Global Financial Meltdown

With the global financial scene in a gloomy state, and everyone in the banking and insurance sector wondering what is next in store; the entire episode has become an unending ordeal. Since last year, sub prime lending in US mortgage sector was seen as the major culprit. The crisis reached a melting point recently when the 158 years old investment banking firm Lehman brothers filed for bankruptcy. Their bankruptcy will inturn have an impact on the its creditors like Citigroup, Bank of New York and some Japanese and European banks. More trouble in financial markets seems inevitable.

To brighten up the day, one of my friends sent some Bank-Toons which I am sharing here:

Visit to Kanyakumari

Kanyakumari: Kanyakumari derives its name from Kanya Devi, an avatar of Parvati who could not marry Lord Shiva in her life time. It is a great tourist destination, great sights, affordable hotels besides having a number of tourist places in near vicinity. The major tourist attraction is the Vivekananda Rock which has apart from the Vivekananda Memorial, the Sripada Mandapam, which is the temple of Kanya Devi. The temple has foot imprints of Kanya Devi.

The Kanyakumari markets offer a lot of sea shells and other curios at rock bottom prices. Kanyakumari is an excellent destination for a budget conscious tourist.

The view of the Vivekananda Rock Memorial and Thiruvallur Statue

The only way to reach the Rock Memorial is by means of the ferry boats run by the Tamil Nadu tourism. The main attraction of Kanyakumari is the view of the sunrise and the sunset.

The 'magical' SunriseThe Sunset The Sripada Mandapam (Kanya Devi Temple)

The Vivekananda Memorial which has a meditation room in its basement.

A visit to the place would be incomplete without a visit to the Wax Museum, an indian version of Madame Tussaude. The museum has wax models of Mahatma Gandhi,Benazir Bhutto, Indira Gandhi, Amitabh Bacchan, Shahrukh Khan, Jackie Chan, Jayalalita and many more...these were my favourites

Any tips for me, dear Sir

ഓണം ൨൦൦൮ (Onam 2008)

Thiruvananthapuram: Onam is the main regional festival of Kerala and is celebrated in the month of September over a period of ten days from atham to thirunam. A number of festivities form part of the overall celebration like elaborate feasts (onam sadya), folk songs, elegant dances, games,elephants,boats and flower arrangements ( pookalam).

Pookalam at the office

The main festivity in the city was at Kanakakunnu Palace which gave a true flavour of the festival; elephants at the gate, traditional dance at the gate and at at number of other places, food festival,craft exhibition,vocal recitals,Kathakali and many more.

The scene at the entrance of Kanakakunnu Palace
Mannat trying out the Mehndi
A scene from one of the dances

The most fascinating dance at the Fest was where 12 girls weave a jhoola during their dance steps for the little lord Krishna. The total feel of the festivity was mesmerising.

Tagged

Old habbits die hard, they say. One cannot change oneself, how so ever hard one may try. So when Capt Balvinder tagged me, I was caught napping like a back bencher. I had no idea what is to be done when you are tagged. It was only after reading the fellow bloggers that the thought process in me started. The whole idea is to spell out some habits/addictions which are unique to you. Some are in me too, which I am going to share here as it comes to my mind:

1. Haircut countdown: Everytime I say ' I think I need to go for a haircut' to me wife, she is always of the other opinion. Eversince I remember I have been very ritualistic about the periodicity of the haircut. While being in army, the barber could be summoned anytime, now one has to take prior appointment from the hairdresser or else wait. Hair dresser is a person to be held in high regard as he has the power to make you confident about youself.


2. slip-over to Punjabi: Being known to be gentle and polite among friends and colleagues, sometimes when I am agitated with someone, I unknowingly slip-over to Punjabi. Having tried my best to control this; my take on this is that since I think in Punjabi, the language just flows out of me.


3. List fetish: Since one has to function simultaneously chasing various goals in the required timelines, I have always been a slave to preparing lists, though not very perseverant at completing 100% of the tasks in hand.


4. A stitch in time...: This one generally I dont spell out as it is considered a very feminine trait, but I am very fond of tailoring activity like putting buttons or repairing the clothes. I make it a point to lend it a good finnesse which I have developed over a period of time.
5. Anti TV: Most of the time I wonder how people are able to watch so much Tv. Most of the time we end up with the information from the Tv which is of no relevance to our lives. Women end up being more sobby after soaps, children end up being more hyperactive after watching cartoons; even the daily news have become unsavoury, advertisements are not far behind, sometimes there is no bottomline and we end up watching the 'Amul Macho' ad half a dozen times in a day.

Having listed the five addictions/ qualities specific to me, I hope I have fulfilled the 'Tag expectations'. Now I take this oppertunity to 'TAG' Capt Bisht, Ratnakar and Sarabjeet to carry out the assigned task of listing their five addictions.

Feedback - Training aboard a Houseboat

Training aboard a houseboat in Kerala backwaters is a very novel idea started by Sterling Events India. 'Infotainment', in the right meaning of the word, the training on one hand explored the beauty of the Kerala backwaters touching the mouth of the Arabian sea, on the other hand offered a chance to learn and refresh the complexities involved in day to day job performance. The ambiance was just perfect for a three day joyride into the lap of nature. The Conference room on the first floor deck of the boat The ground floor housed the kitchen, porch and AC rooms for participants.

The boat explored the vast dimensions of the Vembad lake during the day and was anchored in the evening where a cultural evening of Kathakali demonstration was organised. Kathakali demonstration gives a peep into the basics of the dance form to the audience. The costume generally associated with Kathakali is not worn during demonstration and is only worn while enacting any scene from the epics.

A boat parked for the night.

A fellow participant, Sh Ashok Mishra from Bank of India appreciating the beauty of Kuttanad. The view of Kuttanad paddy fields. The water-bus ferrying passengers to Kochi The luxury cottages which have come up by lakeside
The evening view of the lake is truly magical