Reminiscences

Let us then release Ajmal Kasab too!

2011-08-29T08:00:00.001+05:30

Rajiv killers must face the gallows, otherwise, fight against terrorism will lose its meaning. We would be harbouring many more Ajmal Kasabs.

Death is always a painful topic. The three Rajiv Killers - Perarivalan, Murugan and Santhan at the Vellore Central Prison are at the verge of facing the gallows on Sep 9. Peraraivalan's mother Arputhammal has launched a crusade to save her son. It is indeed sad to see the elderly woman running from pillar to post.

Diehard LTTE fans Vaiko, Ramadoss, Nedumaran, Thirumavalavan, Seeman and others are trying out everything possible to save the trio and thereby get political gains. Vaiko is spearheading the save 'innocent Tamils' campaigns. Ramadoss and Thirumavalavan are talking about 'Gandhi Desam'. Perarivalan is creating websites and launching booklets from prison.

But, for me, the entire episode is puzzling.

The trio have indulged in an act of terrorism that shocked the entire world. By killing Rajiv Gandhi, these people virtually launched a war on India's sovereignty in 1991. Their role in Rajiv assassination has been proved beyond doubt with clear evidence by the CBI. And, it has been accepted by the courts in four rounds of litigation & appeals.

LTTE chief Prabhakaran himself admitted that Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by them. K Padmanabhan, in an open interview to CNN-IBN confirmed it recently.

But, the 'super CBI' Vaiko says the trio are 'innocent'. Cinema Director Seeman says that Perarivalan is facing the gallows just for buying a battery. Is the Indian Judiciary so dumb and cruel to award death penalty for buying a battery? He bought the battery knowing fully well that it was going to be used to kill Rajiv.

Perarivalan had been an active supporter of the LTTE since 1989 and he had worked closely with the Rajiv assassins and helped them knowing fully well that they were going to assassinate Rajiv. He had connived with the assassins and helped running the wireless communication between LTTE HQ and Rajiv assassins. Perarivalan's name finds mention in many of the letters written by LTTE men to Prabhakaran.

The CBI investigation has revealed that without Nalini, Murugan and Santhan, Rajiv assassination would not have taken place at all. The special investigation team led by respected IPS officer D.R Karthikeyan has said that they did not resort to third-degree punishment to secure statements from the accused.

Moreover, the CBI investigation team did not have any enmity with Perarivalan. Why should they arrest a 19-year old Engineering diploma holder and accuse him of being party to killing Rajiv Gandhi? Are they all mad? When the CBI had charged 40 other persons, who should they fabricate the case against Perarivalan?

The Supreme Court has awarded the death penalty for the trio considering the gravity of the situation and the nature of the crime. Only in the 'rarest of rare' cases, death penalty is imposed in India. Only in cases where the crime is proved beyond doubt, do the courts award capital punishment. Even in Rajiv assassination, the court has imposed the punishment only on three out of the 26 accused. Not on all of them.

These people have killed not only Rajiv Gandhi, but also 15 other innocent men and women. Mohammed Iqbal, the then Superintendent of Police of Chengalpattu was among those killed. I am not including the suicide bomber Dhanu and the photographer Haribabu, who were party to the assasination. In addition to the killing of Rajiv and others, the Sriperumputhur incident has created lifelong suffering on many others.

Vaiko, Ramadoss, Thirumavalavan, Seeman, Nedumaran and others are talking about 'Human Rights' and 'Humanity' only in the case of Rajiv assassination. They have all turned sudden supporters of abolishing capital punishment. What do we do with Ajmal Kasab and Afsal Guru then? Release them?

Why Ramadoss and Thirumavalavan, who are now talking about 'Gandhi Desam', kept mum when Prabhakaran went on killing innocent people and Tamil leaders?

If we are to release the Rajiv Killers, we must abolish CBI immediately thereafter. No investigation is required on any crime.

Supporting our brethern, the unfortunate Tamils in Sri Lanka is different and supporting LTTE is different. And, supporting Rajiv killers among the LTTE is very different.

The 'save 3 innocent tamils' campaign itself is a threat to the sovereignty of the Nation. Those who support this are terrorists at heart as long as they support these terrorists. Those who support the campaign to save the trio are mocking at the Indian judiciary. The campaign is anti-democratic and contemptuous. Already, a big mistake has been committed by commuting the life sentence of Nalini, who now tries all tricks to come out of the prison.

Playing 'Tamil card' and 'Humanity Card' in this act of unprecedented terrorism is ridiculous, malicious and dangerous.

If the Government fails to execute the trio, the Congress will lose its right to rule the country. At a time when the country is suffering a lot on account of terrorism, releasing the trio is a crime against the Nation.

If the lives of Perarivalan, Murugan and Santhan are precious, the lives of other people are still more precious. The country is fighting corruption. Terrorism is still more dangerous. If we help the trio escape the gallows, many will start indulging in terrorism with the hope that they could get away with that. India will become a safe harbour for world terrorists.

Above all, LTTE took pride in calling itself as a disciplined outfit, whose members did not fear death. As disciplined disciples of Prabhakaran, the trio should be brave enough to face death. They must accept their crime and face the gallows boldly. If you do so, I will salute your bravado.

Arputhammal, sorry, civilised Nation cannot show sympathy for the crime committed by your son. Death is painful, anyway!

Chennai - an unlivable city & a choking hell

2011-08-22T15:18:00.003+05:30

Chennai has lost its glory, heritage and legacy. Exploding population, high rural-urban migration, traffic snarls, water scarcity, ineffective sewage and drainage facilities, contamination, pollution, high cost of living have all turned this city into a choking hell now.

Chennai city is celebrating its 372nd birthday today and everyone is feeling ecastatic, turning nostalgic. But, I am in no mood to celebrate, as the city has turned unlivable for the commoners, the vast majority. I am at a loss to understand the reason for celebrations, as the city has totally lost its heritage and legacy.

The density of population is abnormally high even in the outskirts; space availability is on the decrease; infrastructure facilities are abysmally poor (except a few pockets); unplanned and haphazard growth everywhere and to cap it all, severe traffic snarls everywhere. All these have turned the city into a nightmare. The 372-year old city is totally unlivable and I wonder what is there to celebrate.

Traffic is the biggest nightmare in this city, that makes one exhausted even before reaching the office. Commuters are virtually at the mercy of arrogant, uncivilized and undisciplined auto, share-auto, bus and truck drivers. Chaotic traffic, which gets worse every passing day, is certainly making life a hell. Number of vehicles continue to grow at an exponential rate, but road space is constantly on the decrease. Appalling road conditions compound the problem. Traffic police have become totally helpless and silent spectators of the congestion.

Commercial establishments and business units are allowed to mushroom in residential areas, making lives of people horrible. Cars and two-wheelers are parked on roads, without any road sense.

Open spaces have become sparse to find - children do not have space to play. Civic sense is utterly lacking as city cleaning works have taken the backseat - streets are filled with garbage and plastics. No one can afford to keep the windows open as Mosquitoes rule the roost. I have not spoken anything about the rainy days. If I start to write the woes of Chennai during monsoon, that will fill volumes.

Renting even ordinary dwellings has turned a luxury. Still worse, most of the house owners are behaving like the ceremonial kings and treat the tenants as their slaves and humiliate them. While even the middle-class is struggling to cope with the rising costs, I can't even imagine the plight of the have-nots.

Even at home, people feel highly insecure as instances of thefts, robbery, looting and even murders for petty gains have become casual happenings.

Exploding population, high rural-urban migration, traffic snarls, water scarcity, ineffective sewage and drainage facilities, contamination, pollution, high cost of living, hostile neighbours have all turned this city into a living hell. Chennai might have been a charming city two or three decades ago, but it is a choking hell now.

Of course, we, the people should take the blame. Even the mightiest Government cannot make Chennai livable in the near future. Reverse migration through a suitable decongestion plan is the need of the hour. Through tax concessions and sops, the Government should encourage business units migrate to tier 2 and tier 3 towns. This requires determination and political will from both central and state governments through proper policy initiatives.

For me Chennai life is a cursed life. If I get an opportunity to move out of this hell, I would be the happiest person on the earth!

Non-performers and rotten tomatoes

2011-07-01T08:01:00.000+05:30

Happened to read an excellent book titled "Unposted Letter" by TT Rangarajan, founder of FrozenThoughts.

The book is a great treatise on Management / Life Skills and is full of valuable tips for aspiring leaders and entrepreneurs. One thing that attracted me was a piece on non-performers in organizations. He equates non-performers with rotten tomatoes, which will spoil other good ones too.

Rangarajan says:

"Even if an organisation is progressing exceptionally well, not all their staff will be competent and committed people, there will be some average ones and of course, a few troublemakers too .... they come as an integrated package. Ironically, the energy, time and effort that gets sapped in managing the few troublemakers is no less compared to leading competent and committed majority. Why give the few so much of you? Why not fire them and invest the resource saved on the productive ones?

One rotten tomato will soom spoil all the other tomatoes. Haven't you noticed a non-performer soon forms a team of other non-performers around him? If you can't mend them, end them! Throw the rotten tomato out and save the good tomatoes. Do I sound apathetic? Any organisation that sympathises with non-performers will soon need the sympathy of others"
"Unposted Letter" throws lots of insights on varied topics.

http://www.frozenthoughts.com/

Bala

Of Sweet Tongues and Silly Hearts

2011-03-01T22:13:00.000+05:30

When India was about to achieve Independence in 1947, Winston Churchill stoutly opposed the proposal. He made this historic comment:

"Power will go to the hands of rascals, rogues and freebooters. All Indian leaders will be of low calibre and men of straw. They will have sweet tongues and silly hearts. They will fight amongst themselves for power and India will be lost in political squabbles"

Our politicians today, across the nation, prove the above statement 100 per cent correct.

We have a politician, who, in the name of conducting Commonwealth Games, loots the Nation in all possible ways, makes himself wealthier, and walks freely even today;

We have another man, who has taught us the value of zeroes in the modern age. When compared to his loot record, all corruption cases appear smaller. Though he is resting at the Tihar at present, it is not sure if he would really be punished at the end and all the money be brought back;

And we have a great Prime Minister, who kept mum during the umpteen times when the spectrum 'King' said he had informed everything to the Prime Minister, suddenly opens his mouth one day in front of the editors of electronic media and pleads ignorance. He openly admits he did not have authority over choosing his cabinet colleagues - without any sense of shame;

While 'nethas' are like this, our 'babus' are not far behind. Except very few officers like Naresh Guptas of yesteryears, most of our Civil Servants - from IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS to lowest level of VAOs, corruption has become a way of life. The officials who loot are being revered in the society;

Corruption has been systematized in the country - lower level loots the people --> pays bribe every week to the higher ups. Grapevine is that district level officials are getting a few lakhs every week as bribe and they in turn take care of greasing the palms of our nethas;

Income Tax, vigilance and other sleuths prominently arrest politicians and government servants. But, not even a miniscule of them get punished at the end;

Corruption apart, the divide between rural and urban, poor and rich widens day by day. Citizens do not get the service for the tax they pay. India is one of the Nations where the tax net is very wide, yet the civic amenities are very poor;

At the root of all these evils lie the fact that power has gone to wrong hands as feared by Churchill.

"Power will go to the hands of rascals, rogues and freebooters. All Indian leaders will be of low calibre and men of straw. They will have sweet tongues and silly hearts. They will fight amongst themselves for power and India will be lost in political squabbles"

What a prophecy!! Power has indeed gone the way he has described!

If I get a chance to build a temple for some one, certainly my choice would be Winston Churchill. Can India remain together as a Nation for long? If this trend continues ....

What is the real test of excellence for a software product?

2011-02-02T19:54:00.001+05:30

After purchasing a product – be it a domestic commodity or a software, quite often, we might end up feeling that the product is just not the right fit for us. Even if the product satisfies the requirements, maintaining it might become a nightmare. In other instances, the product may not just be as reliable as we thought it to be.

So, what is the real test of excellence for a product?

Customers who have bought it and used it for a considerable period of time must feel satisfied. They must feel that it meets their requirements and solves their problems. They must feel that they have bought the right product. And above all, they must repose faith in the product and be willing and ready to recommend it to their peers.

