Twinkle twinkle little star...

Game shows have taken over the TV prime time slots these days. From "Kon banega crorepati" (Hindi version of who wants to be a millionaire) to "Bol baby bol" to "Kya aap panchive pas se tez hein", everyone seems to be asking questions. Better than the soap operas I say. They at least make you think. Here is a question that probably everyone must have asked as a kid. I am not sure how many of us know the correct answer though.

"Why do stars twinkle?"

Now, be honest and try to answer it without asking someone or searching for the answer. You can use the comments link to drop in your answer. The correct answers can suggest a topic on which I will post a blog or send in their questions or comments which I can post on this blog.

Sony Ericsson K810i

Geeta's old mobile stopped working so we were on the lookout for a new phone. Requirements were -

1. Decent Camera & Flash - atleast 3 MP as she would need to click lots of snaps of Ahan. Also flash was a must as there would be a lot of situations where the snaps will be taken in insufficient light conditions.
2. FM Radio & MP3 player - must have again as both Geeta and Ahan love to listen to music and it provides a good means of TP.
3. Speaker Phone - required as for Ahan to listen to music it will have to be played on the speaker phone.
4. Video & audio recording - required to capture those amazing moments with Ahan.
5. Bluetooth - must these days
6. Stylish and new - Obviously, if a girl is going to use it!

After a lot of comparison we chose the Sony Ericsson K910i. Its a new model and we got it in a nice color, especially for the ladies! It has a 3.2 MP camera (cybershot) with Xenon flash and all the other features that we were looking for. We compared this phone against the Nokia N73 and Music Express phones and W910i by Sony Ericsson.

Here is a link to check out all the technical details of the phone.
http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_k810-1839.php

We are very happy with the phone. The screen clarity is good, the phone is light and nice to hold and easy to operate. No issues what so ever with the software or anything other thing. The camera and flash are superb (one of our most important reasons to go for this phone, due to the cybershot brand name). It came with a 2GB card.

I will post some of the photographs taken with it and more updates in the days to come.

Tumse hi...Tumse hi

Everytime I hear the song "tumse hi tumse hi", a very strong emotion takes me over. It is a little sad and nostalgic but very haunting. I just cant get away from the tune and the song. Here are the lyrics. Its from the movie "Jab we met" starring Shahid and Kareena.

na hai yeh pana, na khona hi hai
tera na hona jane, kyun hona hi hai
tum se hi din hota hai, surmaiye shaam aati, tumse hi, tumse hi
har ghadi saans aati hai, zindagi kehlati hai, tumse hi, tumse hi
na hai yeh pana, na khona hi hai
tera na hona jane, kyun hona hi hai

aankhon mein ankhein teri, bahoon mein baahein teri
mera na mujhmein kuch raha, hua kya
baaton mein baatein teri, raatein saugatein teri
kyun tera sab yeh ho gaya, hua kya
main kahin bhi jata hoon, tumse hi mil jata hoon, tumse hi, tumse hi
shoor mein khamoshi hai, thodi si behoshi hai, tum se hi, tum se hi

aadha sa wada kabhi, aadhe se jayada kabhi
jee chaahe kar lu is tarah wafa ka
chhode na chhoote kabhi, tode na tute kabhi
jo dhaga tumse jud gaya wafa ka
main tera sarmaya hoon, jo main ban paya hoon, tumse hi, tumse hi
raaste mil jaate hai, manzile mil jaati hai, tumse hi, tumse hi
na hai yeh paana, na khona hi hai
tera na hona jaane kyun hona hi hai

Mentoring

At work you will meet two kinds of managers. Those that mentor and those that dont. I think there are huge advantages to mentoring and hope that the day will soon arrive when every person has a mentor.

A mentor is a midway position between a boss and a teacher. It is someone who helps more by way of example. (s)he should be able to manage people well and supervise their work to see if they are on the right track. Just delegating the work and following up to check on the closure status is not the same. You need to be involved, have the necessary know-how and be ready to help out if required.

Another important aspect of mentoring is for the mentor to have an open mind in disseminating knowledge. Don't treat the tricks you have learnt as a top secret, share your expertise with the mentee. It is good to see someone following in your footsteps or even taking after you!

Having good listening skills are also a must. As a mentor, you should not only listen, but also be able to understand the situation. You should never be overbearing or make your advice mandatory. Give the person room to disagree, your role is just to provide helpful suggestions not to enforce them.

As a mentor you should have excellent interpersonal skills. A wide range of experience can make you an interesting person to be with and to learn from. A good knowledge of the world and the way things work is necessary if you want people to look up to you.

Successful mentoring can bring about a drastic change in organisational working and culture. It can encourage new aspirants and minimise corporate jealousies thus making way for an open atmosphere where learning abounds both for the experienced and inexperienced alike.

The MMTS option

I've decided to give a try to the more greener and stress free MMTS mode of travel to and from office. Today was the first day of the experiment. I have taken a one month pass between Secunderabad and Lingampally. Irrespective of the time of the day it takes about 1 1/2 hrs. I am planning to take an auto to the Secunderabad station, MMTS from there to Lingampally and the office shuttle from the station to office. The time for the train journey is about 45 mins, 15 mins for the shuttle to office, 10 mins to the station from home and rest is transition and waiting time.

Its not a bad option when compared with the driving to work option, where the stress of driving in Hyderabad's traffic is killing! Time wise mornings are worse off compared to driving but evenings are on par or better. The real advantage though is the stress factor and I hope the energy I conserve through the MMTS option can be focused on other more important things.

Hyderabad's new airport

The new airport at Hyderabad is commencing operation from today. Ashwin is traveling to Pune today and he has the unique opportunity of using the airport on the very first day of its operation.

To me decision of closing down the Begumpet airport and moving all operations to the new airport smells fishy. While I am not against the starting of the new airport, I dont see any logic behind closing down the old airport and shifting all operations to the new airport. The civil aviation ministry and state government together should have put the necessary infrastructure in place before taking such a drastic decision. The commute time to the new airport from the center of the city is anywhere between 1 1/2 to 3 hrs depending on the traffic situation. Also, the cost of operating out of the new airport is much more for the airlines (and ultimately the customer), than out of Begumpet.

Inspite of some airlines and the public asking for the older airport to be kept open for some more time or for operation of some of the low cost airlines, the decision was still made (in haste) to move all operations to the new airport. Obviously someone in the ministry has vested interests and this kind of blatant biasing is still not being checked in this day and age!

Healthy babyfood recipe - Ragi Soup

We have started Ahan on a healthy homemade recipe of Ragi soup in addition to boiled apples and ripe bananas. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
Ragi flour
Water/ milk

Procedure:
1. Sieve ragi flour through a muslin cloth. You can tie a muslin cloth to a container (not too tightly) and pour the powder on it little by little. Collect the powder in the container that has passed through the cloth. The powder that remains on the cloth needs to be discarded. You may use it for adults, but it shouldn't be used for babies.
2. Take a teaspoonful of this powder in a glass, and add a little water to make a paste without lumps. Then add 3/4 glass of water or milk and make a thin solution.
3. Heat this solution on low fire. Bring it to a boil. Keep stirring. As you keep boiling and stirring, the colour of the solution will change slightly indicating that it is done. You can continue to boil till the desired consistency is reached.

Feed the baby this soup when it is lukewarm. Initially you can begin with a thin solution and slowly increase the thickness of the soup as the baby grows up and gets used to it.