BINDAS BAY!

Slogan for next wave of technologies!

2007-07-24T22:58:00.000-07:00

"OF the people, BY the people and FOR the people!"

Coming from India, I truly beleived in this slogan since my childhoold and it has always fascinated me how we can apply this principle of democracy to our current fast paced internet world and now I am amazed to actually see how this will form the basis of next generation internet technologies.

Internet sure has come a long way since it's birth and many advanced technologies made it close to impossible to even think of a day without internet. We definetely are moving away quickly from a generation where companies decided what they wanted people to know to a time where companies have just begun to understand what people may want to know and how companies could provide that information to those people. Simply said, the now mantra is to provide the right information to the right people at the right time!

However, technologies like chat, video sharing, blogging, social networking are bringing more people closer not just to stay in touch w/ friends and family but actually being able to distribute the content seamlessly with each other and even w/ people whom they have probably never met in their life. Here I find it very critical to underline the thread of human connections and how these connections are shaping the information that is relevant to them and to others with whom they'd like to share.

I think it will be premature to think that companies will now only be platforms for the user generated content. It is definetely to be seen how and when all these dots come together if companies could let a couch potato who blogged on Joanne Rowling, enjoy a TV commercial on Harry Potter book and actually let him order and pay for a copy of the book via his cell phone...What do you think? :)

In any case, I am just excited than ever to see internet companies attempting to understand the fact that future lies to enable build, retain and foster these relationships OF the people, BY the people and FOR the people :)

Am back...

2006-11-10T11:35:00.000-07:00

I am back again!! Back to blogging, back to San Jose, back to same old routine :) Did you ever feel very excited to get a change from the routine but when you actually are out there, you miss home? I did, and my story below will tell you why :)

Not very long ago it all began in a 'lighthouse', 10-12 of us brainstorming/white boarding while more cans of Talking Rain popped open. We were on a mission - goal to revolutionalize our products. Well, the actual product details are hardly the point of this discussion, but just to give you a gist of one of the decisions made that day, I ended up on a flight to Europe, thus began my journey!

My first stop over was at Berlin, Germany. This city welcomes you with its warm and friendly people, touches you with its history, amazes you with its buildings, saddens you with its real stories, teases you with its night life, satisfies you with its tasty food and in short this is a city that surely wins your heart!! It won mine :) Here are my highlights:
1. Berliners are sooper friendly!!
2. Driving on Auto Bahn is crazzyyyyyyy!! Also, loved the walks from Karl-Lieb(Karl-Liebknecht-Str) onto Unter den Linden onto Kaiser Damm
3. Floating Beer - can you ask more?
4. Fashion lives on Ku' Damm!!
5. Alexander Platz/ Potsdamer Platz - name it, every piece of Berlin is filled with history, real stories...

Danke Shun Berlin, for making my trip memorable for a life time!!!
Checkout more pics at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23849442@N00/sets/

After a fun filled week at Berlin, I flew to the most romantic city, des La Paris :o) Come back soon to experience Paris my way and to learn how i missed home!!

What do I want...

2006-07-10T21:11:00.000-07:00

Any guess?? well, I got none... surely, this has been one thought on my head for few days now, I scratch my head again but as usual i got no where with the chain of thoughts...

When I was a teen, I wanted Richard Gere
I wanted to become sooper famous by 22
I want to become a global manager and roam around the world discussing high profile strategies (like when Phoebe from Friends becomes a Merill Lynch consultant)
I want to own a 'small car' (SLK 55 is small - no?)
I want to be the coolest mom ever (dont get any clues here)
Before that I want to jump off a plane (No silly, Sky diving i meant)
I want to form/work fulltime for a NGO group
I want to own a farm house when I retire, farms till my eyes can reach (at that age, it wont be too far)

yadi yadi yada....you know how mind works!

Now, the other side of the head dictates just hard core reality and practical possibilities, the one that says, "Honey, lets get real here...Richard Gere??" Some of these things i realized are still possible, yet there is a silver fine line between what I want and what I can get...Anyways, who really knows what one wants, ye?

While you ponder on your wishes, I'd say for now i want a piece of that yummmmy rum soaked tiramasu from Buca Di Beppo! :)

...and hey, thanks for hanging around sooo long! :)

Journey that never ends...

2006-04-17T01:40:00.000-07:00

"స్వర్గాలను అన్దుకొనాలని వడిగా గుడి మెఠ్లెకేవు
సాఠి మనిషి వేదన చూస్తూ జాలి లేని శిలవైనావు
కరుణను మరిపిన్చేదా చదువు సమ్స్కారం అన్టె
గున్డె బన్ఢగా మార్చేదా సామ్ప్ఱదాయం అన్టె

నువ్వు తినే ప్రతి ఒక మెతుకు ఈ సన్ఙం పన్డిన్చిన్దే
గర్విన్చే ఈ నీ బ్రతుకు ఈ సమాజమే మలిచిన్ది
రుణం తీర్చు తరుణం వస్తే తప్పించుకు పోతున్నావా
తెప్ప తగలబెటేస్తావా యేరు దాటగానే "

Sorry for those who cannot read telugu, you may find my feeble attempt in translation below. These lines by Sirivennala SeetharamaSastry (Movie: Rudraveena), stand true to their meaning irrespective of race/religion/sex. They portray the human nature in the most simplest yet profound way...

"Pleasures you seek and attempt to please Him
I see no misfortune could melt your heart
compassion did they miss in your education
or is it the culture that turned you stone hearted?

who sow the seeds of every meal you cherish,
who made your life a success till you perish,
are you turning back when you need to share
will you burn the log that took you to shore? "

This truth of life, a journey that we embark to reach heights continues...if only we are more consciously aware of our social responsibilities, our journeys may light up many lives on the way, I say.

* May be a lighter post next time! :)

Wanna Be(e)?