To know what our customers feel about our product ManageEngine Password Manager Pro, we conducted an online customer survey. We are delighted to announce that Password Manager Pro ranks top in all the above aspects.

Following are the highlights of the survey:

98% of the respondents have stated that the product has proved useful to them and solves their problems
92.3% of the respondents have stated that they would recommend PMP to others
51 % of the customers have evaluated other password management solutions before making a decision on purchasing PMP - ease of installation & use, affordable price and rich features have been stated as reasons for choosing PMP
91 % of the respondents are satisfied with support responsiveness & effectiveness (70% have said "very good" and 21 % have said 'fair')

Does this mean everything rosy with PMP?

No, we don’t take it this way. Though our customers had been very kind to PMP and reposed trust, they have not failed to point out their concerns, comments, pain points and constructive criticisms. We have received a good number of feature requests too. We are giving sincere attention to all the feedback with a view to make the product better and win back the trust of a handful of dissatisfied customers.

The response to the Customer Survey 2011 was indeed overwhelming. We know that while taking the time and patience to fill-in the details, customers believe that the responses they provide will make an impact. And, we will ensure that all their points are addressed properly.

Bala

Lets hope for an "Unleaky" New Year 2011!

2010-12-17T08:03:00.000+05:30

2010 had been a terrific year! The concluding days were dominated by WikiLeaks exposures, which have come as a rude shock to many, big surprise to some, huge disappointment to a few and a great fun for others.

The motive, effects and ramifications aside, WikiLeaks-type exposures perhaps represent the biggest information security threat to Government agencies and enterprises.

Malicious insiders seem to be causing this harm by either misusing privileged access or giving credentials to too many un-vetted people who then route them to WikiLeaks or any other media outlet. Lack of well-defined access control policies and enforcement mechanism coupled with haphazard style of privileged password management potentially lie at the root of such security incidents.

Now, the big question: How to combat insider threats and WikiLeaks-type security incidents?

One of the effective ways to ensure internal controls and mitigate insider threats (and thereby combat WikiLeaks-type exposures) is to automate the entire life cycle of Privileged Access Management enforcing best practices.

In the backdrop of the WikiLeaks exposures, ManageEngine Password Manager Pro has come up with a white paper " Preventing WikiLeaks-type Security Incidents " that analyzes the various dimensions of information security, the causes for tight security policies, the need for controlling privileged access and the strategies to mitigate the threats.

Take a look at the white paper and share your feedback.

Bala

Petrol Price Hike & Corporate Canteens

2010-12-15T08:16:00.001+05:30

The sharp increase in petrol prices announced by the oil marketing companies might have angered you. This will certainly have a great impact on inflation and very soon we may have to shell out much more for getting much less. Opposition will raise a hue and cry, but everything will fizzle out. Manmohan Singh, the greatest Prime Minister we have ever had will be meek spectator for the plunders of Kalmadi, Raja, Lalith Modi ...oh, the list is endless.

We are helpless and we must endure all these. I can offer some very good "food" for thought: (I got the following list as a mail forward, veracity not known. But, in all probability, this must be true).

Price List

Tea Re. 1
Soup Rs.5.50
Dal - one katori Rs.1.50
Veg thali (dal, subzi,4 chapatis, rice/pulao, curd and salad) Rs.12.50
Non-veg thali Rs.22
Curd rice Rs.11
Veg pulao Rs.8
Chicken biryani Rs.34
Fish curry and rice Rs.13
Rajma rice Rs.7
Tomato rice Rs.7
Fish fry Rs.17
Chicken curry Rs.20.50
Chicken masala Rs.24.50
Butter chicken Rs.27
Chapati Re.1 a piece
One plate rice Rs.2
Dosa Rs.4
Kheer - one katori Rs.5.50
Fruit cake Rs.9.50
Fruit salad Rs.7

Where, you might wonder! The poorest of the poor in New Delhi are getting this. They are none other than our honourable MPs who got a hefty pay hike only a few months ago. Not just the parliament, many corporate canteens serve food at highly subsidized rates to the highly-paid employees. The babus and nethas know very well how to take care of themselves.

The face of the agricultural labourer at my native village readily comes to my mind. A cup of tea costs Rs 5 and that is a luxury for him. Oh God, my blood boils - I see Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi & A Raja in all smiles on TV!!

2G Spectrum, A Raja and a few eminent men of Chennai

2010-11-28T21:40:00.000+05:30

The whole country is on the boil. People were dumbstruck when the media explained how many zeroes were there for Rs 1.76 lakh crore. At this juncture, a couple of days back, I happened to view a program aired 'Live' by Kalaignar TV, DMK's mouthpiece.

A conglomerate of 'eminent persons' including Dravidar Kazhagam president K Veeramani, Blackshirt Suba Veerapandian, Media man AS Panneerselvan, father Jagath Gaspar, television anchor Ramesh Prabha and others were speaking in defence of A Raja, the epitome of corruption.

These people virtually gave a clean chit to Raja and went a step ahead describing him as an 'icon of efficiency and honesty!!!'. Stating that the English media was hunting Raja just because he was a dalit, these 'eminent people' said that the democracy itself was in big danger. They wanted immediate regulation on English news channels.

One is at a loss to understand why the media was hunting Raja alone while there were countless dalits who are in hot seats of power in the country.

After each passing day, the magnitude of the 2G spectrum scam is becoming increasingly clear. But, these 'eminent people', who have risen to safeguard democracy, not only say that Raja is a honest politician, but also want the media to portray him so!

However, I was not surprised to hear such a 'great' argument from these 'eminent men'. Most of them have already come in open support of 'great' personalities like sandalwood smuggler Veerappan, LTTE's Prabhakaran and other notorious elements. These people will talk about 'human rights' only in the context of these 'greats'. Their hearts bleed only when they think about the plight of Rajiv killers languishing in jails.

These 'eminent men' do not have any shame. They will defend Raja even if the court convicts him after a detailed enquiry.

YET ANOTHER CHILDREN'S DAY ....

2010-11-13T21:20:00.002+05:30

This is that time of the year again! We are celebrating yet another children's day (Nov 14). While the schools in cities and towns are busy organising various programmes, events and talent shows, there are thousands of schools in rural areas where the children are not even aware of any of these celebrations. Leave alone the celebrations- the quality of education out there is so bad. As I hail from rural background, I am very well aware of what is being taught in our villages. When I think about the poor quality of education in rural areas, my heart bleeds. Excerpts from an article I wrote in 2003 ...

YET ANOTHER CHILDREN'S DAY ....

We dream of making India a developed Nation. To become a developed Nation, the 5,11,000 villages in India must attain rapid development. This is possible only through education - good quality education. We talk of 'Sarva Siksha Abiyan', but fail to care about the quality. While the 'haves' are able to get high quality education, the have-nots in rural areas poorly fail to get even primary education, I mean proper primary education.

How bad is the quality of primary education in rural areas?

As part of the work of the social service organisation of my village in Nagapattinam district of Tamilnadu, we, a group of educated and employed youth spend our weekends teaching the poor students of the underprivileged sections of the society. All the students who attend our classes are studying in Government and Government-aided schools. Though I had fairly a good idea about the 'quality' of education imparted in the rural schools, I never even imagined that the quality would be so bad!

I was casually talking to a group of fifth standard students. I just asked that group to start writing the spelling for natural numbers from 1 to 50 - a question which we should be asking a pre-KG child in city areas. One smart boy in that group who normally shows very good grasping capacity answered : 'Sir, if you want us to write it in English, we know only upto 10. If it is in Tamil, well, we can go up to 50'. But, he was not able to write the numbers correctly in Tamil itself. There were lot of mistakes and still worse, after 21, he went to 24. This answer left me in a state of total shock. More than five years of schooling has not even taught him the numbers!

The above incident is a classic example of the 'quality' of education being imparted by our elementary schools in rural areas (rural areas all over the country, not just Tamilnadu). It may be noted that the schools I am talking about are the ones run by the Government and not the mushrooming Matriculation schools. Students who attend these schools are the wards of the have-nots.

The kids who do not have even a good shirt to wear, come to these schools with a worn-out book, and a slate. For most of the students, the noon-meal served in the school is the major attraction and a great hope. But the teachers serving there do not feel the sincerity of purpose. Most of the teachers do not have the intention of lighting the education lamp in the lives of the poor students - the hallmark of the noble profession.

For those of you who have seen the urban children carrying a truck load of books in a huge bag on their backs, the details about the daily routine of these unfortunate children would be a substance of surprise. These children would not rush to their schools as their counterparts in Matric schools do. The school bell would ring sharply by 9 AM even in the absence of teachers, because ringing the bell is the responsibility of school boys themselves on turn basis.

Many schools do not have adequate number of teachers and even the one or two available would not care to come on all days. On turn basis, they would be off from the school, but would sign the attendance register without fail on the days when they come. In the school, one or two teachers would be looking after all the five classes.

He would simply write a few words on the black board on all the classes and would ask the students to copy the same in their slates. He would be sipping the tea brought from a nearby tea stall by a student and reading the news paper of the day and conversing with his colleague on varied matters. Simply, they would do everything except teaching. In most of the schools, the students would be asked to play during the noon session. By 4 PM, they will be packing up to their home. No lessons, no home work!

After passing five crucial years in useless elementary schools, these students enter the high school. As they do not have even basic knowledge of English, Science, Maths and even their mother tongue, most of the students are unable to cope with the lessons in the high schools. As a result, after pulling on for a few months or years, they ultimately drop out from the school. Thus a full stop is put to their education.

I myself is a product of an elementary school not much different from the one I have been talking about, but I could land up in Engineering and subsequently a decent job in the software industry, solely due to the social and educational status of my parents.

Just have a look at what many of my elementary schoolmates are doing now: One Nagarathinam has become a 'Samosa' vendor in a local cinema theatre (following the tradition of his father's profession); Murugesan who studied upto 8th standard is now a construction labourer; Sivakumar, is now a temple priest, and the list goes on.... All of them are from very poor families and still they remain so. Had they been imparted proper education, at least one among them might have become prosperous. Whenever I meet my unfortunate elementary school mates, I feel the pain in my heart.

I vividly remember two of my classmates - Mohan and Natarajan, who were very brilliant despite their family background. They were far ahead of all of us in General Knowledge - they used to regularly hear the radio news. But, due to the lack of proper foundation at the elementary level, these two dropped out somewhere during the high school days. I do not know what they are doing now.

It is reported that the effective student strength in Government-run elementary schools is rapidly decreasing. Only the very poor admit their wards in these schools. Of course, there are a few dedicated teachers here and there. But, the majority of the teachers are not like that.

Private Matriculation schools train their students in extra-curricular activities like singing, dancing, painting etc., What the poor students of Government schools require is a reasonably good quality basic education. Our teachers are certainly qualified and capable of imparting it. A change in the mindset of the teachers can light the education lamp in the life of the underprivileged. It is time our Government takes action in this regard.

SOME MEASURES TO IMPROVE QUALITY

Establishing one model school in each district headquarters. The model school should reallly be a model school in all respects. The school should offer eduaction of the quality of Delhi Public School. Every year, 100 poor children should be admitted to the school irrespective of caste or religion. Economic status should alone be the entry criteria. The children should get everything in that school itself. If 500 such schools are established in 500 district headquarters, every year 50,000 poor children will get high quality education.
In other rural schools, each class should have a dedicated teacher. The system of two teachers (Or aasiriyar palli in Tamil) for five classes should be immediately done away with.
Primary School teachers should be imparted training once in two years on the latest trends in teaching.
'Play school' type of schools should be encouraged in rural areas.
Private Corporate giants should be persuaded to establish model schools in rural areas. Income Tax concession may be given in such cases.
The students should study their Mother Tongue as a subject, social science subject in their mother tongue and Science and Maths in English Medium. They should also be encouraged to learn new languages. Lack of proficiency in English is the major handicap of rural students.

---------------

As I mentioned at the beginning, I wrote this article in 2003. Seven years later, I do not find much difference in rural areas. The situation has worsened - even the poorest of the poor want to admit their wards in private schools.

Liberal funding through Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Activity Based Learning etc have created some positive impacts here and there - not everywhere. We have a dynamic School Education Minister in Tamil Nadu - Mr. Thangam Thennarasu. This man has taken some sincere efforts to improve the quality of education in rural areas, but we can't say it has brought the desired effect everywhere.

