Addressing Hard Disk Performance On Windows

This article seems nice.

Interesting Articles on HBR

I found some nice articles on HBR

• On Dissensus. I guess the same issues apply in a social/family situation too.
• On Dominant Logic
• On Good Data And Good Decisions
• On Two Lists We Should Look At
• On Women Leaders At The Workplace
• On Common Mistakes In A Difficult Conversation (Slide 7 is especially nice)

Added on Sep 23, 2016

• On Cold Emailing: https://hbr.org/2016/09/a-guide-to-cold-emailing?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+harvardbusiness+%28HBR.org%29
• On Model of Family Business ownership: https://hbr.org/2016/09/the-5-models-of-family-business-ownership?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+harvardbusiness+%28HBR.org%29

Using Jio 4G In 3G Mobile

http://www.newstelecom.info/2016/08/way-to-use-jio-4g-sim-in-3g-phone/

Truth Can Hit Us

My friend sent me this today. Amazing, how we blurt out stuff, judge people and when we hear the truth....

Great Tip To Reduce Weight

I found this tip to reduce weight.

Test To Check If You Are Addicted to Computer

If this is how you sleep, then you are addicted.

Median Family Size In India

A friend of mine from Europe asked me "how many children does a normal family have in India?". I replied "1 or 2 usually". She was surprised and replied that that is the same as in Europe. She expected that the average family size in India would be much higher. Today I read this article which talks about the same subject.

Bastard, Isn't He?

I read this post. Very nice.

That's Almost Home

I read this article today about a place very close to my village. It brought back memories. The place where I stood on the bridge connecting the twin towns (aah hmm villages) of Kallidai and Ambai and wrote my name on a concrete slab or taken pictures of the western ghats in the distance. This is the place where my cousin got married. The place where two sets of cousins grew up. 

There is a lovely tea garden (Manjolai) closeby and if you further up the hills, you get to really cool places like Kudaraivetti, Kakachi and finally Kothaiyar. There are no hotels there, only a PWD guest house. And just a few shops where you may get cigarettes, biscuits etc. Very pretty these places are, quite unknown to people outside the area. A bus goes from Kallidaikurichi at 8AM, reaches the destination at about noon. The last bus leaves Kallidai around noon. Just 2 buses a day (or so it used to be about 10 years back) and terribly crowded too.

Additional reading:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/63716-off-karaiyar-manjolai-beast-see-beasts.html

http://chenthil.blogspot.in/2008/07/trip-to-manjolai-and-upper-kothaiar.html

http://wikimapia.org/1058181/Manjolai-Estate

http://www.incredibleindiaphotogallery.com/tag/manjolai/

Slavery Still Exists Here

Slavery still exists in Mauritania in Western Sahara as per this article.

Types Of Men

Guruji gave me this link on the types of women which describes 12 different types of women. The first two kinds described in that post made me laugh out aloud. Very sweetly written.

That made me write this post on the types of men that exist. unlike the link above where there are 12 different types, where a woman can be a Bubbles and a Bitch etc., in my classification there is NO OVERLAP.

Women classify men into 3 categories. a man can only belong to one of the three categories

1. Those men that a woman doesn't want anything to do with.
2. Those men that are like the ones that 911 calls (in the link above). They are meant to be used. Favors got from. And the general understanding is: such men don't need any payment. The fact that a  woman considers them important enough to occasionally (uhhh) ask favors is reward enough for such men.
3. That man that a woman digs (cares for) deeeeeply. For whom she would do anything.

So ladies and gentleman, if you want to know whether a woman loves you just ask yourself one question. Would she go out of her way to give the man something (then YES she does)? OR to ask for / get something from him (then NO).

Interesting Comments About a Fire

Couple of comments in this post are very interesting as they stand out from the rest.

Be Humble

Couldn't find a link for this picture. :(

Poverty Statistics In India

This is an article on the poverty levels in India. Only about 300 million who are really poor.

When People Say "I Love You"

Guruji showed me this. Lovely.

What's There In A Picture

I saw this picture in a friend's blog and I smiled broadly.

Old Parenting Style Be Damned

As a child I heard my parents and my teacher lecture me a lot on what's on and what's not on. While I was capable to do things like drive a car or bat a ball, I was told not to because I was a girl. They instructed me to play indoors and play with dolls and not attempt to drive a car or a bike. So I rebelled and went ahead and did all that.

