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Lalu goes International!

In his own inimitable style, Lalu Prasad Yadav, the guy who was one snyonymous with fraud has impressed the Ivy Leage college grads from Harvard and Wharton. Obviously, the Railways success story under the leadership of Lalu and the court judging him not guilty of the fodder scam has put Lalu in high spirits. Here's an interesting article about the hour-long session he had with Harvard/Wharton MBA grads, explaining to them the success mantra. "I did not increase the fares. I did not retrench employees. Instead I gave them a bonus. I took the traders into confidence. I also took the employees into confidence. We will set up 75,000 krishi (farmers) outlets on railway stations. It is sad we sell shoes in air-conditioned showrooms and food grains on the footpath. This is just the beginning. Asli cinema to baaki hai (the real movie is yet to come)" Indeed Mr. Laluji, asli cinema toh abhi bhaki hai. Anyone for Mr. Laluji as the next PM?

Guess Who!

Man O Man, I couldn't guess it!
2,30,000

Ticket prices slashed!

The exorbitant rates exorted by movie halls in Tamilnadu will come to cease now as the government has decided to have a ceiling of Rs. 50 as the maximum fee for an A/C Theatre in Tamilnadu. The minimum rate for tickets in cinema halls with AC facility in metros have been fixed at Rs. 10 while the maximum rate has been pegged at Rs. 50. For non-AC theatres, the minimum fare is Rs. 7 and the maximum is Rs. 30. For AC theatres in municipal areas, the rate is minimum Rs 5 and maximum Rs 40 and for non-AC theatres, the minimum is R 4 and maximum is Rs 30. Previously theaters were allowed to hike rates as they wish for new releases in the first two weeks and I remember paying up to Rs. 200 per ticket for a new Hindi movie released at Apsara. Although, this will mean no more "full time" A/C in theaters a.k.a they will switch off the A/C once the movie starts and then switch it on before Interval. Plus the added menace of bugs and increased parking charges!!

Best of 2006!

It's that time of the year again when we eagerly await the new year to dawn upon us. And it's imperative that we look back at the year gone by - 2006. Keeping this in mind, will post regularly under the "Best of 2006" as and when appropriate under this tag . The categories are endless, from best picture (which I've already posted) to the best of anything and everything. You are free to nominate me anything fellaws. PS: Views opined are my own and not necessarily reflective of any major Phillumfare awards :-)

KSRTC in Dubai!

Shijo Thomas who is now working in Dubai forwarded me these amazing pictures of KSRTC buses plying in the city of Dubai.... Mallus taking over Dubai I guess ;-) One can also seen an autorickshaw in the third picture. Hope they don't do the same number of strikes as over here in Kerala....

Fat Pay Check!

Investment Banking and Consulting is the "in-thing" these days. Many of the people who graduate from post B-Schools want to go straight join an ivy league firm in Investment Banking. Why not, one might ask, if the pay is so good! Goldman Sachs, which had one of its most profitable year, is distributing its huge wealth to all its employees. Take for instance what the CEO Lloyd Blankfein is getting! Goldman CEO's $53.4M bonus breaks record! The bonanza for Blankfein included a cash bonus of $27.3 million, with the rest paid in stock and options. The record payday, disclosed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, breaks the one set just last Thursday when Morgan Stanley disclosed that it paid CEO Mack $40 million in stock and options. Link via: Bala

Giant Swiss Army Knife!

Presenting to you the world's biggest Swiss Army Knife! You can own one for just $1200/-. Swiss Army Knifes are the ultimate boys toys and it still ranks high in the aspiration list of any man. Here's a lucky chap who owns one and got time to review it

X'mas Celebrations!

We kick started our Christmas Celebrations in our office last week itself. The first contest was to decorate our respective bays in X'mas style last Friday and we all had a blasting time. And boy o boy, my team, Vox Populi won hands down (though some jealous freaks out there will cry foul). So, kick starting the video series of this decoration, here's the first prize winners Vox Populi!

An era passes by!

Joseph Barbera, half of the Hanna-Barbera animation team that first found its fortune in cartoon shorts for theaters then struck gold anew in television, died Dec. 18 of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles. He was 95. I grew up watching Cartoon Network, in fact, even now I do and I will attribute most of my success in the chosen profession of mine to this exposure to cartoons. Cartoon Network came to India with the advent of cable television and kids like me who were starved with stupid programming from Doordarshan were saved (although the Disney programs on Sunday mornings in DD was good). As Uncle Pai is famous for his caricatures in Amar Chitra Katha, from Kapeesh to Shikari Shambu to Suppandi, moving cartoons has only two names behind it, that of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and their production unit Hanna-Barbera . And with the passage of Joseph Barbera, an era comes to an end. Times have changed and kids tastes have also changed these days. What Cartoon Network offers t

Consultants!

