Hypocritical Indian News Media - A Menace

Today's Times of India (TOI) newspaper's Chennai edition's Page-3 comes across as one of the highly disturbing printed news pages to read anytime. What you see on the right is the page-3 of TOI paper on 16-April 2011. Before you continue to read any further, please take a few seconds to give yourself time for some inferences.

A big bold article title on this page reads "Woman posts porn profile of sis on net". Right below this, in a contoured box titled "Bay Watch", there is a picture of a non-Indian girl (perhaps a tourist?) in a bikini having fun in the Marina beach with her two friends. The picture also shows a man (appears to be a local Chennai-ite) wearing a lungi (a local dress worn in India) lying down and relaxing, appearing to be watching this girl and her friends. Any idea what the caption to this picture reads? Here is what it reads as -

SUMMER DELIGHT: The Marina beach got some added colour on Friday afternoon when a group of young foreigners couldnt resist the temptation of the sun,sand and surf. Little did they know that swimming here is a dangerous pastime, but then there were many on the shore who kept an eye as they took a splash

Of Marketing Strategy and Indian Streets

This video got me thinking - Looking for a marketing or a sales guy? Don't go to the IIM's, go to the streets. You'll find better and experienced sellers in India's streets! Amazing young kid selling fans...he can speak Russian, Japanese, Chinese, German, Israeli, and the list just goes on.....kudos!

Deepam - The Brighter Side of Indian Education

I've been observing this very small organization called Deepam for quiet sometime now. This is an organization that wants to "give back" something to the society. They have been doing some commendable work in the recent past that has attracted my attention in more than one instance of time.

It all started with two urban citizens sharing a common goal - Create a Brighter India. The two people are - Ram Viswanathan, who is a technocrat with one the world's biggest IT companies...the Big Blue, and Karthikeyan Vijayakymar, who is an entrepreneur with a strong passion to change the world. I'm proud to have been associated with the two as a friend in more than one way.

Well, let me not get into the past, and give you the opportunity to know more about what Deepam is all about and what's been cooking under the Deepam tree. Do visit www.Deepam.in to know more.

The National Knowledge Commission has been running a contest, and our friends at Deepam have posted an essay and video. The essay and film talks about how Deepam is solving some of the problems in Indian Education System. I strongly urge you to visit the following links and vote/rate these content and help Deepam in supporting a cause.

Please vote / rate the essay here ( please create a login for knowledge portal )
http://knowledgeportal.in/contests/node/290
Please View / Rate the video here ( to rate, please sign-in to youtube )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imvkeqnfaXI

All your votes and ratings will push Deepam one step closer to the prize, which in turn will help this organization get the necessary support to give better education to the Young and Growing India! Also, don't forget to spread the word!

Running in Chennai - When, What, Where, How?

Many people have asked me about running in the city of Chennai, and I've tried to give them the right information. In this article, I thought of putting down my thoughts on this subject - I hope it will be useful for many in the days to come.

THE CITY OF CHENNAI

Firstly, I'd like to give a little information about the city of Chennai. Chennai is located in the state of Tamilnadu in India. Chennai is a pretty big city and is one of the metros in India. The climate is more tropical and the temperatures average at about 30 degrees Celsius annually. The humidity averages at about 70% and the day gets pretty busy by about 7:30AM. The traffic is pretty high during the day time with the peak hours being 8:30AM-11:30AM and 5:00PM-7:30PM. The atmosphere gets pretty polluted...especially during the peak hours.

The roads in the city are pretty wide in most places, but you are sure to bump into some pot-holes in many roads. The city enjoys summer from early-March to mid-August in reality with the peak summer falling somtime in the second half of May. Temperatures during summer can average at 37 degrees Celsius, and can go as high as 44 degrees Celsius during the peak season (second half of May). The city enjoys rainfall from mid-September to early-December (or late-November), and the roads get pretty much flooded with puddles of water. The winter season is during the months of December to early-February, when the temperatures can fall as low as 20 degrees Celsius.