When it came to marriage I turned conservative. I relied on my parents to make the final choice for me. I looked at past data and data said arranged marriages work, people said because they are destined and made in heaven kind of blah blah blah!. I was cajoled into marrying when I was still a teen, even if I was asked my permission and also been told, "you can marry whoever you love," I sensed that this question was more to do to bring out my secrets just in case I had one. I had none!

I knew I would not be allowed to work outside of home because ours was a conservative community still. Before 19 I was engaged and married at 20.

From then on I relied on my parents, mom especially, to guide me through the woes of settling down in a strange new family. I was told marriage was "char din ki chandni phir andheri raat (4 days of moonlight (bliss) and then darkness (hell) prevails)". Just in case I didn't get carried away with all the glitter and glamor of it. I looked at marriage very realistically, unlike people who seem so unrealistic when in love. That's also the reason why I looked down upon love marriages. I was shocked when the char din ki chaandni was also not there. It was andheri raat from day one. I won't blame him but it was a mismatch, a case of disconnect between two opposite poles!

I went running to my mom. Well not literally, I waited till I was scheduled to visit Mayke (parent's place). After all the crying and telling of my woes, mom said “opposites are good life partners, one is cool and one is hot, helps keep the balance”. Then she came out with another piece of wisdom, "it’s like that with everyone, you don't get what you want, you can't help it. Have a child, it will keep you busy and you will be happy afterwards."

Ok mom. I had one child. Mom said “Have another, the more the merrier”. I thought more is wrong; two is just fine and perfect. Since my first child was a girl I thought probably the second, if a boy, would actually change things. It did though, in a way, make me busy and I got involved with 2 small kids who were just a couple of years apart and watching them grow was nice and enjoyable.

Soon they went to school and I was free again and the problems surfaced again. Yet again people told me why did I stop to have more kids? Since I am a high energy person if I don't burn my energy, it burns me. After much thought, I decided to have one more baby thinking it will be good to be running around with a kid and keeping busy.

But this time I ended up getting frustrated. I realized that the core issue of incompatibility between partners cannot be resolved by the birth and upbringing of children. As a woman I realized that I needed to have a companion apart from being a mother. When I complained to my mom, she said “that's life, it’s full of compromises and sacrifices.” I was shocked, I relied on them because I thought they would KNOW what's right and wrong for me, knowing my temperament would not play this game of sacrifices with me.

They (parents and elders) keep saying, that marriages don't work like that, kids make the marriage bond stronger and sustainable. Hmm, so that's the reason arranged marriages stick because from the beginning it’s all controlled. You say yes to your parents, then they first make you marry someone or some family they like but with whom they won't spend the rest of their lives. Then if there are problems, they advice you something which is like throwing good money after bad money. You keep giving more and more of your time and energy and keep hoping and keep hoping till you finally are too old to be doing anything else. With kids around, the going which was bad got tougher. It did not lessen.

I relied on my mom. I feel I have been misled by her. She taught me what she had been taught without validating. By abdicating my opinion in favor of those of elders in things related to my married life, I find that I have erred.

Already I have told my daughter “no kids till you are ABSOLUTELY sure that the person perhaps you (or us but we leave it to you) have chosen is good for you to last for a lifetime”.

A lot of people tell me that I am a bad mommy, perhaps even my kids. I make them do all the housework when the maids are not there. Even if the maids come, I still give them chores to do. Even when, they have exams, they still have to make their own tiffin and fill their water bottles in the mornings. Since my daughter is the elder of the two, I take a lot of help from her. Not that my son is spared. He runs small errands for me.

My family is well to do. We don't have to do the menial work like sweeping and mopping floors. But I make my daughter do it. I tell her its a good exercise and she is at an age (fourteen this year) where she can gain a lot of weight if she doesn't keep fit. I met a friend recently and we were talking about how to raise daughters. I was very vocal about my views on parenting and I said that I make my daughter work as much as I can. She was aghast, she proudly said her daughters are her princesses and she treats them the same way. I disagreed and told her "my daughter is a Cinderella in my home and she will be a princess when she is with her prince, at the right time and a princess forever". What is the princess without the prince anyway?