2006-03-31T19:20:00.000-07:00

A 3-year old girl wearing her favorite yellow flowery frock, a frock that hardly covers her little diapi ran around the room thinking "Thank god, we have guests over!" Her heart sinks when she hears her mommy call her from across the room...She quitely walks towards her mom thinking "its okay! make the innocent face, it always works!".

Her mom takes her into her arms and asks "Chinni, why dont you tell Vijji auntie, Rama auntie, Saraswati auntie, what you want to be when you grow up?". The girl thinks to herself if it is a trick question and with her best innocent little face, "I wanna be a Butler!" she says. Ofcourse, the room fills with a hearty laughter! Though I, the little girl (yes, me and this is a real story) didnt knew then how people can laugh at such a fancy word like 'Butler' :)

Now as we grow up, we learn more fancy words and tell ourselves:
“I want to be Aishwarya Rai!”
or “I want to be the next Bill Gates!”

or sometimes even “I want to be Britney Spears!” – okay, now that’s not true but you get the point. We as humans wish to be Heroes in real life. We love to be praised about, walk into a room full of people and turn some heads around…bottom line, we crave for attention! People, who cannot agree with me, look back into yourselves…Honey, not into your shirt!

While this craving blindfolds us, did we forget to count our blessings? Did we forget to thank for what we have in our hands? Over dosage of this craving, fancily called aspiration, can even have the adverse effects of turning a normal person into a complete pessimist, when one of such “wanna be’s” flip over.

In short, is this some kind of a bee that stung us to always aspire to Wanna be someone else that we might not even actually be?

* While you all read that again and share your thoughts or what you wanna be, let me tell you that I am really (not that Oscar- winning-artificially-real, but really ) touched to see you all patiently wait for me to get back…Huggzz to ya! :)

Still Alive...

2006-03-19T11:10:00.000-07:00

Yesh, Yesh am still alive and thy shall return soon.......

Bajrang bali ki Jai

2006-02-19T02:22:00.000-07:00

“Ram dhoot atulith bal dhama
Anjani putr Pavan sut namah”

He is no stranger to any Indian child. Stories of his bravery and devotion, told in many languages all over India, leaves an impression in many as a symbol of strength. I particularly was fond of episodes where he destroys the entire lanka and extends his tail to trouble the ministers in the court room of Ravana :) I felt a deja vu watching 'Hanuman' to see the images I pictured in my childhood about him on the screen. I bet I am not the only one who would feel so; it is a very well narrated desi animation, and the melodious compositions by Tapas just enhanced the experience :)
Now while we are at it, I also came across these NASA pictures of suspected Varadhi recently. Though I cannot vouch for the validity of this information, they sure are very interesting findings. Check more details at RENSE.

WASHINGTON (PTI) -- The NASA Shuttle has imaged a mysterious ancient bridge between India and Sri Lanka, as mentioned in the Ramayana. The evidence, say experts matter-of-factly, is in the Digital Image Collection.

The recently discovered bridge, currently named as Adam's Bridge and made of a chain of shoals, 30 km long, in the Palk Straits between India and Sri Lanka, reveals a mystery behind it.

The bridge's unique curvature and composition by age reveals that it is man-made. Legend as well as Archeological studies reveal that the first signs of human inhabitants in Sri Lanka date back to the primitive age, about 1,750,000 years ago and the bridge’s age are also almost equivalent.

What else can we say but Jai ho Hanuman-jhi! :)

Mushy-Mushy Lovey-Dovey....

2006-02-13T23:35:00.000-07:00

Wish ye’ all a very Happy Valentines day! :) For all those Valentines out there, kiss your wallets a sweet goodbye and for those who don’t get what all this is about, wait on till your heart skips a beat ;)
Yeah I admit I am one of those second kinds until few years who thought if De Beers decided the preciousness of diamonds, Hallmark invented the Valentine’s day…While I still hold onto that thought, I should admit I am realizing to experience the whole ga-ga about this day…the real deal is not in the day, nor in those parties, but its just a feeling shared by two hearts, even if separated miles apart :)

Yes, my first is on the other side of the world waiting to just hear me say how much I am still in Love, even after staying for 5 years in separate continents, I should add :) My second and now my better half and my lucky Valentine for the past two years is few hundred miles away, walking in the Seattle rain, humming “Akele… Akele” (or should I be singing that for him)
Oh well, the point is the two I loved the most in my life though are physically away from me, still stay so close to my heart today that I could just smell the freshness of my love for them, as fresh as the beautiful red roses that I just received from my Valentine :) So, it doesnt matter who you are, whom you love, where your love is, you just need to take that one step forward to make their day, a memorable one...what say? ;)

I wish you all again a very beautiful day filled with love and compassion! :)

PS: my first, btw is my best friend, my precious sister in India ;)

My Perfect Love!

2006-02-06T18:08:00.000-07:00

Yes, Yes it is time for my new post and I tell you, this is by far the longest post here, so read at ease...Bindas Bay got tagged recently(Courtesy: Alive 'n Confused) My perfect love, I thought for a while, and with a bulb on my head and singing ‘rubaroo…rubaroo’ here is the list of things that can turn me on or spin my head twice to check out the person:

Sense of Humor – as wild as DJ’s (Arey yaar, apna Diljeeth…), capable of turning even serious issues into humorous light hearted tunes.
Attitude – as stubborn and opinionated as Karan with a tinge of style and rakish behavior.
A great Friend – as loving and selflessly sacrificing as Sukhi.
A true lover - as affectionate, warm and courageous as Sonia
Visionary – as focused and dedicated as Sue.

I am sure you would have by now guessed what I am talking about, the one thing I found common in all these characters from RDB is the fire in their belly to do something for the society. Then I thought to myself, what good is a perfect lover who can just love me deeply and bear all my naatak but doesn’t have an understanding of the big picture, an understanding of his existence. What good it is if I belong to a family which is labeled under the ‘owner’s pride-neighbor’s envy’ category by the society, but which hardly looks out of its four walls?