RUNNING IN CHENNAI

Chennai is a city that loves sports of all kind. The city has one of the best cricket teams with equal excellence in the sports of football, hockey, kabaddi and field atheletics. Running has been a much appreciated sport with a big number of atheletes into short distance running. There are big organizations like the YMCA and SDAT which have extended unrelenting support to this sport through the years. Chennai Runners is the biggest running club in the city, and with more than 600+ members, this club has been doing extensive running programs ever since 2006. I strongly urge you to visit www.chennairunners.com to know more.

As you would have guessed by now, Chennai is pretty tropical and humid most part of the year. Should you want to run in the city, I strongly urge you to carry a bottle of water or a fuel-belt. With the sun up and shining by 7AM, I strongly urge you to do early morning runs. Ideal time to start your run will be at about 4:30AM or 5:00AM, if you plan to do longer distances (>10-15kms). Also, use a good non-greasy sun block (with SPF of 30+) is advisable to avoid su burns. Chennai also has a lot of stray dogs, but with an increasing number of runners hitting the asphalt, these dogs seem to have got used to seeing people run and hence don't get into your way!

In terms of the apparel, a good running tee that breaths is something that will keep you cool and comfortable during your run. A dry-fit tee is what I would strongly recommend. With the city traffic being high, it's a good practice to run on the right side of the two-way roads...against the traffic. Should you want to find out good running routes, do visit www.chennairunners.com. Also, if you are looking for a group to run with, you should join the Chennai Runners' Google Group and get updates on our regular runs!

Keep Running 'n' have Fun! Stay Fit 'n' Healthy!

Auroville Marathon - Here I come!

Wow, its been ONE FULL YEAR since I did my first official half marathon. I did my first half marathon in Chennai on 10th February 2008, and the Auroville half marathon on 17th February 2008. These two runs tipped off a great (and eventful!) running year 2008 from me.

I've been doing lesser and lighter runs ever since I did my Singapore marathon in December last year. And now, I've planned to kick-off this year's runs at the second Auroville Marathon that's happening on the 15th February 2008! I'm running a half marathon at Auroville this time too. Though there are multiple reasons for one to run the Auroville marathon, to me, its more to do with the place itself. The serene and pristine surroundings in Auroville is something that has to be experienced. The place (and its people) had created a magical spell in me last year, that I decided to start my 2009 runs at Auroville.

There are many things special about the Auroville marathon. But personally, I enjoyed the unique pasta party, the fruits and fresh lime juices on the run, the ride to Auroville from Chennai with my Chennai Runners friends and the awesome foot massage after the run. But this time, I have been pleasantly surprised by a very unique aspect of Auroville marathon - I gotto "pick-n-choose" my BIB number!!! No, I'm not kidding. Thanks to my Chennai Runners friend Balaji, I got a VIP privelege to choose my BIB number. Balaji has been based out of Auroville for sometime now, and has been assisting Chandresh with the organization of this marathon. Thanks, Balaji!

Chandresh, who has been the key organizer of the Auroville marathon, had done a tremendous job last year. The organization was by far the best I've seen for a first-marathon! Chandresh is a long distance runner and a marathoner himself, and I'm sure he put himself in the runners' shoes before chalking out the route and organizing the run. Chandresh - I'm looking forward to a wonderful time at Auroville!

Having been running very scantily since my Singapore marathon, I'm looking to take the Auroville one pretty easy with the focus just being the completion (in a decent timing). I'm going to be running for Asha this time too. So, do contriute to my run and join hands in educating several underprivileged children in this country.

Chennai Open ATP Tennis Tournament 2009

Thanks to our family friend, I got to see the Chennai Open ATP Tennis 2009 last evening. I happened to witness this wonderful mens singles semi-finals game of tennis between Marcel Granollers(ESP) and Marin Cilic(CRO), which the later won 6-4, 6-3. Some pictures can be found below.

Not sure if it was Somdev Devvarman's good or bad luck, he has made it to this ATP tournament's finals without having to fight his opponent Rainer Scheuttler, who suffered a wrist injury.

After Leander Paes(1998) and Prakash Amritraj(2008), Somdev Devvarman gets to share the limelight for being the third Indian tennis player to have reached an ATP semi-finals (and...is the second Indian player to reach the semi-finals in Chennai ATP, after Leander Paes did in 1998).

