Poem - Just a sweet feel.....

హ్రుదయం పాడే మౌన గీతం పెదవిని దాటదే...
పెదవిని వీడే ప్రతి పదం ప్రేమను దాచెనే...
కన్నులు నెండుగా నీ రూపం రెప్పే వేయదే...
సమయమె తెలియని ఈ నిమిషం నీ చెంతే చేరెలే...

Nijam Infotech : Yahoo!! The messenger of Love

"The events depicted in this story are fictitious. Any similarity to any person living or dead is merely coincidental."

 

In the last decade the real estate boom has given birth to several millionaires in India.So much money that they have invested in every business possible.One such millionaires is real estate Ranjith.Inspired by Satyam (before the scam)  he started Nijam Infotech .Aiming to be one of the fortune 500 companies ,he quickly realized that they cant go any further than fortune 500 thousand....


Nijam Infotech,Above the Madhina Cafe,below the Anytime Call Center,Sainikpuri,Hyderabad


It is Karthiks first day and Madhu  one of the senior developers is taking him around the office.


This is Anniyan Asha our Receptionist. If she goes out of the door on the right and comes out of the door on her left she is our HR. Anniyan from the Anniyan movie, the tamil version of Aparichithudu..


As they enter The Office ....

Karthik is Shocked to see,all the windows  wide open...


Madhu: Only the server room has A.C.If you feel its too hot you can go talk to the lucky admin Shiva who sits there , with a issue every now and then.


With a bamboo fan in one hand,hiding in to his cube and typing with the other hand like a wood pecker pecking the keyboard is Yahoo Naresh the web designer.If he spends 10 percent of the time that he spends chatting on the internet on his work , google would have bought us an year ago.


Madhu: He strongly feels that the only way to quickly settle down in life is to marry a  girl from a rich family.And the best  idea he could come up , to get there is Yahoo Messenger.


This is Basha .One of our senior developers.


Basha: Hello , pastries are good at madhina downstairs and girls are good in the call center upstairs..


After a small pause . everyone laughs....


Madhu: On the 4th floor we have a free coffee making place and that is the best thing NIJAM gave us.


Karthik: Dont they pay us?


Basha: Depends, on the dollar rate .you might get it on the 15th of every month or even a couple of months later.

As everyone gather at  Bashas desk he pulls out a telescope from his backpack , and slowly zooms it on to Yahoo Nareshs monitor....

Yahoo Messenger..

SuSmitha: How is your day so far?
Naresh: Not bad,urs?
Susmitha:Awesome...
Susmitha:Tell me more about you and your family...
Even before Naresh types..
Susmitha:I am 5'4" ,how tall are you..
Naresh: 6 Feet
Naresh:Actually 5 11..

Basha Says:Originally 5'5

                                  

Susmitha:My friends call me jr.Genelia..
Susmitha:I weigh 50 KGs.wat is your weight..?

Basha:I think she is a nurse...
Madhu:This is called chat with the Bait


Shiva:Coffee Break.and everyone walks upstairs to the cafeteria....

A month ran by quickly and its time for Karthiks first salary.Madhu punches his pin at the Rushi Bank ATM.The ATM machine makes wierd sounds  and shakes back and forth.As they look at it with their greedy faces , the card flies out of the machine , like a bullet from Arnolds double barrel gun and hits madhu in the face.


Quickly comes in Three beautiful girls and a handsome boy from the Anytime Call Center.As the boy punches in his Pin the ATM machine makes a pleasant sound.Cash comes out in a second.Even before he counts the cash the ATM machine makes a pleasant sound again and Cash comes out again....As the boy looks at the girls and smiles proudly.


Basha Says:I will kill this fellow and go back to my village...


Back at Nijam Infotech on Bashas Telescope...


Susmitha:Dont you want to retire early and visit all the beautiful places...
Naresh:Dont Worry,i have everything planned..


Susmitha:i cant wait to see you and talk to you..
Naresh:No , not so soon.The more we dont see each other the more the thrill is...


Basha Says: This fellow turned out to be a cisinova royale...


Few days later on a beautiful and sunny morning...


As  Madhu and Karthik walk in to the office , in the reception...


Yahoo Naresh is on the sofa towards the left and opposite to him are a girl who is crying and next to her is a guy consoling her.


Madhu : Son of .... , Did it!!


Few minutes later : Dashing in to the door ,with both his hands on his stomach trying to stop his uncontrollable laughter , Basha crashes at his desk.As everyone gather around ...