Then it dawned upon me that I and other I like beings constitute my family and such families together constitute the so called society. I felt silly for having blamed my family or society for my laziness. So, I though if I can change myself and make even a small difference for my people and my country, then my family might do the same and then my society and thus my country! So, how come we are stuck asking “Akele se kya hoga?”[what can just one do?]. No one other than us knows better in this world, how to fight for freedom, how to fight against any evil…

If the 'evil' has turned India’s pledge as the following:

“India is my country [So I want a piece of it] and all Indians are my brothers and sisters [So I own them]. I love my country and I am proud of its rich and varied heritage. [So, I will ‘share’ this with rest of the world in exchange of filling few bank accounts] I shall always strive to be worthy of it. [Of course, worthy enough to put it in the market] I shall give respect to my parents, teachers and elders and treat everyone with courtesy. To my country and my people, I pledge my devotion. In their well being and prosperity alone, lies my happiness.”[…of course my happiness lies in my prosperity!]

Let us redefine our pledge and imprint it in our hearts to make any and every possible contribution to this land, our land of varied heritage. It is our responsibility to protect it, raise it to new heights and lead India towards success. Together we shall pledge ourselves as one united nation, regardless of language, race or religion. Together we pledge to build a nation based on equality and we will march in new spirits to achieve progress for our India.

“Khoon jo ab na khuala…woh khoon nahee pani hai
Jo desh ke kaam na aaye…bekaar woh jawani hai” [Quote from RDB]

If there is any nation that can be proud of its DNA, it should be us. It is undoubtedly an accepted truth today that India produces some of the world's smartest youngsters. Let us use at least half of our abilities to zoom India into a bright future. If you are still thinking, “haa woh sub theek hai, par Iss Desh ka kuch nahee ho saktha!” [Nothing can happen to this country] May be you will never get the point.

If I take this pledge today and at least help 5 kids per year in Education, and even if 1% of India takes up this initiative, it won’t be long before we eradicate the most pestiferous problem which will indirectly solve many other contagious issues like AIDS, electing worthless politicians, and so on. I bet you are well aware of the math and consequences, so when we agree that every drop counts, what are we waiting for?

I take this pledge today and will work towards the initiative of education in India. I will be posting my activities towards this and other initiatives on “DESI”. Yes, DESI will be an open forum for all of us to share our stories, bring more initiatives/ problem areas into light and work towards improving our nation. If you wish to be a part of this join your hands with me today and let us make a better India together. We deserve it! :)

More details on ‘Develop Evolutionarily Successful India’ – coming soon!

PS: I am sorry Alive n confused to have deviated from the tag topic but hope I am forgiven! :)

You know what I mean...

2006-01-30T14:47:00.000-07:00

Yeah the bells rang, they rang hard enough, we thought! After 2 months, I mean after that luxurious trip to the land of Kiwis, reality started kicking in. Well you may relate it to any of those well played scenes by SRK and Rani from “Chalte Chalte” or to the comic strips of “Hum Tum” or you may find philosophical reasons to argue that men and women are from different planets, any ways, is it a thumb rule that men and women speak no same language? It is little dumb (with a B), I thought just to accept defeat that way. Communication, I believe in those esteemed universities is taught to stamp such trivia in its implementation.

“Well guess what? BITE MY…” said Sri frustrated, and he continued “Communication…ye? I told her 4 weeks back about this game!” letting his steam out and gulping his cup of Chai.

A telephone ring I thought could distract and calm him a little, but I guess Sri’s rambling was written in Richa’s horoscope for today. Smiling at her fortune, I answered the phone call and gleefully said “Hello, who is there?” My sad, mouse-trapped expression could be the only normal reaction to my own fortune.

It is Priya on the phone saying something I could not quite understand but I heard a series of questions in no particular order” Who thinks a stupid football game is more important than his wife? Who cares if he gives me a month’s notice? Does my health give me prior notice to fall sick?” She confirms that I was still there on the phone”hear this out…” I had to say with my entire fake-enthusiastic accent “what is it?” Not that my response mattered to Priya, she continued “he had the nerve to say, it is just a headache! just a headache!! Trust me Vamsee, these guys are pigs…” while I continued to hear out Priya, I couldn’t escape to hear what Sri was out pouring to Richa.

“Who needs a 24 hour beck ’n call service for just a head ache?” Without looking at Richa who buried her face by then in her hands showing least interest, Sri continued “She even had the guts to say that I am never attentive to her needs…If I am not, who else is?”

Richa looked back at Sri with a tiresome expression, hoping to be on the fine line between not being rude and not encouraging Sri to ramble more. Sri totally oblivious to such expressions continued “Can you imagine, Richa? All that I asked was few hours of Game time…is it so bad to ask?”

***
Why is it that when She wants to have a romantic candle light dinner, He wishes to have the TV on as well? Why is it that He has to wait in the car for hours while She gets her nails done? Well, this or many other versions of such arguments you have had or heard of, isn’t there a common dictionary/thesaurus that men and women share? Nah-huh! Not one of the below kinds ;-)

Skype user base reaching the sky...

2006-01-23T19:29:00.000-07:00

Can you imagine 5 Million people in a single room?

Yes, that’s roughly the count of users who were online today on Skype :)

According to Jaanus on Share Skype, 5 million people is:

more than 3 times the number of people in Estonia
about 13 times the people living in Tallinn where we are building Skype
about a third of greater London area
a quarter of New York metropolitan area
1/260th the population of China

Staurt Henshal further explained what this means: “for those of you new to Skype, active online users represents the number of users currently logged into the Skype cloud and available to take a call or text message. Most probably use Skype at least some time during the day. It doesn't mean 5 million people are talking all at once. It does mean that more people are on Skype than live in many countries. It also means that Skype is larger than many national telephone companies. ", he said.

Congratulations and keep growing, SKYPE! btw, do you skype?