For my email subscribers who are not able to view the above slideshow, do visit my flickr page here. I'm hoping to be able to make it to today's finals match between Marin Cilic(CRO) and Somdev Devvarman(IND). Will definitely share some pictures if I happen to make it! Till then, stay tuned!

PS: Should you want to use any of these pictures, do feel free to drop me a note!

Olympians and Brave Martyrs - Justice Please!

Who is greater - An Olympian or an Indian Army martyr? I'm not trying to put down my own conclusions here, but to put certain facts in black and white and make the world think, realize and elicit public opinion.

• When Abhinav Bindra won a Olympic Gold medal in the recently concluded Beijing Olympics, he was awarded Rs.1 crore by the Punjab Government. In the recent terror attach on Mumbai's Taj hotel, Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan lost his life while fighting the terrorists. His family was compensated with Rs.5 Lakh
• Abhinav Bindra is the only son to his parents, and so is Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan
• Both of them made India proud
• Incidently, both Bindra and Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan are shooters (though different purposes)
• Both are Indians

The only difference is that Abhinav Bindra is an Olympian while Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan was with the Indian Army. Infact, the latter did save the lives of many Indians and foreign visitors. When both have done India proud, shouldn't the compensation be 'atleast' comparable?

Even, the Kerela Chief Minister insulted this brave martyr. The exact words he said was "If not a Martyr, not even a dog would have visited him". See the ho for more details on this. Shame on you, Mr. Kerela Chief Minister!

My Take: I want both Olympic medal winners and brave martyrs of the Indian military forces to be treated equal. The latter's family needs to be compensated well. The awards given to Olympians will encourage more people to get into the sport and take it seriously. Similarly, I want the compensations given to martyrs of Indian military forces to be tantamount to that of the awards given to Olympians. Only then, will more young people in India (and their families) be motivated to serve the Indian military forces.

A Fresh look at the Mumbai Saga - Wake Up!

With hundreds of people dead and a large number injured, the Mumbai terror attack has been, by far, the most gruesome terror incidents the world has ever faced. With battalions of Police, National Security Guards (NSG), Indian Navy, Indian Airforce and Indian Army fighting in total unity, India's soldiers have been the real saviors of the country. They have made India proud and given the much needed confidence, that a country would need in times of such acute crisis.

We can definitely look back and take pride in a lot of achievements in this Mumbai episode. But in my view, this will again lead us to the spiral of failure. Every time India has been terrorized in the recent past, we citizens have given a lot of shoulder space for our politicians to give serpentine sermons and condolence speeches and also speeches that centered around bolstering their political/party profile.

• Every time the terror struck an Indian city, we citizens (other than the families and friends of the bereaved) have just felt the momentary pain and forget by observing silence and offering some prayers (and probably donating some money)
• Every time the terror struck an Indian city, a security investigation sets in which eventually gets into the hands of politicians...and lose its very essence
• Every time the terror struck an Indian city, we spend a couple of days watching the new media channels and totally forget the episode when the next movie blockbuster gets released
• Every time the terror struck an Indian city, a film director/producer gets an idea and starts capitalizing on the painful act by making a movie on it
• Every time the terror struck an Indian city, the state governments start collecting funds from public servants by deducting money from their salaries
• Every time the terror struck an Indian city,....this list can be written to cover many A4 pages and many walls

Why does this happen Every Single Time? On one side, we call ourselves a democracy and on the other side, we indulge in religious conflicts? Why do we play the blame game?

It's time we STOPPED PLAYING THE BLAME GAME! Time has come to TAKE RESPONSIBILITY! We say that India is "my country", but when she is in a problem, without any hesitation we start to point fingers at others! During the elections, political parties woo the citizens with lofty promises. But when it comes to actual D-Day, the same parties start to point fingers at the opposition parties. Even worse, these political parties play the dirty games of using the religion and cast systems to divide the same citizens whom they once wooed for a vote!

So, what does this culminate to? We do understand that India is a Democratic Republic, and it's HIGH TIME we started to adhere to the very notion of Democracy. We need to change our outlook towards terrorism and the way of life! Our political system needs to CHANGE the way they handle the country.