The present Deputy Chief Minister MK Stalin's initiative during his tenure as Chennai Mayor has helped improve the quality of Corporation schools in Chennai significantly. The present Mayor of Chennai Mr. Subramanian has taken the initiative of establishing the 'Chennai School' chain. These are definitely laudable steps.

Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal seems to be a man of action. He can do wonders if he is given a free hand.

All these leaders should focus their attention on the elementary education in rural areas. Only when such a step is taken, it will be a true tribute to Pandit Nehru. Children's day is an occasion to initiate that!

Bala

Mobile phones and my journey in a train!

2010-11-10T08:36:00.004+05:30

Long time back, I wrote this article for 'Youth Express', a supplement to the New Indian Express. When I wrote this article, mobile phones were just becoming popular in India, but they were not all pervasive as they are today. Today, in this facebook age, this story is much more pertinent!!

Mobile phones and my train journey!

Before getting into My Diary, the contents, a quick question: Are you a Mobile Phone User?

I know this question is absurd. Mobile phones have become a part and parcel in the life of urban 'elite'. The answer for this question is obvious : A resounding "YES". So, putting this question to the urban elite like you, is certainly absurd. But, I am firing this absurd question only with a purpose!!

Let me ask a sensible question now : Do you disturb others with your Mobile?? I am afraid, the answer for this question too might be "YES". Knowingly or unknowingly, we do disturb others through our Mobile.

A month back, I boarded a train at Chidambaram bound for Chennai. It was a day-time train fondly called as the 'Day Express'. The total journey time was 6 hours. Not having the mind to kill the day in travelling, I had decided that I would spend the time reading a book on Yogic Wisdom to Life Management by Swami Sugabodhanandha (yes, the author of the famous tamil book 'Manase Relax Please').

The train started and I opened the book. There were around 30-40 people in the open compartment. I had just started reading... completed not even a single page. One of my co-passengers picked up his Mobile and called someone dear to him. The conversation started... The person was blessed with a baritone voice. He started with "hmm, train Chidambaram thandidichu..." He discussed a lot of subjects, including enquiries about the day's menu at the other end "Enna Sambaar Innikku??", about someone who suffered a minor illness a long time back - "Raju Kaalla rendu masathukku munnadi adi pattudhe, ippa thevalayaa?" or enquiries about family members "onga son Americala vera job mariyaachaa?" the celebration of some or other religious festival. He went on speaking in the loudest possible voice, perhaps assuming that the person on the other end could not hear him properly if he spoke in normal voice! My mind preferred hearing his conversation than reading the excellent book on hand!

After nearly half-an-hour, his mobile conversation ended. I started reading the book. But, that experiment was short lived. In my opposite row, a very good looking girl was sitting. Her mobile started ringing. Her conversation lasted for nearly an hour, interspersed with giggles, whispers and episodic screams. Though she did not speak in a louder voice as the previous caller did, I could still make out what she spoke! My eyes were on the book, but my mind was centered on her conversation (by the bye, she is a doctor-in-the making doing IIIrd year MBBS in KMC. Info source courtesy : Her mobile talk with someone on that day!).

This way, I successfully completed my six hour journey without reading even a single page (but heard the one-sided conversation of several people and thereby gauged their moods). You might think, the mistake lies on my part - overhearing the conversation of others. But, as human nature goes, we tend to do that only.

There can be no denying the fact that the invention of mobile phone is a boon, helping us communicate with anyone, anytime, anywhere. But, should this not be put to judicious use in such a way that it does not disturb others? Certainly, Mobile phone was not invented for enquiring "innikku enna saambaar" from a public place, in a loud voice.

From your landline phone, you may talk with anyone leisurely on a loud noise in your house. But, the same need not be done on Mobile. Whenever, you need to make a call or you receive a call in mobile at a public place, make sure there is enough distance to keep the content private. You may even move to a corner and talk in a husing voice. Be considerate to the people standing or sitting near you. Moreover, by making others listen your conversation, you are giving out details about you. And next time you find yourself in a public place, watch the reaction of non-mobile users to those who speak loudly in their Mobile phones...

The popularity of mobile phones has created a 'mania' that people tend to take out their mobile the moment they settle themselves on the seats in buses or trains and start making unnecessary calls. Do not fall under that category. Use your mobile phone as judiciously and quietly as you can. Mobile technology would really prove to be a boon.

Shall I ask the same two questions now - Are you....??

-----------------
Bala

P.S: I intend to post the excerpts from my columns in Youth Express in the forthcoming posts ..

SaaS model help desk software market hots up

2010-11-03T00:04:00.000+05:30

The entire IT market is exited about cloud computing. Industry analysts have predicted that the spending on the services based on cloud computing will grow over $ 40 billion in about two years from now.

Evidently, cloud computing is witnessing an era of rapid growth. SaaS-based applications crowd the market day in and day out.

Among the various sections of the IT market, the Help Desk software market is very mature and very crowded. Almost all popular service desk vendors are turning towards the cloud. Just about six months ago, there were only very few credible players in the SaaS model of Help Desk. Today, there are quite a lot of offerings in this space.

The latest entrant into this on-demand model of Service Desk software is ManageEngine, makers of a globally renowned suite of cost effective network, systems, applications and security management software solutions. ManageEngine has released ServiceDesk Plus On-Demand, a SaaS-based, ITIL-compliant help desk and asset management application for businesses of all sizes.

ManageEngine is not a new name in the help desk space. Its on-premise help desk software - the ServiceDesk Plus is quite a familiar brand globally. ServiceDesk Plus On-Demand is the cloud version of ManageEngine's flagship product and the trusted on-premise Service Desk software, the ServiceDesk Plus.

ServiceDesk Plus On-Demand has remained in Beta for over six months and it is Generally Available now.

More info: http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/ManageEngine-Delivers-Hosted-ITIL-Ready-Help-Desk-Asset-Management-Suite-SaaS-Model-1345488.htm

http://ondemand.manageengine.com/service-desk/index.html

Abuse of Access Privileges and Guessable Credentials - Top Cause for Payment Card Breaches

2010-10-29T16:18:00.000+05:30

PCI and RISK Intelligence teams of Verizon have recently published a report titled "Verizon 2010 Payment Card Industry Compliance Report'. The report is the result of detailed analysis of nearly 200 PCI assessments done by Verizon Qualified Security Assessors (QSAs) during 2008 and 2009. The sample for the analysis included a mix of organizations of various types.

The report lists out top threat actions based on 2008-2009 payment card breaches investigated by Verizon IR team. Of the ten threat actions, exploitation of default or guessable credentials and abuse of system access/privileges are found to be the cause for 38 % of the breaches.

Time and again, we have been highlighting in this column two very important facts:

the security threats caused by the insiders of the enterprises - either disgruntled staff or greedy techies or sacked employees
stolen identities, default credentials, guessable passwords could be serving as the ‘hacking channel’ for many cyber-crimes

The Verizon study once again lends credence to the belief that Improper management of the administrative passwords and lack of effective internal controls often remain at the root of a good number of security threats.

What is the way out?

One of the effective ways to achieve internal controls is to deploy a Privileged Password Management Solution that could replace manual processes and help achieve highest level of security for the data.

Though the reality is that it is not possible to prevent/avoid all security incidents, the ones hat happen due to lack of effective internal controls are indeed preventable.

Password Manager Pro, a trusted solution precisely helps achieve this. A secure vault for storing and managing shared administrative passwords and digital identities, Password Manager Pro helps eliminate password fatigue and security lapses, achieve preventive and detective security controls, meet security audits and improve IT productivity.

With insider threats looming large, taking preventive action is the need of the hour. Use Password Manager Pro and Stay Secure!

Complete details of the Verizon 2010 Payment Card Industry Compliance Report:

http://www.verizonbusiness.com/resources/reports/rp_2010-payment-card-industry-compliance-report_en_xg.pdf

Bala

UPSC Prelims 2011: The New Syllabus & CSAT

2010-10-19T13:19:00.000+05:30

Media reports today are abuzz about the new syllabus for Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT), 2011.

The proposed changes sound very good in both ensuring fair competition and selecting the best candidates.

According to the reports, CSAT will have two compulsory papers each of 200 marks and two hours time duration.

Paper I is much like the present day General Studies except the General Science portion: It will include:

history of India and Indian National Movement,
Current Events of National and International importance,
Indian and World geography-physical, social, economic geography of India and the world.
Indian Polity and governance, Political System, Constitution, Panchayati Raj,
Rights Issues, Public Policy, Economic & Social Development,
Poverty, Sustainable Development, Demographics, Inclusion,
Bio-diversity & Climate change, Social Sector Initiatives etc
and general issues on Environmental Ecology, which do not require subject specialization

Paper II will include subjects like:

General Science,
General Mental Ability,
Logical Reasoning & Analytical Ability,
Interpersonal Skills including Communication Skills,
Decision Making & Problem Solving, Basic Numeracy (numbers & their relations, orders of magnitude etc, class X standard).
English Language Comprehension Skills (class X level),
Data Interpretation (charts, tables, graphs, data sufficiency etc, class X level)

So, the preliminary examination is all set to be replaced by CSAT. This new change seeks to ensure fairness in competition as all the candidates will have to take two compulsory papers - optionals have been done away with.

I know thousands of students whose prospects at the prelims were marred due to the inherent subjectivity of the optional subjects. On the other hand, just by choosing a popular optional, many have hit the jackpot. And no one could predict the trend, as it differed year after year.

Clearing the civil services exam, particularly the prelims, depended a lot on luck. CSAT is a welcome change in this direction.

And, CSAT now seeks to test the numerical aptitude, English language skills, knowledge on social issues etc. These new areas will help select the best out of the lot.

CSAT might encounter opposition from politicians, but if it gets implemented, that will be good for the Nation!

Bala

Rajinikanth daughter's wedding - The most popular search in google, USA!

2010-09-03T19:50:00.000+05:30

I was just browsing through Google Trends to find information on what people are searching most in the google.

Google Trends lists down 20 most popular search phrases on any particular day. For Sep 3, 2010, our people in USA have searched the google for the wedding photo of Soundarya, Rajinikanth's daughter.

In fact, this search find place twice in the top 20 list!!

Aiyar's Nomination to Rajya Sabha - a welcome move

2010-03-20T16:50:00.000+05:30

The news that Mani Shankar Aiyar, the intellectual-politician has been nominated to the Rajya Sabha, made me ecstatic.

I hail from Porayar in Mayiladuthurai constituency from where Aiyar was elected to the Lok Sabha during 1991, 99 and 2004. In the 1998 elections, when Aiyar contested as an independent following difference of opinion with the then Congress president Sitaram Kesari, I was one among the hundreds of youths who rallied behind him. Though he lost the elections, he had garnered over 77,000 votes on his own.

My father, being a senior Journalist, had very close interactions with Aiyar.

I can definitely say that Aiyar was certainly the best MP we have ever seen. He nurtured the constituency very well since 1991, the year of his political debut. Even his opponents admit that he has resorted to honest politics all along.

The specialty of Aiyar was that he moved very close to common men. Even when he served as Union Panchayati Raj Minister, anyone could approach him anytime. Not only that, people could easily confront him.

I remember an incident, when my father once publicly questioned him what steps he had taken to remove the anomalies in telephone rentals in our area. My father's questions were harsh, but Aiyar tackled them nonchalantly. Even after that incident, Aiyar never bore any grudge against my father. He gave him interviews as usual, came to our house during his election campaign and treated him with all kindness.

His Services to Mayiladuthurai through the MPLADS scheme - road laying, contribution for hospital and school buildings, community halls, bus shelters, crematorium sheds and his industrialisation efforts, service to the tsunami survivors and Kumbakonam fire victims, rural development through the Rural Business Hub scheme were also simply great.

It is quite unfortunate that he lost the elections (2009) at a time when the Congress party has emerged much stronger. Though he has lost the elections, he has won hearts.

Aiyar was adjudged one among the best performing ministers in the previous UPA Government. He has indisputably been an outstanding parliamentarian.

Moreover, he never feared to speak his mind. He had great plans for the 'Aam Aadhmi' and was certainly a humane Minister.

