Manish Dhingra

This blog has moved

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 05:49:17 GMT

Just moved this blog to my very own domain which is http://www.synkarma.com. So hence please check for all updates to this blog there. I will be continuing to also post copies of the posts on Synkarma.com, here, for all those who continue to follow up on this blog through the feeds on their feedburners.

You can subscribe to my new blog's RSS feed by adding this link to your feed aggregators.

Knowledge Management 2.0 - A Structured (Blogging) Approach to Knowledge Management

Sun, 02 Apr 2006 14:31:06 GMT

As mentioned in my last post, quite a few people commented on my presentation at Barcamp , held almost a month back in sprawling Adobe campus in Delhi. I should have posted this a long time back, nevertheless here it is.

My presentation focused on how to build a quick solution to inculcate Knowledge Sharing in an organization, using the raw power and versatility, structured blogging (SB) gives you. In my opinion structured blogging has unlimited potential and can be put to use in a lot of innovative ways, Knowledge Management is just one of them.

So let me elaborate on how you could go about building a Knowledge Enterprise, using the SB plugin in a wordpress or movable type weblog publishing platform.

In general SB revolves around creating your own customizable templates. The templates are referred to as microcontent. The microcontent definitions are specified in an xml file. Now a standard knowledge management system allows you to publish the following types of artifacts:

Reusable Code / Reusable Modules
Learning's Based on Experience (LBoE)
Fun Literature you want to share (like an article, story or quote)
Reviews of certain Websites
Event Material
Tutorial
Product Review or Product Comparison

So all you need to do is build the microcontent definitions corresponding to the above knowledge artifacts, and you have the ability to publish these content types.

Sure that's just the difficult part we solved. Here's how we further take the advantages which a blogging platform offers you to expand the capabilities of such a solution. The weblog platform will offer you an integrated search capability, integrated comments (which of course expands the realm of knowledge captured), ability to review content before publishing (a.k.a drafts) and even the functionality to rate content.

Again as I mentioned, this is a quick solution to Knowledge Management, and guess what, it comes to you at almost no cost. There are organizations who have spent millions of dollars to build systems which accomplish just all of the above I mentioned. However the power of SB and a little bit of innovative thought can get this system up in a matter of hours.

Now here is where I start dreaming, and dream about a world where we have standard templates and open formats for knowledge management, which are searchable, thus catapulting the world into one knowledge society, where it's so much easier to find bodies of knowledge and knowledge artifacts, related to any and every sphere of capital assets which are purely intellectual. With SB we have a platform and blogs have gained acceptability, so maybe my dream may soon turn into a reality.

The audience who attended my presentation at the barcamp were sceptic about the possibilities of this, but nevertheless shared my dream.

In case you are interested in getting a copy of my presentation at barcamp, follow this link.

Also Published on the Tekriti Corporate Blog

Been slow at Blogging

Mon, 27 Mar 2006 19:15:39 GMT

Past few days I have been extremely slow at blogging, No excuses I only have myself to blame, for not being able to take out time. It's been a crazy past two weeks, travelling and then meeting up with friends I had not met in a long long time.

I must say , this was the first time I played a tourist guide and showed my friends who were over from Pune, around Delhi. I myself was impressed by Delhi, to say the truth. The metro and the newly constructed roads have changed the face of Delhi.

A couple of things I would be blogging about in the next few days would be

My presentation at BarCamp: Lots of people have already talked about it, including Jon, Gaurav, Manu and of course Rakesh Agrawal
My meeting with Nobel Laureate Sir Harry Kroto at the Assocham Knowledge Millennium Summit

So stay tuned, I have been away , but I will make up for it.

Blogging from BarCamp-Delhi

Sat, 04 Mar 2006 09:08:09 GMT

I'm at the BarCamp being held for the first time in Asia. It's awesome, we have people all the way from Kashmir to Bangalore. And yeah I'm going to be presenting on Knowledge Management 2.0, very shortly. Will blog in detail on my topic after the presentation.

Lots of great ideas and applications being demo'd and discussed here.

Great job done by the organisers and the sponsers Adobe, Uzanto,Indecca and of course my very own Tekriti.

