Treasure of Testimonials @ Orkut

  Every good thing has an end. It's dormant for more than an year and can't rationalize why I should continue to use it. With no strings attached, wanna thank you connecting to the people I knew. Adios!

   I Cherish the lovely testimonials my friends wrote for meThanks so much!. Hmmmm..Did they write it at a gun-point?

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Ramakrishna - Dec 14th,2007

"All That Glitters is not Gold and all that stands still are not stones"... 

When I have been to Pune.. I felt some people are not of my kind, and some are perfect of my kind... Some may mingle fast...some take time...But all who mingles fast may not be True..and who takes time are not Fake..... "RAHUL...U ARE OF THE SECOND KIND RA"

Rahul Bhosekar....or The Sixth Element, or Mr.A/B/C/D mode...what ever that might be.. is a friend, who i feel the real one. Well.., He makes your day perfect. The best is like, he manages things very well and he is very cool. 

He, is not a person who stands with you in troubles...INSTEAD A PERSON WHO HELPS YOU OUT ( I mean this)

Very calm at times,..but very funny...! Very silent, very naughty....,! I have never seen him angry till date..

I am with him since three months, but i feel that he is my friend since years..his company never makes you down...

A book worm...very fond of reading books... 

Well Rahul, You are simply superb....

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Pruthvi Reddy - Nov 26th,2007

RAHUL....the most charismatic person i have ever seen.......

he is always clear at his thoughts, open minded, sensible, loves peace but turns violent sometimes, 

he teases me often....but i love being bugged by him, for he teases only his intimates....

he looks like bullheaded and rockhearted...but at his core he's tender and warmhearted ...

understanding his mind has always been a herculean task for me......though he's a little bit 

choosy about his friends, he's highly diplomatic.....he lives in different MODES depending on his MOODS.....

i always love to see him in "B-MODE".......all in all RAHUL alias 6TH ELEMENT alias Mr.BEAN alias EDDY...

is an adorable, cute and sweet friend of mine........luv u raa!!!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Venkat Sashi - Nov 16th,2007

"eeh world lo naaku artam kaani characters lo veedu okadu".....serious!!!....asalu eppati daaka veedi lo naaku 10% kuda artam kaa ledhu..... definitely an introvert.....keeps everything to himself.....always wears a cute and pleasant smile.... i always feel that he has a world of his own.... coz though he is among us when we chat he dreams and thinks a lot...... i can also name him "Mr.Perfect"......this is because of the decisions he takes at times.....he just sticks himself to any decision he takes... always alert....he knows wat he wants... he can easily make frdship with anyone.... very lovable person indeed..... in the end........this is how his face wud be.....with an evergreen smile....

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Keerthi - Nov 3,2006

rahullllllllllllllll............he is my bro....my frnd..has got gud energy in him.A deterministic person...somtimes philosophical...somtimes moody...somtimes pranky..very helpful..gives gud guidance whn in trouble..can c him whn feeling low .....he gives u a gud boost up....has tons of patience ..alwys a lending ear to hear u anytime......round the clock....so in short i can say he is "A person on Demand "

All da best dude...

keeks

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Rammy July 23,2006

rahul....da name spells enthusiasm,energy and determination.....a store house of never ending grit,selfless to da core,and above all Mr.idealist.....always in for creativity in any hting he does(da placement in IBM is its proof )..a gr8 frnd to be wid....for da past 4 yrs since i have known him....there wasnt even a moment of dullness near him....is in amazing spirits always....always ready to help ppl around him..optimist till da last ounce of his flesh(..well..dis is being too flaterrring haaa...)....but above all he is an amazing frnd to be wid....u rock rahul...

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From boardroom to blackboard @ article Times of India

  It's interesting to learn about the like-minded people who have quit their high-profile lucrative corporate jobs
to Teach. Kudos!
   You are a source of inspiration to the budding teachers.