Here is what, I think, can bring about the much needed CHANGE-

• We citizens need to STOP getting lazy and should STOP finding shortcuts to processes laid down by the government
• The media (television, newspaper and radio) should become more "people-centric" and not fall into the clasps of the political parties or politicians
• It's high time that the politicians STARTED TO BE LEADERS and STOPPED BEING BUSINESSMEN
  
• The government should INCREASE the salary (and other perks) for military forces personnel. The military forces SHOULD be paid NO LESS THAN any IT (Information Technology) personnel.
• The entire security framework SHOULD BE REDRAWN by taking the advancements in technology and defense tactics into consideration. Lessons from the United States Department of Homeland Security is a good place to start with!
• The nation's coastline (including all the major and minor ports) needs to be completely handed over to the Indian Navy to guard

Let's take a vow to stay united and fight this ugly monster called Terror. We just need to do our one bit towards protecting our nation in every possible way. Let's STOP BLAMING EACH OTHER and let's NOT ALLOW ANY FORCE TO DIVIDE US BASED ON CAST OR RELIGION!

Let's Stay United! Let's Stay Inspired!

MIP's Tryst with the Moon - ISRO does India Proud!

When many young minds in India were enjoying the Children's Day celebrations, ISRO and the nation had another reason to celebrate - The successful placing of our Tricolor flag on the Moon! Yes, from now on, India has two reasons to remember November 14th. We are the 4th country in the world (after US, Japan and Russia) to have implanted the national flag on the Moon!

The Moon Impact Probe (MIP), one of Chandrayaan-1's 11 payloads hit the Lunar surface near the Moon's South Polar region at 20:31Hrs IST today. Many may see the coincidence with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's birthday and this great event (as it was only when he was India's Prime Minister that India's space programme was launched). But I, on the contrary, see a different coincidence. MIP was Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam's brainchild, and in today's world, he is an inspiration to children across the country than anyone else.

Here is how ISRO detailed the series of steps that MIP did in the 25 minute journey to the Lunar Surface (after separating from Chandrayaan-1 at 20:06 Hrs IST) -

... a series of automatic operations that began with the firing of its spin up rockets after achieving a safe distance of separation from Chandrayaan-1. Later, the probe slowed down with the firing of its retro rocket and started its rapid descent towards the moon’s surface. Information from the its instruments was radioed to Chandrayaan-1 by MIP. The spacecraft recorded this in its onboard memory for later readout. Finally, the probe had a hard landing on the lunar surface that terminated its functioning.

To read a first-hand report on this spectacular space mission, go to ISRO's very own press release here. This is just one of the first steps of Chandrayaan-1. But the point to be noted is that MIP is totally indigenous to India (developed by Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre of Thiruvananthapuram). So, essentially it's the first completely-Indian object to land on the Moon!

झंडा ऊँचा रहे हमारा विजयी विश्व तिरंगा प्यारा ....

Do stay tuned to www.ISRO.org for continuous updates!

Courtesy: Pictures and knowledge from ISRO.org

Information Technology in Mergers, Acquisitions (M&A) and Joint Ventures (JVs)

With the world economy undergoing a trough, most often people (in the business of IT) tell me -

Oh, we are going through tough times...while some of my customers are more resistant to new initiatives, some have declared really negative earnings for this quarter. I believe we need to wait and just let this period pass through...but again, the pressure build's up from my bosses!

This was actually told by a acquaintance of mine. I'm not surprised by this, as I've heard many others say this too. Echoing these words a few more times makes things more lucid than what it actually sounds like. As I've always believed in, every challenge comes with a set of opportunities.

Since the past few years, one would have noticed the change in way businesses across the world starting looking at the market. We've seen a number of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and joint ventures (JVs) happening across the different businesses. The resulting IT complexity has always been a challenging task for CIOs and other IT leaders of these businesses. What better news can IT vendors get? There is a CIO who is crying "It's a mess - HELP ME OUT!"

This is the time when IT vendors need to wear the innovator's hat. These times are the ones that offer utmost opportunities to IT solution vendors. India is a garden of such opportunities especially in the manufacturing space. From automotive to petroleum to steel industries, all companies are eying India as a preferred destination for setting up shop. Unlike the past, international players are looking at setting up joint ventures with Indian companies that helps them enter a new market in many ways.

