haven of my thoughts.....

40000 LED light Tree in Minnesota!

2011-12-25T12:15:00.002+05:30

This tree is at Cedar Ave & Old Shakopee Rd. An eternal bliss!!! There are 40000 led lights on that tree. The family puts it up every year, just for the joy of Christmas! :)

July 4th 2011 - Fireworks!

2011-08-14T05:30:00.005+05:30

‎"All architecture is great architecture after sunset" :)

Newseum - Pulitzer Photo Gallery

2011-08-08T09:08:00.002+05:30

If it makes you laugh,

if it makes you cry,

if it rips out your heart,

that's a good picture......

Its amazing how people can change in just a couple of months...

2011-07-20T07:25:00.003+05:30

Its amazing how people can change in just a couple of months...

Un-freaking-believable. Period.

Sunrise - June 29th 2011 - Minneapolis, MN

2011-07-01T12:53:00.002+05:30

I had been working overnight for the past 2 weeks, there was a release that I had to take care off! The only good thing that came out of the 2 weeks of slogging was the daily sunrise that I was able to see which otherwise I would never have seen (waking up at 530am noways). Believe me its a bliss, and unless you see it you will never appreciate it! How wonderful is God and his creations! :)

More Dolphins - Sea World, Orlando - FL

2011-06-22T03:09:00.001+05:30

Random Quotes

2011-06-12T19:50:00.000+05:30

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. ~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Random Quotes

2011-06-11T10:45:00.001+05:30

Sometimes I wish I were a little kid again, skinned knees are easier to fix than broken hearts. ~Author Unknown

Dolphins - Sea world, Orlando Florida

2011-06-10T10:20:00.003+05:30

Random Quotes

2011-06-08T08:13:00.000+05:30

"Sometimes we tend to be in despair when the person we love leaves us, but the truth is, it's not our loss, but theirs, for they left the only person who couldn't give up on them..."

Random Thoughts!

2011-05-16T21:43:00.002+05:30

How many you reading this post ever pray when you:

1. See an accident
2. See an ambulance rushing by
3. Read about an Accident/Natural Disasters/Terrorist Attacks/Genocides??

From now on, please make it a point to say a small prayer when you come across such a situation. Pray for the ones involved to give them the strength to endure and thank God for keeping you safe and sound!

My quotes - 1

2011-04-13T21:42:00.004+05:30

"I will never ever stop loving the days that I loved you, it was wonderful and I will treasure it throughout my life....!!!"

Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day....

2011-03-28T05:50:00.006+05:30

Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day. ~Quoted in P.S. I Love You

BMW but money...

2011-03-10T20:13:00.001+05:30

A BMW 3 series, long drive and a good photo session... Oh my dreams and how I wish.....

Looking back at 2010 Resolutions

2010-12-28T11:03:00.002+05:30

1. ~~Never pass anything on about another person that will hurt them.~~ Followed it for the most part but looking back at the last one year, I sure have scope for improvement.

2. Plant at least one tree.

3. Visit an orphanage and spend time with the kids.

4. ~~Sleep under the stars.~~

5. ~~Overcome the fear of change.~~

6. Spend a romantic evening with someone special at Bella-Ciao – This will happen soon enough ;)

7. Get one of my clicks published in some good magazine or website. – Not yet, did not even take that many good pics this year! :(

8. ~~Sit on a deserted beach (alone or with someone close) and enjoy the star lit sky.~~

9. ~~Smile at strangers.~~ – I do that almost everyday now.

~~10.~~ ~~Do the right thing no matter how badly it hurts.-~~ Same comment as 1. Can improve…

~~11.~~ ~~Take my parents on a vacation abroad –~~ tried that but they are not ready to come as of now. So still pending.

~~12.~~ ~~Play in the rain (did that when I was a kid; now time to do it as an adult!)~~

13. ~~Buy a pet dog (White Labrador) as soon I start staying on my own.~~ – Maintaining a dog in US is more expensive than maintaining myself, so this will only happen once I go back to India.

Splitrock Lighthouse - Duluth, MN

2010-11-13T08:26:00.005+05:30

Random thoughts - 10/24

2010-10-24T09:58:00.014+05:30

The most compelling reason which made me to sit and type this is that, my blog has been deprived of words for over a year or so. I remember how enthusiastic I was when I started this blog and how passionate I used to be to update it, but off late... (I do update it with photos, but for any words)

I don't want to repeat the cliche, "dint get time" or "was busy with work", I don't think it holds good. “If you don’t want to do something, one excuse is as good as another.” In other words, if you’re NOT doing something, what does it matter why???

Anyways, had been pondering all day about what to write and lot of things came into my mind like the quote "Life is too short to have the same experiences over and over again..." but when I was about to start writing about the quote, I happened to watch a movie on youtube called "Nammukku paarkkaan munthiri thoppukal".

It's a romantic movie by the famous director Padmarajan, by romantic I don't mean the usual feel good ones. This movie is the love story between an upper middle class Nazrani Solomon (Mohanlal) and a girl Sophia (Shari) from the lower middle class neighbourhood. The CHARACTER of the movie is played by Paul (Thilakan) as Sophia's father, the amount of hatred that viewers feel towards that character shows how successful he was in depicting that role. As you might think now, its not about the usual class division or any other trivial issues based on which 100's of movies have already come. Its a very strong movie with intense emotions and feelings. I think its the best malayalam romantic movie I have ever seen. A very strong movie by all means. Viewers discretion is advised though.

Random things that I read about today:
Google has been secretly working on a project called "Google Cars" for past couple of years. Google cars is all about making the cars smart enough to drive themselves without any human intervention. Apparently, there are lot of Toyota Priuses which has been running on the road in CA and together it has logged almost 140000 miles (Of course there were drivers in the car to take over if something goes wrong) but it seems like we could see self driven cars in the near future. The cars were fitted with lot of sensors, radars, cameras and all the data captured by these devices were sent back to the Google datacenters where it gets processed. Then it sends back the instructions to the cars. Sounds cool but not for me, whats the whole point of all the Audi's ,BMW's, Merc's etc if we cant drive them... Major *dislike*

Read an interview with John Sculley (Ex Apple CEO & before that Pepsico CEO), the interview was about Steve Jobs. Well, John Sculley is the last person to have bossed around Steve Jobs and he was the person whom the Apple board of Directors chose as the CEO as against Steve Jobs. The man himself admits that it was a major mistake by the board of directors to have chose him against the designer/inventor of all times (He must be quite some man to admit that, hats off..) take from the interview "Perception leads to reality and if you are going to create a reality, you have to be able to create the perception...."

Off late am feeling so lonely :( sad I know!!

Count = 40

References:
http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/111102/being-steve-jobs-boss?mod=career-leadership
http://the99percent.com/tips/6842/99-excuses-for-not-making-ideas-happen

The Serenity of Autumn - NorthShore Drive, MN

2010-10-09T23:10:00.003+05:30

"The Serenity of Autumn....."

Lutsen Mountains, MN - Fall 2010

2010-10-04T08:33:00.005+05:30

Fall is the season when every leaf turns itself into a flower.... Lutsen Moutains, MN

Near GoldenGate Bridge...

2010-09-25T08:53:00.004+05:30

Sunset @ Minneapolis

2010-09-14T09:03:00.009+05:30

Alleppey Backwaters

2010-09-06T22:59:00.001+05:30

Lone Cypress Tree

2010-09-01T07:28:00.003+05:30

The Lone Cypress Tree, 17 Mile Drive, California!!!

