Sunday, August 22, 2021

Madras Day!

Happy birthday Madras!

Today is the city of Madras’s (now called Chennai) 382nd birthday. This day commemorates the acquisition of a strip of land along the Coromandel coast, from the waning Vijayanagara empire, on 22 August 1639 by the British East India Company to set-up a factory and warehouse for their trading activities. Though the sale deed indicated Chennai, the acquired land area was formerly known as ‘Mādarasanpattanam’, reference to which goes all the way back to 1367. So, you see, the city (or geographical area) is actually older than the official 382 years. Not to mention, some of the architecture and temples of the city date back to as early as 7th century!

One of the largest cities of the world - 36th largest by population area - the cultural and de facto gateway to Southern India, Chennai remains one of the most visited cities of the country. The city is known as the ‘Health capital’ of India as it captures majority share of medical tourism, both international and domestic; an indicator of not just world-class healthcare facilities but also excellent health research organisations that the city boasts of.  

One of the safest metropolitan cities of India, Chennai was rated best city in India in 2014 by India Today. BBC named Chennai ‘the hottest’ city in 2015 for long term living as well as visiting. This is true literally and otherwise; the biggest gripe of visitors and expatriates is that the city is much too hot! But we people who are in love with Chennai don’t care about the heat in the least!

The people of Chennai are also some of the biggest foodies you will find, and the city does them proud by providing sheer variety that other places can only dream of. So much so, the National Geographic featured Chennai in their list of ‘Top 10 Food Cities’ in 2015! Where else would you find old, traditional places like Karpagambal mess where you can eat all you want, delicious traditional food in the heart of Mylapore? Or another old landmark place, the Ratna Café famous for Idly, Vada with delicious sambar generously served in a saucepan, with endless refills!!! I have often wondered how much sambar the cooks at the café make on a daily basis…mindboggling! So many more such gems, but how can we cover them even in a dedicated volume, much less here? As for modern and international cuisines, you will find everything from Italian to Mexican, street food to seven star restaurants, and never be in a position where you cannot have something your heart desires - even way past mid-night! The endless varieties of biriyanis would be a post in itself, so I will not do the injustice of going into that here!

Chennai is home to many museums, art galleries and other cultural institutions, that help residents and tourists connect with the rich cultural heritage of the city and state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is celebrated as a major hub for music, arts, culture, and movies in the country. The Madras Music or Kutcheri (music & dance concerts) Season, beginning late November to mid-January each year, is a celebrated destination event that every performing arts lover across the country looks forward to. People travel from all over the world to perform or participate as an audience in the many concerts that the city has to offer. This season spins-out an entire economy as people shop for concert-specific clothes & jewellery; food catering services are booked several months in advance, as are the many sabhas, temples, auditoriums and halls in preparation for the hundreds of concerts organized throughout the city! Professional event planners (unlike community-based volunteer services of old) and many other associated service providers make a killing during this time which also happens to be a season for weddings.. This of course is not the only time the city celebrates its culture and arts, but one of the most prominent.

Did you know that banking systems were established in Chennai as early as 1683, a century earlier than the establishment of other commercial banks across the country? The city boasts of existence of branches of many international banks. The permanent back office of the World bank – the largest other than the Washington D.C office, is in Chennai as well!

The State of Tamil Nadu is on the whole extremely well connected by road, air, and rail within and across the country. This, very obviously, extends to the capital city of Chennai too and we residents could not be prouder of our excellent roads and transport options. We might occasionally complain, but one visit to any other metro or state shuts us right up and moves us into the grateful zone immediately 😉

Chennai is home to some of the best educational institutions in the country and the world. Government and private schools, colleges and universities operate here, and English is the medium for most higher education. The city is blessed with an abundance of public libraries, including the largest library in Asia and some of the largest in the country. All libraries are open for free public use.

One of the earliest and most industrialized cities of India, Chennai goes back to the 16th century with its foray into textiles manufacturing and has steadily grown to now become the automobile capital of the country in addition to other manufacturing sectors. Chennai hosts most of the international automobile companies as well as domestic manufacturing plants.