On the other hand, Indian biggies are acquiring companies in other parts of the world. This has resulted in the merging of companies due to acquisitions, which again has posed considerable challenge to the IT heads of these companies. M&As are more than just two corporate entities merging. It's about merging of cultures, merging of values, merging of corporate and IT governance models.

So, in a nutshell, to an IT leader, such market moves (M&As and JVs) mean more than just "IT" integration. In my next article I would be diving a little bit deeper into this topic to talk about SOA in the context of manufacturing. Till then, stay tuned!

My New Adizero - Here is how I selected my shoe..

I've dated injuries related to running for over three months now. Recently when I consulted Dr.Rajat, he diagnosed the problem to be due to ITB (Iliotibial band) in my left knee. Having said that, he had suggested me to buy a shoe that had a good support for over-pronation. He also suggested me the Adidas Nova Control ones or the Nike Bowerman series ones.

I visited the Adidas running website and went to their shoe section. I was surprised to see such a good website that was made available for customers in India (its clear that Adidas has understood the growing number of runners in the country!). The slider panel on the left hand side had three selections that would essentially take inputs from the buyer. These inputs included "Why I run?", "Where do I run?" and "What are my motion mechanics? (related to pronation)". Once I made my selections (as you see on the left), it presented me with a set of shoes that was filtered out from the entire basket.

I was presented with four different models of shoes

1. adiSTAR Control 5
2. Supernova Sequence
3. Response Control 7
4. adiZero Tempo

With this list in my mind, I decided to visit the Adidas store in my city (Chennai, India) to spend some time and buy the right shoe.

On Saturday (8th Nov), I visited the Adidas store in Chennai. Apparently, its Asia's second largest Adidas store (with the first one in Bangalore). There, I got my feet scanned with Adidas' very own Footscan™. The adidas footscan™ process is simple and it was a 5minute process. The footscan™ pad records the pressures created through your foot strike, and the software interprets this data to provide an accurate, graphic representation of your footstrike. My foot scan looked like the one on your right.

I finally tried out different models of shoes in the store, and decided to buy the adiZero Tempo. The damage to my pocket was INR 7500 (USD 158)!! I know that this is a steep price.....but I had a reason to spend. My existing shoe is worn out (I've done more than 400 kilometers in it) and I'm just 26 days away from my first full-marathon in Singapore. To top it all, I'm 'still' recovering from my ITB problem. With all of this, I cannot dare to run the Singapore marathon with the worn out shoe. I'm also a believer that when you want to achieve the best result, equip yourself with the best support system.

Well, if you are wondering about what really is there in this shoe to pay such a hefty price, here is a snapshot of the technologies it uses -

Midsole Material: Torsion® System
The Torsion® System creates stability and control and provides midfoot support.

Cushioning Technology: adiPRENE®+
Cushioning material that retains natural propulsive forces for greater forefoot efficiency.

Heel Technology: adiPRENE®
Maximizes heel protection and stability; is located under the heel to provide extra protection from harmful impact forces.

Outsole: adiWEAR®
A non-marking rubber outsole compound offering abrasion-resistance and durability.

Lacing System: Ghillie Lacing
Ghillie lacing system provides a secure and custom fit.

Some of its Unique Features are -

1. ForMotion® adjusts to the ground to bring your foot in for a smoother, more natural touchdown at high speeds
2. Flex grooves provide optimum forefoot flexibility

That's not all about it! I did something really daring yesterday with my new pair of adiZero. To know more, Stay Tuned!!

Getting Back to Fitness..

Having had my share of injuries due to running, I finally decided to seek the expert's help. That reminded me of Dr.Rajat, a doctor who runs! Though I've heard a lot about Rajat, little did I know that he was practicing in Bangalore until Shahid told me. I got his clinic number from Shumit and managed to get an appointment for 1st Nov.

So, I made a lightening trip to Bangalore to meet Rajat at this new clinic Back to Fitness which is located in Total Mall on Sarjapur Road in Bangalore. The clinic looked really impressive with a whole lot of equipments for exercising and diagnosing sports-related injuries. I had an appointment with Rajat at 12noon, and I spent about 30minutes at this clinic.