BTW catch New Delhi Times Live blog on the BarCamp
Also Published on the Tekriti Corporate Blog (Coming Soon)

The evolving theory of life-long beta software

Sat, 25 Feb 2006 06:20:14 GMT

As Web Applications become a commonality and the ability to build powerful feature laden web applications increases, a continuous beta cycle is starting to make more sense.

Google (or Gmail) has been accused by many of keeping it's software in beta for extended periods of time, despite the fact that it's being widely used and does not qualify in the traditional definition of beta software(...software tested through a limited roll-out to a production environment using live data and real users).

Now Google has always been known to make the rules when it comes to Web, rather than follow it. So even though it has been accused for doing this because it is a way out for the company against offering full support or take responsibility for remaining issues, I believe that's a rather skewed view.

The definitions of beta software when it comes to the web are changing. Companies would continue to keep their web software in beta for longer periods of time, not for the reasons mentioned above, but because this allows the users of those software to better absorb the existing features, before the next set is rolled out.

To better explain my point lets take Google's example. They released Gmail first around two years back. Sure it had bugs then and getting a gmail account was invite only. They added lots of cool features hence including the infinity+1 storage. So when you got used to using all the basic features and could absorb how they function and what they mean you were ready for the next set of functionality. Gtalk was released separately and integrated with Gmail (what an awesome job there..really love it!!). So Google made sure it's users were not overwhelmed by the immense set of features they had put into the site. Imagine if you would have got a gmail account only after the Google devs complete the development of Gmail+GTalk and the integration of the same as well. A lot of the non-geek users would have been confused.

Another example it Ourmedia.org, with 80,000 + registered users, it's still in alpha.

Web software is distinctly different from desktop software. I would think twice before installing the Beta 2 version of IE7 on my desktop, but I signed up for Windows-Live Mail, the very instant it was released. So it's necessary to break the stereotype and redefine strategies for product development when it comes to web software.

It could very well start with redefinition of Greek letters "alpha" and "beta" software for the web.

T-Commerce set to enter Indian Market with IPTV

Wed, 15 Feb 2006 18:16:54 GMT

Airtel recently launched it's foray into IPTV last week. They are still in the trial run and identified 50 households in Gurgaon to test out these IPTV services. My house was one of them and yesterday we had the technician come over and install the IPTV set top box in our residence.

First impressions are "awesome" specially features related to time shifting and video on demand. It feels good to be a part of this testing phase as Airtel upgrades it's DSLAMS to get ready for what is called "Triple Play Boom", Data (Internet), Video on Demand and Voice Services all over the same wire .

Nagarajan in his study of the IPTV and the Indian Market brings out some interesting observations on T-Commerce. He says

"Just like you send data through Internet, the broadcasters will use the Internet as a medium to send you the data. Internet can be any other network as well. So each and every TV system in the network will have an IP address. Thus the possibility of higher interaction between broadcaster and your TV. Thus igniting the possibility of a new Jargon called T-Commerce (in the lines of E-commerce). T-Commerce is nothing but TV based commerce. So now there is a possibility of buying the things right through your TV Set. Interesting right? Though it seems interesting the initial researches show in US by some Research institute show that only very few people( around 15%) will buy products through their Television. lets see how it goes...

...I have a strong feeling that Google may venture into this. Plans of Free Wi-fi access can bring up the customer base. Google video becomes a medium of a source as a kick off. The database system (Google Base) of course will help them in this. of course the Adwords makes some sense when seen through an angle of T-Commerce. Is really something brewing like this. Time has to say."

So probably a few months from now, we would really be in a global village with IPTV providers worldover providing broadcasts of your favorite shows as they happen. So if you are in India, you would not have to wait 2-3 months to see the latest season of your favorite shows, or download pirated copies from the net. Probably that's another angle to T-Commerce which would open up to the broadcasters.

Exciting times for media and media content companies with IPTV all set to capitalise on the "Triple Play Boom".

I am a long distance runner

Mon, 13 Feb 2006 08:32:41 GMT

Kris has this interesting report on the Delhi International Marathon which he and I took part in yesterday. It was quite an exhilarating experience to say the least. Getting up at 5:30 AM in the morning that too on a Sunday is the last thing you would like to do, but the whole atmosphere of the race, the enthusiasm and the fact that you were running just to have fun (I knew I didn't stand a chance against the Kenyans) made it memorable.