Aiyar's works during the past five years as Union Minister in charge of Petroleum, Panchayati Raj, Sports and Youth Affairs and North Eastern States Development have been phenomenal.

Recognising his past services, Prime Minister Dr Singh should re-induct him to the cabinet allocating the same Panchayati Raj and DoNER ministries, in National Interest.

Women Reservation Bill - A Retrograde Step

2010-03-10T15:26:00.001+05:30

Until the 'black Tuesday' (Mar 9), I was thinking that Women's reservation bill was something which would never come into reality. Alas, it has been passed in the upper house with a thumping majority.

Not even a single political party in the country is truly interested in bringing this legislation. They are paying lip-service only aiming at garnering votes. The political parties are trying to paint a picture as if the position of women will dramatically improve through this legislation.

What will be the outcome of this bill?

There will be 180+ women MPs and roughly 1500+ women MLAs in the country. I wonder what sort of change this legislation could bring to the womenfolk. Can 180 women MPs and 1500 women MLAs make the lives of women a heaven on earth?

This legislation curtails the legitimate rights of menfolk to contest the elections. As rightly pointed out by the editorial of leading Tamil Daily Dinamani, there are many persons like Union Minister Kamalnath and Basudev Acharya of CPM who have been winning from their constituencies consecutively for the past 8 or 9 elections. They will lose their very right to contest as their constituencies are likely to be reserved for women.

Similarly, I know of a young DMK MLA - AMH Nazeem of Karaikal, a rare breed in politics, who has been winning from the same constituency for the past 6 times. He nurtures the constituency so well that people would like to elect him again and again. If the constituency is reserved for women, people will lose their right to elect a service-minded man.

We can accept the caste-based reservation to some extent as it seeks to make corrections for past discrimination. But, gender-based reservation is untenable.

This bill is definitely against the basic structure of Indian Constitution, which assures equality of opportunity for all and opposes gender-based discrimination. This bill should be challenged in the Supreme Court under the provisions of Judicial Review. This is totally unconstitutional and retrograde.

In Tamil Nadu, there is 33 per cent reservation for women even in Government appointments. I lost selection to the post of Deputy Collector in Group-I services exam due to this horizontal reservation for women. For a moment, imagine the pain it has caused to me. Losing selection to someone in the same category with less marks just because she was a woman!(I do not oppose the bill just because of the personal loss I suffered).

I am at a loss to understand what prevents women from achieving the pinnacle of success. Even without reservation scores of women like Indira Gandhi, Sonia, Mayawati, Jayalalitha, Brinda Karat, Shiela Dixit, Sushma Swaraj, Mamta, Jayanthi Natarajan, Kanimozhi, Prathiba Devi Singh Patel and others could shine. Why then reserve seats?

I would be very glad if the bill gets defeated in the Lok Sabha or if someone challenges it in the Supreme Court.

Embezzlement by Wipro Employee: Insider Threats & Strict Internal Controls to the Fore, Again!

2010-02-26T19:41:00.000+05:30

If media reports on the alleged embezzlement by an employee at Wipro are to be believed, insider threat seems to be emerging the biggest challenge for the IT companies.

In the Wipro incident, it is alleged that the fraudster, a qualified chartered account who was employed with the company's 'controllership' division in the finance department managed to siphon off around $4 million from the company's bank account by accessing a colleague's password.

This report once again lends credence to the belief that a good proportion of the frauds and security incidents are being caused by the insiders of the enterprises - either disgruntled staff or greedy techies or sacked employees.

Lack of well-defined internal controls and access restrictions generally pave the way for security incidents. It is also increasingly becoming clear that stolen identities are serving as the ‘hacking channel’ for many cyber-crimes/frauds and improper management of the administrative passwords could potentially remain at the root of a good number of security threats.

How do we avoid cyber threats / frauds?

Not all security incidents could be prevented or avoided; But, the security incidents that happen due to lack of effective internal controls are indeed preventable. Enterprises should take preventive action to combat cyber-criminals and to ensure information security.

One of the effective ways to achieve internal controls is to deploy a Privileged Password Management software that could replace manual processes and help achieve highest level of security for the data.

Read this paper "Combating Cyber Security Threats" from ManageEngine Password Manager Pro for more details and share your feedback.

Bala

Critics - You DO NOT have the right to praise Sachin Tendulkar now!

2010-02-25T12:17:00.002+05:30

As Sachin Tendulkar has become the first cricketer to score 200 runs in a one-dayer, as expected, print and electronic media in India are vying with each other in praising him. (Update: On his achievement of scoring 50 centuries, all the news papers are portraying him as God).

These psychopaths who advised Sachin to retire only a few months ago, are now calling him the GOD of Cricket!! Whenever he was out of form or lost consistency, the critics passed crude comments on his age. The same critics are now heaping praise.

Agreed, it is the job of a critic to 'critically analyze' the performance of a cricketer. But, quite often, the so-called critics passed unreasonable, unceremonious, unwarranted and unproductive comments.

I feel, all such people do not have any right to praise Tendulkar now. I am not able to accept the twin standards of these hypocrites.

Sachin belongs to the 'philosophical' class of AR Rahman, Nobel laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, novelist RK Narayan and others who are totally devoid of egos and do not pay any heed to flattery.

Above all, after having accomplished a great deal, he remains totally calm. Accepts 'Himalayan' success with all humility. I am sure Sachin would take both bouquets and brickbats in the same manner.

Shameless 'critics' - change your attitude at least now. Engage yourselves in constructive criticism.

Hard Coded Credentials, a dangerous programming error

2010-02-22T20:10:00.000+05:30

For applications and scripts in your infrastructure that communicate with other applications using a password, the normal practice is to hard-code the password in a configuration file or a script. To explain further, for Application-to-Application or Application-to-Database communication that happen without human intervention, normally organizations define the access permissions in one application (say Application 'A') and hard-code the passwords to access the Application 'A' in scripts or embed them in the calling application (say Application 'B') itself.

These hard-coded passwords pose a significant security threat as malicious users getting access to the script could easily decipher the password and unleash disaster.

Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE), a community developed dictionary of software weakness types has recently released the list of 'Top 25 Most Dangerous Programming Errors'. The list is the result of collaboration between the SANS Institute, MITRE, and many top software security experts in the US and Europe. It leverages experiences in the development of the SANS Top 20 attack vectors and MITRE's Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE).

MITRE maintains the CWE web site, with the support of the US Department of Homeland Security's National Cyber Security Division, presenting detailed descriptions of the top 25 programming errors along with authoritative guidance for mitigating and avoiding them.

Among the top 25 dangerous programming errors, use of hard-coded credentials is listed at No 11.

CWE explains :

Hard-coding a secret password or cryptograpic key into your program is bad manners, even though it makes it extremely convenient - for skilled reverse engineers. While it might shrink your testing and support budgets, it can reduce the security of your customers to dust. If the password is the same across all your software, then every customer becomes vulnerable if (rather, when) your password becomes known. Because it's hard-coded, it's usually a huge pain for sysadmins to fix. And you know how much they love inconvenience at 2 AM when their network's being hacked - about as much as you'll love responding to hordes of angry customers and reams of bad press if your little secret should get out. Most of the CWE Top 25 can be explained away as an honest mistake; for this issue, though, customers won't see it that way. Another way that hard-coded credentials arise is through unencrypted or obfuscated storage in a configuration file, registry key, or other location that is only intended to be accessible to an administrator. While this is much more polite than burying it in a binary program where it can't be modified, it becomes a Bad Idea to expose this file to outsiders through lax permissions or other means.

So, use of hard-coded credentials is a very, very bad programming practice. But, the question is, how to avoid this? What is the alternative?

The good news is that ManageEngine Password Manager Pro provides effective ways to eliminate the hard-coded passwords. If you have applications in your infrastructure that require connecting to other applications using a password, they can query PMP to retrieve the password. One application (say Application A) would contact the PMP for the password to access another application (say Application B). On getting the password, 'A' would contact 'B' and all these have to happen without human intervention.

This way, the application-to-application (A-to-A) passwords can also follow good password management practices like periodic rotation, without the trouble of manually making the updates at many places. Same procedure can be used for Application-to-Database password management (A-to-DB).

PMP provides Password Management APIs using which any enterprise application or command line script can programatically query PMP and retrieve passwords to connect with other applications or databases.

PMP provides two flavors of the API for this purpose:

* a comprehensive application API based on XML-RPC over HTTPS and
* a command line interface for scripts over secure shell (SSH)

Both the forms use PKI authentication for allowing access to the PMP application through the API. The XML-RPC API also comes with a Java Wrapper API to make it easy for integrating it with Java applications.

Visit www.passwordmanagerpro.com for more details.

Good to See Tamil Nadu Government Going Hi-Tech

2010-01-08T13:39:00.001+05:30

When it comes to embracing the latest developments in technology, the Government - both Government of India and all other state Governments - had been very slow. The Governments of Western Countries are far far ahead of us in going hi-tech although many of the software used by them were created by brilliant Indian techies.

In a welcome change, Tamil Nadu Government seems to be making effective use of the technological advancements.

Deputy Chief Minister Mr MK Stalin seems to be the prime mover behind this. The Dy CM himself is an active blogger and takes quick action on the grievances aired by the citizens through comments on his website - http://www.mkstalin.net/

Almost, all the Government departments now have an active, informative websites.

To cap it all, today, I was very glad to find Chennai Corporation on Twitter - http://twitter.com/chennaicorp

However, when it comes to enabling online payments for various services, the Government departments are still lacking. Transport department seems to be the worst in this regard. Hope, the energetic Deputy CM, who has ushered in the hi-tech era in Governance, would bring in lot of welcome changes!

Dead surgeon’s heart is now beating in this patient’s body - Homage to Dr Krishna Gopal

2010-01-05T13:13:00.004+05:30

Happened to read this moving story about Dr Krishna Gopal in Calcutta Telegraph. Dr Gopal, a famous cardiac surgeon at Madurai had a fatal fall at his house on Dec 26. When he was declared brain dead, his family decided to donate all his organs.

It is quite surprising why the Tamil media has not accorded due importance to this story!

May his soul rest in peace. Lets pray God to give mental strength to the bereaved family...

http://frontierlifeline.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/organ-donation/

Golden heart in mouth, race saves lives
G.C. SHEKHAR

Chennai, Jan. 1: Dr Krishna Gopal will live not only in the memories of the 400 patients on whom he performed heart surgery but also in the heart of one he could not operate on.

The dead surgeon’s heart is now beating in this patient’s body. Just as his kidneys have saved two more lives.

The transplants were made possible against a tight deadline through a feat of co-ordination — which almost mirrored Hollywood — between four hospitals in three cities and the police of Chennai and Madurai, who cleared the roads to city airports. The state medical authorities did their bit, speedily granting a crucial licence.

The organs were all transplanted last night, after Dr Gopal, 40, had died of head injuries caused by a fall from the terrace of his apartment in Madurai.

The chief cardiac surgeon at Madurai’s Vadamalayan Hospital was declared brain dead on Wednesday after being admitted to the same hospital on December 26. His wife Jeyapriya Gopal, a media co-ordinator with Chennai’s Frontier Lifeline Hospital, immediately decided to donate his organs.

“After keeping him alive through a ventilator for four days, the doctors said there was no brainstem activity. Since my husband had always talked about the merits of organ donation, I knew he would have wanted it this way,” Jeyapriya said.

“So we told the doctors the body should be prepared for harvesting the heart, liver and kidneys. For someone who has performed 400 heart surgeries with a high success rate, there could be no greater tribute than his own heart beating in another patient’s body.”

So a team of doctors flew in from Chennai’s Frontier Lifeline, where Dr Gopal had once worked before joining the Madurai hospital to serve the rural population.

However, Vadamalayan Hospital’s application for an organ transplant licence was still pending. The director of medical services solved the problem by granting it on Wednesday itself.

The Chennai doctors reached Madurai yesterday morning. They began removing the heart at 5.45pm and completed the job in less than an hour, in keeping with airline schedules — a harvested heart has to be transplanted within four hours.

The organ was put in a double-walled, sterile and cooled container — an 18-inch cube-sized box — and rushed to the airport, 12km away, in an ambulance. The police blocked traffic en route for 40 minutes.