And, his observations were - I was pronating my feet inside while running and also the injury was not a lateral-collateral ligament strain, but an Iliotibial band problem (popularly known as the IT-Band problem). He taught me a couple of stretches that would help in reducing this pain (and the problem). Unlike the lateral-collateral ligament strain (which can only be cured with rest and applying a lot of ice packs), the IT-band problem can be treated with appropriate stretches. I also seem to have really tight calf muscles, which could also be a potential reason for this pain.

I did a wonderful 12K run yesterday in the hot Chennai sun (from 9:15AM to 11AM), and finished strong (without a drop of water to drink....as I forgot to take my fuel belt!). Rajat's words and yesterday's run have given me a lot of hope and confidence that would be a driving force for the rest of my Singapore marathon training.

Traffic Problems in India? Here is a Solution!!!

With the whole world looking to invest in India, and with a slew of automotive biggies launching newer automobiles and two-wheelers for the Indian sub-continent, the 'road infrastructure' problem is getting more highlighted than ever. While the governments work (in tandem with private companies) to address the need for 'better and innovative' road infrastructure, here is a bunch of people from Mapunity who've developed this really useful solution - to 'monitor' the city traffic situation LIVE!

The Bangalore City traffic can be viewed at www.btis.in. This provides near-real-time (with a sub-2 minute lag). Go here to watch the live traffic status across Bangalore City.
Go here to watch the view across cameras at different junctions in Bangalore City.

Now wait! This is not just for Bangalore!! It's being done for Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Delhi as well!! I talked about Bangalore because of two reasons 1) The solution is in a mature stage for Bangalore 2) Bangalore has the worst traffic (and roads) amongst these cities...and Bangaloreans will thank Mapunity folks a zillion times for having given this solution.

Chennai Traffic solution will be hosted here.
Hyderabad Traffic solution will be hosted here.
Pune Traffic solution will be hosted here.
Delhi Traffic solution will be hosted here.

Happy Deepavali!!!

Dear Readers,

Wish you all a very Happy and Safe Deepavali!

For my readers who are wondering what Deepavali is all about, here is a quickie - It's an Indian festival of lights, and is one of the major festivals in India. For more information, I urge you to go to the Wikipedia definition of Deepavali.

Though this is a religious festival and different regions in India have a different meaning to Deepavali, this festival has more of a spiritual meaning to it. Read on...

While Deepavali is popularly known as the "festival of lights", a more appropriate significance is "the new year of luck and wealth".

Central to Hindu philosophy is the assertion that there is something beyond the physical body and mind which is pure, infinite, and eternal, called the Atman. Just as we celebrate the birth of our physical being, Deepavali is the celebration of this Inner Light, in particular the knowing of which outshines all darkness (removes all obstacles and dispels all ignorance), awakening the individual to one's true nature, not as the body, but as the unchanging, infinite, immanent and transcendent reality. With the realization of the Atman comes universal compassion, love, and the awareness of the oneness of all things (higher knowledge). This brings Ananda (Inner Joy or Peace).

Diwali celebrates this through festive fireworks, lights, flowers, sharing of sweets, and worship. While the story behind Deepavali varies from region to region, the essence is the same - to rejoice in the Inner Light (Atman) or the underlying reality of all things (Brahman).

Content Source: Wikipedia.org

IBM Software Universe 2008 - A Must Attend Event!

IBM Software Universe is happening on November 11 and 12, at The Renaissance Convention Center, Powai, Mumbai.
IBM Software Universe is the largest business and IT conclave in the country, which we host for our clients every year. Through this platform, we bring our entire ecosystem together to reinforce IBM's true leadership in driving innovation through middleware technologies, that has steered Indian IT landscape.

This event is a 'must attend', and I urge you to sign-up for this event and experience innovation first hand. I'm going to be around and also doing sessions on 11th. Do feel free to get in touch with me for more information.