It was the first time I was running a long distance race since passing out from school. In school we used to have these annual cross-country races as they were called and I always took part in them. The distance to cover in the races at that time was just 10 Kms.

It was also the first time I saw the actual marathon pro’s, the Kenyans run in marathons. Boy, do those guys know how to run long distances. Simow Maiyo who won the first position, completed 42.1 Kms in 2 hours and 17 minutes. Heck I completed 21 Kms in about 2 hours and 55 minutes, so I sure have a long way to go if I can compete with these Kenyans, but then I did complete running the entire distance. I also got a medal for the feat!!

So even though I am nursing a few injuries right now, particularly a sore ankle and knee, I know that next marathon I will be better prepared.

The two Ps in the "Business of Software"

Sat, 11 Feb 2006 18:06:43 GMT

Tarun Anand talks about these distinctions between the two P's which we most grapple with in the Business of Software, Projects (essentially services) and Products. To quote from his blog an analogy which is very interesting

"In the phrases below you can safely replace the word "book" by "product" and "newspaper" by "project".

A book is something that takes a long time to create. It has a deadline to be done, but that deadline is not very hard and fast, and can be move around a little. A bookwriter spends a lot of time in thinking upfront about how the book will be written. All the elements of the book must come together as a unified whole, rather than a juxtaposition of various elements. A book is used by many people across organizations, over long periods of time.

Contrast this with a newspaper article: A newspaper article has a very hard deadline. Either you ship it tomorrow morning, or else its stale food and no one wants it. The pressure in a newspaper is to get the job done and a lot of time cannot be spent on upfront planning. Sometimes newspaper articles look like a random collection. A newspaper is used once and thrown away. Very soon a new newspaper will be created, and used.

This is the difference: A Product has a long term in mind and has to be carefully designed and relevant to a lot of people across organizations. A project typically has a shorter term, hard business requirements, and needs to be done quickly else business will pass it on for some other (maybe newer) approach. "

Adding to that, a release of a book is huge. It comes with it's share of marketing and once the author is out with one book which is a hit, the market or the publishers expect you to continue and come out with the next one which is even better.

A newspaper reporter on the other hand is an unknown entity. In terms of literary skills it is possible that both the book writer and the newspaper report writer may be equal, but you never care to find out who the news report writer is.

So now being fair to newspapers, newspaper publishers will never go out of business, you will always need a newspaper to read early morning when sipping a cup of tea or while cleaning your bowel, it puts you in touch with what happened in the world, however a book, if it doesn't appeal to the masses, that's it, no second chances (coming back is going to be hard actually). It will be difficult to image a life without newspapers as I have mentioned in my earlier post too [Read Here], but books, if you are a voracious reader or someone who doesn't get sleep until they read something, you can do without books (frankly how long back did you read your last book).

Is there a way to make the two Ps converge, as someone commented "Every project is a product to someone, how do we see this coming true??"

To which Tarun replied, "...Projects are about enabling a business process, something very specific. You may not be able to use it across many customers. However, if you can extract the essence away and make something relevant to more than 1 customer, then you have a product at hand."

Notice I have bolded the last line, which in one line can be summarized as "Knowledge Management" or "Managing Intellectual Capital". That's one of the key things I am going to be working in the next few weeks, a KM strategy for Tekriti. Thanks to my previous work experience, I seem to have the key elements for this figured out. Let's see how soon I can roll this into the system.

Saying all of the above with regard to newspapers and books, I would still love to get my hands a book titled "The Business of Software" by Michael Cusumano and read it from cover to cover, even if that means I don't read the newspaper for days.

Happy B'day Tekriti and Happy B'day Teknokrats

Tue, 07 Feb 2006 18:23:05 GMT

It was a special day for all of us at Tekriti today. It was founders’ day, they day when Tekriti was born, officially on paper. It was conceived a lot before the 7th of February 2005, when Gaurav, Ashish and me used to sit around and brainstorm on ideas that made sense to implement on the ever changing face of the Indian landscape.