Consultants or Consulting as such has been a "butt-joke" of many for generations. I am sure most of you would have read one or two consultant jokes via e-mail forwards. But whatever the case maybe, Consulting is big time business with loads of money in it. Sensing this, Indian IT companies have slowly started their focus into consulting de-stabilizing many of the well-known Western consultant firms like IBM, Accenture, EDS, Booz Allen Hamilton etc. Here's a piece on this small but significant turnaround in Consulting business.

Best Indian Cities for Jobs!

The Indian job market is hot, with employers raising wages to attract top talent. Wipro is even training its own engineers, because of a shortage of qualified graduates. But some regions are doing better than others, according to Manpower, a global staffing firm, which surveys employers every quarter about their hiring intentions. According to Manpower (nyse: MAN - news - people ), Indian job seekers should head... continue reading

Ethical Hacking!

Ankit Fadia, the whiz kid who shot to fame with realms of books on hacking, is visiting our campus this Friday and will be holding a seminar on Ethical Hacking. Looking forward to meet the young chap!

In Fond Memory

Arun Narayanan, an ex-colleague and a good friend passed away in a tragic car accident at Bahrain yesterday . I pray to the god to give his family the strength to overcome this grief! You will be greatly missed Arun..... may his soul rest in peace.

It's high time we protected Mother Nature!

F or sure, I can say that there isn't a single person in this world, who never thought why everyone else do harm to the earth and why they don't care about nature and he or she does. It is not new to anyone and all of us are worried about the changes - for the worst - which nature is undergoing. We all contribute very actively to the destruction of nature. Let us analyze how we are paving the way to nature’s destruction. We keep taking out its elements, wasting majority of them. We change the mechanisms of nature to make them simpler and cheaper to exploit. When trees are cut and concrete forests are laid in its place, we are depriving ourselves of rain, oxygen and are also letting the earth susceptible to soil erosion. When we extract ground water through bore wells for industrial and other purposes, we should bear in our mind that it will not be replaced and that its effects can take various forms. The most heinous of one's cruelty to nature is polluting it with wastes. S

2006 - Picture of the Year!

Dubya (George Bush) hands back a crying baby that was handed to him from the crowd as he arrived for an outdoor dinner with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Trinwillershagen, Germany, July 13, 2006.

Pay Notice!

It's a common practice in BPO companies these days (including mine) where employees just walk off their jobs without even bothering to intimate their employers about their decision to do so. The reasons might be different in each case, but they simply don't have the courtesy to pay notice. And the case is worse, when a competitor of yours poaches your employees and claims no-foul as is in this case with Nirav Mehta, an entrepreneur. But taking a cue from Rashmi Bansal 's piece on a follow-up to the above linked article, I think employees should head to the advise of paying notice before they quit. Here's how she justifies it. Please do read it and hope it englightens you!! "The world is a complex mesh of relationships. And the working world is no different. At the beginning of your career, it may not be so evident. But 10-15 years down the line you will find that it is the relationships you have built - with bosses, peers, subordinates, even suppliers - which real

Parliament Attack!

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the now infamous Indian Parliament attack. It's immaterial whether Afzal is hanged or not for those who lost their loved ones. Here's a compelling un-edited footage of the attack taken by CNN-IBN camera crew on that fateful day. Head over here , here , and here for more...

Net-Works!

One of the best stories I've read in recent times talking about how Internet can leverage ourselves - even including remotely catching a thief - Man in Germany stops Brazil robbery via Internet!!

I Love Google!

One more reason to say why I adore Google so much. Yeah, maybe kind of a marketing blitz from the company to keep the buzz alive, but what the heck! If you actually see, Google has become one of the best brands in the world, without ever advertising. One might wonder why. Simple logics. They keep the buzz around their products alive, garnering more media attention than any other company. Am currently reading The Google Story by David Vise and it says the reason why Google launches more and more products every now and then is to keep these eyeballs increasing. Great strategy indeed folks!

Google Finance Revamped!

Google has gone ahead and revamed Google Finance from yesterday by adding many new features. Google has also added in 40 years of stock market data. Plus, here's a funny video from the brains behind Google Finance detailing the new changes.