Some of the event highlights are -

• Conference and Demo zones
• Leadership Meet for select customers (by invitation only)
• Industry focussed tracks, on BFSI, Manufacturing, Retail, Telecom, Media & Entertainment, Government, Travel & Tourism and Information Technology industries
• Leading middleware technology tracks
• Keynotes by IBM Executives
• World renowned Guest speakers
• Real world case studies by IBM customers
• Sessions by IBM's leading experts, industry luminaries & Business Partners (ISVs)
• Solution zone by IBM Software Labs
• Demonstration of best-of-breed solutions by IBM's ISV partners
• Free certifications on IBM's leading middleware technologies - Information Management, Lotus, Rational, Tivoli and WebSphere software
• User group activities
• Mesmerizing entertainment

Get yourself registered today!

For RSVP, call Priya on +91 98705 67425

Moon Impact Probe - Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam's brainchild

Chandrayaan-1 was successfully launched this morning from ISRO SHAR (Shriharikota Range). This MOON mission is been closely observed by a zillion people across the world for various reasons. Some of the key aspects of the Chandrayaan-1 mission are -

• India's first giant leap beyond the Earth orbit
• 5 'Made In India' payloads (scientific instruments)
  
• 3 payloads from the European Space Agency (one of which was jointly developed with India and the other with Indian contribution)
  
• 3 payloads from the United States (NASA)
• 1 payload from Bulgaria

But, to many Indians and young students across the country, this mission will be more closer to heart - It's because, this mission also carries our former President Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam's brainchild in it. Yes, I'm referring to the Moon Impact Probe (MIP). So, what is this MIP all about? Read on...

The primary objective of MIP is to demonstrate the technologies required for landing a probe at the desired location on the moon. Through this probe, it is also intended to qualify some of the technologies related to future soft landing missions. This apart, scientific exploration of the moon at close distance is also intended using MIP. The Moon Impact Probe will be ejected from Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft at the earliest opportunity as the spacecraft gets closer to the Moon to hit the lunar surface in a chosen area.

The MIP weighs about 29kgs and consists of the following -

1. a C-band Radar Altimeter for continuous measurement of altitude of the Probe above lunar surface and to qualify technologies for future landing missions
2. a Video Imaging System for acquiring images of the surface of moon from the descending probe
3. a Mass Spectrometer for measuring the constituents of extremely thin lunar atmosphere during its 20 minute descent to the lunar surface

The MIP was totally developed in-house at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre of Thiruvananthapuram.

I highly encourage you to visit the ISRO website and take a look at this well stitched brochure about Chandrayaan-1 India's first Moon Mission

Courtesy: Pictures and knowledge from ISRO.org

Chandrayaan-1 - India's Moon Mission is Ready!

For long, its been our dream to reach the Moon - Earth's only natural satellite. Tomorrow morning at 5:50Hrs, India's dream is going to come true. Man's curiosity to know the Moon has for been growing ever since the days of the Ramayana and Mahabharatha and before.

ISRO is launching the first Indian Moon Mission - Chandrayaan 1 - tomorrow. ISRO is also doing a live webcast of the lauch tomorrow morning between 5:50Hrs and 6:50Hrs. You can view the webcast here.

I'm really curious to see this and know more about how well it goes off. I just hope the weather cooperates too! Below are some pictures of Chandrayaan-1 and PSLV-C11 from ISRO's website.



Kudos to my ISRO friends!! You guys Rock!! I'm proud of you!

Attempts to Perfection - By the Needle!

This is what I was referring to in the 3rd point (on the secret behind Beijing's success) to in my post titled If Beijing can, New Delhi can (do even better). This is a typical example of how the Chinese army trains.

There is absolutely no chance to err. They've been sheer perfectionists in every single activity execution. Remember the young girl who sang in the opening ceremony? The voice you heard was different from the person we actually saw! You know why? It's because, the actual singer's face was not photogenic!

Below are some photographs of this Chinese army training I am referring to. I read this first in the Wall Street Journal a couple of months ago. Observe the circled areas in the soldier's collar - Can one get any more perfect?

Now, look at the needle penetration!

Can you get a better right angle?

Can we get a better way to check a 'V' alignment? One can take a measuring scale and find out the distances between the parallel lines to arrive at the perfect 'V'.