At 7.20pm, Paramount Airlines’ Madurai-Chennai flight took off, with a doctor carrying the box as cabin baggage. The flight landed at 8.20, but the hospital was still a 14km drive away through one of Chennai’s busiest roads, bustling with New Year’s Eve traffic.

Chennai police, informed in advance, created a “green corridor”, allowing the ambulance to make it in 30 minutes. At Frontier Lifeline, surgeons had already opened up the patient’s chest and put the recipient (whose identity cannot be revealed) on a heart-lung machine. The transplant was able to meet the deadline.

Creating green traffic corridors for the sake of transplants is common in Chennai.

Dr Gopal’s liver and eyes were found unfit for transplant — they were probably damaged by the fall — but his kidneys were taken out.

Kidneys have a 12-hour transplant deadline. One was driven to another Madurai hospital, Meenakshi Memorial, which already had a functioning transplant unit. The other was put in the same kind of box as the heart and driven to Tirunelveli, where a patient was waiting. Aided by a police escort, the ambulance made the 160km distance in three hours and the organ was transplanted the same night.

In spite of her grief, Jeyapriya personally co-ordinated the entire operation. “Getting the organs transplanted successfully was the only objective at that time. Else, my husband’s gift would not have benefited anyone,” said the mother of a 12-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter.

Jesus and 10 Lepers - Learning not to expect gratitude!

2010-01-04T17:40:00.000+05:30

During my boyhood days, I used to hear stories from my uncle - my father's elder brother. Most of the stories told by him were based on the Biblical stories for the children. The stories contain very good morals and in fact, most the good qualities I possess, were due to the influence of those stories.

And one such story provided me solace when a hurting incident took place at my native place Porayar in Nagapattinam district two days ago.

First, let me explain the story and then the incident:

During the times of Jesus Christ, leprosy was a terrible disease and lepers had to live outside the towns/villages. One day, Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem and 10 lepers came on his way. They prayed: "Jesus, have mercy on us!". When Jesus touched them one-by-one, all the 10 lepers were perfectly cured.

Once cured, only one out of the ten came back to Jesus to say "Thank You". Other nine had simply went away without even showing the bare minimum gratitute. They did not even thank Jesus. But, Jesus did not care about them as he did not expect others to remain thankful to him.

What does this story indicate? Nine out of 10 in the world are thankless and ungrateful. If we ever receive some help from others, we must be like the 10th leper who got back to thank Jesus. And if we help others, we must prepare ourselves not to expect gratitude.

Now, coming to the incident:

A man, friend of my uncle, was struggling to maintain his family with his meagre income. He often turned to my uncle for financial help. A few years ago, I happened to help him, which proved to be the turning point for his family. Now, they are well off and I am very happy that a positive change had happened to them.

Two days back, at my native place, when I was standing on the street showing stray cattle to my son, that man happened to pass through in a bicycle. He looked at me profoundly, but did not even utter a word or a smile. For a moment, my mind went back a few years. The very man was standing at my doorsteps seeking that help from me with all politeness and humility. Today, the same man does not even care to give a smile.

I felt terribly hurt. When I conveyed this to my uncle, he quietly asked: "Don't you remember the Jesus and 10 lepers story I told you years ago?. World is full of ungrateful people, but we should just ignore them. Learn not to expect gratitude".

That calmed my mind. I don't bear any grudge against that man. I will help him again, if he were to approach me for something; but, I will do that without expecting gratitude!

Why infants cry? Experience speaks!

2009-12-31T12:40:00.002+05:30

After all those ten months of anxiety and anticipation, your young master has finally arrived and you seem to be getting tantrums all over again about raising the little one.

If you are a first time parent ,this kind of an anxiety is common and normal. Most of the time we are left wondering ,how parents of yester years could manage as many as a dozen children easily and conveniently, while we are found going to parenting classes and doing a lot of internet surfing right from the time of conception.

A few things, if borne in mind could make the entire process of raising a child interesting and simple.

The most common question raised is:

How do I know for what could he be crying for? Could something be wrong with him?

Crying is just a means of communication that your child needs attention.A whinning child is something which most first time parents find alarming. As most parents you would be wondering whether something is really wrong. Here are a few reasons as to what is it that needs attention.

Mom I am hungry…….

The main reason would be hunger.Ensure that the little one is fed periodically and adequately .Remember, only if his stomach is full will he sleep adequately. Your doctor might advice you to breast feed right from the day one.

However,some women may not secrete milk during the first few days.In such cases, you can always go for bottle feeding after consulting your paediatrician. Commonly recommended brands include Lactogen and Dexolac. Ensure that you administer first time formula milk as dilute as possible .

If he fails to pass out ,do not panic.If you are feeding formulated milk, it is quite common to cause slight constipation.Once you are able to breast feed,you may carry on with the same. He may take time to adapt , so keep trying until you both get accustomed to each other.

During the initial few months, you may have to sacrifice a few hours of sleep at night to get up and feed him if he cries.Do not hesitate to do the same, as a loss of few hours of sleep to you would mean more immunity to him.You may feel bottle feeding might make him sleep longer but formulated milk will not provide him with all the antibodies he requires for immunity.

As a mother you will have to get accustomed to sleep when he sleeps and remain up when he is awake.Also remember,if he continues to sleep without feeding it is not necessary that you wake him up to feed him. He would demand you to be fed when needed.

An important note: if he fails to suck immediately,do not conclude that he doesn;t like to be breast fed. You may also try to using a nipple shield. Keep trying till you get him to breast feed.

My nappy seems wet:

A wet nappy could annoy him and prevent him from having a peaceful sleep.Make sure you periodically change his nappy.If you reside in places with a warm climate ,a cloth diaper is far advisable than a disposable one.Though disposable ones may seem convenient, your little one;s skin is still tender and a disposable nappy tends to make his skin all the dry.

Ensure that the clothes you use for him are washed separately and preferably sun dried.Avoid using too much of detegents as this may cause irritation to the skin.Alternatively, you may use detergents meant for baby clothes.

I need sleep:

Most babies,require a physical presence beside them as a reminder of some kind of secuirty. During the initial few days ensure that you have your baby beside you while sleeping .A soft cuddle or a lullaby would go a long way to make your baby sleep well and tight.Some babies prefer to be breast fed to sleep ,while some would like you to walk and put them to sleep.
So try out a variety of these things and determine what is it that he likes and go by the same to get him to sleep.
If you prefer to put him in a cradle, make sure you place a soft bed underneath him.A pillow may not be required in the first few days.Ensure that his cradle is free from any kind of small insects,bugs and mosquitoes.

I am cold:

Most babies prefer to be warm during the intial days as your womb has been keeping him warm when he was inside. Hence,make sure that he is wearing soft and warm clothing. Avoid clothes which have a lot of frills or buttons as these maybe irritating on the skin.Clothes which can be knotted at the back are quite right.

I need to pee:

“My baby cries all the time he pees could something be wrong” .This is quite a normal scenario and there is no need to panic as some babies,find this whole process of secreting something to be a new sensation.Just ensure that you change his nappy immediately as he might catch a cold if he left this way for too long.

Time to call the doctor:

However, if you child continues to keep whinning even after being fed fully and you really feel that something is definitely wrong, do not hesitate to contact the doctor. Remember, a mother can always perceive when something is wrong her little one and there is nothing wrong in Crying Wolf.

A New Year's Resolution to Protect Your Data & Business

2009-12-29T23:49:00.001+05:30

Bidding adieu to 2009, the old year and a brand new 2010 is at the doorsteps.

It is again that time of the year when we would reflect on the past and make some resolutions hoping to do better in all spheres. On the personal front, we have several resolutions to make - right from the most popular lose weight---save money---maintain a diary---quit smoking/drinking to properly managing time, the list is endless.

On the professional front, what resolution can we make? Before finding one, it is pertinent to answer a more fundamental question: How important is your company's data? What impact a possible identity theft or security breach will have on your business?

The answer is obvious.

The growing list of cyber-criminal activities across the globe have assumed such grave proportions that all enterprises - big and small, are exposed to security breaches and identity thefts of various kinds. Many acts of sabotage were found to have been caused by the insiders of the enterprises, either disgruntled staff or greedy techies or sacked employees.

Lack of well-defined internal controls and access restrictions generally pave the way for security incidents. Particularly, as stolen identities seem to have served as the ‘hacking channel’ for many cyber-crimes, improper management of the administrative passwords is believed to be at the root of a good number of security threats.

One of the effective ways to achieve internal controls is to deploy a Privileged Password Management Solution that could replace manual processes and help achieve highest level of security for the data.

Will it not be a great resolution this new year to strive for information security? Go ahead and deploy ManageEngine Password Manager Pro and safeguard your enterprise data.

Wishing you a wonderful new year,
Bala

TSUNAMI: CHILLING REMINISCENCES OF DEC 26, 2004

2009-12-26T13:48:00.001+05:30

26 Dec 2004 ... it dawned as a normal day. I was at my native place Porayar, a small town in Nagapattinam district located barely a kilometre away from the shores of the Bay of Bengal at Tarangambadi. Since that happened to be the holy Margazhi, the misty month in Tamil Calendar, people got up early and were saying their prayers. So did I and was chatting with my father about the plight of Kanchi Sankaracharya who had been arrested a month-and-half earlier. When I turned the TV on, a news flash reported that Chennai experienced mild tremors early that morning. While hearing the news about the tremors at Chennai, I remained more like the French King Louis XV, who lived only for himself and did not care whether his people survived or not and I was thinking like him "After me the Deluge". But, I was not aware that that I was going to witness a massive tragedy within a few minutes. The deluge had actually been waiting to come that moment!

The clock ticked 9:30 am. I heard screaming voices outside my street. Power suddenly went off. Telephones went dead. Cell phone lines remained clogged. A friend of mine rushed in and cried "sea is surging ahead". I laughed at him as this statement is quite common in our area on full-moon days. That fateful day being a full-moon day, I thought he was referring to the raising waves. (Sea used to remain agitated on full-moon days).

But soon, I saw people running helter-skelter. I came out of my house and went a few meters eastward. Alas! a horrifying sight! Seawater had come up to about 500 m from my house. When I reached the spot, water, two feet high, had been showing signs of raising and lowering. Anxious onlookers started talking about the plight of the people of eight small hamlets (Tarangambadi, Manickapangu, Kuttiyandiyur, Chandrapadi, Chinnangudi, Chinnamedu, Veppanchery and Perumalpettai) around our town who lived right at the seafront. Suddenly, I saw hundreds of people from Tarangampadi (also called as Tranquebar), the nearest coastal town running towards us. We did not have any clue as to what was happening.

About 100 people, men, women and little children reached our town. They were fully wet, their bodies were shivering, they could not speak a word. Their eyes told horror stories. We helped them take shelter inside the Government Hospital compound, located nearby. Within a few minutes, hundreds of others followed them. All of them told in one voice: "sea has swept away our hamlets. Huge tides, black in colour, looking like a moving mountain came in, pulled everything. The back flow current was so strong that no one could swim against it". There was chaos and commotion. By 10:15 AM, water showed signs of receding.

These three photos sum up the magnitude of damage (at Tarangambadi and Vailankanni respectively):

In the meantime, hundreds of youths from our place rushed to the coastal hamlets - Tarangambadi, Manickapangu, Kuttiyandiyur, Chandrapadi, Chinnangudi, Chinnamedu, Veppanchery and Perumalpettai. By 11:30 AM, these young men were rushing injured children, babies, women and aged in two-wheelers to the Porayar GH. Some were dead and others were dying. Though doctors were not present, the nursing assistants acted swiftly and gave timely first-aid to the injured. They saved a few lives, but certainly more could have been saved, had doctors been present and if the GH had facilities like Oxygen cylinders. The hospital had an ambulance, but no driver. I cursed my fate, perhaps for the first time in my life that I was living in a useless place. [Of course, the situation in the hospital has improved now a lot, two doctors are on duty round-the-clock].