Nature at its best - D way I see the world...

2010-08-29T09:43:00.004+05:30

Taken at Rest Well Inn, Tomah, Wisconsin!!!

Eyes Speak - People through my eyes...

2010-08-02T07:29:00.005+05:30

I feel so small in this big world - D way I see d world...

2010-07-10T21:43:00.004+05:30

17 Mile Drive, CA

2010-07-03T03:34:00.001+05:30

Lake Tahoe, CA

2010-06-24T08:38:00.016+05:30

Pebble Beach, California - D way I see the world...

2010-06-19T23:54:00.008+05:30

17 Mile Drive, California - D way I see the world...

2010-06-09T06:25:00.003+05:30

Cloudy Evening - D way I see the world...

2010-05-25T05:08:00.003+05:30

"Sometimes in life we are so selfish, making ourselves comfortable that we forget the people who are left a little behind......"

2010-05-16T08:12:00.007+05:30

"Sometimes in life we are so selfish, making ourselves comfortable that we forget the people who are left a little behind......" - Washington Street, Pella, Iowa

P.S: Please click on the image to view the original version, it has been compressed in this view and doesnt look proper...

Say Cheese - People through my eyes....

2010-05-12T10:41:00.006+05:30

The beauty of silence - D way I see the world...

2010-04-19T08:02:00.004+05:30

Duluth - Lake Superior

Munnar Tea Gardens - D way I see the world...

2010-04-15T07:02:00.002+05:30

Duluth, Minnesota - D way I see the world...

2010-04-03T23:53:00.003+05:30

Solitude - D way I see the world...

2010-03-29T04:07:00.005+05:30

"Solitude is painful when one is young, but delightful when one is more mature...." - Albert Einstein

Experience Matters - People through my eyes...

2010-03-20T20:41:00.008+05:30

Maniyante Amma - An helping hand to our house since our grandparents days...

Sun Rise - D way I see the world...

2010-03-13T07:54:00.002+05:30

When we have a problem, we just see the darker side of it. Always always keep in mind that there is a brighter part to it!!!

Faith - D way I see the world...

2010-02-20T20:15:00.009+05:30

"We walk the life's journey seeing the light at the end of the road, that's the only hope which we have. But we really don't know, what's waiting for us around the corner. There might be obstacles, which might shatter us. But it's all about faith, seeing the unseen and hoping for the best....."

This new year 2010, I was walking happily looking at the light ahead. Had a wonderful 45 odd days. But then came the sudden surprise around the corner. It shattered me, tore me apart and am yet to get out of that. "FAITH" that's the only word......

Different Perspective - D way I see the world...

2010-02-16T22:52:00.003+05:30

The Munnar Mountains - D way I see the world..

2010-02-13T12:23:00.005+05:30

Munnar, Kerala Jan 10' - D way I see the world...

2010-02-05T09:59:00.005+05:30

Colors of Nature - D way I see d world...

2010-02-04T09:27:00.004+05:30

The Journey - D way I see the world...

2010-01-16T19:42:00.005+05:30

P.S: Click on the image to view the enlarged view.

Absolute Innocence - D way I see the world...

2010-01-14T13:53:00.005+05:30

P.S: Click on the image to view the enlarged version.

Colors of the Nature - D way I see the world...

2010-01-06T21:59:00.004+05:30

P.S: Click on the image to view the enlarged version.

Resolution??? To Do List???

2009-12-31T17:52:00.002+05:30

Never pass anything on about another person that will hurt them.
Plant at least one tree.
Visit an orphanage and spend time with the kids.
Sleep under the stars.
Overcome the fear of change.
Spend a romantic evening with someone special at Bella-Ciao .
Get one of my clicks published in some good magazine or website.
Sit on a deserted beach (alone or with someone close) and enjoy the star lit sky.
Smile at strangers.
Do the right thing no matter how badly it hurts.
Take my parents on a vacation abroad
Play in the rain (did that when I was a kid; now time to do it as an adult!)
Buy a pet dog (White Labrador) as soon I start staying on my own.

P.S: Will keep adding to the list...

Alleppey Backwaters - D way I see the world...

2009-12-28T21:10:00.004+05:30

P.S: Click on the image to view the enlarged version.

Struggle for daily bread - D way I see the world...

2009-12-22T22:28:00.007+05:30

Struggle for Daily Bread.....

P.S: Click on the image to view the enlarged version.

Friend, Brother n more.... - D way I see the world....

2009-12-04T22:57:00.003+05:30

P.S: Click on the image to view the enlarged version...

Light - D way I see the world...

2009-11-21T17:47:00.005+05:30

Light gives of itself freely, filling all available space. It does not seek anything in return; it asks not whether you are friend or foe. It gives of itself and is not thereby diminished. ~Michael Strassfeld

P.S: Click on the image to view the enlarged version.

Clouds - D way I see the world...

2009-11-18T21:08:00.005+05:30

P.S: Click on the image to view the enlarged version.

Flooded Fields - D way I see the world...

2009-11-16T22:14:00.013+05:30

P.S: Click on the image to view the enlarged version!!!

Blessed Evening - D way I see the world...

2009-11-06T17:08:00.007+05:30

P.S: Click on the image to view the enlarged version!!!

Summer Palace (Beijing) - D way I see the world...

2009-11-06T17:06:00.006+05:30

P.S: Click on the image to view the enlarged version!!!

Travelogue - 1

2009-08-26T14:31:00.006+05:30

That's Sujit and Omkar, on our way to MACHAN.

Chennai, India to Beijing, China - Day 1

August 8th 2009 - My Beijing flight was from Delhi (Indira Gandhi International Airport) at 0315hours. I had booked a ticket on the Chennai - Delhi (via Hyderabad) Indigo flight 6E302. The flight was scheduled to be at 1130hours. And as always it was delayed by 15 minutes. The flight took off by around 11.50. It reached the Hyderabad (Rajiv Gandhi International Airport) by around 1300 hours.

I reached the Delhi domestic airport by around 1545. I loved everything about the Indigo flight except for the time they took for giving me the checked in baggage. I got my baggage only by around 1640, i.e almost an hour.

Sujit (my college mate) picked me up from the airport and we spend sometime with his friend Omkar at his place. Then we went out to have food, to a place called MACHAN. It was an awesome place. Sat and spoke till it was around 2100 and then they both dropped me at IGI, Delhi by around 2230hours.

First sight of China mainland.

It was heavily raining the day we landed at Beijing.

I waited at the IGI lounge, by around 2330 I met couple of people in the group. We had our dinner at the lounge and went into the airport for check in by around 0030. We completed the immigration formalities and got into the Air China flight Flight CA948 by around 0245. We landed at Beijing at around 1230 local time (0930 IST).

Animal Farm - George Orwell

2009-07-30T19:07:00.006+05:30

Animal Farm was written by Eric Arthur Blair ((25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell. Eric was born on 25th June 1903 in Motihari, Bihar, India. His work is marked by a profound consciousness of social injustice, an intense opposition to totalitarianism, a passion for clarity in language and a belief in democratic socialism.

Animal Farm is a very short book (around 120 pages) but it is an amazing story that continues to throw up twists and surprises. It can be bought for next to no money and be read in couple of hours. :)

The book is a fable. It tells a story of how the animals of manor farm stage a revolution against their owner, Mister Jones, and how they run the farm by themselves. The animals, the neighbouring farms and all the characters are symbols of different political ideologies and political figures. Both the time period and words used make it pretty clear what and who we are dealing with. Animalism/communism is one example.