In Defense!

Our new defense minister, AK Antony, all padded up to meet Jawans at the LOC in Kashmir :-)

BPO Boom!

" India is the most favoured destination in the world for offshoring " Am sure this is the 100th time you are reading a tagline like this... but it always makes for a good read when reports over reports predict India as the "hot destination". Here's a report on India's chances, according to a study done by AT Kearney, apparently for our Indian Parliament.

Asok Again!

PS: Telekinesis - The power to move something by thinking about it without the application of physical force Source: Dilbert.com

Medical Tourists

Medical Tourism in India is booming today with many from the West who can't afford hefty health insurance covers coming over here for complex procedures. Here's an article which appeared in Wired which details the opportunity Indian hospital chains have in this emerging trend.

Internet Crorepatis!

Here's a well written article I read in Business-Standard which profiles the new age Internet entrepreneurs in India who have made it big!! First off, Sanjeev Bikhchandani, the CEO of Naukri.com who became an instant crorepati recently after his company went public. The articles also talks about the brains behind Contest2Win, Makemytrip.com, and Shaadi.com... An interesting read! PS: Sigh! Sigh! I always wanted to be like this when I started a dot com business when in school...

Nasdaq QQQ

IT went mostly unnoticed by the Indian press and was reported in the side columns, but Infosys getting into the Nasdaq 100 list is an important landmark for Indian companies, especially the new age industry based ones, and is a testament of their maturity in the international business arena. Though not as widely known as the S&P 500, Fortune 500 or the Forbes 100, Nasdaq 100 is the select pick of the top 100 stocks listed in the worlds-largest electronic stock exchange. And moreover, Nadaq has registered this as 100 companies into a consortium where people can invest and have registered a ticker for the firm, known as QQQ. With just one share of QQQ®, you're invested in 100 of the largest and most dynamic non-financial companies listed on NASDAQ®. That's the kind of diversity and liquidity QQQ brings to your portfolio. PS: Though not a full-blown Indian company, Cognizant Technology Solutions, is already listed in the NASDAQ 100.

Oceans 3!

Here's a very interesting story of a trio from Mumbai who cheated banks for the past 4-6 years into getting car loans and buying expensive cars like Mercs, Skodas etc. and later selling it... Indian's very own master thieves!

Live TV on the skies

Feeling bad for missing out on that important cricket match or English Premiere league when you are flying in the indian skies?? Well, Kingfisher and dishtv has tied up, in what is, probably the first in the world to make LIVE TV available aboard all Kingfisher Airlines flights... Read more

Incredible !ndia

The Department of Tourism, Government of India has coined this tag line "Incredible !ndia" and is running a successful print/tv ad campaign to promote Indian tourism. Found this video amusing as it brings out the charm of India which we fail to realize.

Wishful Thinking!

Via: My wife!

New Handycam!

JVC, one of the world's best known brands, has launched a new camcorder which is the world's first Hard-Drive Camcorder, Everio. Yep, no more tapes of discs to insert. Just record and play. What more, it offers up to 10 hours recordable hard-drive.

Indian Farmers Woes!

60% of Indians are officially categorized as farmers, for whome, the Indian success story so far with IT/BPO/ITeS doesn't hold much. That's one of the main reasons why the India Shining campaign from the BJP gang didn't pay rich dividends and the Congress, playing on the common man card came to power. But here's a savior who could possibly help these farmers and change their lives for good - you might have heard the name already - Wal-Mart I know some of you will read this with raised eyebrows as you have read about the Leftist parties already raising slogans against the American Imperial Wal-Mart which will thwart the farmers. Here's a piece which appeared in WSJ written by Salil Tripathi which tell us how Wal-Mart's retail foray into India or that of Reliance's big retail plans can actually help Indian Farmers raise up the value chain, thereby truly making India the true global economic power to reckon with. Do read it!

Hello Moto!