By 12:00 noon, the hospital compound was filled with hundreds of people - dead and dying. People were crying inconsolably. When I went into Tarangambadi, I witnessed the most dreadful scene in my life. More than 70 persons - children and aged, had lost their lives. Dead bodies were strewn across the streets. Boats had been thrashed on top of houses. The place where I used to see huts, had become a field of debris. Hundreds of cattle were seen floating on water. A huge sea turtle had been thrown into the land. Big fish species were found dead on streets. Several venomous creatures - snakes, scorpions and several new species were freely floating on water. In the midst of all these, few people were seen sitting or hanging on tree branches. Most of them remained unconscious. Youths from neighbouring places rescued them and took them to the nearby helpless GH. The nursing assistants could not cope with the situation. A private lady doctor residing at Porayar, came to the hospital on her own accord. She saved a few lives. But the hospital was overcrowded. Tarangambadi Tahsildar had sent a few Government buses to the Porayar GH to carry the people for 'further treatment' in Mayiladuthurai GH. People literally threw the dead and the dying into Government buses. Human life seemed to have very little value!

In the meantime, those who survived the attack were trembling as the seawater had turned their bodies wet. The cold weather that prevailed on that day, added insult to the injury. Most of the people wanted something 'hot' to take in. I thought it was important to serve the living at that moment than recovering the dead bodies. We, a group of youths, decided to supply Tea to the people to mitigate shivering. I went into the town to get milk. Most of the shops remained closed. After wandering through the streets, I could gather just 77 litres of milk. Milk Powder was not available. With the help of the women of our area, we started preparing Tea. We added 150 litres of water to the 77 litres of milk. The tea was ready by 2:30 PM. But, by then, more than 5000 people had taken shelter in a school in my town. We had just 2000 cups of Tea. The most painful moment in my life! We felt helpless and cursed ourselves for the inability to provide tea to all the people!

By 5 PM, the magnitude of devastation in our area came to light. The GH was full of dead bodies. A Press Reporter was seen counting the bodies. He was telling his photographer, "186 bodies". People were searching for their loved ones. When dead bodies were brought to the GH, people were seen praying, "God, my son's body should not be there". Heart-rending scenes everywhere. Until then, I was thinking the devastation had happened only at my place. But, power supply was restored in select areas and we understood that entire South East Asia had come under that attack. In Nagapattinam district, more than 3000 bodies had been recovered by the evening (final toll in the district crossed 6000). In my town, people were discussing that the death toll in Tarangambadi alone would have exceeded 1000.

Streets were full of volunteers to help those who had escaped the attack. I could see only Humanists, humanists and humanists. People willingly contributed for preparing food for the victims. Young men and women gathered up to prepare food for a mammoth 5000 victims at a single place. Calamity united people of all religions and people of all classes. Even rich were running errands for the victims. The victims wanted water, but water packets and bottles were in short supply in the area. Local people brought drinking water in cans, drums and many other big utensils.

By 8 PM, I was back again at the GH. Death toll had gone up to 256. We spent our night in a school with those unfortunate people who lost everything in their life in a moment. Victims were shell-shocked and they could not properly speak. People were grief-stricken and were crying and that night passed off without a bit of sleep.

The next morning was still more painful. There were just six toilets in the local high school where more than 5000 people had taken shelter. Women found it difficult to complete their morning ablutions. They did not have extra clothes to wear. A horrible experience indeed! The Government machinery was in utter confusion unable to cope with the devastation. Almost all the 80 hamlets in the 147-km long coastline of Nagapattinam district had suffered unprecedented damage. In the morning, the GH was full of dead bodies and after the formal identification process, they had to be disposed off. There was no machinery, no man- power to execute that. The Tahsildar ran here and there and brought a few persons. They dug the sand, 30 feet long and 15 feet deep and three such pits. Nearly 200 bodies were buried en-masse amidst heart-rending cries. Similar scenes followed during the subsequent days...

From Dec 28 onwards, help started pouring in from various quarters... The attention of the International Civil Society turned on our district. The Government also streamlined the relief works. Official figures put death toll in Tarangambadi area alone as 517 and 220 missing. For those who have seen this devastation only in the TV, this tragedy might have become a sad memory, but for the victims it is an ongoing nightmare.. the Government and the NGOs have done a lot to rebuild their lives, but the tragic memories of Dec 26 would haunt them for ever!

Nobel Laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan: Oh, what a man!

2009-12-22T23:28:00.002+05:30

When Dr Venkatraman Ramakrishnan won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry this year, his bio-data as released by a British News Agency read that he was from the temple town Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu. Soon after, my father, a senior reporter with a leading English daily, was directed by the Editor to see if he could gather any information about Dr Venky's boyhood days at Chidambaram.

My father had contacted my uncle, a celebrated Professor at Annamalai University. As my uncle had been staying at Chidambaram for over four decades, he had made some enquiries and had conveyed that nothing was known about Dr Venky. My father was quite disappointed that he was not able to file a story at that moment.

However, he somehow got the contact of someone at Dr Venky's workplace. When my father expressed his wish to contact the Nobel Laureate, he had got a surprising reply: "Venky is not a man who would go after the press giving interviews on winning the Nobel. He is a symbol of simplicity and humility and NOT AT ALL excited about winning Nobel. He stays calm and concentrates on work as usual". My father's efforts to contact Dr Venky ended there.

However, I got curious to know more about him. The more I read about Dr Venky, the more I got interested. And, after reading news reports about his visit to the Madras University, my respects for this man have increased several fold.

After reaching the top of the world, this man says: "Dont judge people by the awards they have won. Just because I have won Nobel prize, I dont consider myself smarter than greats like G Ramachandran".

He is totally devoid of egos and does not pay any heed to flattery. And, above all, after having accomplished a great deal, he remains totally calm. Fame has not changed his attitude a single bit.

We could see the same kind of greatness in some other persons who have achieved the pinnacle of success in their respective fields like Music Wizard AR Rahman, batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar.... All these people are devoid of egos; hate flattery; appreciate the work of others; accept success with all humility; Really great men!

In contrast, for a minute I imagined what will happen if a Tamil Nadu politician had received a Nobel prize. News paper advertisements, posters, cut-outs, hoardings, felicitation functions, processions, television interviews ... OMG!! I am afraid to think more! These people 'create' awards and 'give' it to themselves! Small men, big egos!

Standard Chartered Bank - Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Cheating - An Update

2009-12-18T16:07:00.003+05:30

This is in continuation to my previous post on Standard Chartered Bank - Balaj Allianz Life Insurance fraud.

Just now I got a call from Standard Chartered Bank, Hyderabad. One gentleman introduced himself as 'Team Leader' and rolled out an "excellent" offer:

"Based on your excellent track record with us, I am giving you an exclusive offer. We have a collaboration with Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance and I am allocating some units ..."

Mere mention of the word Bajaj Allianz made me go wild. This is the same call three years ago landed me in financial loss. I was so gullible that time and accepted the offer.

I explained him my ordeal in which the Rs 30,000 I had invested got reduced to Rs 23,000 due to fraudulent allocation of units. He simply told: "You would not not have invested via Standard Chartered". I replied back with the name of the cheat L Jhansi who made false promises and enrolled me to a wrong policy.

He the asked: "Do you understand the benefits of Life Insurance? Even if you have invested with any other insurance company, it would have got reduced"

I shot back: "Because of your bank, I have lost my money. Can you give the money back?"

He said: "Definitely Not".

I asked: "Then why do you call me again? You have cheated me once. Do you want me to invest again"

He said: "Thank You"

I started telling Aaniye Pudunga Vendaam. But, before that he snapped the connection!

Are you planning to invest with Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance- think twice!

2009-12-07T20:23:00.007+05:30

When I happen to view the television advertisement "Dad, have you planned for my future" by Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, my blood virtually boils.

During 2006, a fraudulent agent of the company got my number from Standard Chartered Bank Cards division and approached me over phone. She explained about a product named "New Secure First", a collaboration between Bajaj Allianz and Standard Chartered Bank. The Bajaj Allianz people were poaching the gullible card users of SCB.

At that time, as I was looking to invest from a tax planning perspective, I succumbed to the false promises of the agent by name L. Jhansi. She told me that by investing Rs 10,000 per year for three years, I could get a minimum of Rs 45,000 in return during the fourth year. I asked how it was possible and she explained about the share market dynamics, talked about Equity Growth Funds and a lot of other things.

Finally, I took the policy and paid the premium for three years. When I wanted to surrender the policy last Saturday (Dec 5), the Bajaj Allianz people said that the fund value had reduced to Rs 26,415 and I had to pay 10% of that amount as surrender charges. So, after investing Rs 30,000 and waiting for three years, I was getting back 23,770. Bajaj Allianz has swallowed nearly Rs 7000 on the principle itself.

One may think that the amount had got reduced because of the sharemarket meltdowns. But, it is not the case. The reason is that the agent had proposed my money for the useless scheme "New Secure First - Silver", but explained to me the returns that one would get as per another policy named "New Secure First - Gold". This is fraud number one.

Another aspect is that out of the Rs 10,000 I had paid during 2006 (first premium), Rs 7000 had remained as unallocated premium and only Rs 3000 had gone on investments. I noticed this after receiving the policy statement and called up Bajaj Allianz. They explained that Unallocated premium referred to premium which had been received but not allocated to any of the risks. And when I asked about the returns, they said that it will be very good and I was not losing anything. This is fraud number two.

Now, on last Saturday, when I asked them for the reason, the Bajaj Allianz people at Chennai said that I had been cheated during the first year itself as the allotment was only Rs 3000 and the rest of the amount (Rs 7000) had gone on administrative charges. I wonder how a company could take 70 per cent of the premium amount on administrative charges. What 'administration' they do, God only knows!

When I asked about L Jhansi, the agent who rolled out false promises and enrolled me to a policy that fetched her maximum commission, they said they had no records about that person. They also said that I should have carefully verified the policy document within 15 days and I should have surrendered it at that point itself.

I have not yet surrendered the policy. I am going to lost Rs 7000 of my hard earned money. I could have very well paid Income Tax rather than seeking rebate and losing out to these fraudulent people.

So, if you are planning to invest with Bajaj Allianze Life Insurance, think many times and ascertain all facts. Otherwise, if you plan to invest for your child's future, Bajaj Allianz will very well give you a begging bowl at the time of maturity. Your child may ask now "Dad, what you have planned for my future"; if you go with Bajaj Allianz, he will accuse you "Dad, all that you have given me is a begging bowl". Your blood will boil ....

YOU CAN WIN - The Bible for Civil Services Aspirants

2009-11-22T23:24:00.004+05:30

As I had been stressing repeatedly, the Civil Services battle is won and lost in mind. Self-confidence and mental strength are the most important ingredients for success in IAS exam.

Reading Shiv Kera's 'You Can Win' is the surest way to keep your morale always up. You should read and reflect on each page in the book.

The book can simply guide you in the right direction. If you are spending time unproductively, the book will turn you around.

Just a single line in the book - 'Time wasted is life wasted' made me sleepless during the days in which I were preparing for the exam.

I would say 'You can win' is the bible for civil services aspirants. And the best way to show your gratitude to Shiv Kera for giving the wonderful thoughts, is by buying the original copy of the book. Pirated version of the book is freely available in the market. But, it is cruel to derive benefits illegally.

Bala

How to combat increasing cyber security threats?

2009-11-22T10:35:00.000+05:30

Of late, cyber-criminal activities across the globe have assumed such grave proportions that all enterprises - big and small, are exposed to security breaches and identity thefts of various kinds. Many sabotage were found to have been caused by the insiders of the enterprises - either disgruntled staff or greedy techies or sacked employees.

Lack of well-defined internal controls and access restrictions generally pave the way for security incidents. Particularly, as stolen identities seem to have served as the ‘hacking channel’ for many cyber-crimes, improper management of the administrative passwords is believed to be at the root of a good number of security threats.

Security experts strongly believe that many security incidents (though not all) are actually avoidable by placing access restrictions and well-defined password policies.

How can we combat the threats?

Read my article on 'Combating Cyber Security Threats' in Express Computer (Nov 23rd issue):

http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20091123/technology04.shtml

Bala

Case Study: What it takes to succeed in civil services exam?