Basha: The girl outside is the one Naresh has been chatting with for months.You know what she does?.She is a insurance agent.The guy sitting next to her is her boy friend.She is crying because..Naresh told her that he works for a top notch company and all these months she spent time chatting with him as a prospective client.


Madhu: Now i know why she was asking him all those health/retirement related questions....Laughs everywhere!!

Dont try to find shortcuts to success , do all the hard work you can and success will follow ...

Nani

Stalin Went in to Coma : అంటే/Means?

"The events depicted in this story are fictitious. Any similarity to any person living or dead is merely coincidental."


March 4th 1953 Time 10PM Chennai India

When the world kisses goodnight to their kids is when the news dailies turn on their lights."Bharat News" is one such upcoming english daily.The composers are busy composing the headlines.The chief editors reviewing the content on the local edition ,the columnist with the sports page and the cartoonist drawing Nehrujis caricature.


Standing at one corner as tall as the machines ,wearing thick glasses and reading the paper keeping it close to his face is "The Boss" who is known for his bad temper.Standing next to him with a intimidated expression on his face is one of the chief editors.


The Boss:


How in the world can we compete with "The Hindu"  if you keep making such silly mistakes?


I have asked you to print...


Buffalo is their new party symbol and what did you print?


Buffalo is their new party Member..


If you repeat this again you will be a part of the next day headlines.Now get lost.


Its hard to find someone who is good in english in this independent India.


1 A.M March 5th The Boss Chamber


Picking the papers lying on the fax machine The Boss starts reading them aloud...


"Stalins condition is deteriorating "


As all the chief editors have already left he calls Jagadeesh and Srinivas  - Who finished their degree recently from a telugu medium college and joined as sub editors few months back and have just got started with their english lessons.


The Boss: Now listen carefully.Stalin the Russian leader is in a serious condition.Here is his life story.Print this on the main page only if you receive a fax about his death.Saying this with out giving the scared cats a chance to speak The Boss walks away like a bull dog.


2 AM Nothing on the fax machine...


3 AM Jagadeesh gets a coffee for Srini and himself..


3 30 AM Jaggu falls asleep along with the fax machine...


4 AM Srini wakes up Jaggu saying Stalin Stalin!!


"Stalin went in to Coma"

Both of them look at each other - "Coma Means"?


Jaggu: Shall we go ask "The Boss"


Srini: I would rather prefer a new job...


Jagadeesh after a few minutes of serious thought,I got it ..Stalin is dead!!


Srini: How can you say that?


When someone is dead what do we print in telugu "So and So went to heaven  or Swargatulayyaru(స్వర్గస్తులయ్యారు)


"So Stalin went in to coma means Stalin went to heaven"


So Coma means Heaven!!


Srini:Jaggu you are a genius...


The prints get dispatched to every door at 5 AM.As a part of his daily routine the chief minister gets a briefing form various news papers every morning.Astonished to see "Bharat News" being a small daily to be the only one printing Stalins Death News  the CM office calls/wakes up "The Boss" telling him that they have done a great job.


Surprised the boss walks out of his cabin...


Srini(Proudly) :We dint sleep till 5 O Clock till the prints got dispatched.


"Stalin went in to Coma" and we got everything done by 5.


The Boss collapses on the Ground saying..


What have you done...What haaave you done...?


Rushing back to his office he calls the reporter covering Stalins news.After a few minutes in shock he walks out saying , i do not know whether to promote you or fire you.Stalin died at 5AM and our news paper was at everyones door steps by 5:15...


A million copies of the Bharat News Get sold that morning before the competitors could even compose the news to come up with their evening editions.


Nani

Indian Caste System : Know your history

When i see educated people getting together/ignoring others on the name of caste
 
Students fighting for their movie heroes in the name of caste
 
NRIs who have seen the world , splitting in to organizations in the name of caste
 
People being offered jobs even with out an interview in the name of caste

Parents in todays society still looks out for matches in the name of caste

Politicians while trying to be demigods exploiting people in the name of caste

Have the people who dismiss caste as an inhuman and nazi system, ever attempted to understand its original purpose and genius? Is it really worse than the huge class differences you can see nowadays in Europe? At any rate, we should not allow it to be exploited shamelessly against us, as it has been in the last two centuries, by missionnaries, "secular" historians, Moghuls, and by pre and post-independance Indian politicians - each for their own purpose.