Fishermen in Kerala use their cellphones to fix up a price immediately after they get their priced catch from the deep sea using their cellphones... This has already been reported in the local media, but Washington Post recently picked up this story and has a decent write-up about it A convenience taken for granted in wealthy nations, the cellphone is putting cash in the pockets of people for whom a dollar is a good day's wage. And it has made market-savvy entrepreneurs out of sheepherders, rickshaw drivers and even the acrobatic men who shinny up palm trees to harvest coconuts here in Kerala state. Rajan said the dealers don't necessarily like the new balance of power, but they are paying better prices to him and thousands of other fishermen who work this lush stretch of coastline. "They are forced to give us more money because there is competition," said Rajan, who estimated that his income has at least tripled to an average of $150 a month since 2000, when cellpho

All that glitters is not GOLD

"India clinch kabaddi gold" , screams a online news headline... India maintained their monopoly in the Asian Games kabaddi competition by clinching their fifth consecutive gold medal in the event with a comfortable victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in the final on Wednesday. Big deal guys. At least you made us proud by winning a "GOLD".... but does anyone really know how many medals have we won in the Doha Asian Games so far and where we stand?? The second most populous country in the world is way way behind China (the most populous)...

PCB Blockbuster?

It has got all the ingredients of a Bollywood Blockbuster! What else would you call the bizzare twists and turns that one often can relate to cricket these days. Shoaib Akhtar and Mohd. Asif were banned in a high profile, highly televised act of doping charges. And now comes the twist... the latest review committe looking into the doping charges have given them a clean chit , paving way for their return to international cricket... How bizzare can it get! It was the committee's view that Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif have established that they had an honest and reasonable belief that the supplements ingested by them did not contain any prohibited substances.

Lateral Thinking!!

man ------------ board Ans. = man overboard stand ------------ i Ans. = I understand /r/e/a/d/i/n/g/ Ans. = reading between the lines r road a d Ans. = cross road cycle cycle cycle Ans. = tricycle 0 ------------ M.D. Ph.D. Ans. = two degrees below zero knee ------------ light Ans. = neon light (knee-on-light) ground --------------- feet feet feet feet feet feet Ans. = six feet underground he's X himself Ans. = he's by himself ecnalg Ans. = backward glance death ..... life Ans. = life after death THINK Ans. think big !! ababaaabbbbaaaabbbbababaabbaaabbbb.... Ans. long time no 'C' (see) Via: Vinay

Cricketer IDs

I'm sure we get such creative e-mail IDs of our cricketers from season to season, depending on who and all are playing. So here's the latest instalment after the Indian debacle these days 1.LAXMAN: available@home- only.com 2.GANGULY: nowdays@no_use. com 3.KUMBLE: only@test_match. com 4.SACHIN: admitted@hospital. com 5.KAIF: good@for_nothing. com 6.SEHWAG: consistently@ out_of_form. com 7.DRAVID: stick@crease_ like_fevicol. com 8.PATHAN: takewickets@ only_with_ kenya.com 9. GREG CHAPPELL only_experiment@ noresult. com 10. Munaf Patel only_line&length@nospeed. com 11.Harbhajan Singh no_spinpitch@ nowicket. com 12. Suresh Raina why_i_am_there@ god_knows. com Via: Hari V

KGiSL Newsletter

The October Issue of KGiSL's online newsletter is out. Click here to read it

Naya Saral

Our esteemed Finance Minister had planned on bringing a new Income Tax return form from '06-07 accounting year wherein a person has to furnish his "Cash Flow Statement" and tallying it up with your income. But thanks to some folks in Parliament, in all likelihood, this cumbersome "naya saral" form is going to get axed, if you go by this report

Joi Gin

Day to part friends and colleagues has dawned so soon in my life. I feel very sad, as days go by these days. I want the clocks to move slowly, but alas, The day will soon come, 30th November, and its time for me to leave you all guys, Thanks, apologies, happiness, cherished moments, all come my way. Let me take this moment to express them to one and all at KGiSL, Hope u guys always remember me and call upon me, For all your good and bad occassions in life. Promising to do the same from here, I take leave from u "My dear family members". Bye only from KGiSL, not from your hearts. Radhika KP

My Japan Name!

All those who work for US/UK call centers have got pseudo names with which they interact with clients and peers. So, why not have Japanese names when you are working for the Japs?? Here's mine.. what's yours? Your Japanese Name Is... Masakazu Nakayama What's your Japanese Name?

Guess this place...

Pics taken in my Chocolate phone during Sunset... can u guess this place? Easy, rite?

New Set Added

Remember this year's Holi celebrations we had near the basketball ground, along with a few of the birthdays??? Feeling nostalgic? Get over to my flickr sets to check out the photos...

Spread the word...