2009-11-19T23:53:00.004+05:30

In my first blog on Civil Services, I had stated about a close friend of mine who was awaiting his results. I thought I could post a case study on him so that it becomes beneficial to other aspirants following this blog:

The story of E Harikrishnan, now serving as IRTS officer is indeed inspiring. His journey towards civil services started twelve years ago when we were studying B.E in Annamalai University, Chidambaram. In fact, three of us started preparing for civil services with IAS/IPS as goal, and he alone made it to the coveted service in 2008.

You might have noticed the year 2008 - yes, he started preparing in 1997 and finally made it in 2008 in his seventh attempt. His is a story of diligence, self-confidence and hard work. I often used to reflect on what went wrong in my case and what went right for him.

First, he had single-minded determination, which I did not possess. He wanted civil services and nothing else. Whereas, after two unsuccessful attempts, my mental strength vanished, fears about future gripped my mind and took up a job in a software firm.

Second, he very strongly believed that he would succeed one day. He visualized himself as a civil servant and finally achieved that. On the contrary, I had several doubts in my mind!

Third, six consecutive failed attempts could not deter his self-confidence. When people made fun of him, he did not mind them. Some persons even advised him to seek a job and be of help to the family. He did not mind such comments at all.

Fourth, he kept working very hard towards his goal. Referred to all possible source material.

Fifth, despite the not-so-sound financial background, his family stood behind him like a rock. His parents supported all his ventures wholeheartedly. (Of course, in my case too, I had the total support of my family and in fact, my father wanted me to prepare full-time and opposed my decision to take up the job. My father was ready to spend all his financial resources for my preparation).

Sixth, he kept constant touch with fellow aspirants to keep abreast of the happenings. He learnt valuable lessons from his own mistakes and from the mistakes of others. He was not lured by anything.

All these things together enabled him succeed in the civil services. All aspirants should possess these qualities to succeed.

How do you manage website passwords?

2009-11-19T23:29:00.000+05:30

Nowadays, even for personal needs, we are largely dependent on online services. At the enterprise level, it becomes much more complex.

Just reflect on the following questions:

Do you face problems in remembering the credentials of website login accounts?
Do you have a large number of web accounts and wish to automatically login to the sites without manually entering the user name and password?

If the answer to the above questions are 'yes', you must take the services of a password manager. ManageEngine Password Manager Pro is there to help you!

By simply storing the URL of the web page and the login credentials, you can launch direct connection to the required website from Password Manager Pro. That is, the URL of the website would be visible in Password Manager Pro and upon clicking that you will be logged in to the website directly.

There is a step-by-step tutorial on how to implement this feature. Along with the textual explanation, the tutorial contains a two-minute video presentation at the end. Don’t forget to check that out too!

Bala

Have you ever revealed your administrative passwords to your colleagues?

2009-11-11T19:53:00.000+05:30

Have you ever revealed the administrative password of an enterprise resource to your colleague? And do you strongly believe that your passwords remain secure even after telling others? If so, you must read this interesting survey done by SecurEnvoy.

The survey results reveal that 75% of UK employees have admitted that they have told at least two other colleagues their corporate passwords.

SecurEnvoy states that while workers are trusting of their colleagues, it may not be a great idea to share passwords so easily since it can compromise one’s entire work life.

The concern raised in the survey is well-founded. Enterprises - big and small, face security issues and outages quite often. After all, mis-management of administrative passwords lies at the root of all security issues.

It is always good to avoid sharing of administrative passwords. But, what if your business needs demand that you seletively share passwords with others and yet ensure high levels of security? Caught in a catch-22 situation, right?

But take heart, you have ManageEngine Password Manager Pro for your rescue. Using this Enterprise Password Management Solution, you can store thousands of administrative passwords in a centralized repository and selectively share the passwords with others. You can have the trail of 'who', 'what' and 'when' of password access. The passwords are shared, yet remain highly secure. Exactly what you want!

To know more, visit ManageEngine Password Manager Pro

Bala

VERY GLAD THAT BJP IS DYING A SLOW DEATH!

2009-11-10T18:15:00.004+05:30

I am not a psychopath to celebrate the suffering of others. But, day after day, when I hear news about the downfall of BJP and its leaders, unconsciously, I get great joy!

This is not without reason:

My childhood ambition to get into the IAS was spoiled by the anti-youth policies of the BJP Government. The moment Vajpayee came to power, the Government announced down-sizing measures and recruitment to the civil services got a severe beating.

The normal vacancy range of 800 was brought down to 300 or so. For 'Open Competition' category to which i belong, only 50 per cent of the 300-odd were available. As the selection to civil services is based on the number of vacancies every year, I lost despite scoring reasonably good marks.

Now, the Congress Government has restored the number of vacancies to 800+ and those who had secured far less than I did in 2001, have become proud civil servants. Until I exhausted my maximum limit of four attempts, BJP was in power and my ambitions were buried.

Had the Government achieved anything worthwhile for the Nation through the downsizing policy, I would not have felt sorry on losing the appointment to Civil Services. This policy did not help shape the economy anyway; nor did the BJP prevent the lavish spending on other heads and accounts. Their actions were far from austerity - not even the level of austerity "practiced" by the present UPA Ministry. They just spoiled the career of thousands like me.

Not only me, but thousands of aspirants belonging to all communities had to suffer due to BJP's policies. Only if the Congress tries to make up for the wrongs committed by the BJP (by increasing the number of attempts to different categories (OC from 4 to 9, BC from 7 to 9 and SC/ST no limit) and age-limit (OC from 30 to 35, BC from 33 to 38, SC/ST from 35 to 40)), we will get justice. But, I know, this is a wild dream!!

So, when I hear the news about the fall of BJP, my mind becomes happy. Cruel, it may sound, but I cant help. The party is dying a slow-death and I wish to see it disappearing from National Scene soon!

Salute to a great teacher - 'BV Sir' of Porayar

2009-09-05T08:51:00.002+05:30

A slight deviation from the theme of this blog series: this post is no way connected to Civil Services preparation.

Today being the Teacher's Day, I thought I must write about a great teacher at my native place, whose expertise in Mathematics lies solidly behind the phenomenal success of scores of youths of Porayar and surrounding areas in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu.

If one browses through the grade sheets of a hundred +2 students in the area, the marks obtained by them in Mathematics would be very high compared to other subjects. Even mediocre students would have got a ton in Maths. And this fact stands testimony to the greatness of Mr. B Venkataraman, popularly known as 'BV' in the area.

Ask any student of +1, +2, Engineering or Science branches in colleges, they will gratefully acknowledge the magic of BV. They will tell how BV had made Maths learning a fun!

During the past 20 years of his dedicated service, this man has produced many a centurians in +2 Maths. Many rank holders of TBML College, Porayar in the Bharathidasan University Examinations are products of BV.

It is no exaggeration if I say, BV, who is in his forties, has totally dediacted himself for the service of the student community. He tirelessly spends his entire day in teaching Maths for all higher classes for no significant monetary gains. It is total dedication, nothing less!

Today, hundreds of his students occupy high positions in the United States and in the software firms in India. Solely because of the high marks in Maths, they were able to become what they are today. More than his teaching, the best part of BV's magic is his close rapport with the students. Whenever his students happen to visit Porayar, most of them never forget to call on the great teacher as a mark of gratitude.

All along, this man has remained like the 'true ladder'. He has helped his students achieve the pinnacles of success, but he remains the same at the same place. But, this is indeed what teaching profession is all about!

One among the beneficiaries of his wisdom, I salute 'BV Sir' on behalf of hundreds of disciples.

My first recording

2009-08-24T17:31:00.000+05:30

Standing with a microphone ,adorning a head set over one;s ears in a recording theatre would be a vision for many aspiring play back singers.Beyond the benefit of doubt, I was also one and my reverie did come true one day.It was at Prasad Studio,Chennai.The movie was Mercury pookkal and 'THE PERSON' who decided to put my voice to trial was Karthik Raja son of Maestro Ilaiyaraja.He had actually seen me perform during a cultural programme and offerred me a chance.
This was 'the moment' I was dreaming for ever since I was a child and eversince the time I discovered my talent and aptitude in music.However,I lost all my confidence on entering the studio and decided maybe I should back off and call off the whole thing .This was because 'Mr Virus' had recently carved a niche in my throat and my voice was not at its best.I felt like I was about to have a nervous breakdown and the last thing I wanted to do was display my talent as a singer.I felt too stupid to ask him for extra time till my voice was at its best and I decided to give it a shot.
Since,I had never been to a recording studio earlier the presence of the entire crew comprising of the director as well made me feel all the more stupid.I was asked to wait for more than an hour to meet Karthik sir and he handed over me the lyrics and asked me to listen to the song first.The tune was beautiful and I really really wished I could prove my best.But my voice simply wouldn't give way.
One good thing that happened was, Karthik sir had to go out urgently and left me alone with the sound engineer stating that he would return soon.So we began at 1:00PM in the afternoon.My voice wouldn;t co-operate.I could not give the neccessary feel and depth required.I made a hell lot of mistakes and felt like throwing away everything and running off from the whole thing.ALAS! I did complete the whole thing by 4:00PM after drinking litres of hot water.Yes it was over because of the sound engineer who had the patience of a saint.The output was good but not the best.
Karthik Sir did give me call after listening to it.He said the voice sounded good but was lacking in energy and said he wanted to record it once more in his presence.Somehow, he never ended up calling me later on and I was too ashamed to ask him once again because he had given me a chance but I blew it.I couldn;t bring up the courage to ask for a chance once again.
From then till now,I haven;t dared to step into a studio again.Till date I really wished I had asked for a day or two extra and gone for the recording when my voice was as good as ever.

Civil Services Preparation, a Mind Game!

2009-08-13T11:02:00.003+05:30

If you are preparing for Civil Services Examination, you should have three essential qualities:

A strong belief in your capabilities - "I Can" attitude
No fear to face failures and humiliations
Willingness to work very hard

If you lack any of these, it will be a problem. Civil Services Preparation is a mind game - the ones who are mentally very strong, win ultimately. Intelligence and other qualities are only secondary. A hard working individual, having strong belief in his/her capabilities will surely win the race pushing back an intelligent but not-so-hardworking person.

During the preparation stage, there are quite a lot of distractions that could carry you away from your cherished goal. Mentally you must be very strong and stay focused on your goal.

The examination process is quite long; many things will happen in your family or surroundings letting your morale down. But, mentally you must remain very strong to tide over that.

Even casual comments by friends or relatives could mar your self-confidence. You must remain strong.

Since the UPSC is not revealing the cut-off marks, scaling criteria and other vital details, aspirants are not able to gauge their performance. Lot of stories doing the rounds in friends circle could dislodge your confidence. But, you must be mentally strong to overcome such negative propaganda.

So, here comes my third point on the list of DONTs:

Never let your confidence level go down. Develop highest level of mental strength and remain focused. Remember, no can make you feel let down without your mind's cooperation.

Enterprise Password Management

2008-11-23T10:35:00.000+05:30

Passwords, passwords everywhere

We are living in the age of Information Technology and computers. Most of the things we get done by a click of a mouse. At the personal level, we need to remember a lot of passwords - right from Email passwords, bank PIN numbers, logins for travel booking and so on. If Samuel Taylor Coleridge were alive today, he would have probably rephrased his immortal lines "Water, water everywhere, ne any drop to drink" as "Passwords, passwords everywhere".

At the Enterprise Level, the problem gets quite complex. There are servers, databases, switches, routers, firewalls and a whole lot of IT applications. Each application has its own 'administrative accounts', which are managed by IT and Network Administrators.

Administrators in enterprises follow their own way of managing their passwords. Some store the passwords in spreadsheets, some others in paper and so on. This naturally brings with it a security issues. Oflate, cyber-criminal activities across the globe have assumed such grave proportions that all organizations - big and small are exposed to security breaches and identity thefts.

Similarly, the threats by the insiders are becoming very high nowadays. When an administrator leaves the organization, he might be possessing a copy of the administrative passwords. If he he malicious intent, he might unleash a cyber-attack.

Administrative passwords give unlimited access to the users and if a hacker gets access to them, the very business of the enterprise would be in jeopardy. Effective and efficient password management alone is the solution to safeguard your IT resources.

There are quite a lot of enterprise password managers in the market. One such solution is ManageEngine Password Manager Pro from AdventNet. While offering all enterprise-class features, the solution is afforadle even to small enterprises. The pricing starts at US $ 495 ..