The message of the novel is clear. Power corrupts the mind of every person. If you give somebody the power to rule over the life and death of others that power will eventually be abused. No man should have such power all by himself this is why democracy and capitalism will and have outlived communism.

As the blurb says: A biting satire on dictatorship. It is that, and much more besides. So don't wait, go ahead and treat yourself.

Personally, I enjoyed every bit of the book. Another thing, which surprised me was that the book was written in 1945 but still it predicts the collapse and ruin of the Soviet way of life. I wonder if George Orwell himself would have been surprised at just accurate his predictions were :)

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwell
http://mommylife.net/archives/2009/03/12/animalfarm.jpg

IYALGTOTOM Exam (If You Are Lucky Get Through Or Try Once More)

2009-07-27T20:49:00.005+05:30

The exam rules:

The committe who conducts the exam is always right and you are always wrong.
There are different levels for the IYALGTOTOM exam depending on the year of study and stream you have taken like 1.1 (first year students), 2.2 (Second year students - 1.1 included), 3.3 (third year students - 1.1 and 2.2 included) and so on.
Even though you are studying a particular course, the questions can be from other streams too. For example you are doing a physics course, you are expected to study other streams like commerce, chemistry, maths, mechanical, electrical etc.
You are supposed to take your regular exams and score very high marks. If you happen to score less marks then you will be thrown out of the college and your career will be at stake.
Even though you score very high marks in your regular exam, if you don't clear the IYALGTOTOM exam, then you will be depromoted.
The pass percentage for the exam is 70%.
You can apply for revaluation only if you score 65 -69%.
If you are very sure that some of the questions were wrong, then go back to rule number 1.

P.S: Only those who know the context, can make something out of this post!!! Chew on it anyway.

Random Video - Fire at the nearby factory!!!

2009-07-22T20:29:00.004+05:30

07/21/09: 20:45: When fire broke out at the small sofa factory behind our flat in Chennai. There were no casualties reported.

This factory is just, 5 mins walk from our flat and its very very close to the hotel (Sapna) where we have our dinner daily. That day, we got out for dinner and saw the flames coming up. When we were on the road, we saw people running around and then only we realized the seriousness of the situation. Trust me, we wont ever understand the devastating power of fire unless we see it with our own eyes. Thank God, there were no casualties.

SQL - Stored Procedure Performance Tuning

2009-07-09T10:58:00.007+05:30

For the last few days, I was working on some of the complex stored procedures in my project. Just thought of mentioning few points which I used in my stored procedures to fine tune the performance.

NOLOCK hint

If you are not updating the table and just reading the records from it using the SELECT statement. You can make use of WITH NOLOCK For example,
Select * from Customer WITH (NOLOCK)
NOLOCK indicates that no shared locks are issued against the 'Customer' table.

The advantage of using the statement is that the database engine wont issue locks against the tables in our query. As there are no locks involved it definitely increases performance.

The disadvantage is that, DIRTY READ's might happen. A "dirty" read is one in which the data being read is involved in a transaction from another connection. If that transaction rolls back, the data read from the connection using NOLOCK will have read uncommitted data. This type of read makes processing inconsistent and can lead to problems. If you are pretty sure, that the table from which you are reading, does not get updated often then its recommended to use NOLOCK, since it does improve the performance.
Avoid Temporary Tables

In one of my SP, I had to get data by joining 9 - 10 tables. And this data was used else where in the same SProc. So my natural choice was to go for a Temporary table. I got the data inside the #Table and then dropped the table at the end. My mistake, its always better to use Table variables instead of temporary tables. The major reason is that any procedures with a temporary table cannot be pre-compiled, but it can be done for stored procedures with table variables. Pre-compiling a stored procedure is a major advantage to its speed of execution. This advantage becomes a very much considerable especially in the case of long stored procedures, where recompilation causes performance issues.
Never use functions in WHERE CLAUSE

Anne Frank - The Diary of a young girl!!!

2009-07-01T10:46:00.006+05:30

For the past 2-3 weeks, I had been reading "The Diary of a young girl - Anne Frank". The book is all about the innocence, emotions and the mixed feelings of a teenager towards her parents, sister and the second family with them in the hiding. The diary entries also reveal the grubby particulars of life during wartime and the mixed emotions familiar to every adolescent (everyone criticizes me, no one understands me, when will I be loved?).To be honest, I dint find it all that interesting (am still reading it. So don't know whether my opinion would change). Anyways, guess my expectations about the book was entirely different. May be that's the prime reason.

But Anne Frank was no ordinary teen, the entries in her diary reveal a sense of compassion and a spiritual depth remarkable in a girl who was just 14. I came across some wonderful German quotes, some her own and some from famous German authors. Few of them, which I found really good along with its english translation.

"Der Mann hat einen grossen Geist
Und ist so klein von Taten"

"The spirit of the man is great,
How puny are his deeds"

"Himmelhoch jauchzend, zu Tode detrubt"

"On top of the world, or in the depths of despair"

Thought Bubble - 7

2009-06-18T13:51:00.006+05:30

"The harder you try, deeper it hurts when you don't succeed...."

Shiney Ahuja remanded!!!

2009-06-17T09:54:00.004+05:30

I guess the old saying "Whether thorn falls on a leaf or leaf falls on thorn, the damage is always to the leaf" doesn't hold good anymore (At least for celebrities)....

India out of T20 worldcup!!!

2009-06-16T19:25:00.003+05:30

After the mighty Australians, the world T20 champions "India" are out of the world T20 2009 edition. Brickbats are being thrown at the man who was praised by the entire Indian population less than 6 months ago. His effigy was burnt in his own home town two days back. Indian media is discussing on whether he should continue as the captain. I wonder how easily people forget, what he has done for Indian cricket. (Trust me, am no Dhoni fan)

Makes me think... makes me wonder.. this world and the people!!!

Thought Bubble - 6

2009-06-16T15:20:00.002+05:30

"Orthu chirikaanum, karayanum.. pinne orikalum marakanavatha orayiram disvasangalum anubhavangalum ente jeevithathil samaanicha.. Ente priyapetta kootukaarikku orayiram piranaal aashamsakal...... "

Desperation!!!

2009-06-03T08:56:00.005+05:30

Atti Alagappa Muthusamy, just came back to office after the maternal leave. She was talking to her friend Tude Gopalasamy.

T: Hows your baby boy? What’s his name?
A: He is doing fine. His name is “Almu”.
T: How old is he now?
A: He is 6 months old now. He was born on 16th January.
T: That’s great Atti!!! Am happy for you…

A: You know what Tude, I was so desperate to give birth to “Almu” on 15th January.
I mean, I tried really hard you know. It was Muthu’s birthday on Jan 15th that’s why I tried so hard… L

Suddenly “Ergo Singhania” who sits near Atti and Tude fell on the floor. Apparently he is still lying down there redefining “ROTFL”.

P.S: As per Wiki, “A sense of humour is the ability to experience humour, although the extent to which an individual will find something humorous depends on a host of variables, including geographical location, culture, maturity, level of education, intelligence, and context.” So people who can’t relate please roll back in time.

Facebook's privacy policy!!!