You may check the article published in Times of India,Dated 25th Dec,2011

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIBG/2011/12/25&PageLabel=13&EntityId=Ar01301&ViewMode=HTML

Accepted to Teach For India(TFI) Fellowship Program – 2012

 Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,

I took the one less traveled by,

       And that has made all the difference  – Robert Frost

          In India, education is a commodity. The haves manage to afford it while the have-nots are left to the mercy of the government-run school which are under resourced. They fail to motivate or impart necessary skills to the students. Blame it on ineffective educational reforms or lack of political will, the lackadaisical way of functioning of the government-run schools produces a generation of passouts who aren’t armed to climb the rungs of higher education and, therefore, lag behind in the race of life. Unsurprisingly, the half-baked skills acquired by the hapless victims of government-run-schools land them in low-paying jobs. The wheel of misfortune keeps spinning with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. It does not take Amartya Sen to predict a catastrophic damage to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

          Teach for India (TFI) has been working relentlessly to bridge the education disparity in the society by providing excellent education to the one who need it the most. TFI is a nationwide movement of outstanding college graduates and young professionals who will commit two-years to teach full-time in under resourced schools.

           It was in Oct 2011(Cycle-2),I applied to TFI Fellowship- 2012 by registering for TFI and wrote two essays on the following:-

                    1. Why do you want to work in India's education sector? Why do you want to join the Fellowship as opposed to working in a different education-focused organization?

                        2. Tell us about a time in the past three years when you were working towards a professional, academic or extra-curricular goal and had to deal with a difficult situation or challenge

           I am thankful to my friends Ashwin and Sirisha who took the pain to review my essays and helped me to improvise it. Guys, if not for your help, the essays wouldn’t been so impressive! No wonder, I got through initial selection process and bypassed telephonic interview.
       The day at Assessment day (Stage-3/Stage-4) was amazing! TFI made life easier by providing exhaustive instructions and suggestions for the events on the Assessment day.Stage-3 consisted of Demo Class, Group Activity and Individual assessment.Stage-4 consisted of Personal Inteview. 

           Hours of planning and loads of preparation for the Stage-3 and Stage-4 helped me. The preparation mostly comprised introspection of my reasons to join TFI movement. Personal Interview mostly revolved on this question “Why TFI?”, “Why now?”

        TFI Fellowship is a step ahead from volunteering at Make a Difference (MAD) . I must say that volunteering for Make A Difference (MAD) discovered my passion to teach & paved the foundation to apply for TFI. The MADness made me realize my potential. Yes! it made a difference in my life. . 

          Fellowship at TFI implies giving up my cozy and lucrative career as a programmer. After 3 years of stint with IBM and more than a year experience at Mphasis – An HP company, I am a little apprehensive,yet enormously excited about my new career choice. I am about to embark on a beautiful journey.I am very Happy that I will be actively involved to abolish education inequality in the society.I am expected to join TFI Fellowship-2012 in May 2012 in Pune. 
Hurrah! couldn’t ask for a better Birthday Gift! Happy Birthday Rahul.


"When your hobby becomes your profession, the passion becomes your profession",- 3 Idiots 

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How to Apply? http://www.teachforindia.org/how-to-apply.php

Obsession to anti-social networking sites

     Social networking sites like Facebook, Orkut have revolutionized the way we connect and interact with each other.  One gets to give a minute by minute update of what is happening on the other side of the world. One can make new virtual friends and discover the old ones.  Forget internet, all this can be done with a mobile while you are taking a walk in the park. According to crude statistics available on the  internet, there are 67,000,000 registered orkut users and a whooping 500 Million Facebook users(well…I am one of them :-p) in addition to    chirpers with 50 millions tweets per day .  As I write this article, several new users become part of the virtual networking.

     With its sheer simplicity and advantages, networking sites also open up Pandora’s Box of troubles. People are more interested in sharing their likes and dislikes, relationship status. People trying to impress the world where they been on the weekend and what they been doing takes the center stage.  We have a shocking incident of a bride groom who during his wedding ceremony not only changed his relationship status on a popular networking site but also sent a tweet from this mobile that the couple just entered into wedlock. In yet another incident, a mother sent a tweeter about her son who got drowned and was battling for life in a hospital.  The networking sites are driving us to miss the essence of our lives. Alas!