I think it's important for any brand to stand out alone in the crowd, and the same holds true for a domain name also. I have come across instances where people address this blog as just "blogspot" or "peakday". In essence, I wanted to convey the full name of the blog and wanted it to stand out and hence chose - www.peakdayblues.com I am sure most of you will now don't have to do a google search to find out the web address. To really enjoy this new address, here's what you can do. 1) Open a web browser 2) Press tab once 3) Once the address bar is highlighted, just type - peakdayblues 4) Press Ctrl + Enter 5) Voila... here's your fav blog!!

Go Green!

"India is a land of diversity, of which; Kerala is a masterpiece and Palakkad, the Granary. Palakkad is a land of palm trees and paddy fields. It's known to be rich in flora and fauna." Here's a few snaps I clicked during my recent visit...

Ha Ha Ha Ha

What else to do rather than take stock of the latest happenings in the Indian Cricket and laugh out loud. Luckily, I was spared from the fate of watching yet another Indian defeat this Sunday as I had better things to do. I think no previous Indian defeats has stirred up this much controversy and a lot has been happening in the background. Read with shock a recent report that Rahul Dravid, due to a "finger injury" will be out of the remaining ODIs and that Viru will be donning the Indian captain's cap. Do we smell something here?? I am delighted at the flak that our great coach Greg Chappel is receiving from our good for nothing Memembers of Parliament and the media is having a field day with it. This is Indian Democracy Mr. Chappel, you better get equipped with it fast before your heads roll. Or has it started already? The Indian team will be under real pressure, one that it hasn't seen in years --since Ravi Shastri getting a yogurt treatment from the fans when he

Just Married!

Sathyaseelan, a colleague and a friend of mine got married on November 23. Here's a snap of the newly weds.

Bollywood Merchandising

It's the season of remakes and sequels in Bollywood. But the largest moviehouse in the world, in terms of the sheer number of movies that get released, Bollywood has gotten one step further. Within the last one year, some of the movies has realized the potential of movie merchandising and has come up with apparels particularly. Remember the Chandramukhi costumes that Rajni wore were up for merchandising in a website?? But those were too costly for the common man. What Rakesh Roshan and Hrithik has done with their sci-fi alien franchise (Koi Mil Gaya and Krrish), is to grab to the most special shopper of 'em all, the children. I saw this lunch box with the Krrish label for sale at Big Bazaar with quite a few kids excited about it. Picture:

Biz Bazaar - Really Big

Coimbatore has now got an all new, first of its kind, mega mall thanks to Kishore Biyani (better known for Pantaloons) promoted Big Bazaar, the retail chain to the likes of Wal-Mart in the US. Big Bazaar opened its first ever retail foray into Tamilnadu here in Coimbatore last week at Oppanakara Street. What Big Bazaar promises is everything under one-roof with mega discounts. I visited it yesterday and indeed I'm impressed. Big Bazaar is famous in Bangalore and other places it operates with the families, where they can tow their children and enjoy an "all under one roof" shopping experience. First things first. The coimbatore Big Bazaar needs to upgrade its Car Parking facility first. It's cramped and there's not much of a security for the vehicles parked over there. While returning to take my car from there, I saw one Ambassador trying to park and in the process going and hitting a Hyundai Accent, thanks to the "signals" showed by the security over the

Is cricket in India doomed?

Maybe it's true, maybe it's not... But I kind of get a creepy feeling that the popularity of Cricket in India is losing and losing rapidly. I've noticed it since the tri-series in Malaysia a few months back, leading to the champions trophy and now the South Africa tour. People used to talk about India's performance in tea shops, over SMS', while chit chatting. I mean, anyone who walks into a pool of friends on any given match day, can listen to all those expert opinions. I don't see that happening now. Maybe one reason is India's recent form and their dismal performance. One more reason that I can attribute to it the overexposure that cricket is getting through the Visual Media. Almost all the news channels have a cricket based program and the newspapers also report on them extensively. Other than the hardcore cricket fans, who can also take India's failure into stride, a layman who wants to tempter his patriotism on a weekend is not ready to digest this

Revamped!

I am planning a total revamping of Peak Day Blues, with a clean template and a domain name registered... What I've in mind is www.peakdayblues.com... But I want your opinion guys.. If you have any suggestions regarding domain names and what kind of template/articles you want me to provide you with... Pls do leave it in your comments section... Yeah, I know most of you are lazy enough to comment, but take it as a request from me so that I can provide you with better info/entertainment going forward. Other Plans: Getting people contribute in Guest Columns (any1 intrsted?) Adding some promo materials once the domain is registered... T-shirts, caps etc... just to spread the word around..