2009-06-01T16:11:00.011+05:30

I read this article sometime back on Guardian. Though the writer is pretty harsh on Zuckerberg and Thiel, I found this part interesting. Read on...

1 We will advertise at you

"When you use Facebook, you may set up your personal profile, form relationships, send messages, perform searches and queries, form groups, set up events, add applications, and transmit information through various channels. We collect this information so that we can provide you the service and offer personalised features."

2 You can't delete anything

"When you update information, we usually keep a backup copy of the prior version for a reasonable period of time to enable reversion to the prior version of that information."

3 Anyone can glance at your intimate confessions

"... we cannot and do not guarantee that user content you post on the site will not be viewed by unauthorised persons. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the site. You understand and acknowledge that, even after removal, copies of user content may remain viewable in cached and archived pages or if other users have copied or stored your user content."

4 Our marketing profile of you will be unbeatable

"Facebook may also collect information about you from other sources, such as newspapers, blogs, instant messaging services, and other users of the Facebook service through the operation of the service (eg, photo tags) in order to provide you with more useful information and a more personalised experience."

5 Opting out doesn't mean opting out

"Facebook reserves the right to send you notices about your account even if you opt out of all voluntary email notifications."

6 The CIA may look at the stuff when they feel like it

"By using Facebook, you are consenting to have your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States ... We may be required to disclose user information pursuant to lawful requests, such as subpoenas or court orders, or in compliance with applicable laws. We do not reveal information until we have a good faith belief that an information request by law enforcement or private litigants meets applicable legal standards. Additionally, we may share account or other information when we believe it is necessary to comply with law, to protect our interests or property, to prevent fraud or other illegal activity perpetrated through the Facebook service or using the Facebook name, or to prevent imminent bodily harm. This may include sharing information with other companies, lawyers, agents or government agencies."

Read the article at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jan/14/facebook

Food for Thought -2

2009-05-29T15:32:00.004+05:30

"Sometimes we love with nothing more than hope. Sometimes we cry with everything except tears..." - Lin, Shantaram

Food for Thought - 1

2009-05-25T08:33:00.005+05:30

Karla once said - "Mistakes are like bad love, the more you learn from them, the more you wish they had never happened..."

WCF Addressing/ Multiple endpoints

2009-05-15T17:44:00.005+05:30

As people who are working in WCF know very well, one of the most important advantages of WCF is that we can expose the WCF service using different endpoints and each endpoint can be given a different URL. This enables us to let the clients use the same service with different security settings.

For example:

configuration
system.servicemodel
services
service name="”MyService”"
host
baseaddresses
add baseaddress="”http://localhost/MyService/service.svc”/"
/add
/baseaddresses

endpoint address="”/basic”" binding="”basicHttpBinding”" contract="”IMyService”/"
endpoint address="”/secure”" binding="”wsHttpBinding”" contract="”"

/endpoint
/endpoint
/host
/service

In the above example, We have a service exposed with 2 different bindings
1. basicHttpBinding
2. wsHttpBinding

and we are using 2 different URL’s for each of this.

Now, there was an integration issue in our project. Another offshore team (read another company) was trying to connect to our service and it was not happening. So they came to me as I was the responsible for the WCF service.

Their genuine doubt was that, they were trying to explore to the URL: http://localhost/MyService/service.svc/secure or /basic in a browser and it was not happening. So they complained that the service was not working well.

It made me think, for quite sometime but the answer is very simple, the endpoint address http://localhost/MyService/service.svc/secure expects a SOAP message, and when it receives a SOAP message it can process them easily and send back the result. But all the browser is doing is sending a HTTP GET request which our service does not understand.

So how many ever endpoints you have in your service, you just have only one WSDL and that can be downloaded from the base address. Now the base address is the address where you have hosted the service, here its http://localhost/MyService/service.svc. For creating the client and proxy classes we should use this URL but for connecting to the particular endpoint we should use the URL of the endpoint.

Thought Bubble - 5

2009-05-01T13:18:00.003+05:30

.....chila ishtangal anganeyaanu... ariyaathe ariyaathe nammal ishtapettu pokum... oru nokku kaanan, onnu samsaarikkan okke vallathe kothikkum... ennum swantham maathram ennu veruthe karuthum... oduvil ellam veruthe aayirunoo ennu thirichu ariyumbol... ullinte ullil evideyengiulm nammal a ishtathe moodi marakkum... pinneedu epozhenkilum randu thulli kannerinte nanavode aa ishtathe nammal orkum... appozhum hridayam vallathe kothikunnudaavum... "aval entethaayurunnuvengil!!!"

Either you are going to work or .........

2009-04-22T11:35:00.012+05:30

I started working in September 2006, [Holy!!! That’s almost 3 years, which gave me the epiphany that I am getting old... :(]. After my first project, I was asked to move out to another project by our resource manager. On 24th May 2007, I was supposed to meet the new project manager, so as to have a brief overview about the new project. From what I heard from the project manager, I understood that it was the kind of work which I never wanted to do in my life. So right after the meeting, I went and met the resource manager and told (read pleaded) her to get me out of the situation. I spoke to her for almost two hours but in vain. She kept giving me the reason that I am not experienced enough to get a project of my choice. Finally, she told me something which I can never ever forget in my life, "Either you are going to work in that project or you are out of Wipro. Choice is yours".

That day I went back from office with a heavy heart and a numb mind. I wondered why a person is forced to do something which he dislikes. All I could do was pray about it. The next day was even more terrible. With the frequent calls from the so called Resource manager, I finally decided to give in. I agreed to join the new project. I thought of joining the new project and then quitting from the company itself.

But a miracle happened the next Monday, there was a new requirement in my previous project and they wanted me to be there. When I call it a miracle, understand the fact that there was no requirement at all in the project till that Friday. Monday morning, it suddenly came out of the blue. When my manager called up the resource manger to tell her that he wants to retain me, she said that she will find another resource for him and let him move to the other project. But miracle happened again, Lord worked through the technical manager (who dint even knew me) in my account. He spoke and solved the issue stating that, my resume has already been sent to the client for interview. Just the pure grace of the Lord almighty.

“In his time, he makes all things beautiful“

P.S: As a matter of fact, the lady resource manager is out of Wipro now and I am still working in the same account, in the same project till date. Amazing grace!!!

Thought Bubble - 4

2009-04-20T17:42:00.001+05:30

".....Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible....."

Thought Bubble - 3

2009-04-15T15:05:00.002+05:30

.....I cant love anyone else in the world as I love you and no one else in the whole world can love you as I love you.....

Men will always be men!!!

2009-04-11T16:32:00.006+05:30

I read this on cricinfo, sometime back...

"The first testicular guard was used in cricket in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974. It took 100 years for men to realize that the brain is also important!"

Need I say more.....?

Thought Bubble - 2

2009-04-08T14:55:00.005+05:30

..........it’s like this you know, when a book is kept really really close to your eyes, it’s very difficult to even read the alphabets which make up a word..........

Shoe Throwers!!!

2009-04-08T12:21:00.005+05:30

Yet another shoe throwing incident during a press conference, this time the lime light is on India. The perpetrator Jarnail Singh is an employer of Dainik Jagran. Now to the best part of the whole melodrama,

1. Akali Dal (Collection of Sikh political parties mainly based out of Punjab) offered Jarnail Singh a reward of whopping Rs 2 Lakh and also a LS ticket from the Amritsar constituency. (All this for throwing shoes??? I am off for a press conference with an extra pair of shoes.)

