Monthly Archive

So far:
After the flag hoist, celebrations and a match of cricket at Anna University in the morning, I am back in office. On entering, the security guard pinned a tricolor on my shirt and handed me a mysore pak. Thanks Buddy!! Bothered to read this, this and this. Got enough gyaan and inspiration for the day.

Now on:
Eat, sleep, rest. Then, find company and go for Saarang in the evening.

I had been attending the 3rd edition of proto on the 18th and 19th of this month @ Hotel Asiana, Chennai. True to the event’s website, proto is all about letting entreprenuers express their visions and showcase their imagination to the world. The two days were wonderfully organized. I had a good time interacting with the participants (270+ including VC Firms, Angel Investors, Corporate Leaders from small, medium and Large Enterprises, Entrepreneurs and those of the aspiring type). I had earlier thought of blogging at the end of each day of the event, but I couldnt find the time to do it.Here is a little summary of the events that happened:

Day 1: [Startup School]

There were 2 parallel tracks - technology and business. I chose to run along the biz track this time(i had attended the 2nd edition of proto in last July). I wanted to attend the tech sessions on the Google Android Platform and Facebook App Development. But, I resisted the temptation by hearing Samir Sood, Google’s Mergers and Acquisitions Head talk on the crux of a good business plan. Here is the list:

Biz Track:

India, A Technology Leader - Possible? - By Atul Chitnis , Geodesic
Lets Talk About ‘Bootstrapping’ - By Mohanjit Jolly, DFJ
The Crux of a Business Plan - Samir Sood, M&A Head, Google
How to Conquer the World - Subhash Menon, Subex Limited
From Nothing to Something, The Experience - Vishal Gondal, Indiagames.com
The Role of a Mentor in a Startup - Ravi Narayanan, Mentor Partners
Startup Legal: Signing the Dotted Lines - Roopa Duraiswamy, Siddharth - NDR
Managing a Startup: Dont let Burn Rates Burn You - Laura Parkin, NEN
Startups: The Worst Case Scenario - Sujai Karampuri, Sloka Telecom

Tech Track:
Sun’s Startup Essentials Program - Unni Krishnan, Sun Microsystems
Future of Enterprise Communications - Gokul Gopalakrishnan, Servion
Google’s Android and Open Social - Google
Inside Facebook: - Surojit Niyogi, Appizer
Product & Design Outlook for a New Product Launch - Chintan Mehta, Yahoo!
Sexy, Trendy, Design Technology - Gaurabh Mathure, Desolve
The Future of Computing: Surface and Mobile - Bijoy Singhal, Microsoft
The Future of Communication - Ashhar Farhan, Architech of LTP
The Potential of the Gaming Industry - Alok Kerjiwal, Games2win.com

Day 2: [Presentation day for the companies that had been finalized]

Here is a list of a few companies that presented:

Internet :
At One Place, The Viewspaper, Hover.in, Antya.com, Instablogs.com

Software :
Deskaway, SpiceBird, inSync, Instarad

Telecom/ Communication:
Enpaq Business Gateway, Yambi Platform, Mobitop Platform

Logistics and Management:
Myntra, Nadhi Systems

Thanks to proto, I could see a face of the Vibrant Indian Entrepreneurial Eco-system. It was a wonderfully organized event with good food :). On the whole, it was bubbling with energy and enthusiasm. Importantly I got a lot of Gyaan. Kudos to the Proto Team for organizing it!! Long live Proto!! Long live startups !!

I hopefully would be uploading the snaps that I took @ the event in a couple of days. Keep tuned.

Pongal is celebrated for thanking Nature for all the prosperity that she ushered upon us. Today, I took part in the Samathuva Pongal Celebrations held at the Sholinganallur Panchayat Office here in Chennai. It was by chance that I did. It is less than 200 metres from the apartment where I stay. I was passing by, saw the poster and crowd at the entrance and chose to have a look. Over 100 people had turned up. After the as-usual long mike speeches by the politicos for over half an hour, pongal was at last boiled in an earthen pot. The pongalo pongal chants were made and celebrations were officially declared to have started.