I met Gaurav at the gymnasium today morning and wished him Happy B'day. As I was driving to work I thought that probably I could reach office and send an e-mail wishing all the TeknoKrats a Happy B'day. Well I was so wrong.

As a co-incidence both Gaurav and me finished our work-out at the same time and reached office at just the same time. As we stepped out of the elevator, we saw decorations in the office from outside the glass door entrance. We knew something was up. There was a surprise awaiting us indeed.

As soon as we stepped into the office, all the Teknokrats stood up and started applauding. It was such a pleasant surprise; I would say the first time I have been in a surprise event. I have organized many a surprise parties for my friends earlier, but today was my day to have fun.
Ashish was in office early today morning, so he was already in, but I could well imagine the surprise on his face when he would have walked in.

The Teknokrats had planned it all out, a day before. The were lucky too, cause we arrived late enough to give them time to finish the decorations. So after the applause was over, we were presented with a beautiful painting, a painting of the world, with a brass finish to it. It was beautiful.

Soon after there came a cake which read "Happy B'day Tekriti". After cutting the cake and distributing it, Nibha presented Ashish, Gaurav and Me with beautiful handmade cards. She certainly had put in a lot of effort in making the cards and it showed. They were quite spectacular.

The office looked stunning; everyone signed a jumbo card which Gaurav's parents had given to him in the morning, followed by signing a graffiti chart which was put up on the wall. Finally the painting which was gifted to Tekriti by the ever so wonderful TeknoKrats went up on the wall. We have a world beating team here at Tekriti, and not only do these guys know how to crank out code, they certainly know how to party and have fun aswell.The painting of the map of the world will keep reminding us of what we have to accomplish in the coming years, a team and a company of world beaters.

Franchisees of Indian Education

Sun, 05 Feb 2006 19:44:49 GMT

The IIMs have been given permission to open centers abroad. This is the beginning of what I feel is globalizing Indian education (globalization with a twist). Till date the globalization of Indian education has happened through people, who passed out of the IITs, the NITs , the IIMs and made their mark in the industry, through the depth of their knowledge and breadth of their talent. However this is a separate phenomenon. A phenomenon which to me is quite disturbing.

It's disturbing because the reasons behind setting up the centers abroad are not completely justified. Primarily, my main concern against this export of these centers of learning is that India could do well with having more of such institutes within India. Picture this 155,000 candidates appeared in CAT 2005 to compete for about 1200 seats across the 6 IIMs. That's approximately 129 candidates per seat.

It's not the first time though that we seeing such a globalization of a premiere education institute of India. It has happened before with Delhi Public School too. Till about 10 years back there were only two branches of DPS which were known. However today there are DPS branches all over India and not only India , but the world over. It's the franchisee model which the DPSs followed which has caused the brand value associated with being a DIPsite lose it's sheen. It won't be long before there is a DPS at every nook and corner of India, much like you find the NIITs at every nook and corner of India.

What we need more of in India is institutes backed by the industries and corporates. Except probably the Birlas with BITS, the Tata's with Tata Institute of Social Science and to a negligible extent Reliance with DA-IICT, there are very few industries who have setup educational institutes in India. So what I'd like to see is companies like Infosys, WIPRO, BioCon, Ranbaxy etc setup world class educational institutes in India and strengthen India's capabilities of being an intellectual powerhouse of the future.

The above if and when it happens with make India's research effort as regards industry innovation more relevant and the pockets of brilliance which exist today can be abridged . That'll be the day.

What a start to the New Year!!

Sat, 21 Jan 2006 08:43:08 GMT

It's been a while since I wrote something on this space. My last post was on Christmas, and since then things have been so very hectic that leave alone blogging here, I didn't get a chance to catch up with a lot of other blogs too.

Nevertheless when I checked my site-statistics today, I saw a huge number of hits which this space has received over the past month. I must apologize to all those who landed up every single day on this space, with the expectation to see something new posted only to end up disappointed. Sorry people, I was just having a hard time grappling with the tremendous about of work and personal commitments.