Peak Day Blues TV

Yes my dear readers, now you can watch all the videos I've uploaded into YouTube at any time by clicking on this link ... Don't forget to bookmark it... It's got videos I've featured in this blog, plus some unpublished ones too...

Extreme Weather!

I still get shivers watching the movie "The Day After Tomorrow" where our own New Delhi is picturised as a place with heavy snow!! We've had ozone layer holes, tsunamis, storms, Katrinas etc. all around the world.... But Sweden's disaster went unnoticed by the world newspapers... Click here to read from a person who was affected by this

Ram Jethmalani - Super!

Ram Jethmalani, the high-profile Senior Criminal Lawyer has taken up the sensational Jessica Lal murder case and has twisted and turned the case on its head and promises to give all the masala elements of a Bollywood movie. Leaving that apart, I really admire him for the interview he gave to CNN-IBN, where he just bashed the Fourth Estate!! Click here to watch that amazing interview. I especially liked the way Sagarika Ghose's face turning red! A few quotes - "Who the hell is the Press to deicide who is indefensible?... I am a great lover of the Press and a great lover of the freedom of speech and expression. But please recognise your limits." "He (Manu Sharma) is entitled to the services of a good lawyer. Courts will decide and no Pressman, no editor or television crew will decide." "All this bullshit won't convince me at all."

No more fun?

The Slimes of India is reporting that BPO companies are trying hard to remove the tag of "FUN" from their profile and become more serious... helping them in the cause is Kiran Karnik, NASSCOM chief. Read more "The average age of BPO employee is 22 years. During the initial phases, branding the BPO industry as a fun place to work was a way to attract these youngsters." "With attrition a major problem, we want to make employees realise that the company will do all to make the work area a lively place, but they should understand that this is serious business." "What we are trying to convey is that working in a BPO, its not just a job, its a career."

Dharmapuri - A review

After contributing to the major downfall of Ajith's tirupathi, its director..per ..per ..perarasu....he was thinking who could he terminate next and..yes....he got our captain and that's the evolution of a legendary universal(tamil) film "DHARMAPURI"... Precautionary steps to watch this film: 1. Four pieces of cotton...(2 to keep in ears...and the rest 2 will be kept in our noses after we watch the film fully) 2. Zandu balm, tiger balm..if possible original time bomb. 3. Itch guard (b'cos paadhi padam paarthu namaku udambellam pull'arikum'). Actors: Captain Vijaykanth (3/4 screen...), Heroine-achacho paavam (not even 4 scenes including songs),comedy..all scenes where captain comes becomes comedy to the core. All other vetti actors (donno what they do ½ time). Moments of the film: 1.) Captain's intro:----- NO Indian..oops..hollywood film could ever try such imagination to project his hero to this level as perarasu does.(u deserve an applause..).while al

Australian Barbarism??

I didn't watch the presentation ceremony of the mini World Cup, where Australia won this Sunday, but read about the "pushing" incident which even Sachin felt was a sign of disrespect. Sharad Pawar, a union minister and the head of BCCI, was patted on the back by Ricky Ponting first, signalling that he give the trophy and then was later pushed off the stage by Damien Martyn. Though am not a big fan of Pawar, I think one should respect people, especially when you are in a foreign soil. Does this depict Australian's character or was it a sweet revenuge for the "Hair" cut?? Watch the shocking video -

Poochandi

Namma Captain Vijaykant's new movie Dharmapuri is making all the waves and is a rage among youngsters [sic]!! Yes, especially with my 2.5 year old nephew. Yep, my sis-in-law has shown the above image as that of a Poochandi to make him eat food! Leaving that aide, the movie is a hit! Of course, for its non-sense and comedy. Here's a snippet from the movie where the villain shoots Captain. But because he had kept a plate (yeah, a plate) in his tummy, the bullet hits it, goes back and kills the villain!! Sahikallai Thalaiva! Video link via: Chandru

Cognizant to pump in $200m in India

Cognizant Technology Solutions, which recently gave away free iPods to all its employees, when it reached $1b in revenue is planning to expand its center in Coimbatore and also at other places like Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune with an infusion of $200 million. This IT services provider also plans to up its headcount to 23,000 people in India. Read more

Happy 50!

Today, Kerala celebrates its 50th Birthday. The state of Kerala was created on November 1, 1956. So, wish you all mallus out there a happy "kerala pirvai"

The Blank Noise Project!