Considering the curiousity of BindasBay members here, following introduction about Skype is added:

"Skype - The whole world can talk for free!" - It is a peer-to-peer voice service. Users may call landlines and cellphones for a nominal fee; users may call each other for free. It’s free and easy to download and works from any part of the world. With all the globalization, Skype serves right with its easy-to-use features and amazing clarity of calls. Few friends of mine use Skype to call their families in India, Europe and USA, almost on a daily basis. Learn more about Skype on Skype :)

Know more about Skype:
1. Skype is ranked 3rd in a global brand survey. Read more: brandchannel.com
2. Check out Netgear to know more about their upcoming Skype WiFi phone.
3. Some pretty kool and funny Skype videos on Google.

Mar"rage" - is it?

2006-01-17T23:15:00.000-07:00

Yeah yeah I am still alive, just sprinted through a deadline yesterday and I have to take the steam out now...No stop there, don’t start flipping already, I didn’t say you will be the scapegoat. So sit there and hear out the story.

Very short time ago, in fact just few hours ago, Ram sighed standing near the coffee machine, “We are anyways sacrificing so much…” Shyam, with a similar long face as Ram, continued “Yeah, what more do they want?” Time for a heroic entry and thus I walk into the room [heroine-ic doesn’t sound right]. Two confused souls turn to me as their last desperate hope [very exaggerated].

After gulping some hot chocolate, “hmm…my case was different guys!” I said. “How can it be different, you are after all from a typical south Indian family yourself?” Shyam enquired innocently. “Dude, I met her dad, he belongs to 30th century” Ram answered for me. ”I wish my parents could atleast understand half as your dad” Ram continued with a sigh again. That’s it! the world turned topsy turvy and anger is all what Shyam could blurt out and a series of loosely connected thoughts are what we could hear thereafter.

“We work for 14 hours a day, and damn these suckers call us to work on weekends too!” “Why? Coz we are single… So what, if we are single, don’t we have lives!?” taking a breather, he continued “Even if these suckers let us have a weekend, our parents will suck our blood out with endless calls about 20+girls that they checked out for us...”

…Ram continued the remaining script “Now if we show interest, they‘d say “Are we dead that you have to look for yourself” common Vamsee, today they hit the roof telling me “What’s there for you to look at the girl, when we checked her out”…I am losing my heart from this marriage stuff…I just feel like getting it over with!”

I had no answer for Ram, except “hmm, don’t lose heart so easily Ram, you probably are not alone!” A little hug helped him, he said later in a quick offline, but the thought of how parents take this arranged marriage concept to the extremes and how kids get suffocated just being told ‘what-who-how’s of marriage stayed with me for the rest of the day.

This trend of how parents take it as their "responsibility" to find the grooms/brides for their offsprings, without realizing that their offsprings are old enough to generate a village full of offsprings has become a trend in the name of tradition.

Noooo, I am not taking sides here but when is it that our parents will realize that we are grown enough to at least sit with them and discuss about our needs and preferences in selecting our partners with out actually taking hypocrisy rides.

For all you protesters out there, take it easy for a minute, Once again I am neither against Indian parenthood nor Indian system of arranged marriages. All I am asking is for a tweek in the system, to allow the grooms and the brides to also be actually a part of the system. All I am asking is to make our traditional, colorful Indian marriages more of a union of souls, a Marriage than just another event of mad-rage!

PS: if you want to pull that times-are-changing card, I'd say think twice as the number of such strictly arranged marriages is almost proportional to the growing population of India. My dad who allowed me to chip in my preferences in the groom selection (only 'chip' ) is in reality considered as a person way ahead of his times. So, the times I guess havenot soooo changed yet, atleast not for our folks!

Tears of Joy!

2006-01-11T20:29:00.000-07:00

I feel it’s been ages I wrote here, had been busy at work...and you all who know me, stop giggling there, ya ya I was just lazy!! Don’t blame me, blame the weather in the bay…Its cold (we actually needed a sweater to go out, can you beat that?), cozy, foggy and very…hmm hu me ain’t a poet to paint rosy images for ya…So while you poets ponder to set the mood, the first thing that our gang thought was Garam Chai and some munchies…even God approved our thought with more heavy thunders and then a idea flashed upon the smartest in the room. Sri, in his prophet-ic tone said “How about some Mirchi Bajji?” The very idea watering our mouths, rest of the evening was well spent with Garma Garam pyaz(onion) Pokoras, Mirchi and Aloo(potato) Bajjis, and of course what are these without the Chai, ye…;)
Yes,Yes, we kept saying the same too: “Kuch bhi ho, Joh Chaat/ Bajji humne India ke road-oh pe khaayi…”:) [Nothing is as good as the snacks from the stands on Indian streets]

Now, for all you poor souls drooling over your keyboards, Sri suggested I tease you with the pics of all the street side snacks we recalled today. If you think of any other snacks, drop us all a line at Bindas Bay.

Btw, for the bay area-ians who want to relive the experience of street side pani puris and chaat, go visit Daana Bazaar in Fremont for mouth watering thikka gol gappas and savory Aloo tikkis! :) I swear you will shed tears...tears I say of Joy :)

Connecting the dots...

2006-01-04T18:14:00.000-07:00

Heard/read/made too many resolutions for new years – How many of them really make a “difference” in the big world picture?
We all dream of many colorful things everyday but what if there is only one color you could actually see?
A small mishap can make a life of a difference
Consistent yet determined steps can cover a globe’s distance
Human mind is evolutionary

Without much delay, I will connect the above dots with the first idea submitted to BindasBay. I received a request today to post an article about Louis Braille. I read through articles that MS sent and the above are some of my thoughts.

I salute to many of those Brailles’ who turned their disabilities into their strengths and made a mark for themselves forever. Here are some links to read more about Braille…

Wiki's take on Louis - Louis Braille on wikipedia

The Story of Louis Braille - A small story about Louis Braille and the history of 'Braille'

Out of Darkness - A book on Braille

Thanks to MS for submitting such a good idea for our Bindas Bay! :-)

A New Year gift for you!