I'm sort of glad that I took a few days off at the end of the year 2005. I really needed it. As I was telling Gaurav just before new years, it was my first day off from work in the last eight months that we have been at Tekriti. I remember back in school, there was a prize given students who never took a single day off in an entire acedemic year. However this was nothing new for me. During my first year at Infosys, I worked for eleven months at a stretch, ofcourse excluding weekends, but eleven working months.

There's always a talk of New Year resolutions at the start of every New Year. I have mine too, and one of them is to host this blog on my own domain. So I've been thinking of domain names which could appeal to me and to the others, but anything I think of is taken. Nevertheless expect something to start soon and yeah I would love suggestions.If you have any mail me at manish at tekritisoftware dot com

Year 2005 was quite an eventful year for everyone at Tekriti, and especially for the first three TeknoKrats. However year 2006 should be the most important for all the TeknoKrats. The rules of the game change everyday and we have to be completely on the mark to make our mark.Even though it's a little late now, but "better late then never", Happy New Year 2006 to all reading this.

Meeting Santa twice in two days....Merry Christmas

Sun, 25 Dec 2005 17:41:38 GMT

Christmas has always been a special festival for me. A major reason for that is because I spent a major part of my school going days in a Christian school. Just before Christmas we had a party in school, which was called "sharing". It was a day just after the term exams got over, a day when there were no studies, you could wear your best clothes to school (yes a day when wearing school uniform was not allowed, however this was later abolished), watch a movie (each class was equipped with a television), eat sumptuous food and herald the winter vacations which started as soon as the party got over.

The sharing session is something worth mentioning. Everyone brought some eatables etc from home. During an extended lunch session (which normally was for 20 minutes) , all classes used to assemble in the football field and spread out all that they had got in an area allotted to them. And then with all the food setup in the middle have your fill from your class and section and go and sample the spreads of all the other sections. With twelve grades and four sections per grade, it was quite a spread.

Santa Claus of course has a special role on Christmas. As kids (and even now), you can almost always picture Santa around kids. Last two days I have been close to Santa twice. First at the party in Tekriti, where my good buddy "Gaurav", played Santa. Then today when Kris played Santa. Just follow the links to read about the time they had.

Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas! and
HO HO HO It's Santa Kris, Merry Christmas

Inspired by the "sharing" spirit of Christmas I imbibed in school, we tried the concept of "sharing" in a rather unique way in the party at office. Everyone was asked to get a small gift for the party. These gifts were later gift wrapped with newspapers and numbered. Thereafter we played the game of newspaper dancing where whenever someone was eliminated, he was asked to pick a number of the gift. So everyone got a gift, not necessarily the one which they had brought. Our unique concept of sharing, and I can say everyone had a blast. Certainly a party which brought back memories of those good old school, Christmas sharing session days.

Here’s wishing all the readers of this space a Merry Christmas and a lovely New Year ahead.

Dropping Ganguly..Not giving the man his due

Sun, 18 Dec 2005 18:41:37 GMT

This has been a raging debate in all circles , be it buses, metros, offices, gyms, newspapers, television and ofcourse the blogosphere. However from what all I have observed and heard and and felt from the very beginning, I have not met a single person who agreed with the dropping of Ganguly. Worse..the way he was treated after he was dropped.

There is no one who doubts the fact that Ganguly is India's most successful captain. The Indian team reached dizzy heights under his captaincy. If I recount, beating Pakistan in Pakistan, drawing a test series with Australia in Australia and of course the run to the finals in the world cup, Ganguly has been and has instilled that aggressive streak in the Indian team I have talked about earlier. The Indian's in the past used to be a docile lot accused time and again of not having a killer instinct. It was Ganguly who changed that with his aggressiveness. Who can forget his shirt rip off antics at Lords after the Natwest final?

There is this popular quote which I have heard NR Naryana Murthy speak a lot. "In god we trust, everyone else brings data to the table". Now I'm not going to excavate Ganguly's record in test and one dayers, because it is an impeccable record, but the point I'm trying to make is that even if you go by data, it would be difficult to explain Ganguly's omission from the squad. But on the flip side, go by the data of the selectors who have been the torch bearers of the resurgent Indian team in the past. Except the chairman of the selectors, the others have never even played test cricket. That's some data for you!!