The Beautiful Beginning

The original social system was divided in four "varnas", or four castes, which corresponded to each one's inner capacities.Brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras.
“Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, knowledge, wisdom and religiousness–these are the natural qualities by which the brahmanas work.

Heroism, power, determination, resourcefulness, courage in battle, generosity and leadership are the natural qualities of work for the ksatriyas.

Farming, cow protection and business are the natural work for the vaisyas, and for the sudras there is labor and service to others.

By following his qualities of work, every man can become perfect.So the Vedas recognize different people have different skills and qualifications, but it is not by birth, it is by guna (qualification) and karma (work). So if someone born of a sudra (worker) father becomes qualified (guna) and works as (karma) a brahmana he should be accepted as a brahmana. In the same way if the son of a brahmana doesn’t have the qualifications of a brahmana or work as a brahmana then he is not a brahmana. There are so many examples of this in the Vedic scriptures.

It is this system which allowed India to flower in an unprecedented way, to excel perhaps as no other nation had done before her, in all fields, be it literature, architecture, sculpture, or painting and develop great civilisations, one upon the other and one upon the other, each one more more glittering than the previous one.

In the last stages of the pre-Muslim period, the whole Indian system was founded upon a close participation of all the classes; even the Shudra had his share in the civic life. Thus the Council had a fixed number of Brahmin, Kshatrya, Vaishya and Shudra representatives, with the Vaishya having a greater preponderance. And in turn, each town, each village, had its own Metropolitan Civic Assembly allowing a great amount of autonomy. Even the great Ashoka was defeated in his power tussle with his Council and he had practically to abdicate.

 Is the current Indian system something like accepting the sons of  IAS officer as IAS ?.They have to be qualified, they have to attend the entrance and pass the course and get the practical training.So there is actually nothing stopping anyone from bettering his position in the Indian system in the scriptures.Anyone, from any social position can be liberated by performing his own work.You have the same system in America. You have intellectuals [brahmanas], you have administrators and military men [ksatriyas], you have businessmen and farmers [vaisyas] and you have workers. The Vedic system just recognizes these groups, that’s all. It’s quite natural.

For example:

How much time did it take for a so called developed nation to crawl on its knees when a succesfull business man like Geroge W Bush won the elections twice.He might have been a good fit to be a Vaisya and not a Kshatriya or Brahmin.

The Degeneration began

The Moghuls have always projected it as a gradual take-over of India by an arrogant Brahmin and kshatriya society. What used to be a natural arrangement - a Kshatriya became a warrior to express heroic tendencies in him developed from countless births on earth- turned-out to be an inherited legacy, which was not merited by chivalrous deeds. A Brahmin who used to deserve his status by his scholarship and piety, and was twice-born in the spiritual sense, just inherited the charge from his father. And the shudras were relegated to a low status, doing the menial chores, when in their heyday, they fulfilled an indispensable role, which granted them recognition from the king himself. Thus Hindu religion lost its immense plasticity, which allowed her to constantly renew herself - and India became ripe for invasions.

It is the nature of human institutions to degenerate, there is no doubt that the institution of caste degenerated. It ceased to be determined by spiritual qualifications which, once essential, have now come to be subordinate and even immaterial and is determined by the purely material tests of occupation and birth.By this change it has set itself against the fundamental tendency of Hinduism which is to insist on the spiritual and subordinate the material and thus lost most of its meaning. The spirit of caste arrogance, exclusiveness and superiority came to dominate it instead of the spirit of duty, and the change weakened the nation and helped to reduce us to our present condition.This sowed the seeds of an explosive conflict which is ready to blow-up today in every state where the caste conflict is exploited politically by politicians who went further and catergorized them as BC,SC,ST etc.

Human brain needs theories and proofs to accept something and so here is just one example of what the English did.

The Master Stroke by the British..

The theory of the Aryan invasion is still taken as the foundation stone of the History of India. According to this theory, which was actually devised in the 18th and 19th century by British linguists and archaeologists, the first inhabitants of India were good-natured, peaceful, dark-skinned shepherds, called the Dravidians, who had founded what is called the Harappan - or Valley of the Indus civilisation. They were supposedly remarkable builders, witness the city of Mohenjo-Daro in Pakistani Sind, but had no culture to speak-off, no litterature, no proper script even. Then, around 1500 B.C., India is said to have been invaded by tribes called the Aryans : white- skinned, nomadic people, who originated somewhere in Western Russia and imposed upon the Dravidians the hateful caste system. To the Aryans, are attributed Sanskrit, the Vedic - or Hindu religion, India’s greatest spiritual texts, the Vedas, as well as a host of subsequent writings, the Upanishads, the Mahabharata, the Ramanaya, etc...

