Kolkata, he revealed that during his younger days folks from his village traveled to Kolkata in search of fortune and some of his relative continue to live there after they made it real big. He then pondered “How is Kolkata it now?” Sensing  my discomfort, he confessed that people no longer head that way in sear...

Puttush A few months back we went to one of our friend’s house in Kolkata and were introduced to the newest member of their family. His name is Puttush and he a Beagle, six months of age at the time. We instantly fell in love with Puttush as he was lively, intelligent and constantly vying for attention with his childlike attitude. The beagle is a breed of small hound, quite similar to larger foxhound in appearance and very popular pet due to its size, good temper and lack of inherited health problems. Coming back, I promised myself that I shall make a sketch of his or give it an honest try at the least. For me sketching is therapeutic and dog portraiture is definitely fulfilling. After all dog is a man’s best friends and in the words of former French president Charles de Gaulle, “The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs.” Portraiture I have more than a fair share of hobbies with stamp collection, blogging and sketching crying for attention ...

Social Media Interaction T he “ Internet is a great leveler  “in more than one ways. While internet has provided the framework for a small-town store be a global business house, it also empowered every customer irrespective of their economic or social standings. Today everyone has a Megaphone . Trust doesn’t come easy and it is particularly difficult when transaction is over the internet. We invariably fallback on experiences people like us had earlier . Today consumer does thorough research before they make a buying decision, they also leave online review and ratings to help others.  Word-of-mouth has expanded beyond a customer’s immediate friends and family. As online transactions become increasingly common, consumer-generated feedback is hard to ignore these days. During the pre-social media days, an out of town customer at any hotel, restaurant or shop had only so much importance – it was seller’s market then. Now every customer is important even if the l...

Photo Reference Would you agree that " Internet is a great leveler? " Probably you do not have much of a choice! The proliferation of the Internet has created an environment where anyone can reap the benefits of the opportunities provided by globalization. There are no “barriers” anymore as anyone from anywhere can start with an online business without geographical considerations. The only requirement is expertise in the core area and a great business model. On the other hand everyone can refer to reviews and recommendation and make informed decision. The internet unarguably is the game changer but limited to internet in many regions is a cause for concern. Traditionally for a business, promoting the product or services to the world has been a challenge. Now “Digital Marketing” has opened up the horizon to everyone who had dreams of advertising. It’s affordable, it's easy and potential customers could be reached through targeted campaigns via social ...

"Thinking is to man what flying is to birds. Don't follow the examples of the chicken when you could be a lark." - Albert Einstein

Google driven impression of Bot As I sat with my hands folded engrossed in my thoughts, I detected mild symptoms of the illness known as “ writer’s Block ”. I told myself that it cannot be true because Seth Godin says that no such thing exist. Writer's block is a myth . Can I defy him? Probably not! "Maybe it is a starting cue that I was looking for to start my next post." I in fact had a few Ideas that could be converted to posts, like we always do most of the times. This "fingers off the keypad" phase ensued because it was difficult to find the right " balance between Benefit and Effort ". Ones that could be put together with very little effort did not look worth the time spent while those which qualify wasn’t worth the effort involved. A “catch 22” moment! Then I received an email from the desk of Ms. R of a blogging portal. It was quite similar in style to the memos that are often used in the corporate world. I was about to toss i...