Does this article sound like I am boasting? Of course, I am 😊 This article is nowhere close to doing any justice to my beautiful city but is just a small dedication from me on this special day when we take an extra minute to remember Chennai’s or Madras’s greatness. Madras (as some of us still like to remember) is not a city but an emotion for most of us!

I leave you with some landmark pictures.


                                                       Stone carvings at Mahabalipuram


Central Railway station


University of Madras


Chennai High Court


The Karl Schmidt memorial at Eliots beach


Shore temple at Mahabalipuram at sunrise


Famous statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Chennai


Napier bridge


Ripon building - Corporation of Chennai





Tuesday, August 17, 2021

Little Donkey and the Baby-Sitter - a fun-filled story for kids


Babies and baby-sitters; don't we know the struggles on both sides 😉
Join Little Dragon Reader to know more about Little Donkey, his baby-sitter, his plans and how his evening finally ends! A fun story that has adults enjoying it as much as kids and with exciting sound effects during the read as well!
Enjoy!

Sunday, August 15, 2021

Happy 75th Independence Day

Wishing all fellow Indians and others who like India, a happy 75th Independence Day!
Honouring the theme 'Nation First, Always First', let us take a pledge to first be life long learners and be our most productive best everyday, following the glorious path of our freedom fighters!

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, the 75th independence day is not only a time for celebrations, but also for the country to make a decision on the direction to take going forward.
Key takeaways from the PM’s address: • 25 year plan to make all villages and small cities across the country sufficient and scale new heights of prosperity • 100% coverage of roads in rural areas, electricity, bank accounts, Ujjwala gas connections • 1000s of hospitals in the country will have their own oxygen plants, and this requires India’s full strength • No region to get left behind
 all the North Eastern States will be connected by rail to the rest of the country
 Assembly elections soon in Jammu & Kashmir; all districts including tribal districts declared for accelerated development
• Call for the strengthening of the co-operative movement. A separate ministry has been created for this purpose • Strengthening of agriculture by increased support for small farmers and fully supporting the efforts of our research scientists in the agriculture sector • Call for increasing manufacturing and exports in the country, both in quality and quantity • Promise to undertake next generation reforms and to ensure last mile service delivery. citizens need to be freed from unnecessary regulations and laws! • Call for all Central government or State governments to review rules and regulations for much needed upgrades • New education policy:
 Mother-tongue to be prioritized
 Sports have been made a mainstream part of curriculum
• Increased efforts to ensure equal partnership of women in workplace and education; importance of women’s safety and call for increased efforts of law enforcement in this regard • Call for resolve to make India energy independent. Declared a National Hydrogen Mission for making India a hub for production and export of green hydrogen • Self-reliance in the field security and strengthening of our armed forces • The PM also called for prioritizing of duties and every citizen owning a sense of duty.

I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate on this special day, the importance of learning. With possible extra time in our hands due to lockdown and work from home, many people have used their time to learn new things, skills or brush up on long-forgotten skills. However, many of us can still be motivated to do even better. We still waste a lot of time on social media and watching all kinds of entertainment online. We owe it to ourselves, our nation and our planet to make our limited time here useful.

Happy Independence Day everyone!




#India #independenceday #freedom #nation #modi #reforms

Friday, August 13, 2021

Qatar's Woman Leader award!

Pleasantly surprised to have been nominated for and awarded the 2021 Qatar's Woman Leader Award at the World Women Leadership Congress.

Speaking at the event, I conveyed my views on Leadership - not being about directing or managing from an ivory tower, but about being in the trenches and helping individuals, teams, organisations, and even our societies to succeed as a unit. And doing so requires a people-centric approach which of course comes from building knowledge and constant learning.

In JFK's words - Leadership and Learning are indispensable to each other!



Friday, July 16, 2021

First corporate video made by me!