Thanks to the Aryan theory, they showed on the one hand that Indian civilisation was not that ancient and that it was posterior to the cultures which influenced the western world - Mesopotamia, Sumeria, or Babylon - and that whatever good things India had developed - Sanskrit, literature, or even its architecture, had been influenced by the West. Thus, Sanskrit, instead of being the mother of all Indo-European languages, became just a branch of their huge family; thus, the religion of Zarathustra is said to have influenced Hinduism, and not vice versa. And on the other hand, it divided India and pitted against each other the low caste dark-skinned Dravidians and the high caste light-skinned Aryans, a rift which is till enduring.

What a comment about a nation that gave the world the Vedas and the Upanishads, at a time when Europeans were still sleeping in their caves!

History should be rewritten so that Indian children learn to be proud of their ancient and INDIGENOUS civilization - and the consequences of this new theory applied not only to Asia, but also to the entire history of the whole world.Talk proud about our Caste System.We need not rewrite the whole caste system of today to go back to the beautiful past but fill our minds with the truth that we are no superior or inferior than any human being by Birth or Caste.
The next time you come across caste fanatics explain them the truth or worst case just smile off...:)



Jai Hind!








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Philosophy- The Banyan Tree,The Squirrel and You

Once up on a time not too long ago on the banks of the sacred river Penna was a huge but calm , tall but simple banyan tree.It was so tall that the clouds could rest on its branches.On one of its far spread stems in a beautifully built nest  lived a sparrow happily with its cute family.In a small hole of a close by palm tree lived a squirrel and its sweet little family.As the sparrow finishes meditation and flies away to fetch food every morning the little ones used to chirp him good bye.As months passed by quickly , slowly crawled a beautiful money plant across the trunk and soon reached the tree tops.Unlike the sparrow the money plant is completely dependent on the banyan tree for its food and shelter.Its a Parasite.

Every day on its way back the sparrow started bringing home a new friend, who soon would bring his family and build a nest on the big banyan tree .Soon the tree was filled with nests of all the species of birds on this planet.As days progressed, competing with each other they built nests with soft feathers the next with marbles and an other with silver pebbles and then with diamonds.The banyan tree which couldn't carry the weight anymore started leaning each day.The squirrels family on the other hand lived its own life style taught to it by its ancestors and the knowledge gained from their prayers.While eating for surviving they used to  save some nuts for tough times.

But the birds on the banyan tree still competing - some sent their kids to harvard fishing school and others force them to oxford hunting university.Soon their happiness turned in to quarrels for space/food .While one wanted to see the sunrise from its nest the other wanted a clear view of the stars at night.The little birds no more chirped good bye when the male birds fly to get food every morning.The birds no more had time  to meditate every morning either.

A friday which started like any other day soon turned dark as the black clouds filled the sky like the tides in the ocean.As the squirrel lives close to the ground it quickly sensed the smell of mud and the cyclone on its way.It immediately rushed home to his family and could survive for a week with the nuts they have saved.As the lightning split it in to half , the hurricane like winds soon destroyed the banyan tree which was in its final stages lifting it from the roots.The nests were torn in to pieces and not even a single bird survived the natures disaster.The money plant crawled on to an other banyan tree near by.The palm tree which was light and small survived.

The tree  can be compared to the human body and nests to the number of people around you.The people and the problems that come with them are not outside you but deep inside you.The more you have around you the less you have inside your-self.Like the money plant there are parasites who solely depend on you .The day you have no more to offer they quickly ignore/abandon you and move on to an other sources of survival.

Everyone is a hero in their own World/Ego.Every home is a sweet home for the one living in it and his family and kids are the best from anything else on this planet.That might be extreme humane.But don't get carried away and get lost in the race for excessive materialistic pleasures/comparisons like property,money and power.Always remember where you came from and how beautiful your childhood and life has been.Don't forget the soul/sole purpose of your existence and the one responsible for its creation or as you lean day after day you will be swept by the cyclone hiding behind the cloud of people/passion.

And the squirrel lives happily ever after....

Nani

Indian in Harlem:Inspired by my true story.....

Hope it inspires a few to face any difficulty with determination and know how fortunate they are .......

Long story short.....