"Password Manager Pro is a trusted solution to securely store, access and administer shared administrative passwords. It enables IT managers to maintain a central repository of passwords, enforce standard password policies and control unauthorized user access to shared passwords. It also provides a complete record of 'who', 'what' and 'when' of password access," says the website of Password Manager Pro

http://manageengine.adventnet.com/products/passwordmanagerpro/index.html

Take a look ... I will continue blogging about Password Management!

If you want to clear IAS, develop humility

2008-11-16T21:31:00.004+05:30

# 2 TO CLEAR IAS, DEVELOP HUMILITY; DON'T BE ARROGANT

The surest way to failure in Civil Services Exam is 'I know everything' attitude. On the other hand, remaining humble could do wonders! Always keep in mind that you need to learn a lot. When interacting with others, always lend your ears. Don't boast about your qualification, preparation et al. Rather hear their experiences. Don't hesitate to say 'I don't know' if you do not know something. You will be able to learn a lot.

What you should not do during your journey towards IAS?

2008-11-15T17:51:00.003+05:30

In my previous post, I had stated that I would be the best person to comment on the things one should not do during his/her journey towards IAS. I am not qualified to blabber on the 'DOs', but I can definitely tell on what you should not do since I have studied hard for the exam and lost selection.

From my personal experience and from the lives of the ones who failed to make it to the IAS, I can tell you a lot about the 'DONTs'. If you are preparing for the IAS, please take a note of these points. I will dwell on these topics in detail post after post.

#1 IF YOU ARE PREPARING FOR CIVIL SERVICES, NEVER LET YOUR FRIENDS & RELATIVES KNOW ABOUT IT

One of the commonest mistakes committed by the Civil Service Aspirants is that the moment they start preparing for the exam, they almost tom-tom it. In mu case, I dint intentionally do it, but it became almost like that.

I got a high-paying job in Singapore during my final year of Engineering. I took Civil Services Exam during that year. The employers asked me to execute a bond for 8 years. Since I strongly believed that I would clear the exam, I dint join the job. After my graduation, when my friends and relatives started asking what I was doing, I told them I was preparing for Civil Services. This reached far and wide and people started kidding as of I had become an IAS officer. It became a big embarrassment for me!

Mind you, when you prepare for the exam, just for fun sake people would call you with sobriquets such as 'collector sir'. You should not give room for any such things. Dont ever tell people that you are preparing for this exam.

The examination process is quite long and the results are unpredictable. Lot of factors such as your optional subject, number of vacancies, scaling method adopted by the UPSC could mar your chances, even if you have done the exam reasonably well.

When you face failures, people would start ridiculing you. It will become a great pressure and you will not be able to concentrate on your preparation for the next year's exam.

Thus, comes the Golden Rule: Dont tell others about the IAS dreams. Keep it secret. Let it be known only to you and your parents.

If your friends and relatives ask what you are doing, just tell them you are hunting for a job. Dont fall prey to false prestige!

The list of DONTs will continue in my next post!

Life in an IT company

2008-07-08T10:09:00.000+05:30

Before I begin my blog I would like to say a few words.This is solely my experience and there are people who are also doing outstandingly well in the IT field.My intention is not to discourage anyone from joining an IT company.
Like many of the other engineers in India,I also found my steps into this dream company through a rope called 'campus interview'.Like every other youth ,I was thrilled initially and was eagerly looking forward to my joining.But my thoughts and expectations were all belied.This is what happened.
I was initially posted for training at Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.Being from a non-CSE background I found it slightly difficult to cope up.It was during training that i realised that coming into a few IT companies meant a transition back to school days and not to a corporate life.12 hours of continous classes everyday including Saturdays.No time to stand and stare.It was all like thrusting everything into a garbage bin meaninglessly until it overflowed.After 2 months of such hell, we were finally given our release and I was lucky to get the base branch of my choice.
But the worst was yet to unfold.Our first day was unexpected.We were even denied entrance into the office.We were made to stand outside in the reception for hours together without having the slightest knowledge as to where to go or what to do.It was only by the end of the week that we realised that we were actually on bench which meant we would be allocated a project only later on.We had to even report to office only once a week.Neither were we given a system or a place or person to report you.The common saying for us was ' You come ,you will not be welcomed ,even if you fail to do so ,you wont be reprimanded'.
This was my case for almost 6 months.While most of my friends had been put up in projects I was not.After repeated requests I have been out up into a project just last week.Even now I do not even have a system of my own or a login id or even an access card.Now I am sitting in the temp system alloted me and doing nothing but writing and lamenting about my situation.I get my pay every month but I dunno whether this is a healthy practice but this is the case in most of the leading IT firms in India.So pals! my sincere advice to you is 'NEVER GO TO BIG IT FIRMS' even if they are prepared to wash your feet with money.A small company in hand is worth two big ones in the bush.

THE FREE SPREE

2008-07-08T10:07:00.000+05:30

Its high time the definition of shopping is revised from 'the process of procuring goods of absolute necessity for existence' to 'a luxurious form of entertainment where people end up buying most things for the heck of possessing them than utilizing them'. How often have you found yourself filling your shopping cart mostly with least wanted stuff and finally stared aghast at your bill wishing Mr Sense had been somewhere in your vicinity just a few minutes ago? Today shopping has become a ritual to be followed at least twice a week. Its often an uphill task to stay away from a shopping store even at the remote sight of one at mid-nights.
Advertisement agencies these days do extreme justice to their professions. A successful ad is meant to create such a void in one's life that the next thing we do is go on a man-hunt for the product. A single product with a lot of varieties under a number of captivating names and different flavors is bound to give tantrums .For instance, in the hair care section you would find something which says ' meant for dry hair and oily scalp' and another which says ' anti- dandruff shampoo for men'.Enough damage has been done. You would be confused about the kind of hair you have .You would probably walk out with the product a fellow customer picks up.
Todays shopping complexes and constructed with great pomp and splendor .Attractive lights which would make the rotten of vegetables seem ever-green. Air-fresheners and aerosols being circulated by air-conditioners generate a strange odor. A hell lot of labels for each department like under 'personal care'- hand care, hair care, body care etc that you are muddled up about what 'care' is it that you require. Needless to say we walk out with one product from each 'care'.

The word 'Special offer' can work out magic in us. 'Buy four get one free' is the mantra. Though our consumption for ages together would be something less than one, we find ourselves stuffing our carts like a person apparently deprived of food for months .
The last and the most painful part of it all 'THE BILLING' the process where the entire world comes to know the brands and products you supposedly use. Its not a queue but a human chain which could extend upto several light years. This is garnished with busy credit card lines, wrongly billed entries and lest to say tones of weight back-home.

Submitted by
Vijayalakshmi V

tackle those marriage blues

2008-05-19T13:12:00.000+05:30

Have you tied the wedding knot recently? Do you find yourself caught up in an emotional trauma? Does reality seem to hit you that married life is not after all that puppy love that you assumed it to be? Well you are sailing in the same boat as many newly-wed couples. Before you conclude anything by just stepping into the water you ought to swim and experience the depth and wonders of this mighty ocean of marriage.

Cosmos conspires to drive you only towards the positive side of things.Yet many of you would be beset with the notion that fate has played cruel games only with you and not with any other soul . So firstly, accept the fact that no marriage is devoid of problems. It is just that one should be given the time and space to accept a total stranger for life-time. Remember, your partner also deserves the same. If you end up with a difference of opinion which could by all means lead to a feud, there are ways to tackle it. Try to put forth your view in a subtle and polite manner. Never , vent out your anger or even show the slightest presence of it.If you lose in the argument ,accept your partner’s views open heartedly. Never hesitate to apologize even if you weren’t wrong.Lastly,never get dejected over silly quarrels and instead spend some time and think about the happy moments you have shared. A flip through your wedding or honey-moon photographs could revive you.

Certain minute gestures and actions could go a long way to build a fruitful relationship. Try to gauge the likes and dislikes of your partner. Never forget to commemorate occasions like birthdays and anniversaries. At this point I would like to make something very clear. There maybe few who would argue saying that a failure to wish or gift on such occasions is not necessarily an indication of lack of love. Yes, definitely it is not , but the happiness of being remembered is far fetched than the ignominy of being forgotten.

Try and reciprocate as much as possible. For eg: if your partner agrees to come with you to a movie he/she least likes, it automatically follows that he/she would expect you also to accept some of her likes which might not be your cup of tea. Please make a note, women normally expect this kind of behavior from their hubbies but very few of them really care to do it.

Its high time you realize that marriage doesn’t require two people who are naturally compatible. All it needs is just a little bit of thought process and reasoning time and again to cement the relationship.

Want to become an IAS officer?

2008-05-15T23:27:00.000+05:30

It is that time of the year again! The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is about to declare the results of the prestigious Civil Services Examination. Nearly 2000 souls would be anxiously awaiting the results. Roughly, a third of those who attended the interview will get a service - IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS, ....

While the lucky ones among the 2000 will get the opportunity for a life-long, glorious career in the Civil Services with a magic wand on hand to serve the people, the poor ones who lose selection will remain shattered, at least for a few months. While the lucky ones will give interview to the press quoting adages - 'there is no substitute for hard work', 'determination, hard work and persistence got me the success' etc., the not-so-lucky ones will look back their days of hard work - nearly a year of dedicated preparation for the Prelims, three-month long anxious wait for the results, brief celebrations for success in Prelims, taxing preparations for the Mains, again a four month long painful wait for the results, joyous celebrations for success in Mains, careful preparations for the interview, tips from elders based on bundles of legends on IAS interview ("one time they asked how many steps one passed to reach the interview hall"), eventful days of stay in their respective state Government Guest Houses in New Delhi, tense moments of facing the interview board in the Dholpur House, analyzing the responses for the questions triggered by the smart members of the board during the casual interaction called 'interview', week-long wait for the interview results - and finally the agonising results!

While the friends and relatives of those who got selected will get a great reason to celebrate the success of their dear ones, a pall of gloom will descend on the families of those poor ones who fail to make it to the IAS.

A pall of gloom descended on my family - not once, but twice - in 2001 and 2007 when I failed to get through. It was my childhood ambition to become an IAS officer. I did work diligently towards that goal; showed promising progress; carried the hopes and aspirations of my family members; yet failed to deliver! When the results were out, I could only say 'so near, yet so far!'. Silently, I became one among the lakhs in the country who wanted to become IAS, but could not!
For me, Civil Services preparation had been a part-time activity. Though I started ground-works for my preparation during my college days as a Mechanical Engineering student, I prepared full-time for the exam only during my first attempt at Civil Services Examination. Thereafter, it became a part-time activity. Exactly seven years ago, after failing to make it to the IAS, I joined a top software company at Chennai in May 2001 and have been working there eversince.

I kept preparing part-time, but could not become an IAS as I dreamt. The dreams came to a halt with last years's results. Years of hard work did not bear any fruit in my case. IAS dream remains a scar even now, but I am getting on with my profession.

CSE 2008 results are about to be declared. Though I am not a candidate, many of my friends have attended the interview. A close friend who has made his final attempt is anxiously awaiting the results. I am also anxious along with him. He has kept preparing for the examination for the past nine years with single-minded devotion. Hard work and persistence should pay him off in a big way and he should land in the elite IAS. I am praying for him now.

For those of you who are lucky enough to get a service - my best wishes for a bright career. As the saying goes, in Civil Services, the real test of excellence starts only after success in the IAS examination. From the day of the result, you are becoming a member of the steelframe of the nation. You have got the rare opportunity to the serve the poor and needy. Measure up to their expectations.

For those of you of my ilk who fail to make it: Keep in mind the golden saying - we can only deserve success, can never ensure success. Analyze honestly and think if you really deserve success. If so, go back to the above line and read the adage again. If you have more attempts left, prepare yourself for yet another sincere attempt. Otherwise, do not waste time on brooding over the past. Get on with life. There are lot of wonderul things in life than IAS!

For those of you who are going to make an attempt at the Civil Services Examination: I am not qualified to prescribe the recipe for success as I have not tasted success. But, I can definitely tell you about what not to do. I know the recipe for failure. In my next post, I will dwell on the things to avoid, practices that should not be followed etc..