2005-12-30T16:04:00.000-07:00

The art of finding something that may please our dear ones, adding an element of surprise and sprinkling some love to make ‘it’ the perfect gift, is quite an ‘experience’. [I shall leave it there for both ended discussions] So, while I saw my pay check for this month shred away for all the gifts, I kept thinking what gift should I give to Bindas Bay? After scratching my head for few minutes, I came up with this analytical conclusion:

Good comments on the blog =>(implies) The community appreciates my work => Community appreciates my likes (to some extent at least)
From 1: What do I like as a gift (Nano, game/concert tickets, hmm…Vamsee, stop! Just “ONE” gift) + Gift needs to be digital for our savvy community
#2 => Few more scratches on my head and few sleepless nights of serious thinking [a tad exaggerated! ;-)]

Finally, I decided to settle on one of the most wanted tunes. So Ladies & Gentlemen, proudly presenting you all the most precious and memorable title song of Malgudi Days. (Did I hear some Awwwws already?)

Oh! I know it’s not a gift until you can get your hands on it, rite!?! Here you go, go ahead and get the tune onto your ipods, blogs and proudly share it with your friends. [Thanks to Arjun for uploading it there]

A small gift for all my dear Bindas Bay community members, wishing you and your family a Healthy, Happy and a Prosperous New Year! :-)

Ek Anek - My first vlog!

2005-12-29T03:32:00.000-07:00

I had been thinking to post a video blog but didnt knew which one. I guess I wanted to post only the best (No-No, its not just my laziness) ;-) Today, I had my childhood memories refreshed when Nats played this animation video and I thought this would be a good vlog.

The "Ek Anek" short animation film was used as a filler by Doordharshan back in India. Indian animation surely came a long way since those times and I was surprised to see that Bhimsen, the same animator who created Ek- Anek had a huge role in it. Here is a nice article I found on Bhimsen.
So without me knitting any more stories, please click on the clip below and enjoy the video.

A blast from the past before we welcome the New Year! :-)

Ladies in Red...

2005-12-20T01:02:00.000-07:00

“Rich and elegant” Andy skipped a beat at the sight of the beautiful twins, more so when both the twins looked straight into his eyes and smiled. Well dressed in red and the perfect smile on their faces is killing Andy every second. “Twins huh...Can I handle them at one time” he naughtily hesitated. Though desperate from with in, he casually peeked at them from a corner of his eye to make sure he is not dreaming. The ladies sat opposite to Andy and playfully returned him one of their trust-me-it-is-true smiles and just to be sure one of them winked at him sportily adjusting her jewelry. Poor Andy after all, this is his last chance to make it THE night after 7 hours of wait.

“Do I look desperate…am I being obvious?” If there was a count one could keep they would give up on Andy’s racing mind by now. Andy took another deep breath and looked at the twins once again to completely make sure the ladies are indeed attracted to him. Sexiest smiles he has ever seen, Andy took a stab and told himself “Sexy twins…Handle them well my boy!”

Now the pessimist that Andy is, two more questions popped again in his head “Should I slow play to get a feel first?”-OR- “Should I just make my move? (ye ya How-ye-doin’ nod)” He looked around to make sure no other eyes are set on the lovely ladies; in contrast he found that all eyes in the room were set on him. “Why wouldn’t they…After all I caught the ladies attention” he felt proud. Among many other people trying to get into the room, two other ladies who came in greeted the women in acquaintance.

Andy looked around again and realized that twins are the best in the room. He sensed weakness and jealousy in other eyes that just boosted his confidence further that he is the luckiest man in the room for the twins’ to be attracted to him. “Alright lets go!” he told himself bending his head enough to greet the ladies as the entire room turns silent to witness his next move. He lifts his head with a smile, looks at everyone else in the room, some biting their nails in anxiety. He cherishes the attention he grabbed tonight and with a proud smile on his face, turns to the ladies and takes a deep breath before he leans forward to say…

…“I AM ALL IN!”
PS: Shame on you if you thought I was writing porn here ;-) It’s about POKER my friends...

1. If you still don't know what I am talking about, check out the History of Poker
2. If you heard about Poker but never played it before Learn the Game
3. If you think you know it all, "Read" the Math
4. If you still think you know it all - What the hell, go book your tickets to Vegas!

BTW, if you did not get the story above, Andy has a pair of Queens, then he finds two more queen cards on the flop (two other ladies who walked into the room), so he moves ALL IN with Four of a Kind that ranks third in poker hands.

Until I see you again – as they say, May all your cards be alive and pots be monsters! ;-)

Reflections...

2005-12-15T22:28:00.002-07:00

“Sri Rama Rama Ramethi Rame Raame Manorame
Sahasranama Thatthulyam Rama nama varaanane”

feeble sounds I could not decipher rang in my ears, as I woke up at 4am. I tip toed to open the front door that scr-ee-tched enough to wake up the neighbors but surprisingly, it did not even change the rhythm of the loud snores in this house. I sat on the verandah steps staring at the dark sky, front gate and the dense neem tree in the corner of the front yard. Cool breezes, rhythmic movements of the neem branches, soft sounds of birds chirping, it’s a familiar morning. A morning I left 9 years back…

I wrapped my shawl tighter watching the neem tree and the cement base around it. “The ghostly old man will take you into the branches if you don’t finish your dinner” I smiled recalling the stories Amma(mom) created and the times when I used to run around this tree in an attempt to avoid my meals until a fresh neem cane made its mark on my back.
“Tring-Tring Tring - Tring” bicycles with heavy milk cans zoomed away into the dark. Amma came out and sat next to me. For a long time, we just gazed into the dark as if the other was not present.
“After we finished our home works in the evening, your Ammamma (grandmother) told us stories of Ramayan under this tree” Amma recalled her childhood with moist eyes, which I could not see in the dark but could picture from my heart. I held her arm with both hands and put my head on her shoulder. Though no words said, her head bent on mine comforted us both.