2. PC said “I forgive him”. (He managed his composure and acted as a gentleman but won’t that motivate the aspiring to be “Shoe throwers”???)

I won’t be surprised to see “Shoes strictly prohibited” board outside the press conference rooms in the near future and I am waiting to read about more and more “How-XXXX-dodged-shoe-attack” articles.

P.S: Image Source - http://topnews.in/files/P.Chidambaram-Shoe.Jpg

Thought Bubble - 1

2009-04-07T17:10:00.009+05:30

...........may be like chemotherapy or radiation given to a cancer patient.. it just helps the patient to be alive a little more time.. but the patient as well as the doctor knows the end result that the he/she is going to die......

Missing rain …

2009-04-04T18:49:00.008+05:30

When I was a kid, the season I loved the most was “Reverse Monsoons”. The Reverse monsoons, actually happens during the return of the southwest monsoon winds. These rains ( Thulavarsham - as it rains during the Malayalam month of Thulam) are in the months of October and November and sometimes lasts till December. Anyways, don’t get me wrong here, am no climatologist. All the above details are just the outcome of googling. What I loved the most about this season is that, the day time would be all normal and sunny, and it starts getting dark and cloudy by around 1630-1700. Heavy afternoon or rather evening showers accompanied by thunder and lightening is the main characteristic of this season.

Last weekend, I had gone home to attend one of my friend’s brothers wedding. On Saturday evening, while I was out with my friend it suddenly became very cloudy and dark. We were on bike; the wind was blowing so hard that we were not at all able to go on. So we stopped and stood in a near by shop. When I was standing there I realized how much I missed rains in my life these days. That pit stop made me nostalgic and did refresh quite a lot of good old memories.

Now I am back at Chennai, and now I know how much I miss rains. I miss the smell of rain, the fresh smell of the moisture that rises up as the raindrops hit the earth. Somehow rain just doesn't smell the same in Chennai (read “it smells pathetic”). Alone in my room, listening to the sound of the raindrops is another thing I miss. Sitting by the verandah, having a coffee and the wind blowing droplets of water onto my face, inexpressible the joy I get.

Now, I am not saying that it doesn’t rain at Chennai, it does rain and the plight of Chennai becomes so bad that we start thinking that it was better if it hadn’t rained. I have no hiccups with Chennai, it’s a good place to be at except for the climate.

Hectic week...

2009-03-21T19:49:00.007+05:30

Must say, I really had a hectic week. The major reason being the absence of my team leader. He was on leave since Monday, because of the sudden demise of his father!!! Ever since he went off, I was awfully loaded with work. I work in a 2 member project, and with no onsite coordinator(thanks to cost cutting). That means we have to interact with the client directly. Well let me make a point here, the absence of an onsite coordinator is a blessing to some extend as you don't have to worry about credit stealing, extra work and many more things like that. But as all the free things come with costly products, this blessing costs you a very very meager margin of error as you to interact with the clients directly. As my manager reminds me day in and out, everything you do is very crucial and damn important. The code you write, the documents you prepare and even the mails you sent are so very crucial.

And from tuesday, I had to do everything on my own. All the mails, documents and even the new proposals and ideas for the project. It was hectic. But trust me, I enjoyed every bit of it. What I enjoyed the most was "taking decisions" on project matters. You have no one to consult with but God. Trust me, I really loved it :)

This post is just to thank God, for guiding me through all the tough days of my life. Thank you for being with me when ever I needed Lord. I know that very often I don't live up to your expectations. Lord, am human and tend to make and repeat mistakes each day. But please forgive me and give me the strength to get through temptations each day. Because I know very well that "With you all things are possible............" :)

Second Chance...

2009-03-05T12:44:00.014+05:30

Ohh, this is me... I shouted having a glance on my snap in today's newspaper. But what the HELL is it doing in the death column?? Strange... One sec... Let me think, last night when I was going to bed I had a severe pain in my chest, but I don't remember anything after that, I think I had a sound sleep. Its morning now, ohh..... It's already 10:00AM, where is my coffee? I will be late for office and that bastard will get a chance to irritate me.

Where is everyone...??? I screamed. “I think there is a crowd outside my room, let me check." I said to myself. So many people..... Not all of them are crying... But why some of them crying... WHAT IS THIS??? I’m lying there on the floor... "I AM HERE" ... I shouted!!! No one listened though.

"LOOK I AM NOT DEAD" ... I screamed once again!!! No one is interested in me. They all were looking me on the bed. I went back to my bed room. "Am I dead??" I asked myself. Where is my wife, my children, my mom-DAD, my friends? I found them in the next room, all of them were crying... still trying to console each other. My wife was crying... she was really looking sad. My little kid was not sure what happened, but he was crying just coz his mom was sad.

How can I go without saying my kid that I really love him, I really do care for him. ??
How can I go without saying my wife that she is the most beautiful and most caring wife in this world..??
How can I go without saying my parents that I am what I am ... just because of them ?? How can I go without telling my friends that without them perhaps I would have done most of the wrong things in my life... thanks for being there always when I needed them... and sorry for not being there when they really needed me..

I can see a person standing in the corner and trying to hide his tears... Ohh... he was once my best friend, but a small misunderstanding made us part, and we both have strong ego enough to keep us apart. I went there.. And offered him my hand, "Dear friend... I just want to say sorry for everything, we are still best friends, please forgive me." No response from other side, what the hell?? He is still preserving his ego, I am saying sorry... even then!!! I really don't care for such people. But one sec.... it seems he is not able to see me!!!! He did not see my extended hand.

My goodness... AM I REALLY DEAD???

I just sat down near ME; I was also feeling like crying... "OHH ALMIGHTY!!!! PLEASE JUST GIVE ME FEW MORE DAYS..." I just want to make my wife, my parents; my friends realize that how much I love them.

My wife entered in the room, she looks beautiful. "YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL" I shouted. She didn't hear my words, in fact she never heard these words
coz I never said this to her. "GOD!!!!" I screamed... a little more time please..

I cried...

One more chance please... to hug my child, to make my mom smile just once, to make my dad proud at least for a moment, to say sorry to my friends for everything I have not done, and thanks for still being in my life....

Then I looked up and cried!!!! I shouted....

"GOD!!! ONE MORE CHANCE PLEASE!!!!"

"You shouted in your sleep," said my wife as she gently woke me up. "Did you have a nightmare?" I was sleeping.... Ohh that was just a dream.... My wife was there... she can hear me... This is the happiest moment of my life...

I hugged her and whispered.... "U R THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND
CARING WIFE IN THIS UNIVERSE.... I REALLY LOVE U DEAR".

I can't understand the reason of the smile on her face with tears in her eyes, still I m happy....

"THANK YOU GOD FOR THIS SECOND CHANCE!!!"

Disclaimer: I got this as a forward and its not my work in anyway...

Nothing in life like being alone!!!

2009-02-16T11:34:00.001+05:30

No one to laugh with, no one to cry with
The pain of loneliness is sometimes unbearable!!!

Sitting alone at a beach, staring at the star lit sky.
The joy I get, inexpressible it is!!!

Journey called “My Life” seems so directionless now,
Don’t know where I am going, don’t know what I need!!!

Had learnt to smile all the way,
So I am smiling, Alone on the road!!!

Nothing in life like being alone!!!

Howard Roark quotes...