I got a few follow up comments for my post earlier about Domestic Violence law. The person who commented asked me how effectively to tackle harrasment in the workplace. Well, a group of lady bloggers, along with some like minded guys had started a blog which is making waves in the northern part of India called The Blank Noise Project . What is Blank Noise Project? Blank Noise was initiated in August 2003 by Jasmeen Patheja from Bangalore and a small group of 9 participants, all girls. Blank Noise started off as her final year student project while she was studying for a fine arts diploma at the Srishti School of Art Design and Technology. The project was conceived as a personal reaction to street sexual harassment. What can it do for you? Help you take legal actions, raise your voice and be heard etc. etc. Read their FAQ here

BPO Blues!

I am still rolling on the floor laughing, thinking about this short movie of 12 minutes called " The Call Center Movie ". It was made as a viral marketing movie with a shoe string budget by a few Indians, and it is THE MOST FUNNIEST movie I've ever seen in my life. By now this movie has been watched by nearly 10 lakh people over the internet and I wanted my dear Peak Day Blues readers to enjoy it too. So, head over to their website and watch this 12 minute, funny as ever movie. But don't take any offence though! PS: Here's a preview of the movie. And you need a Flash Player 8 to watch it. I would VERY strongly recommend you to watch it at least in a cyber cafe if not at home or office!! PLS DON"T MISS IT!

Mobile Revolution!

Seven years ago, Rajesh Jain ignited a dot-com storm in India when his portal, IndiaWorld, was sold to Sify, an internet-service provider for $115 million. Today, he is CEO of Netcore, a Linux-based messaging software firm. He discussed with Wharton folks on how mobile phones could hold the key to the Internet's evolution in India and other emerging economies. Read this interesting intereview

Kings & Queens

Here's the first in a series of videos from the Kings & Queens contest. In this video, you can see all the Kings & Queens lined up before the results were announced. Also notice the "tug of war" between the 3 kings for the posession of "c LEO patra"

Domestic violence!

Thanks to Renuka Chowdhary's (Minister for Women and Child Development) Diwali Gift, the feminine gender can now cause more pains to us poor souls. My dear wife forwarded me this news link with a wry smile on her face which details the so called domestic crimes that husbands/men incur upon their wives/women! But only us poor souls know the torture we are being subject to on a daily basis. Law must change! There should be punishment for crimes committed against men by women also. These are some form of violence committed by women/wives against men/husbands 1. Making you an R&D hub for their cooking endeavors 2. Not letting you eat sweets 3. Wiping off your salary within 2 days 4. Forcing you to use your credit card after your salary is wiped off 5. Not letting you sleep 6. Accusing you for no reason 7. Repeatedly asking you to tell that you still love them 8. Snatching the TV remote when you are watching all that important cricket match. 9. Asking you to help in cooking! 10.Tow

Diwali Fireshow!

We @ KGiSL celebrated this Diwali with our trademark (which other companies are now copying btw) fire cracker show on the eve of Diwali. The whole BPO team assembled near our basket ball ground to witness this grand show... Here's the first in the series of shots i took with my cam... This is the "100 Shots" in display. PS: No audio and audio duration is around 3 mins, but it has come up really well!

Kings & Queen's Contest!

As part of Diwali Celebrations, the HR team organized a contest wherein one will come in dressed like a King or a Queen. A few enthusiasts among the team dressed up in full glory and had a great time. An elite panel of judges were there to evaluate them as they came in front of the crowd and were asked a few questions about their "genetic origins" and "kingdom hierrarchys" by the Judges. I've given below a few snaps from the event. Click here to access the whole photo set

Nasscom's CAT!

NASSCOM, the industry lobby of ITES-BPO companies, is all set to roll out a screening test from this Novemeber. Nasscom Assessment of Competence is a capability assessment programme for potential employees in the BPO industry. Kerala, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Chandigarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar and Sikkim are planning to launch NAC by the end of November. Read more

Kings & Queens

Here's a Peak Day Blues xclusive from last Friday's Kings & Queens Contest :-) Will upload more photos and of course videos from this event on a daily basis! And as usual, until then, keep "clicking"

Meeting Balabhaskar

My wife is a crazy fan of musician cum violonist Balabhaskar. And of course, she was ecstatic when we chanced upon meeting him. I think most mallus will recognize this very talented, but only recognized in Kerala musician, whom am sure will make a mark for himself in the world stage with his fusion!

Steel India!