     Gone are the days where early man hunt for food and people would gather around the fire each night to share the day’s hunt, which built a spirit of community and togetherness. Perhaps, it is time for us to come out of the cocoon and reinvent the wheel to develop a true sense of camaraderie and bonhomie among our brethren.  As they say, in life the best things sometimes come in small packages.

Alvida Pune...Namaste Bangalore

Source: http://athome.allentate.com

      It is curtains down for my stay in Pune. Banglore awaits me to explore its diversified cosmopolitan culture and plush greenery. Not to forget the snail-like-traffic. 

     When Pune happened to me in late 2007, it was a love at a first sight. I was attracted by the Pune’s blend of modernity and old cultural/traditions, its pleasant climate, scenic places, outgoing people and magnificent constructions. Of course, wada-pava and gallons of ‘cutting’ did the trick.  More importantly, it was the independence coupled with apprehensions and excitement of taking up a first job, free flow of money accompanied by a wide network of friends that made all the difference.

      After a little more than 3 years of  exciting time, If I have to sum up my experience, I would call it an Odyssey of ‘bliss’.  Sure, I am richer by bunch of friends whom I can count on. Secondly, I got to do everything I loved – Writing, travelling, photography, long bike rides and a little of music, swimming and roller skating.  Can’t forget the countless trips made to Sinhaghad, Balaji temple, Mahabaleswar/Panchgani, Lonavala/Khandala. Finally,thanks to the yummy restaurants that treated me mouth-watering dishes...Pune, पुन्हा भेटू !

      I expect to have as much fun here.  With time, may I discover and unfold the sheer beauty and enthusiasm of ‘Namma Bengaluru’...Mast maaza maadi!

Captcha Advertising - The potential in ‘Being Human’

        Proving we are ‘humans’ in the virtual world is what are used and forced to be doing for quite some time.  Known as ‘Captcha’ in the internet lingo, surfers are required to enter the text characters or perform simple arithmetic operation while performing an online activity such as signing up for FB or shopping online. CAPTCHA, expanded asCompletely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart (Source:Wikipedia), ensures that spammers who flood the websites are filtered.  Innumerable websites including Google and Facebook employ this technology.

Courtesy:http://www.captcha.net/:

      Einstein(s)   at advertising seem to have discovered gold in CAPTCHA. Pretty soon, we are likely to notice an advertisement next to a CAPTCHA.  May be Nike's interactive advertisement will make use of  CAPTCHA  that will require us to punch ‘Just Do It’.  Bingo! Love it or hate it, One can’t escape it.   Last heard, a short video clip may be displayed instead of an image for making the adverting more effective.

      Online Advertising has been the bread and butter for many companies, particularly for Yahoo and Google’s contextual advertising (Adsense). Companies have been at loggerheads to attract the investors and boost their revenues.  This uncontested space of advertising will pay rich dividends. I am sure Google will employ its targeted advertising for greater impact.  For example, while booking an airline ticket, How about a CAPTCHA advertisement for a Cab? Or a Coke while booking movie tickets?

       Thoughts of adding  comments ?   Are you human? :-p

It's time - Go to Sleep

    Since time immemorial, alarm clocks acted as a wakeup call. My any typical day begins with a snooze button & cuddling in the warmth of my blanket for more sleep. Alarms are being used to begin a day;How about tuning the alarms such that it suggests us to “sleep”?

     It’s Often, we lose track of the time while watching television, surfing, talking over mobile. (Wait! Didn't I mention Blogging?) . Late nights implies inadequate hours of sleep and also waking up tired. Thus, a fixed sleep pattern  helps us  to have a sound sleep. 