It is a very quite morning today. I could hear the cooker whistles, servant maids never ending stories, Teja news on the TV, amma running around to give Neha her bath, dad on phone with some collegues, I still couldn’t hear something…Something that tied all of these together.
“Sri Rama Rama Ramethi…” I heard it a bit clearer this time but before I could register, “Chinni its 7’o clock, get ready soon, we are late for the temple” Amma’s holler from the kitchen made me run into the bathroom.

***
“Prayers for you are held here every Tuesday and Saturday” Pujari(priest) explained to me when I was startled at how he knew my date of birth and other personal details. “Your Grandmother signed up for special poojas for you… for almost 10 years now” he laid it out answering my confused face.
I circled around the temple some odd number of times before I came out with chakkara pongali(sticky rice made with ghee,jaggery, sugar and dry fruits)- my favorite prasadam in my right palm. I found amma engrossed in a conversation with some women I hardly knew, but with her hand movements I figured amma was proudly presenting them her granddaughter. Without disturbing them, I walked outside the temple to the banks of river Krishna.

I saw a 7-8 year old girl walking towards the temple with her younger brother looking back proudly at the cave they built with the wet mud. I could see them walking towards me and mumble something to each other. When they came close enough, “You built a big cave!” I said. They proudly looked back again at the cave and the younger one enquired “So does everyone in Aamerika has a motor car?” I was little surprised to see that even a kid of that age knew my whereabouts.
“Do you like Cars?” I asked.
Before he jumped onto me to share all he knew about cars, his sister interrupted saying “Your grandmother told many stories about you. If we studied well, she said we can go to Aamerika too like you did”. I met these kids for the first time in my life, yet I felt they were no strangers.

***
Remaining day passed very quickly with idlis(Steamed rice& lentil patty), sambhar and filter coffee for breakfast, Rasam, Gongura pappu(toordal cooked with leafy veggies), Avakayya(South Indian mango pickle) for lunch and masala vada with filter coffee for evening tiffin.
I sat with Amma on the verandah watching Neha play on her tricycle. Strangers came in asking how I was, Neha’s broken yet fluent telugu grasped their attention so quick that I didnot have to answer their questions. Amma took every opportunity to market her grand daughter to them.

After awhile I found it hard to concentrate between the “How-Where-What” questions about America and the soft sounds of the devotional songs from the temple speakers…

“Sri Rama Rama Ramethi Rame Raame Manorame
Sahasranama Thatthulyam Rama nama varaanane”

I heard it clear this time, I heard it amidst 4 other people chatting about America, I heard the lines from Vishnu Sahasra namam loud and clear in my head.

It is these sounds, sounds of Ammamma reciting prayers that woke us all for a perfect day. It is these slokhas that were missing from all the other regular house hold sounds in the morning. It is these chants, the smell of agarbathi and dhoopam that made this house a home. A home that just remained a house for us now. “Can we never hear her again?” I thought for a second.

“She can recite the complete Suklam Baradharam without taking a break” I heard Amma brag about Neha to some more new faces.

It is in the poojas performed in the temple on my name, in the kids to whom I was marketed as an icon, in the Ramayan stories that Amma now narrates to Neha during her bed time and in Amma’s love for Neha, She will be heard, I answered.

Is this all there is?

2005-12-12T00:51:00.005-07:00

6PM- Door Bell rang.

“Don’t even ask!” Priya warned entering into the house.

She went straight to the rest room while for us - the remaining souls in the house, curiosity levels went high. ”Bad day at work?” guessed Sri in his best hushed tone. “Or worst 101 traffic?” I added and suddenly it became one of those 'Guess in 60 Seconds' game.
While we all secretly bet on the reasons, Priya walked into the living room and settled in the recliner. Silence spread in the room until Nats and I bought the mugs of chai for everyone. “Thanks!” Priya took her mug from Nats and continued staring at the TV. Few more silent minutes and then she turned to face all her confused friends…Though we tried hard to stay normal, our pulses rose to see who won the Guess game and of course the 20 bucks!

“So, what are the bets?” Priya hit the bulls eye and we the Broadway experts gave her ‘what?-Where-did-you-get-that-from?’ look. “Well, whoever guessed it a bad day at work…” before Priya finished her sentence, Sri could not control his ‘World Champion of Guesser’ shriek which was shot down immediately by a ‘Dude-you-are-so-dead’ look from the experts minus one. Nats was the first to ask Priya what actually happened.

“I just don’t think I am going any where in this job…and to top that as ye all know my boss sucks!”, once she laid it all out on the table, it was not something we did not know, or haven’t experienced ourselves. We all have been there, done that and few of us are still hanging in there for some weird yet personal reasons.

“…So I quit!”

Priya’s announcement did not just silent us all but made us think when it is that one decides this is it? Our silence did freak Priya a bit and having noticed that, I immediately broke the silence saying, “Kudos to one who got balls”

“…to actually kick some!” Nats added sportily.

Though the rest of the evening raised a toast to Priya’s guts recalling scenes from Office Space, we all - including Priya, knew it’s a bold (translation: SHIT! Oh SHIT! ...SHIT!) move.

11pm – group dispersed and I sat wondering when can/should one call it QUITS! Google quickly rescued my thoughts and here are some top reasons I found to identify when one is in a dead-end job:

1. Overload: When people left your companies, instead of being replaced, are the remaining employees expected to pick up the slack and work two jobs for the price of one?
2. Unsung hero: Are your extra hours and "go the extra mile for the client" attitude unrecognized or unrewarded?
3. Out of the loop: Has a change in management left you out in the cold?
4. Looming dread: Do you dread getting out of bed in the morning because it means you have to face another day at work?
5. Is this all there is? Do you find your productivity slipping and that you lack a general interest in your job?
6. Temper, temper: Do you find minor challenges either at work or at home touch you off more often?
7. Alienation: Do you no longer feel like investing emotionally in your co-workers?

Read the complete article on CNN and figure out yourself and whatever situation you are in, Good Luck ye’ all swimming through the week! :-)

Desi..Pardesi?