I have also lost a lot of respect for Dravid after this incident. As Wasim Akram his put it today, selectors have a hand to play , but it's also the captain and coach who play their part. Look at the way how captains of other countries have exited from cricket. Steve Waugh, Courtney Walsh, Arjuna Ranatunga et. al.

Well now, knowing that Sharad Pawar is at the helm of the BCCI now, all I can say is my doubts have further strengthened, why you may ask..oh well that's just another debate and maybe something for time to tell.

Happy Birthday to this space

Wed, 07 Dec 2005 18:30:34 GMT

I'll have a better post coming in sometime on this occasion. For now this is just a placeholder post.

Rock on!!

Out of a slumber and back in it!!

Sat, 03 Dec 2005 10:39:55 GMT

I have been away from this space for the past 25 days or so. So much so that my buddy Gaurav and a lot of others have been enquiring about what's happening in this space. Some even suggested ideas which I could elaborate and blog on. Sorry guys..I wasn't able to find enough motivation or enough time to write on this space.

Past month has been really hectic, with the festival season and some new projects which I was taking care of.

But it's nearing the time when I complete one year of "Synergizing Karma & Action". More about that day when it arrives.

For now Kris has this great post on the soccer tournament I took part in last weekend. I've never been an avid soccer player. I used to be active in soccer a long time back , as a 9-10 year old. However then soccer took a backseat and racquet sports became my kinda sport.

Last week was a like an eye opener for me on my soccer capabilities. What's left now is posting pictures of the same, and I guess someone shot a video too...knowing Kris...I'm sure he'll take care of posting those.

Stay tuned for the first anniversary of "Synergizing Karma & Action".

Are we nearing a dooms day for traditional media

Sun, 06 Nov 2005 18:54:45 GMT

The past one year has been a really interesting one in the Internet landscape. Not only has someone who has been following the developments real closely realised how much of a platform the Web is turning into but the growing battle for leadership in this platform by the big 3 Google, Microsoft and Yahoo.

Blogs, Podcasting and RSS have taken the realms of information exchange to highly simplistic levels not only to publish but also to track. It's the information pull model we so often talk and take pride in implementing.

However another thought comes to mind. Is this the near end of traditional media sources, in effect Print Media, Radio and the Television? Will those individuals who earn their bread from journalism succumb to citizen journalists who would be publishing their content on their blogs or as I call it their "content aggregators".

When the internet came around in the mid and late 1990's, all news papers and TV channels went online, publishing their entire contents on their website. So people naturally raised questions over whether this would cause a decrease in the readership or the viewership of the media sources. However those were the days when bandwidth was a concern in cost and baud as also computer penetration was low. So the newspapers survived.

Bandwidth costs and baud are still inversely proportional, but now costs are getting lower. So now do the traditional media houses stand a chance? By the looks of it..they stand where they are, not looking at embracing the changing times.

Robin Sloan showcases this really gripping movie on what could happen to the traditional media sources in the next few years.

Personally I don't feel that the traditional media sources are going anywhere, even if they stay put where they are, because there is a different feeling in reading a newspaper early in the morning, while sipping on hot tea and reading the same news on the website or through an aggregated service.

As Sloan puts it, it may be EPICurean times in the future, Evolving Personalized Information Construct (EPIC) may be Google's invention in 2014, it won't replace traditional media.Thats my take..what do you say?

A P2P Wireless and the original business model.

Sat, 22 Oct 2005 14:41:24 GMT

[Boing Boing] reports about how a Spanish company "Fon" is offering to build a service which would allow people to share their Wi-Fi connection. They propose to use a P2P model to build on on their wireless networks.

The service would provide for two kinds of users, those who would re-sell their connection and those who will share their connection free in exchange for free roaming Wi-Fi. Sounds like a plan..doesn't it.

When I Wi-Fi enabled my residence, my dad came up with an entire business model around sharing this connection with other people of the community [Read Here] . Besides this he also talked about WLAN enabling all cities and small towns of India. I even had a lengthy discussion with my Dad then and told him that even though his idea was great , I guess it would be illegal to re-sell the connection. I apologize Dad, I still have to develop the vision and ability to see a evolving business in every sphere of life.I understand what you were talking about the other day ..now..A P2P WiFi makes so much sense.