Tips for Happy Early sleeping:-

   Do's:-

          1. If you happen to wake up until late hours, each day advance the alarm by 15 mins.  As the day pass on, check out the feasible time & set the alarm for rest of the days (holds true for wakeup alarm)

         2. When the alarm goes off, jump off into the bed.

         3. Have an early supper.

         4. Exercise during the day - Jog, walk, workout, Yoga or may be skip the elevator.

         5. Listen to a  pleasant music.

         6. Read books (save finishing it for another day :-p)

           

    Do not's :-

         1. Avoid watching T.V before hitting the sack

         2. Avoid having Coffee in the evenings.   

               

    Try and Try until you S.......ZZZZ   :-)

My adventurous Blind Trip @ Pune

“Drive & get lost”   was the motto when we started on Saturday afternoon.  Pretty soon, Sudhir bhai, a couple of other friends and myself  hit Pune-B’lore highway . Yeah, our bikes were loaded with gallons of petrol but it’s the enthusiasm that kept the fuel burning.  Time led us into the darkness and also 60 kms away from Pune.  We finally zeroed on Rajghad fort.

    Rajgad ,the  King of forts, was the capital of Maratha Kingdom ruled by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. It boasts the highest number of days stayed by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on any fort. One can climb the fort from numerous routes from villages at the base of Rajgad. We chose one such village, Gunjavne.

    Armed with torch lights, digital camera, bottles of water and loads of edibles – we began to trudge the terrain under the cover of night and cold air. Cut-off from the virtual life of mobile and Facebook , the serene climate, twinkling stars, Western ghats, thick bushes and snakes hidden in it defined my world.  But then I had my mobile blaring out the song ‘ Musafir hoon main Yarron.....’. Unquestionably, this magical hour makes it to the ‘Oh!..my God’  moments of my life.

    Hours & kilometres of trekking led us to the Rajgad fort by 00:00 hrs. Thanks to the shelter provided on the fort as it shielded us from the cold and gave us a room to spend the rest of the night.   

   Fun was in store on the Day-2. The Next day, we trekked to the central part of the fort called ‘Ballekilla’. However, what fascinated me was the lovely Sunrise amidst valleys, lakes and clouds.

Before the sun was shining high in the sky, we descended to the base of the fort and drove back to Pune. Can’t believe a blind trip turned out so memorable! 

Airtel's New Logo - A Borrowed Idea

    A  Logo apparently reflects the business model of a company, Amazon's logo is known to convey - Amazon has everything from 'A' to 'Z' (source:http://www.funonthenet.in/content/view/344/31/).
   Airtel has unveiled a new logo,as they call it an "international identity" designed for dynamic and demanding audience. But the new logo fails to impress me,it appears like a borrowed idea from Vodafone's catchy logo.Yeah,it also has shades of Videocon's Logo. Is it a genuine mistake? or Do you think Raja ji goofed it up yet another time :-p? Whatever, Vodafone must be happy to let airtel keep it.
    I am equally unimpressed with the new tagline 'Get closer to what you love'. It doesn't make a direct reference to an activity over phone , which 'Express Yourself'  could.
  Something old,someting new,something borrowed :-)

More than a teacher!

       A teacher is like a candle which consumes itself to provide light to others. Among such guiding lights is A.V. Jayalakshmi garu - who has been associated with Shanti Niketan for 20 years. Shanti Niketan,located in Vanasthlipuram,Hyderabad, is a little known institution set-up with NGO partnership that caters to differently- abled people.

     Working here at Shanti Niketan gives me lots of satisfaction, says A.V. Jayalakshmi garu. With pride and twinkle in her eye, she adds, ‘Children are very much attached to me, so am I’.

    One is trained in special skills to teach and take care needs of differently-abled children. It also requires unique teaching methods and aids. This profession demands one to be caring, have loads of patience and never lose nerve.

    Jayalakshmi garu quit full-time teaching a few months ago but often visits the institution to connect with the children and rediscover herself.

Who says ‘Angels’ can be found only in heaven?