Peak Day 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!

A Halloween Hoedown for Y'all

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

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"

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

عيد الفطر & رمضا wishes to all

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!

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, 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

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"

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!

Wish you all a happy & cracking Diwali...

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

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

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!

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!

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????

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

Three clips of us dancing in the bus en route to Coimbatore from Kodai!! Jerin & Co Johnson & Vinodh - Rachael & Raghu

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

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

Today, I migrateed into the mainstream of Indian citizenship when I franchised my first ever ballot for the local body elections over here in Coimbatore, Tamilnadu! Long live democracy!

Bangladesh's very own Grameen Bank , a novel and a blockbuster concept in banking and its founder are this year's Nobel Peace Price winners. I am only delighted that finally an international body has recognized this venture which has changed the lives of millions of poors in Bangladesh through its Microcredit policy. Though we have many banks in India that do microcrediting, it hasn't yet reached the grassroots level, what the farmers committing suicides in Maharashtra and Kerala. More on Microcredit

Usually before we start our peak season in my office, we've this tradition of organizing small get togethers which we've nicknamed as JLT. What's JLT? Just Like That! For the past 5 odd years, we've been having JLTs every 3 months at a hotels, clubs and other places. But this time was different! We decided to enjoy this get together for a noble cause, by visiting an orphanage, spending time with the kids, having a meal with them, and by giving them useful gifts! The place we visited was called Aravanaikum Anbu-Illam. Here's a few snaps shot from this event

Yeah, you read it right. It is alleged by the government that Broadband companies who use "optical fibre cables" use "light energy" produced by them. To make it simplier, the government says - "OFC operates on light energy, which is artificially created by the OFC providers and sold to customers for the purpose of data transmission and information, on the OFC broadband line. Without such energy, data or information cannot be transmitted." Airtel is the first to get hit and is supposed to pay Rs. 24.18 crore as tax, interest and penalty! Read more

Google is closing in on an acquisition of YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock that could be announced today. Both companies reached licensing deals with media companies to carry videos online. That's super news!

Once upon a time, there lived a King who, despite his luxurious lifestyle, was neither happy nor content. One day, the King came upon a servant who was singing happily while he worked. This fascinated the King; why was he, the Supreme Ruler of the Land, unhappy and gloomy, while a lowly servant had so much joy. The King asked the servant, “Why are you so happy?" The man replied, “Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant, and my family and I don't need too much - just a roof over our heads and warm food to fill our tummies.” The king was not satisfied with that reply. Later in the day, he sought the advice of his most trusted advisor. After hearing the King's woes and the servant's story, the advisor said, “Your Majesty, I believe that the servant has not yet been introduced to the concept of ‘The 99 Club’. “The 99 Club? And what exactly is that?" the King inquired. The advisor replied, “Your Majesty, to truly know what The 99 Club is, place 99 Gold coins in a bag

I happened to visit the famous Aranmula Vallam Kali (Boat Race) during this year's Onam. This is a famous boat race where Chundan Vallams from nearby villages participate in a highly contested race. Check out the photos here

Via: Johnson

South Korea's Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon will be the next UN Secretary General in all likelihood and Mr. Shashi Tharoor, the Indian beauraucrat, who works at UN as Under Secretary General for Communications has conceded defeat. This was the first time India had fielded a candidate. Ban Ki-Moon got 14 votes, without any negative votes. Tharoor came in second, but got 3 discouraging votes, 1 especially from a permanent member of the UN Security Council. Now, the question is, which country voted against the Indian candidate! The permanent members are - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China. Now, can you guys guess which country voted against us? My guess is, China! Whatya think?

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav's dream concept has finally kicked off in the form of Garib Rath, a fully air-conditioned train where the common man can travel in an AC Coach for half the rate vis-a-vis normal trains. The train will ply between Saharsa, Bihar to Amritsar, Punjab. Read more Other Features: A journey from Saharsa to Amritsar in the AC-3 coach will cost Rs 691 compared to around Rs 1,200 in other trains. An AC-3 coach in the Rath will have 75 berths while those in other trains have 64. The capacity of an AC chair car is 102 compared to 90 in other trains. The train is scheduled to cover the 1,500 km distance in about 26 hours.

An industrial ethics group says the most corrupt companies in the world are those that are based in India! 'Bribing companies are actively undermining the best efforts of governments in developing nations to improve governance, and thereby driving the vicious cycle of poverty,' said Transparency International Chair Huguette Labelle. Read the full report. Via: Bala

Here's the third video in a series of Tollywood movies, which depict heroism in our own Indian way. Well, if you thought you have seen everything with finger power and Jai Chella Keshava , here's a mind-boggling sequent from Junior NTR! Am speechless. Must watch folks! If you guys know of any more such videos, pls do let me know! Let the fun continue

SEZs or the so called Special Economic Zones have been in the news lately for all the wrong reasons. While I do agree that farmers have lost their farming lands and am pretty sure that there is heavy handed corruption going around, SEZs is the only way for India's acute infrastructure problems. Here's an article which appeared today in NY Times which talks about SEZs, especially that of Mahindra City in Chennai PS: If asked for login, pls give kgisl/kgisl

Google just opened its spanky new office at New York. And as usual, they have occupied the second largest building in Manhattan... Click here to see a few snaps

Suffering from a "writers block"... will b back in action tmrw