2005-12-09T00:30:00.000-07:00

Nothing unusual happened today. Same meetings, same routine, yet something kept flashing my memory every few hours. Are we desis embarrassed cause of other desis? Don’t get me wrong…We do take good pride being an Indian…but statements like “Darn this place is stuffed with desis…jjeeeezzzz”, “look a desi in a Porsche! Are those things getting cheaper these days?”, “Desi girls in Mardi Gras huh!?” am sure buzz in many ears every day. Of course we all came across at least one Bob [urf Babu] or Andy [urf Anand Swami].

Now crossing the line and from the other side, we also frequently hear statements like “Did you hear? One of Google’s VCs is a desi”, “Hey Desis are damn good in keeping relationships & family values unlike these goras” or “Do you know, the most successful immigrants in US are desis” (and if the listener is aware of the stats) quickly add “…ya ya I meant Asians!”

Here is the incident that triggered this thought in me and reminded me of something that my ammamma (grandma) once said during her trip to US.

8.30 AM: gulping down some hot caffeine, I walked into a room full of people. Some yawning hellos greeted me while I settled down in a corner next to Mr.Desi. Many new faces I thought, and with an enthusiastic smile introduced myself to the fellow desi. “Hi, how are ya…Vamsee here”, I said extending my hand. With least interest possible and a fake smile, “ya hi, I work out of Seattle office as a programmer”, was his response shaking my hand holding just the tip of my fingers as if I were “the untouchable”. The meeting started and John, my boss introduced me to the team as their new Product Manager and handed over the next 30 minutes for me to yap. Now that I am facing the team, I could see each one of their (sleepy) faces clearly …My eyes kept moving from face to face and couldn’t help but capture the “Desi- manager-and-that too- a girl” look from the only fellow desi in the room. At the end of the meeting, I shook hands with the rest of the team and there he was, waiting to shake hands (again), and this time with a good big smile on his face.

I hopped from one meeting to another the whole day but a wise yet simply said statement by ammamma kept ringing in my ears. “Goras look at us with respect for our culture and we desis call them cultureless yet try to fit into their”culture” ” (translated summary)

Is it our “trying to fit-in” attitude or is it just that we are so naïve not to treat another Indian with the same respect we shower over fairer skins? Also, how can we be judgmental about other immigrants in this country? Oh please, don’t give me that “When in Rome…”

Eg-chak-tly, Let’s zoom out for a minute and the real question is, “when can one ‘individual’ look at another ‘individual’ just as an ‘individual’?”

Laying down some rules...

2005-12-05T22:09:00.000-07:00

Here is a response to the email/IM messages about the blog...Also, some basic reasons for you to keep visiting Bindas Bay.
* Bindas Bay - is not another Bay area specific blog. The idea is to replicate the diversity found in bay area in ‘our’ posts!
* Thought of the Day - Posted every night by 11.59 PST.
* What the !#$* is new about this blog? "No Limit Bay Area-ians: Cannot Hold 'em" answers it all, but for all you spoon feds...This is a blog where no one person posts = Everyone/Anyone can ‘Submit’ what they wish to share – who said blogs needed to be just one person’s ramblings?

1. You can submit your ideas/posts (use the link on blog) till 9PM PST every day and check the blog back at 11. 59 PM PST for one of the lucky one's post! [A single sentence/ advertising your work/hobbies can be a post too] Think about it…A new post every night on a new topic every day ranging from real stories to maniac dreams to techie nonsense to fishy politics...see it takes long to run out of topics!
2. The best post entry for the week will be our "Featured Post" and the Author's profile (even a photo if you wish) will be displayed on the blog for a whole one week. Just remember DIVERSITY is the key in posts!

Note: Once a new post is on the blog, YIM ID: vamsee1025 status message will have the link to the blog and hey, you check the blog, you wish to speak, speak on the blog. No back door emails! ;-)
Come back soon for a spicy interesting new post, below’s a peek!

Technology: Skype - A Fortune Cookie?

2005-12-03T16:11:00.000-07:00

Yah, neither did I think it would be me to post the first techie biz on Bindas Bay.

Few months back, I was engrossed in a completely enlightening & philosophical discussion with few friends over garam chai…who am I kidding huh! we were just bitching about dead end jobs, pathetic recent desi movies (besides SN), and then about Swati’s midnight calls trying to convince her parents about not-an-indian-but-german boyfriend Aron.
While Swati sighed clearing her breaking voice, we were almost thrown out of the couch by Nats bursting joy jump. She jumped again in her seat before verbalizing her excitement about India calls…

”SKYPE ROCKS!” She announced.

Apparently many others are joining Nats today…
“With its New Version, Skype Phone Service May Enter Mainstream” says The God - Walter J Mossberg. “Skype 2.0, with added features - including video calling and a cleaner interface is very easy to use. All my test calls were very clear” he adds. “I tested the phone by calling both Skype users and non-Skype users, and it worked great everywhere in and around my home -- upstairs, downstairs, even outside in the yard”, was his conclusion. Read the complete article at the Wall Street Journal.

Some others are wondering if the notion of eBay incorporating Skype makes it a major threat to Vonage. Will Skype actually kill Vonage is the next obvious question for the following reasons.
1. Skype is viral. The more it spreads, the more powerful it becomes. If you don't think eBay knows this, get real! Skype 2 even comes with another viral Scooby snack: It allows you to set up Skype buttons on your blog or websites that activate when you're online, making it easier for folks to reach you.

2. Somebody's walking into a RadioShack store with five bucks to burn. Just $4.99 can buy you the Skype Trial Pack at 3,500 RadioShack locations. That includes the software, a basic PC microphone (in case you didn't already have one) and a 30-minute SkypeOut voucher. If you crave a more conventional experience, RadioShack will set you up with handsets, wireless, or stand-alone phones with seamless Skype integration.

3. Need a third reason for Vonage to fret? The beta version of Skype's new version 2 software just debuted, and it's packed with the kind of goodies that commercial voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) providers would be drooling over.