It was my 3rd day in the US and T-3 days for the touch down.As I return from the SSN office…

Jan 19th 2006 Afternoon Md Shiv kumars Chamber

knock knock!!

Heah come on in Bharath ,how are things going.Ready for an interview?.There is a huge business opportunity .There is a company Equalizer group in New york which along with some major partners like coke ,jp morgan etc are planning to conduct a training program to a group of economically backward students who then will have to work on a project for Coke and will be placed .

I knew that working with out an SSN is illegal in the US.How are they gonna run my pay stub?.Even then I am Sold!!.The next day I was selected even with out an interview which is kind of fishy but all I wanted is to see my first pay stub and so…..

After a 45 min drive there was a 5 min stop over in jersey city before we cross the hudson river/tunnel.Thats where the punjabi cousins moved my baggage from jersey cab to NY/yellow cab so that they can skip the tolls.As the sun was setting i started loving NY more as we get closer.Looking at empire state building for the first time reminded me of the King Kong movie(old) and my childhood.Leaning on to the cabs window i started remembering the funny/scary words of relatives/friends when they got to know that i will be working in NY.


Dont go out in the dark...


If someone demands money(mugging) just give them everything you have...


Dont get used to burgers...


Don’t marry a American girl…


Reached the YMCA building in 135th street at 6 30 pm.


Quickly checked in to my YMCA sponsored single bed room , and formally dressed I had to meet Robert one of the managers at YMCA who then introduced me to the lab admin.Admin:-What ever you want to install, let me know and i will do over the weekend.Dont uninstall/mess with anything. I could see a dictator in him and also his job insecurity.

Day 1


As tall as i am 6 feet and 2 inches Rose started introducing me to the class and they all seemed to know each other for a while.


Jose:-Its pronounced as Hosey but i never got it right.


Dan:-From North Carolina Effected by Hurricane Katrina.


Twins:- Samaria & Erika.


Calvin:- The c++ expert and on of the big personalities in the class...


Etc.


I have asked them to call me Reddy instead of killing my Name while killing themselves trying to get it right.Except for Calvin no one else had a programming background. So i have started from Why computers? Why programming and concluded day one running a simple java program.





Food...


I finished ordering my rice cooker on Amazon and started walking towards the closest grocery store following the directions from julian the receptionist. I could see people selling audio cds and clothes on the footpath which reminded me of slums back home.As i entered the Acme super market for the first time i have felt like i am in America.Living in Edison was like living in a mini India. I have bought loads of chocolates, cookies, frozen pizzas and tons of soda cans. Spending the dollars i have earned which once was a top currency in my currency collection was fun and also a learning experience to know the different denominations both in paper and metal.


Burger re-defined at Mc Donald’s :- Unlike their branch in Bangalore ,if the bread on the top doesn't touch the bread on the bottom its a burger.Anything cheaper than a dime can go in the middle.


Mexican place...


Cheese slice and coffee..Loved them and is gonna be my standard lunch menu....


Chinese Restaurant…it was like finding a branch of heaven in hell.


Week 1
I used to hear loud shouts and screams from a room close by which naturally freaked my already scared which otherwise is a brave-heart. I don’t have a cell phone yet, so have to use the pay phone downstairs.I used to look out of the peephole , once every 30 minutes at least for a couple of hours before i go make that call which i quickly try to finish. One nice and calm evening as i try to get to the elevator i suddenly hear loud screams and can feel some one running towards me, as i turn back with my half dead face i see a bunch of youth hi-fying each other and all i could hear is giants. It took me a few minutes to take a deep breath and ask them what it is all about. First they gave me a hi-fi and then told me that NY Giants have won the game. From that day i am no more bothered about the screams as i have realized that the room next door is the TV room. But i still look out of the peephole once every one hour.





Back in the class….


It was going at the right pace while I help them they were also helping each other and very soon it turned out to be school on its own. They used to burst in to laughter when ever Catherine asks me a question because she had problems/question in every topic I teach. And I used to make fun of her with phrases like…


If Catherine can do it you can all do it.





Break for lunch….


By the time i return from my Mexican pizza place they used to bring different varieties of food ranging from burgers to pizzas, Chinese to japanese ,Caribbean to continental .Looking at Jose’s box , for a minute thought that its the Indian breakfast dosa was surprised to know that its a pan cake.