Then, the winners of the Kolam Painting Competition were adjudged. Over 20 kolams had been drawn since morning. The ‘best three’ were selected by the local administrator and given away prizes. There were consolation prizes for all participants. Then came the dhoti /saree distribution. As always, demand did exceed supply and people had to wait. Meantime, I grabbed my leaf of sweet pongal and walked to my room.

The panchayat administrators and the women self help groups in the locality had jointly organized it. Good job I should say.

This is what the Head of the Tamil Nadu State has to say:

The Pongal festival would rejuvenate the people. They forget all their differences like caste, creed and religion, especially political. The festival should unite all the people in the state.

I echo that sentiment. It is common festivals like these that bring the people of the local community together and promote understanding and the sense of collectiveness.

As for people who’re still wondering what samathuvam means, it is the word for equality in Tamil.

Also read: The Harvest Festivals of India, About Pongal, MIT Study on Community Engagement

Chak de was the last good movie that I saw. Taare Zameen Par replaces it now. I watched it with Ayyappan. I liked it. Its a colorful, simple movie about the story of what a boy with a disability in reading, writing and spelling words experiences in a world where race for marks and grades sidelines everything else. Aamir plays a teacher and Darsheel Safary plays Ishaan the freedom lover, the boy who sees dancing letters.

I still am left wondering how Aamir managed to get so many emotions out of the lil kid Ishaan.  Kudos to both and the entire team who created this movie !! And folks beware, Aamir Khan has attempted some tear extractor techniques and seems successful to some extent :).

Here is another innovative product from the Google labs. Google Reader is a fantastic feed aggregator. I have been using it over a couple of months. You can search for feeds, read, star, share and email articles and search for information all in one page. For getting started, click here.

This is what my Google Reader Trends for the last 30 days indicate:

Time of day when I read:

“From your 298 subscriptions, over the last 30 days you read 3,308 items, starred 148 items, shared 286 items, and emailed 45 items. “

Top Starred:

1. Iface thoughts - Abhijit Nadgouda
2. Urbanomics - Gulzar Natarajan
3. Law and Other Things
4. Oreilly Radar
5. Atanu Dey on India’s Development
6. Travel on Ghumakkar.com

Top Shared:

1. Oreilly Radar
2. Law and Other Things
3. The Great Indian Mutiny
4. Iface thoughts - Abhijit Nadgouda
5. Urbanomics - Gulzar Natarajan
6. Travel on Ghumakkar.com

Top Emailed:

1. India - Right to Information Blog
2. Stagecraft and Statecraft - Brahma Chellaney
3. Marginal Revolution
4. Travel on Ghumakkar.com

This suggests that on the average, I start reading a while before noon and end after midnight. Also that I find articles on Oreilly Radar, Ghumakkar and Urbanomics interesting. To read articles that I share, click here. This is the feed url.

1. WTH was Benson asking Ponting and Co. about Ganguly’s wicket?

2. Did he ever know that there were two more Umpires one on the field and another sitting outside with a TV Camera?

Keeping umpiring decisions apart,

3. Gilchrist would’ve had the closest view of the line of the ball. It was over half a feet from Dravid’s bat. Why the hell does he appeal for this wicket?

3. Why did Symonds, Ponting and Michael Clarke stand their ground when they cleanly edged to the wicket keeper? Didnt their sense of touch work for that moment?

4. Why does Ponting appeal for a catch even after he cleanly places the ball on the ground?

Ponting, the way you play cricket stinks !!!

Here is a video of the ‘few‘ bad umpiring decisions in the 2nd Test Match at Sydney

Yeah, its VVS Laxman steadying the boat in yesterday’s innings.

If you’re interested in history and how images shape the identity of people and cultures, click the above Black Japanese Ship.