Year 2006 will see the rollout of a new standard in Wi-Fi from IEEE, 802.11n. Besides offering blazing fast connectivity and speed, it would also offer a higher operative distance. So probably we are nearing the time where wireless sharing will be a all so common thing to do. Besides opening up several business models, this would also take Web 2.0 and community aggregation concepts/companies to dizzy valuations.

While on Wireless, can GPRS and GSM be far behind. So what's next.. convergence of all these technologies for a totally connected you!!

People's Action: Gurgaon city residents take charge

Wed, 19 Oct 2005 17:49:48 GMT

Normally while having breakfast in the morning I browse through the newspaper, however yesterday this piece of paper caught my eye, which had the following lines as the title: Addressing the symptoms will not cure the disease. As I read deeper into the text I felt as if someone had para-phrased what I had been writing all along [Read Here]

The infrastructure in Gurgaon is crumbling and the community has decided to shed it's "Chalta hai " (It works) attitude and arrest the malaise before the putrefaction sets in. It is our tendency to just complain about how awful the infrastructure is, about what the government can do, gossip endlessly about what it could be and sadly thats where it all ends. We just continue to accept things as they are making sure that we get the roses not worried about whether someone else has to tread a bed of thorns.

So it's heartning to note that what JFK said in this address in 1961 and I quote "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country" if finally being put into practice by People's Action the organization.

To further quote some lines form this piece of paper "Complaining about bad roads has not helped. Even the administration is unable to help. The problem is so deep that only invasive surgery will do anything. It is really up to us..What else does Haryana have to show for itself except Gurgaon..it's shining with the sweat of our work and is being allowed to become a ghetto before our eyes."

The call is to form a planning board with immediate effect which will have the CM on it and ofcourse the members of the People's Action group. Some of the members of this group are the people we closely associate with, since they are the board managers of the famous HCWCRP Condominium Association.

The letter ends with this line" Please be ready for a long battle if we have to win. Above all, join us."

Gurgaon and Pune according to me are the cities which can rise to being world class cities, not because of the number of cars there, not because of the number of high rise buildings, but because of the people. I would have loved to add Bangalore to the list, but Bangalore has crumbled and it's going to take a mammoth effort to get it to its past glory. So what is even more heartning to note is that a group of proactive people have taken the effort to wrest the initiative and hence learn from Bangalore's mistakes. Be sure I'll be a part of this war because after all it's a part of People's Action.

Coming out of a slumber!!

Wed, 19 Oct 2005 07:19:12 GMT

A lot of people have written to me, asking me whether the earthquake had left me too shaken and stirred to blog.

Thanks for your concern people, it's just that I was tied up with work and settling in the new office, project assignments where we lost sometime because of the move.

So now I am back, things are stable albeit. still busy..stay tuned in to the next post which will be a perfect show case on the power of the community.

People's Action up next.

A day when the earth not only shivered but actually shook violently

Sat, 08 Oct 2005 14:41:47 GMT

The blogosphere is full of people [read kris] narrating their stories of the earthquake which shook North India and Pakistan today morning [Read Here]. Let me recount some impressions of this day, when I really felt what it is like to be in a quake.

Date: 8/10/2005

Time: 09:25 AM

The initial tremors which were very feeble were felt by me. Sitting on my bed I quickly jumped up and ran to the kitchen to ask my mom if she felt the same.

Me: Mom! Did you just feel the tremors of an earthquake?

Mom: No I didn't, I guess you are not feeling well today because you slept late thats why, your head must be spinning!

Me: [Thinking to myself]..But I did feel something..oh well maybe my head was spinning.

Time: 09:30 AM

The tremors which measured 7.6 in magnitude struck.

Me: [Thinking to myself] Man..my head is still spinning..all that work has made me really weak I guess!

[Voice in the far distance]

Bro(Kris): Manish...Manish....Jaldi Aa..Jaldi Aa (Come fast Come fast)

Me: [Thinking to myself]..what am I hearing voices too now?