In another instance, the Chinese army uses a thread during the marching practice, to control the height to which the soldiers' feet rise above the ground!

This is perfection! Stay Inspired!

Pictures Source: Odditycentral.com

If Beijing can, New Delhi can (do even better)

I liked the way Rahul Verghese penned down the article A wake-up call from Beijing on The Hindu newspaper (Thanks, Rahul!). I appreciate his thoughts and thinking. Here, I'd like to express a little bit of my thoughts, which coincidentally is in line with Rahul's...

Firstly, I think that everything starts with "I". If only I could blame and pat myself for every failure and success, I don't get a chance to even point a finger at others. Though "I" might sound egoistic, in this context it's fair enough to blame ourselves for our failures and take pride in the good things we do. In the context of sports, it's about setting up personal goals and challenges, rather than waiting for the government or the corporates to take action.

The second part is - "Stop looking at rules". As some people say, rules are meant to be broken. Unless we try the new approach, we will never get innovative. As applied to the state's selection policies, its about sheer innovation in this space. Take off the big-mouths and politicians from any sports authority roles, bring in the innovative thinkers. We need to take baby steps initially. It's fair enough to fall a couple of times when we learn to walk - Walking is the first step to running and subsequently sprinting!

In the context of the commonwealth games, there are two things our organizers must remember - Wear the thinking hat and get innovative, Learn from the success and failures of the Beijing games. In my view, the secret behind Beijing's success has been 5 key things -

1. Disruptive Innovation (refer to this post for more information)
   
2. The spent years of effort to study the success and failures from the rest of the world (Did you know how much time Beijing Olympic committee spent in building the glass globe? Remember the one that came up in the opening ceremony? Wait for more details in another post of mine)
3. Attempt to perfection (Chinese perfection is simply mind-blowing. Read this article)
   
4. They spoke very less (foccussed energy on one deliverable - Give the Best Experience to the participants, viewers and spectators)
5. The Chinese government did not interfere in How-Tos of the organization - It was the Olympic committee that took charge
   

Our country needs more Doers than Speakers (viz., Politicians). I'm not referring to hypocrisy, but to the ratio of time spent on Talking to Doing.

As IBM puts it, let's "Stop Talking, Start Doing!"

Value-Based Positioning (vs) Cost-Based Positioning

No matter which industry we refer to, the way the positioning of products happen is predominantly based on the cost factor. The world has seen a great progress and the economy has had its share of the cake while corporations and companies put their bets on cost-based selling.

With the growing economies of countries across the globe and the growing world market, the consumer mindset (both commercial and domestic) has been looking to get better quality at a lesser cost. While this is good, this has reached a point of saturation. Many countries, especially in the Asian part of the world, has capitalized on this right from the first day. China and India have been the trendsetters in this space. In both, services and the product spaces, the two big developing nations have competed against the world (and between themselves) by proving to be the source of low-cost center/source.

The world market (both commercial and domestic) slowly has reached a point wherein the thought of cost (vs) quality has become a point of concern. While we saw China aggressively (and effectively) battling the 'cost' side of the equation with the lowest of costs, India has concentrated a little more on the 'quality' of products and services too. In the world of automotive, companies like TATA Motor Company, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reva and many others have effectively been able to market their products in the sub-continent while maintaining a high level of export to the Western markets in Europe and the United States. On the other side, there are companies like Geely, Chery, and other domestic automakers in China have high global-aspirations but have been having a tough time including quality-management and overall strategic focus.

The reasons behind the high success rate of Indian OEMs in the international market and the struggle of Chinese OEMs to enter the international market are primarily attributed to their approaches to the market. While the Indian OEMs have focussed more on quality (and started reducing costs without compromising the former), the Chinese OEMs have focussed on cost alone, with quality taking the backseat. There are many other reasons for the Chinese OEMs' low success rate - insufficient quality-management, lack of strategic focus are just some of them.
The world today is looking for value as opposed to just low cost. In lay man's terms, value can be understood as -

Best possible outcome from a system that is subjected to a set of constraints defined by the market

The market-defined constraints can be factors like quality, cost, size, etc; the outcome is the product or a service; the system is the manufacturer or supplier or enterprise creating the outcome.