“Vonage has been a noble VoIP pioneer. It's got a great product. However, eBay's new baby is carrying the bigger rattle. In the bigger scheme of things, Vonage may have simply cleared the way for Skype's entry to the domestic market”, is their predictions for the future. Read the complete article at fool.com

“Go Skype Rocketing!”, I would say before signing ye all a great Saturday.

The Coffee Break! - An interesting article by Susan Stamberg.

2005-12-02T13:38:00.000-07:00

According to an old Turkish proverb, coffee should be "black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love." As a brew, coffee has been around for centuries. But in this country, taking a daily break to drink it is a more recent phenomenon. This week on Present at the Creation, NPR's ongoing series on the origins of American icons, Special Correspondent Susan Stamberg traces the history of the coffee break.

The world's first coffee break, Stamberg reports, "probably took place before 1000 A.D. in Abyssinia (today's Ethiopia). Legend has it that a goatherd named Kaldi noticed his goats dancing around on their skinny hind legs. Then he noticed the goats had eaten some red berries. Kaldi tried the berries; he started dancing, too; and so coffee break dancing was born!"

From those beginnings, Stamberg says, the story of coffee is "long and global." Arabians in the 13th century used the roasted, brewed beans to ease menstrual cramps. The first coffee shop opened in 15th-century Constantinople, where the Turks thought the drink was an aphrodisiac. By the mid-1600s, coffee replaced beer as New York City's favorite breakfast drink. In the 1700s in Leipzig, Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a cantata about coffee. And in 1773, the Boston Tea Party made drinking coffee a patriotic duty.

The American ritual of taking a workday break for coffee, however, didn't begin until the early 20th century. The U.S. workplace of the late 19th century was a dreary place, says Howard Stanger, a historian of industrial relations at Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y.: "There were frequent wage cuts, there was very little job security, few benefits. Unions for the most part, outside of skilled trades, were virtually non-existent."
But as the century turned, Stamberg says, "matters began to improve. Social reform was in the air. Legislation emerged to create a minimum wage, and workers' compensation." Companies and factories installed in-house lunchrooms, places "where workers could get away from the drudgery for a while" -- and the coffee break became part of the change.

What remains in dispute, though, is precisely which U.S. company was the birthplace of the coffee break. Wayne Stephens makes this claim: "In 1902, the Barcolo Manufacturing Company in Buffalo, N.Y., started giving its employees coffee breaks. To our knowledge, that was the first time that had ever happened in American industry," says Stephens, CEO of Barcalounger, the company (now based in North Carolina) that began as Barcolo.

Though the company's historical records are somewhat sketchy, Stephens cites old newspaper reports quoting a Barcolo executive as saying, "The employees felt like they needed a mid-morning and mid-afternoon break... and one of the employees volunteered to heat the coffee up on a kerosene-fueled hot plate. The employees paid for the coffee... and started taking, obviously with the approval of management, about a 10- to 15-minute, mid-morning and mid-afternoon coffee break."

But elsewhere in Buffalo, historian Stanger makes a coffee break counterclaim. In the ledgers of the now-defunct Larkin Company -- a Buffalo firm that started by producing soap, and ended up as a big mail-order house -- Stanger found a 1901 entry on free coffee to employees. Larkin and Barcolo did business together, Stanger told Stamberg, so it's possible that Larkin gave free coffee to workers, but didn't give them time out to drink it. And it's possible that someone at Larkin mentioned the free coffee to someone at Barcolo, and Barcolo turned the idea into a coffee break. As Stamberg observes, "When you're talking coffee, anything is possible."

Wherever the coffee break originated, Stamberg says, it may not actually have been called a coffee break until 1952. That year, a Pan-American Coffee Bureau ad campaign urged consumers, "Give yourself a Coffee-Break -- and Get What Coffee Gives to You."

Today, Stamberg says, Americans "are hooked on coffee," consuming about 350 million cups of it daily.

Ek Garam Chai Ki Pyali...

2005-11-29T01:03:00.000-07:00

Hmm hu..I know! :-) Drinking chai is part of life for us, Indians.
To me, personally it is not just a wake up booster in the mornings, but it keeps my eyes open in those endless-techie-geeky meetings, it is what my friends and colleagues call my ‘signature’, it creates clubs of friends from different parts of the world, it is that one loyal friend during late nights of work, it is.. well, you know where this is going!

I don’t know what I would do if there is no Chai. So, I raise a toast to the best invention ever, refreshing Desi Chai! Wait a sec, what did I just say..

What if there is NO Chai? Hmh..No really, what would one do if there is REALLY NO CHAI!

I need a mug of chai to even think about that, so here I scoot…and to all you Chai lovers out there, happy late nights of work and many more mugs of chai while you ponder over that unimaginable thought or share your Chai experiences!

You're from Bay Area/SFO when..

2005-11-28T15:01:00.000-07:00

You take a bus and are shocked that 2 people are carrying on a conversation in English.
A really great parking space can move you to tears.
You know that anyone wearing shorts in July must be visiting from Ohio.
You assume every company offers domestic partner benefits.
You found your current aparment, car, couch, running pals, bookgroup and a girlfriend/boyfriend all on Craigslist.
You are thinking of taking an adult class but you can't decide between yoga, aroma therapy, conversational Mandarin or a building your own web site class.
Left is right and right is wrong.
Your monthly house payments exceed your annual income.
You dive under a desk whenever a large truck goes by.
You can't find your other earring because your son is wearing it.
Your cat has its own psychiatrist.
You pack shorts and a T-shirt for skiing in the snow, and a sweater and a wetsuit for the beach.
You almost choke at the gas prices when you visit other states
A man gets on the bus in full leather regalia and crotchless chaps. You don't even notice.
Your car insurance costs as much as your house payment.
You consider "Tom Kha Gai" a staple food.
You consider hamburgers a "rare treat".
At any given time, you are carrying three or more tiny electronic devices, some of which emit noises and/or buzzing at different frequencies, and all of which "simplify" your life.