2009-02-03T12:00:00.009+05:30

Recently I read couple of quotes by Howard Roark. I really loved the way it's been put across. Simple yet very powerful and influential. Thought I will share it here because I believe it's worth reading at least once in your lifetime.

For those of you who don't know "Howard Roark", he is the protagonist of "The Fountainhead" - a 1943 novel by Ayn Rand. I am waiting to get hold of that book, because somehow I became a fan of "Howard Roark" right after reading these quotes!!!

"I came here to say that I do not recognize anyone's right to one minute of my life. Nor to any part of my energy. Nor to any achievement of mine. No matter who makes the claim, how large their number or how great their need. I wished to come here and say that I am a man who does not exist for others."
"Man cannot survive except through his mind. He comes on this earth unarmed. His brain is his only weapon. Animals obtain food by force. Man has no claws, no fangs, no horns, no great strength of muscle. He must plant his food or hunt it. To plant, he needs a process of thought. To hunt, he needs weapons, and to make weapons -- a process of thought. >From this simplest necessity to the highest religious abstraction, from the wheel to the skyscraper, everything we are and everything we have comes from a single attribute of man -- the function of his reasoning mind."
"The choice is not self-sacrifice or domination. The choice is independence or dependence. The code of the creator or the code of the second-hander. This is the basic issue. It rests upon the alternative of life or death. The code of the creator is built on the needs of a reasoning mind which allows man to survive. The code of the second-hander is built on the needs of a mind incapable of survival. All that which proceeds from man's independent ego is good. All that which proceeds from man's dependence upon men is evil."
"The egoist in the absolute sense is not the man who sacrifices others. He is the man who stands above the need of using others in any manner. He does not function through them. He is not concerned with them in any primary matter. Not in his aim, not in his motive, not in his thinking, not in his desires, not in the source of his energy. He does not exist for any other man -- and he asks no other man to exist for him. This is the only form of brotherhood and mutual respect possible between men."

Emily Cummins – Solar powered fridge

2009-01-22T08:56:00.008+05:30

Proving once again that the best ideas are often the simplest, 21-year-old student/inventor/entrepreneur Emily Cummins has designed a brilliant portable solar-powered refrigerator that works based upon the principle of evaporation. Employing a combination of conduction and convection, the refrigerator requires no electricity and can be made from commonly available materials like cardboard, sand, and recycled metal.

Emily Jayne Cummins (born 11 February 1987) is a student at Leeds University studying Management and Sustainability. Her inclination towards design and innovation started way back when she was four years old, when her granddad gave her a hammer. From then on, whenever she used to visit she spends hours with him. She was inspired as she saw her granddad taking scraps of materials and turning them in to toys for her and her cousins.
Her innovations include:

1. Toothpaste Dispenser.
2. Water Carrier.
3. Sustainable Refrigerator.

I must say, of all of them I was really impressed with the idea of refrigerator and the way it works. Simply amazing!!!

Simply place perishable foods or temperature-sensitive medications in the solar refrigerator’s interior metal chamber and seal it. In-between the inner and outer chamber, organic material like sand, wool or soil is then saturated with water. As the sun warms the organic material, water evaporates, reducing the temperature of the inner chamber to a cool, 6 degree Celsius for days at a time!

After winning £5,000 from York Merchant Adventurers for her idea, Emily delayed going to college for a year to take her refrigerator to Africa for further development. She made six versions during the initial phase of production and helped make more than 50 during the trip where locals in Namibia nicknamed her “The Fridge Lady“. The refrigerator has since rolled out in Zambia, Namibia and South Africa and Emily believes thousands more may be in use as the design passes from community to community through word-of-mouth.

Sources: www.inhabitat.com

Sacrifice??? Selfless Love???

2009-01-16T15:13:00.005+05:30

On way back from an adjacent town, we stopped at a highway dhaba. Placing our order, we stretched ourselves out on the cane chairs. A motley group of people occupied other tables. As we glanced around desultorily, a ragged man sauntered in & sat down. He poured himself a glass of water from the steel jug. He drank two glasses, but ordered no food, nor did the dhaba boys ask him.

When our tea and samosas arrived, he looked at the food, filled his glass again and drank it. We saw no greed in his eyes, but it was an easy guess, that the guy was hungry & had no money. The dhaba boy told us, “Oh! That madman comes in everyday. If he has money, he eats something; otherwise he just drinks a few glasses of water & leaves. My boss said that since water has been given to us by God, we must never stop anyone drinking it at our dhaba.”

This logic really touched me. I asked the boy to serve the man a plate of samosas. When he did so, the man looked at him. The boy pointed to us. The man looked at us but made no acknowledgement. As he picked up the first samosa, a little girl in rags walked up & just stood there. He gave her the samosa, which she wolfed down. He picked up the second one & handed that to her, too. She grabbed it & ran away.

He pushed away his empty plate, filled up his glass again, drank the water and walked away from the dhaba without a backward glance.

I asked myself if I were capable of a gesture like that. The most I could muster was, ‘I HOPE SO’.

If sharing what we have in excess is generosity, then how would we describe what that madman did? - SACRIFICE??? SELFLESS LOVE???

I suppose this is what so called normal men talk about & madmen practice!!!

[P.S: I read this blog at my office blogoshpere, it was mentioned that the author got this as a forward mail …..but it was too good to not share with a larger audience, so I just added my few cents]

Ubiquity

2009-01-08T21:09:00.013+05:30

Ubiquity for Firefox from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.

‘Ubiquity’ is a Mozilla Labs experiment into connecting the Web with language that could make it possible for each one of us to do common tasks, like googling, more quickly and easily. Ubiquity's main goal is to take a disjointed web and bring everything the user needs to them.

Off late I came across another website www.Flowgram.com. Flowgram is a beautiful solution for a very meager problem which almost all of us face everyday. I suggest you to see the video which they have put up in the homepage.

The advantage of using Flowgram is the fact that we can bundle different types of content, be it word doc, ppt, webpages, anything for that matter. I think this is extremely useful as it is hardly supported by the tools currently available. For instance, when we're researching a topic we usually work with a combination of emails, Word and Powerpoint docs, webpages, etc. With Flowgram, this can be done in one place. But however, for this tool to be more useful, a user would also have to have the ablility to unpackage Flowgram to get the different files back in their original format. That’s one thing which they need to work on I guess.

Somehow, when I read about ubiquity I was able to relate it to Flowgram. I felt that that basic problem addressed in both the projects are the same i.e. "disconnected web". But definitely Mozilla have addressed far more issues with ubiquity and they are trying to take user experience to the next level. I feel that's the secret behind the success of great companies, it's not just about the solution, it's about the value add they give to the solution. Anyone can come up with a solution for a problem like "disconnected web". But the way Mozilla related the "disconnected web" to their browser, and the way they related it to the end user is just amazing.

Ubiquity is an amazing concept, but I wonder how far people are going to use it.

Click here to install the prototype of ubiquity.
P.S: Ubiquity is still in the very early stages, and a lot of security issues are yet to be addressed.

"Death by starvation is slow and painful..."

2008-12-06T12:12:00.012+05:30

"Some mothers choose what their children should eat. Others choose which children should eat and which should die and there are others who doesn't have an option at all!!!"
Believe me, EVERY DAY around 18,000 Children Die from Starvation!!!

We find it hard to feel for these people, and importantly children, as they are not our own brother, sister, son, daughter or relative. But if you just open your heart for a second you will be flooded by the despair, faced by these starving children of humanity.