Women contribute to a lot of problems in marital life. Some of these can be avoided if a mother brings up her daughter in a more practical manner and teaches the daughter that to be treated as a princess is an award (for performance) and not a gift (to charity). Teach your daughter everything which will help her in becoming a wise lady suitable for a prince. Do not treat her as a princess by not making her do any work or dolling her up with the most shining dresses and expensive things!!

It is time to change myself; and that I choose to think for myself what is appropriate for me and my family and not do things which are generally considered appropriate by everyone else!

I have decided that I would be more honest with my kids than my parents were with me. I will not give them any advice which I don’t believe in. I will guide them to do what is best for them even if the choice happens to be unconventional. I will give them freedom to choose their own life, their own mate, and I am sure one day they will be prince and princesses by their own right!!

They will know how to prevent problems from getting more complicated. They will know where they have to cut the losses. They will be ready to face the world head on and deal with everything that comes their way and move on.

That's the most important thing, to move on and not to get stuck in a bad situation, just because you HOPE too much that things will improve. I will teach my children to not HOPE for things to change but to take control of their lives and extricate themselves from a bad situation. They have to know what does not work. They have to know the consequences for their actions. I will make them to first ask themselves before asking me or anyone else for that matter, what is it that they want from life and what are they willing to give in exchange for their wants? In doing so, they will have a clearer vision for themselves and never will they have any roadblock where they have to stop, but their lives will be a continuous unending road, perhaps with a lot of twists and turns but at least the life will go on.....

http://facebook.com/sftimetochange

Quality Of Colleges In India

I read this article today. Sad to see the quality of education and how so many of rush to get a degree which makes little sense.

An Ass That Ran Away

I read this post today and I am still laughing.

And some more good reading:

1. http://walkofthoughts.blogspot.in/2012/02/mothers-love-is-greatest-really.html
2. http://sujathasathya.blogspot.in/2012/03/arrest-my-husband.html
3. http://sujathasathya.blogspot.in/2011/03/how-i-met-your-father.html
4. http://photoforte.blogspot.in/ (lovely photos here)

Impromptu Dance At VT Station, Bombay

A friend sent me this link of an impromptu dance. VERY nice.

Related reading: http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2011/11/30/meet-the-woman-behind-mumbais-flash-mob/

Living On Rs 100 ($2) A Day

My friend sent me this article. Amazing. 

On BTSA And STBA

It's been a long time since I came across anyone say anything remotely interesting about women's donkey. But this post is BEAUTIFUL.

Another from her (added on Feb 10, 2017) about a letter from a short skirt to men: http://www.purba-ray.com/2017/01/an-open-letter-from-short-skirt-to.html

Religion Running Amok - Do Nations Have Hormone Problems?

I read this article now. What's wrong with people? Do you become a better person if I don't exist? Do I become a better person if my kind is larger in number than yours?

Sex, Rape, Divorce And Marriage - Some Articles I Read

I read this article on ideas to shame a rapist. I assume one reason that a man rapes is due to hormonal imbalance. Wonder why hormonal imbalance is given a lot of consideration for women's behavior and not for men's behavior (not that I condone rape).

This article presents a set of factors to make a second marriage successful.

This is an interesting article on what kind of problems in marriage arise with different kinds of people.

This article provides a litmus test to figure out whether your marriage is really over.

This article quotes a study that says that higher frequency of sex improves the marriage where the spouse(s) are neurotic. Hmmm.

This is a rather amusing thread on arranged marriages pros and cons. Look at the arguments being put forward.


As per this article, women in Gurgaon have been asked to stay indoors after 8PM near Delhi. Rapes are becoming too frequent and the government and police have found a temporary solution to address this problem. I hope the authorities catch the culprits and put them away. 

Popourri Of News Items / Articles

This post has a collection of articles that I read and liked in the last few days.

This is a lovely article on women owned business by a woman owner. I wish all women thought this way.

This article is on the murder of a police officer by Indian mafia and the usual rhetoric of the government. 

More instances of plagiarism in Indian institutions come to light.

Ravi, one of the best music directors in Hindi cinema, died recently. This is the wiki article on him.

Joy Mukherjee, an actor in Hindi cinema in 1960's, died yesterday.

Medical Practice In India

My brother forwarded me this article today and I am appalled.

Another link for the same article here.

Doctors As Patients

Guruji sent me this article. Why do I like it so much?