My dinner menu used to include... Rice ,pickles ,chips, onions and yogurt and my favorite dessert mom made ariselu (a south Indian sweet made of rice floor,jaggery and ghee).Sometimes at night , as i try to microwave my frozen pizza which always ends up half cooked i used to look at the empire state building. The top portion of is beautifully lighted with different colors each day(yellow on daffodils day etc).

Day 17


As i open the door i was shocked to see…..


My suitcases are missing .I don't see my clothes that i have dumped on one side of the bed and not even a single dollar on the dressing table. As i collapse on the bed i see some home made cookies and a note next to it which read Thank You.


Suit cases are in the closet, clothes on the hangers, combs and all the $$ in the drawers.


All that for helping the 62 year old maid lady fixing her grandsons laptop the day before. From that day i felt closer to home....


Free Food@YMCA every Tuesday and Thursday-----------------


They had fried chicken ,strange fruit pieces and lemon tea which i dint know until i tasted it thinking its coke. After that i used to go there every Tuesday.



Drug free school zone…week(3)


Will a.k.a Williams had a small tube in his hand which at times he used as a inhaler. It was not till he fell flat on the desk banging his head hard while every one looked at him shocked did i realize that it was not a normal inhaler but one with a drug so strong that it can make you unconscious. As i rushed to his desk preparing for the worse, he got up in pain holding his head. I took him out of the class and told him not to come back. As tears ran through his eyes he told me about his struggle as a orphan and how he walks four miles every day just for this class. He promised me that he will never again touch drugs in his life.


That evening on my way to the grocery store as I walk past the basket ball courts,I felt happy when I saw the sign which reads "Drug free school zone" (coincidence AKA fate).

Faunda often used to get home made corn cakes for all us.






Amits adventure/visit………….


Inside the building i used to walk like a king but outside i could not even go the Burger King which is 2 blocks away. All that because of Amits visit…


Amit my engineering batch mate who did his masters in jersey and a regular visitor to NY planned for a visit….


Instead of taking the subway amit planned to use his network/smartness and took the bus which stopped two blocks away. As he started walking he quickly realized that it is no time square.Standing next to trash can leaning on the brick wall was a 6 foot 7 inch black man whose face was covered with hoodie and all Amit could see was the smoke coming out as he lifted his head Amit looked straight in to eyes(you should never do that with someone whoz on drugs) which were red like the sun which was setting a few blocks away. The man quickly started walking towards amit…


With in the next minute Amit dashed in to YMCA and to my room and that was the first and last time he visited Harlem.


Day 27 Spider man revealed 

As i wake up to the cop car sirens i felt cold more than the usual and i thought the they have stopped running water through the heaters. All the rooms at YMCA had old/German style room heaters where they continuously run hot water through the pipes. As i look out of the window i see bright white light calling me towards something beautiful, something i haven't seen before. As i jump out of my bed and almost fell out of the window , Snow is everywhere. I immediately opened the window and touched the first snow flake ,may be to make sure its not a dream. I was so excited that it took me 5 minutes to get ready and to jump out in to the streets.


Even though i was scared on that day nothing on this planet could stop me from running through the Harlem streets like spider man after realizing his powers.


Friday evening...@the subway station waiting for No 3 Train


As i get my leather jacket out of the backpack i could see a cop standing right next to the ticket counter with a dunkin donuts coffee in one hand and the with the other hand on his pistol. But that doesn’t bother me any more because i know the beautiful place and the people better now....



Day 30 The twister…


I knew that they will be placed at the end of this program,but what i dint know was the stipend of 1400$ they were promised every month.Sitting at one corner of the room all i could do is to watch tears rolling out of everyone’s eyes when Rose announced that they dint get the expected funds.


Twins cry.


Shuba: walks out saying ,i know this is gonna happen.


Dan..I am sad today more than i was when Katrina hit us...


Faunda...My uncle is a attorney and i will file a case against all of you and the sponsors..

What i initially thought is fishy turned out to be a rich-mans scam...


I was mentally preparing myself to pack things and move back to jersey. But when i come back on Monday after having a quick talk with Shiv over the weekend i was surprised and delighted to see 18 members in the class.





Here is a email from Ebony after missing out a few classes…..


Hello Mr. Reddi,


I received your email on Wednesday informing me that I could continue to come to class. Rose told me that she was going to ask you if it was alright. I failed to mention to her that I was, and still sick. As you know from last Friday's meeting when you came with Rose, & Charles, when Rose informed us that we weren't getting paid, and didn't know when the money from the grants, and other sponsors were going to come in. I can't continue in a program run by a board that doesn't confide in their students that their is financial problems going on.