CLICK BELOW TO DONATE FOOD FOR FREE!!!

When you click the button, the site displays ads from their site sponsors, and then all or a percentage of the money goes to fund programs that give food to the hungry.

Free Donation Games:

Staple Foods
http://www.freerice.com - Free Rice
http://www.freeflour.com - Free Bread

Free Water
http://www.freepoverty.com - Lots of free water!
http://www.helpthirst.com - Free water

Free Meals
http://www.ripple.org/give.php?p=food - Just Click!
http://www.porloschicos.com/PorLosChicos.NET/index_english.htm - Click the blue button!
http://www.feedsa.com - Click the white button!
http://www.hungerfighters.com - Click the green box!
http://www.povertyfighters.com/ - Click the blue box!
http://www.thehungersite.com - Click the yellow box!
http://www.okruszek.org.pl - Click the Bread button!
http://www.chintai.net/contribution/index.html - Click the blue box!
http://www.accse.net/delvalle/delvalle.html - Click on 'Donar'
http://www.straatkind.nl/ - Click on the small red ball.
http://www.worldhunger.org/contributefood.htm - Just click!

Help the kids
http://children.care2.com - Click the blue box!
http://www.hungrychildren.com - Click the blue button!
http://www.youthnoise.com/page.php?page_id=2335 - Click the red button!
http://www.bhook.com - Just Click!

Everyday all of US spend at least 2-3 hours visiting the social networking sites and forwarding mails. Why don't we take out just 15 minutes of our time daily for helping these children??? Take a look at the above picture, think and do what you can. Even if its in a very small way, let us start doing what we can.

Remember "Death by starvation is slow and painful".

P.S: Please forward this post to as many people as possible. And if you find any similar websites which can be added to this list. Please do let me know.

Stolid Media...

2008-12-04T09:46:00.004+05:30

This post is dedicated to all the creators of sensationalism and especially to the legend “Barkha Dutt”.

With what level of sense did you ask the questions like “How do you feel?” or “Did you feel scared?” to the hostages of the terrorists??
(“I felt so damn happy, after spending 10 hours hearing gunshots and bomb explosion, I am really looking forward for so many more experiences like this!!!”)

” Shattered glass!! “ Our heroine repeated in her broken voice.
(“101 ways to shoot without breaking the glass by Barkha Dutt”)

Dumbest question ever… this was asked by our heroine to Sabina Saikia’s Husband

"... so, did you at any point think, when you left her room at 6:30 pm, that you would be seeing Sabina for the last time?"

(“Ms. Dutt, if he or any other sane human being did know that they would meet someone for the last time, wouldn't they try and get them out of the situation? Unless he had felt the same as what our forces felt for you during the Kargil war”)

Comrade V.S... You are a CM.. please act like one!!!

2008-12-02T12:06:00.016+05:30

“I shall not apologize because I was not wrong. I was not wrong because we are never wrong .I don’t know why we are never wrong. But ask my followers, they might have made something up by now”

Please check some of the comments by Kerala's Chief Minister V.S.Achuthanandan..

http://www.outlookindia.com/polscape.asp?fodname=20080728

Kerala's Marxist CM V.S. Achuthanandan has no pretensions of being a nuke expert. But he has a take on ex-President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's endorsement of the Deal: "What has Kalam done other than fire a few 'vaanams' (Diwali rockets)?" The subtext: who is Kalam to talk about the N-deal? As expected, fans of Kalam are not amused and have been giving Achumama an earful. The most stinging criticism came from the BJP's C.K. Padmanabhan, himself an ex-comrade: "Who's Achuthanandan? He couldn't even stitch a shirt pocket properly." The reference was to the CM's stint as a tailor in his young days.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/kerala-cm-insults-nsg-commandos-family--comment/79504-3.html

Thiruvananthapuram/Bangalore: "If it had not been (Major) Sandeep's house, not even a dog would have glanced that way."

This was how Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan heaped scorn on Monday on the family of NSG Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan slain in the Mumbai terror attack during commando operations, igniting a controversy after smarting under the snub from the father of the angry officer's when he went to Bangalore to offer his condolences.

The octogenarian CPI-M leader was turned away from the Bangalore home of Sandeep, a Keralite, on Sunday for what K Unnikrishnan perceived as Kerala government ignoring his son's supreme sacrondolence call in time.

"He (Sandeep's father) says that the Kerala Chief Minister did not come whereas the Karnataka Chief Minister came in the morning itself...and that Kerala has ignored him. He got all worked up over this," Achuthanandan told a news channel in Thiruvananthapuram

The Chief Miniser asked "Is there a rule that the chief ministers of Kerala and Karnataka should be there at the same time?

After a pause, the Chief Minister went on to say "If it had not been Sandeep's house, not even a dog would have glanced that way."

"It is Sandeep's family and that is why we went. A soldier's father should have had the sense to understand that," the Chief Minister said.

But Sandeep's father said politicians were under "compulsions and duress" to express solidarity with victims' kin in an apparent attemapt to get political mileage and "I did not want to respond to them."

Time and again Kerala's CM used to be in the limelight, but for the wrong reasons and well it’s the same if you have read the papers today. I guess, as of now the wrong reasons outweigh the right ones uprightly by any means. The height of insensitivity which he displayed in his response is something which no politician in this World or for that matter, no sane and level-headed human being can match. "If it had not been (Major) Sandeep's house, not even a dog would have glanced that way". Those words came, not from a road side riffraff or a roadside Romeo, but from The Chief Minister of Kerala, to the family of a soldier who died fighting the terrorists. If he had responded with more sense and maturity people would have respected him for that. If he ever had the real qualities of a leader or a good human being for that matter he would never have responded in this manner. This really shows his character, class and his stature.

Com: V.S, please show some more sense and maturity, at least for the sake of the position you are holding now.

Perspective...

2008-12-01T15:58:00.010+05:30

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, People may accuse you of selfish motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are honest and frank, People may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, Someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, They may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, People will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway

Give the world the best you have, And it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you have anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, It is between you and God;
It never was between you and them anyway....

I happened to read this quote a month back, it had a great impact on me. It really changed the way I looked at problems. Am not saying that I got that "close-to-perfect" attitude after reading this, but ya it did help me. After that I made it a point to talk about this to whomever I stuck up a conversation with and that's precisely the reason behind this post.

Love Life!!!

2008-11-26T21:13:00.002+05:30

I was yet another guy at college with enjoy life to fullest attitude. Like most of my friends, I was also single and getting in to a relationship was a distant dream.

Every day after college, we friends used to sit together at our favorite spot, have tea and check out all the babes coming that way :). One day as we were sitting there; a cute girl walked past us and one of my friends gave her name and said she was 2years junior to us. I just had another glance n that’s it!!

But it happened that I met this gal at church that Sunday. I had some kind of strange feeling that day; I don’t know what, but something special. Then we used to meet at the college canteen, don’t know why and how on earth it happened, but we both used to be at the canteen almost at the same time. We used to lock our eyes time and again (which she always used to deny later when we started talking). My next aim was to meet her and talk to her. There was a cultural fest going on at college and that time we met through a common friend. Started off with the usual smiles, then we started talking. I was swept off my feet, from the day I started talking to her. As a usual relationship it grew, we started talking over phone; started messaging and this went on for like 6 months. I felt that I should propose and thought I will give her a surprise. I was not all that tensed as I knew that she is going to say yes. By that time her exams got over and she was going home for vacation. She was born and brought up in Middle East. So I went to the airport to meet and propose her. But when I called her up after reaching the airport she told that she had already cleared her emigration and will not be able to come outL. All my plans were washed ashore, but I talked to her for almost an hour and told her how much I loved her and wished to be with her. She said she too felt the same and told me that we will talk in detail while she gets back. Those were the days when I used to check my mail 30 – 40 times a day, waiting to read her mail. When she got back, she told me more about her parents and she told me that she was very much afraid of her parents and never wanted to hurt them or do anything against them. I agreed to everything she said. She talked sensibly, was overtly caring and would sacrifice anything for the ones she loved. Just a few reasons that made me fall madly in love with her.