[Running to my brother's room, I see him lying on his bed]

Bro(Kris): This is an earthquake, my bed is shaking.

Mom: Manish...look look at the chandelier..look look at the fan

[The Chandelier was swinging from side to side like a pendulum..tha fan was swinging too..Standing on the 11th floor of a high rise, the whole earth was shaking]

Me: Okay, ..chalo (lets go) we have to go down..hurry..hurry.

Bro(Kris): What dressed like this..are you crazy.

Me: C'mon make a move dude, pick up the car key and the house key.

Mom: Wait let me close the gas knob.

Me: C'mon lets go..oh my..the rubble seems to be falling down from the crevices..hurry.

[Voices coming from outside, frantic calling..rushing for the stairs]

Young Girl:[Almost in tears]..Mummy..I am scared..Mummy

Young Girls Mom: Sweety don't cry well be fine, we are in a earthquake proof building

Young Girl: No ..I don't want to live on the 15th Floor..where is Daddy?

Young Girls Mom: [Now on the phone] ..Daddy is fine he is on the phone..yeah she is fine..just a little scared.

Young Girl: [Almost in tears]..Mummy..will it come back..I think it's coming back.

Young Girls Mom: [Still on the phone]..No don't worry and don't cry ..you are making me nervous.

[Reached the ground floor..the whole apartment complex was downstairs..security guards on their walkie talkies..others on their cellphones, people getting their cars out and fleeing..some barefoot..most in their night dresses..a few with just their shorts on (yes men ofcourse)]

Mom: I knew it is not a good day today, it's Saturday (Shanivar), the 8th. Disaster spares no one..and it does not distinguish the rich from the poor.

Bro(Kris): Dude, this is some experience..I want to be the first one to blog this.

Me: [Staring at the building and looking upstairs]..Dude.can't you think of anything except blogging.

Bro(Kris): [Thinking to himself]..Thats a nice chic..wonder where she stays..she looks "hot" in that skirt.

Me: [Still staring at the building]..Duh..what are you talking about!

Mom: I felt as if I was not feeling well, I moved away from the gas, and something pulled be back towards it..I came out to call on you that I was not feeling well..that's when I saw the chandeliar moving.

Me: Yeah mom..and you thought I was sick the first time.Anyways lets go to the open ground..you never know how bad the after shocks could be.

[Moving away from the building, I thought I will have a word with the security guard, cause he looked unmoved]

Me: Aapko kuch feel hua earthquake ka (Did you feel the earthquake)

Security Guard: Nahi..hume to pata bhi nahi chala (I didn't feel a thing)

Me: Achha ..lagta hai ground floor par kuch feel nahi hua (Seems like the people on the ground floor didn't feel a thing)

Security Guard: Yeh to kuch nahi hai saab..bhuchaal to Surat mein aaya tha..main tab waha hi tha..kya bhayankar tha (This is nothing sir, The Surat earthquake was worse (26th Jan 2001)..I was there then). Ab to hawa chalne lagi hai saab, ab kuch nahi hoga (The wind has started blowing..so now nothing will happen)

Me: Achha..jab bhuchaal aata hai to hawa bandh ho jaati hai (So does the wind stop when an earthquake comes)

Security Guard: Haanji sir aisa hi hota hai (Yes sir this is what happens)

[As I moved ahead]

Man on phone: Yeah Mr. Malik, there has been a massive earthquake in Gurgaon..but it seems like the earthquake proofing in the building has worked..the first time it was really tested I guess.[pause]..yes yes good job with the earthquake proofing..this building is really safe.

[After a while..when the wind was blowing again]

Me: Mom..I forgot my cellphone..let me go and get it..seems like the wind has started blowing so the worst is behind us.Also I guss Dad will be concerned..so need to tell him that we are fine.

As I climbed the stairs to the 11th floor again, I realised how incongruent we are in our reactions, from being unbelieving (Mom) to self doubt(Me) to scared(Young Girl) to consoling and sympathetic (Young Girl's mom), to unperturbed (Security Guard) to a sense of accomplishment and Joy (Man on phone). Thats what makes every individual so different from the rest.

Blog list: BlogRoll

Tue, 08 Nov 2005 10:07:12 GMT