I still feel that someone knew that there was a problem with raising money for the program months ago. Waiting to the last minute just doesn't make sense. So with with that said I can't continue because my school loans, & other bills aren't going to wait on the possibility that we might, or might not get the monthly stipends we were promised in the very beginning. I have some jobs that I'm looking in to right now. I don't think that the time spent was wasted, but being that we're not getting compensated, I can utilize that time working. I thank you for giving me the opportunity to learn what you know as a professional java programmer.


I will continue to learn, and study what I have started with the program, by changing my major to computer technology when I go to Grad school this fall. Can you do me a favor and tell the remaining members of the class to continue to do well, keep their heads up, and that I'll me praying for all of them, but to make sure that they have a plan B, because of the uncertainty of the programs financial capabilities.


Thank you again,
Ebony


Exam (Divide and conquer)


At the end of the 2nd month Rose wanted to the cut down the number of students by half. I think she dint expect 18 students to come back to the class even after knowing that they will not be getting their stipend. I felt that they wanted to end this program as soon as possible to fill in their accounts with more $$ and I think she was also scared about Faundas uncle and his law firm.





Director at dinner: Met Elaine the director at the tuesday YMCA dinner. He likes Indians because the one who did his bypass a month back is a Indian doctor Mr.Naidu.After exchanging a few words ,he said that i am doing a great job coming so far and praises for my teaching abilities coming from a programming background. He gave me his card. I wish it was a credit or at least a debit card. But as always it is his visiting card*****.


I have reduced the number of working days/classes to 4 so that they can do some par time jobs for 3 days atleast.Though it was not going great with the students-sponsors i used to grab a lot of energy from my weekend train trips to jersey.I have to take a sub way till 34th street Penn station and then a NJTransit train and i used to enjoy every minute of it.I tried to read a book or make a short note of my experiences from that week classes. It takes a medium sized dunkin donuts coffee to wait for the bus and get to the guest house from the metro-park station.


As weeks passed by the number of students fell like the leaves in the fall.



Break for lunch


No one was moving. I remembered Ebonies words from the sponsors meeting..


"We cant continue our class while spending off our hard earned money"


With a dumb enough personal reason to celebrate i have asked them to choose a place to order food. Calvin was the first one to come up with papa johns pizza and from that week i used to order pizza, wings and soda on Thursdays.




-----------------------Baby in the class------------


Like every morning i quickly finished my cup noodles and rushed to the class .As i walk out of the elevator i heard a baby cry.On the stairs next to the lab door ….


What happened Catherine?


In her thick African accent she replied...


They told me that they will pay stipend. I have left my job .Now i dont have money to pay for daycare. The only reason i come here now is with a hope that they might pay some day and not to be expelled from the class. Feeling sad for a minute i thought of brightening up my day and that of others by telling her to go home not worrying about the grades and i will call her when the stipend is ready.





Checkout in 10 mins ...


As i return after the weekend from Edison i looked at julian in the reception who always throws a welcome back smile.But she dint smile.Not bothering much i quickly got in to the elevator and landed in front of my room.As i try to unlock my door i find that the key doesn't fit in to the lock.Tired trying i went downstairs to talk to the manager ,but he was waiting to talk to me.You can't use your room.You have not payed the rent for the last 2 months .He had a expression which i could read as - i don't know anything about the whole program.In despair i pulled out my valet and as look for my phone card i found the visiting card of Elaine the YMCA Director.I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.But looking at the way things have progressed in the last few months i was sure its from a train.As he spoke with the Italian manager ,i had a man waiting outside the door while i grab everything and call a cab.


When i told shiv what happened he has asked me not to go back on Monday and end it right there.But i could convince him that in 4 more days i will finish the course.


The next four days i travel from metropark station to harlem every day. In those four days I have made their resumes look close to that of mine.I have asked them to collect every piece of information(paper Ads,Emails etc) that they can about this program and sponsors(JP Mrogan Chase, Blackstone Entertainment to name a few) and use all the big names as references during the interviews.


Adios…


Shuba raised her hand to give me a hug ,not knowing that, i just shook her hands and she laughed at me with embarrassment. But when it was Faudas turn to say good bye she politely said "Thats not the way we do it here MR.Reddy and gave me a hug" and so did Wil and Calvin.


A month later Calvin got a job as a software developer at a investment management company up state NY.


Calvin now works as a senior software engineer at a top notch telecom company in Manhattan.