Indian's are on a roll, whether homegrown or trading abroad. If it was Mittal who created a furore for buying Arcelor, it's now the Tata's. Corus, the Anglo-Dutch steel maker has agreed to be acquired by Tata Steel for a whopping $7.7 billion, making it the largest ever Indian takeover of a "phoren" company. But... the Russians are on the prowl again

Bosch @ Coimbatore!

Robert Bosch GmbH, Germany's auto component manufacturer, opened its new facility in Coimbatore on Wednesday. The facility is located inside KG Campus . Bosch will invest 325 million Euros (Rs 1800 crore) in India during 2005-2008 and would make efforts to develop new products. At the inauguration, Franz Fehrenbach, Chairman, Robert Bosch GmbH said the company is investing 3 billion Euros, amounting to 7.4% of total sales, for R&D and would continue to invest on research on a consistent basis. Friedhelm Pickhard, Managing Director, Robert Bosch India, said the Coimbatore facility would handle services in automotive applications, industrial automation, mechanical engineering and shared services area. Pickhard added that with four facilities in Bangalore, the Coimbatore facility would have a capacity of 125 associates, which would be increased to 2500 associates in the coming years. In India, Bosch has more than 15,000 employees and is represented by its four subsidiary compani

Picture of the Day

My Nephew!

Kids can be at times be a little pain in your ass (literally), especially if you happen to be your nephew's new found Research Lab!! Yeah, where else can my nephew get a man sleeping always in the morning when he is desperate to play with someone. So his favorite activities are picking my nose, sitting on top of my pot belly, pulling my hair, trying to break my spectacles etc. Though he is the NextGen version of Dennis The Menace, I just love him for the simple fact that I am his best friend. Time flies by when he is around you! No tensions, just fun. Oh, I miss him!

Gone in 60 seconds!

We celebrate birthdays of our colleagues in Office with a bang! Cheering them, singing merry and of course, desperate for the cake. This past Friday's birthday celebrations also were no different. But we created a record! Usually, the birthday cake, which runs out in 5 minutes or at times will have a few pieces left, was gone in 60 seconds! Here's a video of the cake cutting ceremony - And here's the video of birthday gifts delivery by our very own MSK - PS: Audio available!

Guess this person!

Mimoh Chakraborthy!

When I visited a popular food joint recently, saw this put up on their wall. The name of the guy immediately struck me and he is none other than our own Mithunda's son (Mithun Chakraborthy). I had seen this guy along with his father in some movie related show in TV. But here he is, acting in a new action thriller. The guy looks real macho and I was impressed with his looks. Check out his muscles! Don't know much about his forthcoming movie "HE", but it sure is going to rock. Was also surprised to see this poster in this food joint, but I think its because of Mithunda's ties with Ooty! He has a five star hotel in Ooty and I think he is settled over there with his family. BTW, can you guys guess the place where I found this????

Titanic to be remade in Tamil!

Superhit film Titanic is being remade in Tamil. The hero is Vijaykant (yep, our very own Captain) and heroine is Aishwarya Rai. The title of the movie is "Samudira Veeran". However, since tamil people don't like to see the hero die, the climax is changed. Vijaykanth jumps into the sea, catches Aishwarya in the right hand and Titanic in the left hand and swims to the shore. And meanwhile, there will be a climax fight between Vijaykanth and a Shark!! Eagerly waiting to c it :-) Via: Sathya

Obesity in India

In India, which has more undernourished people than any other country in the world, a new problem is emerging: urban, middle-class obesity, especially among children. Experts warn that diabetes and heart disease could rise dramatically in the next 25 years unless the government tackles the problem. And that, in turn, could overwhelm India's already over-burdened health care system. Listen to this shocking news

Sillunu Oru Shopping!

On a chilly evening at Kodaikanal, a group of four young men, decided to understand the concept of shopping by the other species (women!) and followed three women through the streets of Kodai to understand their shopping behavior..... Here's what happened! The ladies first approached a roadside "socks" merchant and bargained with him for a pair of "mojo socks" for nearly 30 minutes. But after detecting the presence of the detectives, they immediately ventured out to their next generation. After getting into an ATM and getting all the cash from it, the ladies again started walking, all the while the detectives followed! Remember, our objective was to understand their shopping "behavior". Point noted was that somebody's savings just got looted! Their next target was a small time fruit shop with few varieties. They literally spent 1 hour over there to buy around 1/4 kg of worthless fruits!! Can you believe it?? The detectives meanwhile where watching