Playing around with simple tools like Microsoft PowerPoint and just one video editing software, I was able to make this simple video for my company, Veritadyne. 

I am quite happy with the results which were achieved in a few days! Let me know if you like it.....


#Veritadyne #Consulting #research #Education #Business

Monday, July 5, 2021

Rescue story - Diva, the husky!

I can’t believe it’s been a year since Diva left Doha! I had promised Jacqui and Ron, her wonderful forever parents, that I would do a write-up of her rescue and adventures up until she reached them; and this is long overdue. Marking the first anniversary of her being part of their family, today is the day I am finally writing this piece as a gift to Diva, Jacqui, and Ron. 

I found Diva loitering on the streets near my house on December 9th 2019 - a muddy husky in rainy Doha. It was as if she wanted to be found by me - I stopped my car, called her and she readily came over. I tried to get her into the car but she did not want to do that. Instead, she was content to lie down on the street, right at my feet, and prepared to fall asleep! I realized she was very tired; thankfully I was so near to my home that I could see the gates. I called home for help, a leash, few treats to gain her trust (which didn’t seem like a problem) and kept her safe as she rested. Few minutes later, I organised help to have her walked home while I trailed behind in the car.

The first thing Diva needed was a thorough wash as she was caked in mud. She was clearly not too pleased but being the wonderful girl she is, tolerated it. Soon after, she was given a warm home cooked meal of rice and chicken, and I think she looked happy and content 😊

At that time, I had two dogs of my own at home who needed some reassuring that the new dog was not an intruder and that they weren’t getting replaced. But by then they were so used to the numerous foster dogs (and cats) that came and left our home that they decided to ignore this new one for as long as they could!

My daughter, who is quite the expert at giving pets the most befitting names, christened her Diva. To this day I am amazed at how well the name suits her as I have not seen a dog who is more of a diva than our Diva! I am sure Jacqui and Ron feel the same, as they very thoughtfully and graciously retained her name after adopting her 😉

Diva fit into our family extremely well and our dogs learnt to live with her. As if they had a choice! Diva took over the house and made it her own almost immediately. I was coordinating with my dearest friend Leah to re-home her in Canada; and Diva was vaccinated in the meantime. I had postponed getting her spayed as I had a busy month at work and home. This procrastination turned out to be a blessing as we discovered by mid-January 2020 that she was pregnant! Jan 30th, she went into labor and delivered five healthy husky babies (Chase, Shadow, Cleo, Elsie and Max) and one weak baby (Millie) who we unfortunately lost that very day. Diva proved to be an exceptionally great mother and took amazing care of her babies as we lovingly watched them grow. Leah found all of them amazing homes after they had spent few months with the mother and we are all still connected. Stories about each of them would be separate posts in themselves!

What else can I say about Diva? She is the goofiest, loveliest, friendliest husky I have ever known. Always ready to play or argue, she is never one to shy away from any activity. Our chats first thing every morning were legendary as she is the most conversational dog I have ever met. One more goofy habit of hers was to fall asleep with tongue out a little. I have spent fun times secretly clicking a picture of her while she slept 😊. She was a wonderful addition to our home and showered us much needed love during tough times when, devastatingly, both our dogs passed away last year due to old age. Sending her to Canada was one of the hardest things to do, but it was the right thing to do (a desert is no place for a Husky), worth it all to see what a wonderful family she has become a part of, and how much she is loved. Jacqui & Ron even send her to doggy day care, where she seems to be the favourite, but no surprises there!

Special and warmest thanks to Leah and Arabian Saluki Rescue-NL for always supporting me, all my rescues and magically finding them all the very best homes. No one can do what you do so well, Superstar Leah. We all love you!

Jacqui and Ron, thank you for making Diva part of your family as your baby and for keeping us all involved in her life with you. May you have many years of happiness, good health and fun with Diva!











Happy Fourth of July!

“Our country is not the only thing to which we owe our allegiance. It is also owed to justice and to humanity. Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong.” – James Bryce

Happy Fourth of July!