Faunda joined her uncles law practice.


Wil is pursuing his masters in computer science.


Shuba is all set to take over the lab admins job.


Things and people are not always what you think they are.No matter which country you live in Africa or America  the rich will exploit the poor to get their share before the government snatches its own.U.S gives around $25 billion in foreign aid every year.And i have heard that $60 billion is all that is needed to eradicate poverty from this planet.But do you see that happening?.I wish the students of my class will one day answer that question if not to the planet to the streets of Harlem.




Mr.Reddy

India Today : Emotions Exploited - Inspired by my country!!

We are all human and emotional.But the emotions in youth are like milk on the stove while those of others are like water on the stove.And here are a few examples of how exactly our emotions are being exploited.We all know them ,but yet we fall  prey to them due to lack of control on our emotions.

If all they need is a 10 seconds Advertisement in between two overs of a cricket match, to buy/exploit your emotions ,no matter how strong you financially are and how educated your are how would it even count?

Cricket

The day i started following cricket was when Kapil Dev was a role model for millions.The then cricket board of India din't have thousands of crores bank balances.Today playing for team India is a million dollar business.They are neither bothered of your exam schedule nor how busy you are with your work.They don't give a damn about us.The fewer the number of overs the easier it is for them to keep us glued to the TV.While the richest of the rich compete for the BCCI presidents chair ,all they care about is the availability of the stadiums and the fitness of the players who make close to a million or even more every series.Let us all develop some self restraint once again and watch a game as a game and let it not impact our studies or work.

Media

The more controversial they can make it the more TRP ratings they have and that is the bread and butter for the hundreds of channels we have today.All they need is the easiest way to get to tickle your emotions.How many elders/oldies today spend the same amount of time they wait/watch the serials to teach their children about our culture or stories from our puranas .We do not have the control on the crime watch programs etc they telecast late nights.But we do have the control on the remote and there are channels which are informative and educative.Develop some self restraint and take control of your emotions!!

How often have you seen news  about Bala Murali Krishnas  concert on the main page?.May be on one corner of the local edition with a black and white photo.While the pictures  of a up coming actresses come in different colors/poses.

How to qualify for the main page?

You should hold a PHD from the university of crime by passing the course - "Quickest path to become a prime minister from prison".At-least a few murders or scams or atleast you should have partied with a underworld don.They can create  the required hype by boiling your emotions out of a celebrities personal/family matters right on the the main page.Why should we care for that junk?.We can all spend that time reading about inspirational personalities like our freedom fighters or some useful books that might help advance our careers/studies.

Film Stars

We follow them more than their shadows right from the first clap/shot of their movie.We create the required hype even before the audio release and we decorate the theatre as if its our sisters wedding.We bunk our classes and fight for the tickets to watch the premier.We dont care even if we die in the process.While they all live happily in their palaces ,we argue/fight for them/their competitors like street rowdies.And all they(heroes,directors etc) do is exploit every possible emotion of ours in those three hours and all they really care is the 50 Rs we pay towards the ticket.

Do they come guide us when we are jobless or did they come support us when we were facing the toughest times of our lives?Develop a clarity of thought and be sure of what and why your are doing it.Be inspired by your parents who gave you this life and be a fan of your teachers who made it a meaningful one.

What is Love?

Love is not just a sweet feeling which at its peak of emotion can make you carry an acid bottle nor is a insecure feeling which will ask you to ignore your parents.Always remember that your first and unselfish love is that of your mother and the love of your wife that will stand behind you even when this world stands against you.

Which country and its culture would have survived the loot by the barbarian mughals and the pirates of the west.."The English" that came after.They have destroyed our temples and looted not only our jewels but all that spiritual treasure which they have exploited and personalized for their selfish deeds.Their divide and rule could not tear apart our great nation or its emotions.

But now we are facing one of our own - like the vultures/jackals that wait for the left overs our politicians completely depend on our left over emotions at first for the votes.And then they exploit them completely while they switch from a scam to another and try to divide and conquer.If Mahatma Gandhi was alive today he would have given up non violence and slapped those politicians misusing the word fasting/satya graham/nirahara-diksha for their political/personal mileage.

Don't let anyone/anything exploit our emotions anymore.Only we know what we are capable of.Let us realize that fact , look in to our-self , set our goals and get inspired and keep inspiring .Our nation needs us more than ever before , so all we need is some self restraint and clarity of thought!!

All the very best for the bright future awaiting!!

Jai Hind,

Bharath

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