We started our journey together hand in hand to share our joys and sorrows, which was actually going to be short, which both of us never knew. We had a nice time together, real fun we had when we used to go out together. For me, those were the days I treasure and which I can never ever forget. Things we were working out well between us and we got along very well. We got close to each other and spending even hours without seeing her became a nightmare for me.

One day after our exams, we were out together at beach. We were sitting and talking there. We were talking about the vacation that was coming up, it was the semester break and she was supposed to fly back home. So we were thinking on how to keep in touch especially when at her home she even dint have the freedom of checking the mails. Suddenly, her nose started bleeding. I was panicked, but she told me that it happened usually as she had sinusitis problem. She also told me that it was quite frequent these days. Well, the bleeding stopped but I asked her to get it checked while going back home.

I also went home for the vacation, counting days on when I can see her. But that vacation we talked over phone couple of times. She took the risk of calling me when her parents were not around. The last time she called me was 2 days before the day she was supposed to come back, she told that she was going to see the doctor the next day for her sinusitis problem.

Finally the day arrived when I was supposed to go and receive her at airport as planned. When I went there I saw her walking out along with her parents and sister. She saw me but hardly acted as if she knew me. She walked past me and into the car that was waiting for them. I was irritated and all the more angry, but I knew it was because of her parents. I was wondering why her parents came back with her???

I called her up, but she dint pick up my call. I messaged her and she dint reply back. I called up her roommates and they told me that her parents came, packed up couple of her attire and went away. I was frustrated, angry and above all I was broken. I dint know what was happening. I kept on trying her number, but it was switched off by then. That night I got a call from one of her close friends, she told me that the love of my life, my sweetheart was diagnosed with cancer and they took her for treatment to the cancer center. She somehow managed to call her, and asked her to convey this to me. I was totally destroyed, I dint know what to do. I told this to one of my close friend and that night itself, we went to the cancer center which was almost 200kms from our college. We reached there almost by sunrise. We enquired and found her room number. Then we went to see her by around 8, her sister was there with her. Her parents had gone to their relatives place after being there with her at night. My friend and her sister got out of the room, by now. She touched me, took my hand and told me that she loved me a lot; tears started rolling out of her eyes. We talked for sometime; I couldn’t help but cry and told her how much I wanted to be with her. It was almost half an hour by then, her sister came in and told that her parents are coming back. She asked me to give her a kiss on her forehead. I kissed and then she told me not to come to see her again, as she dint want her parents to know about this relation and wanted to see them happy. That was the last day I was that close to my baby.

Her parents came in and she introduced us to them as her classmates. I dint know what to do, we talked for sometime and her father told that she had leukemia. He also told it was diagnosed very late. We bid goodbye to them. I looked at my gal, I could see her eyes filling with tears but by then she stopped looking me and started telling her sister something. I dint know what to do I went out and sat there outside the hospital on my bike. After an hour or so I got a message from her, she said “I know you will be here in and around the hospital now. But please go back now. As I told you I don’t want to make my parents unhappy at this stage. And don’t think that I don’t love you or I don’t want to see you but…… “. That was the last message which I got from her mobile, after that most of the time it was switched off and I never got replies for the messages I sent. She was very particular and strong when she told me not to let her parents know about this relation and make them unhappy. We left there by around 4 in the evening. The only option which I had to see her was to take someone or the other with me to meet her at the hospital. So I used to visit her, along with her roommates, her other class mates and everyone possible. But we never were able to spend time together. Just we used to lock our eyes for sometime and that was it. It was the worst days of my life. The love of my life, was suffering and I was not able to do anything about it. I was not even able to see her or visit her or comfort her.

On January 25th 2008 morning, almost 3 weeks since she was admitted at hospital, I got a call from her number by around 5 in the morning; I thought it was a dream. When I answered the call, it was her sister, she was crying and she told me that my sweetheart passed away around 15mins back. She hanged up the phone after that. It was like peeling my skin off my body. I was totally destroyed. The person whom I loved more than myself was no more with me, I couldn’t take it. I along with some of my friends went to her native place and I went in and saw my sweetheart. She was as cute as ever, I wanted to sit by her side, I wanted to cry loud, but I couldn’t even do that. I saw her parents and slowly walked out of the room. I don’t want to even think about it now. Imagine my plight, the person whom I loved the most, she passed away and I was not supposed to sit with her. I came out of the room, sat there with my friends.

By around 4 in the evening, her body was supposed to be taken to the church. I wanted to give the person whom I loved more than myself a final kiss, but I was not able to do that too. I knew she would love to get that from me but not when her parents and relatives are around. I saw her parents and sister and all other people kissing her through the window of that room. I couldn’t help but cry cry and cry………
The funeral service at church got over by around 6 in the evening. Almost everyone started walking back; I sat there when the workers started to close her cell. For half an hour I sat there, by then her sister came and give me a cover. She also told me that my babe had instructed her to call and inform me first about her demise. I opened the cover, she had written a 5 page long letter for me. She also gave me her mail id and password and told me to open the folder where she saved all the pictures we had taken together (the picture attached is one such).

As my friends tell me day in and out, I am still trying to forget her but I don’t think that will ever happen in my life………… Now getting into a relation is not really a dream for me…. I just want to live like this, with all those sweet memories and treasured days……

P.S: "This is just a story. The characters in the story are all fictitious and any resemblance to any person, living or dead is purely coincidental..."

Sometimes I wish I were a kid...

2008-11-25T14:03:00.001+05:30

Yesterday while standing on the balcony I saw some kids playing, enjoying and having a wonderful time. I kept watching them for almost an hour; it did take me back to the good old days. As the song goes, “those were the best days of my life………” Now, that exactly is the reason behind this blog….

I long for those days when my conscience was as sensitive as my taste buds and my innocence pure like the dew. Those were the days when I wondered were the sun went off after 6. Those were the days when I was forced to sleep twice a day. When I used to envy my grandmother so much, as the only thing she used to do was reading Bible and newspapers. Those were the days when I wanted to grow up very fast only for the reason that I don’t need to write exams nor study if I grew older. When I dint know how it felt to have a broken heart. When I didn’t know how much people hated each other. When I dint know what politics was or what the word government meant. When my brother used to tease me asking “Who is the Prime Minister of Kerala??”. When I dint know how much my dad and mom loved me. When I dint know the meaning of relationships. Those were the days when all the games we played ended up in a fight with my brother my mom saying “No more games”. When I never worried about tomorrow nor fret about yesterday. When I never worried about what other people would think of me.

Being a kid is always special. But I’m not a kid anymore. I’m just another brick on the wall that seems to think survival is success. I guess I’ll just keep wishing I was a kid again and maybe, just maybe, I’ll get lucky enough to relive one of those beautiful realities.