My Window Seat

OK. Let me provide quick Photo updates on the status of the construction. Markings were made on Wednesday and when I visited the site today morning, this is how it looked. This is a temporary shed for storing building materials... Hmm, good progress in 2-3 days' time frame.

Folks, Finally the good news is here to announce.  I have started construction of my dream house in Bangalore.  It all started early this year (2008)! I visited my daughter's friend Janani on a weekend and shared her father's experience in building their duplex house in a 30x40 sqft plot. I liked the house especially the sun-light passing staircase. That's when I decided to go for my own house. Luckily I bought a 30x40 plot near Electronic City - Singasandra village in the year 2003 for a throw-away price (now). After 4+ years the value of the land in those areas have skyrocketted - almost 7 times.  Then I got in touch with my architect - referred by Janani's father - in  M arch 2008.  Went through couple of round of discussions on the plan, saw some basic samples and then confirmed his services in  April 2008  by paying a decent advance. (The cost the architect's charge is based on the building costs - but I negotiated for a fixed cost as the actual costs will vary...

Hi, I have attended 2 weeks of IIMC-SMP programme. This certainly is very valuable education, that combines the depth of in-campus management teaching and the flexibility of distance learning! The infrastructure for this program is brought to us by NIIT. The attendance system is very strict - If you are 15 minutes delayed to a class, the attendance is lost and affects your chances of getting through the programme successfully!!! I like this....though challenging :) The usage of video+audio+text chat enhances the experience as a student. It brings so many of us throughout India in a single virtual class room. What do you get at the end of this exciting program - if you are expecting a CERTIFICATE that you can proudly hang in your living room, NO! It adds value to your managerial skills and hones you for SENIOR MANAGEMENT challenges, without doubt! First of all it is for 10+ year experienced professionals - you are not competing with 2-3 year old profesiisonals for a space in "MBA...

Every sunset reminds me about the next days' sunrise!!! Have faith.

Ganesha Idol immersion at Yediyur Lake - captured from my balcony. நல்ல மனம், நல்ல நண்பர்கள், நல்ல ஆரோக்கியம் கொடு கணேஷா!!! கொழுக்கட்டை தின்றோம், தும்பிக்கையானை தொழுதோம்! Sudharshini and Sarath Sundar with their friend Shweta near the almighty Ganesha-ji!!!

Folks, Just came back after a 3 days (2.5 days to be precise) of IIMC-SMP programme  - campus sessions. This was my first visit to Kolkata and IIMC. Nice to meet with 127 other participants gathered in a huge auditorium within IIMC. The weather was fine with continuous drizzle. The campus itself has many lakes and hence felt water everywhere!!! Feels good to be back in classroom environment after many years. It also feels good to hear somebody else in the room talk - after getting used to the professional meetings and discussions in the corporate world.  Got glimpses of the Kolkata city, the taxi service, trams etc. We stayed at IITD, which is not within the campus. IIMC made arrangements to pick us from there to the campus everyday. The classes were 9:45 am to 7:30 pm. The food arrangements were done at Tata Hall  - the quality and variety were GOOD!!! Our batchmates are all set to roll-out a website and group-email already. Hoping to harness the power of networking in coming days, we...

Dear,  Living in the era of Web 2.0 it would be a sin to not use the power of web to initiate, involve and nurture professional relationships. Having spent a decade plus in Product Management, I thought I fully qualify for initiating a group that would bring together like-minded professionals in my domain. Hence my "ipmg" aka "India Product Management Group" !  If you are a product manager (ONLY), irrespective of the number of years you have spent in this field, click on the above name to knock the doors of my new world. I take pride in rejecting anyone else... The idea of forming this professional group via Linkedin is not just for fun or "me too" type activity. I am confident that I will be able to value-add to the members of the group by creating an interactive space that enables and empowers my community. Product Managers are creative, innovative and hence my motive should be fulfilled by the cooperation from every PM!

Guys, Gals Back in action. Summer trips, release schedules occupying my calendar completely and hence wasn't blogging for a while! Kids enjoyed their vacation thoroughly with trips to Tirupathi (for my birthday), Chennai (for a marriage), Coimbatore (staying with Grand parents), visit to Black Thunder (water theme park near Mettupalayam), Isha Yoga center, Kovai Kutralam etc.

Went to Murudeshwar last week and captured this sunset and sand...

Reached Seattle (13th January 2008) Visited Space Needle... Man made Vs God Created!

Got my Canon S5 IS last week and started playing around wtih it's powerful 12x zoom!!!!

Kids enjoying the Coooooooool Sunday...at Lalbagh! Welcome Yellow! Take it easy... Flower show @ Glass House! Taj Mahal...Made of Flowers! Kudos to those horticulturalists! Wow!

And finally I made it to the historical places I wanted to visit for a long time now :) Last 3 months, I have been traveling a lot - fortunately to the places I would like to go again and again :) This trip was through KSTDC package tour. Starting from Bangalore (KSTDC office near Corporation circle) at 7:30 am we reached the first destination of Shravanabelagola at 10:30 am. Climbing up the 650 steps looks herculean effort for the IT spoiled healthy (!) body! Huffing and puffing we reached the top of the hill in about 35 minutes. SHRAVANABELAGOLA The steps are not that steep... Picturesque view from the hill... The Bahubali statue... standing tall, for centuries now! Another view of the town from the top... BELUR

Visited Windsor Castle on Saturday (17th March)...up on reaching London from Miami!