Its a HOAX!!! Please Don't Spread It...

This morning, when I opened my Facebook account, I found this message shared by some of my friends. The picture was really horrible and had the following message below it. "DO NOT LIKE IT. COMMENT. AND PLEASE SHARE IT OR JUST UPLOAD YOUR OWN...BUT SOMEHOW SPREAD IT IF YOU'RE EVEN 1% HUMANITY — ITS STILL NOT OVER YET... CHRISTIANS BURNT ALIVE BY JIHADS IN NIGERIA.."



There were a lot of heated discussions beneath and I was just curious to know when and how the incident took place. So I started browsing a little to know more information about it. In a short while, I came to know that the information spread along the shocking image is a complete HOAX. The image seem to be real but has no association with the Christian-Muslim problems in Nigeria. It is a tragic result of a tanker explosion that happened in Congo, another African nation.The real incident is here.

This is just one example of such hoax messages that keep spreading and social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter make it even more easier to spread these information like wild fire.

One other such HOAX I came across recently is about the contact lenses melting in the eye of a guy who attended a barbecue party who finally lost his eye sight forever. Such information creates immediate attention and we think that it will help some of our friends and try to spread the information immediately. But, what we don't think is whether the piece of information we are trying to spread has any truth behind it. My intention is not to blame anyone who spreads these information as they do it out of good heart (or whatever possible reason it can be). But, what I want to convey here is that we should try to spend couple more minutes to see whether the information is from an authentic source and carries the right information.



Most HOAX messages come with one of the following ideas:
(1) Scientific details/medical science related issues that we are not completely aware of.
(2) Religious issues.
(3) Technology related issues.

Most of them try to create sympathy or use our unawareness and thus makes us spread the information. But, as an educated lot, it is better if we spread the right information and avoid passing these HOAX messages. If we are not sure about the message, it is better not to pass it on rather than passing a false information.

My dad - My Hero !!!

Today is Father's day. And in another 10 days, my dad is stepping into a new phase in his life, yes, he will be turning 60. So, I think there is no other apt time to write a few words about my hero here. I know that whatever words I write here won't do good to give a complete picture of him and our relationship, but I will try my best.

My dad, A primary school teacher with a very simple life,I remember my childhood days when he takes me and my sister to his school in his bicycle singing some songs from the 60's and 70's all the way. When I was in school, just like any kid, I always make trouble to wake up and get ready. He is a man with lot of patience, he will try to wake me up with lots of love and affection, with ma brush in hand, will get the hot water ready for my shower, have my uniforms ready and shoes polished.



I don't remember a single incident where he raised his voice against us when we do mistakes. All he does is to give us a piece of advice with the same soft tone. When I was young, I always hate keeping things in order (well, even now I do have that bad habit to some extent) and he always was there to get them back to order. If at all I have developed some good habits in life, all credits goes to him.

Though he was a school teacher, he never tried to interfere in things related to our education and gave us all freedom to choose what we wanted. Whatever he says will always just come as a suggestion and not an order, leaving the final decision to ourselves. He planted the habits of decision making and saving money from the very young age, which I think is very much helpful when I started managing my own life.

He always stands with us to fulfill our dreams and he sacrifices a lot for that. Even during tough times, he always tried to make sure we get what we need in terms of our education and other things. I know how much he struggled to get me my first motor-bike just because I loved to have one and also he didn't want me to suffer traveling the hard way to my college.When I decided not to take a job but to pursue with my higher education, again, he extended his support wholeheartedly.

I am not sure whether I am playing my part right, but, one day when I become a dad, I know what I should do. And if I am going to play that part right, all credits goes to my dad...My Hero!!!



I know that I can't be there close to him when he turns 60 but we are always connected.

My Advance Birthday Wishes to U... Luv U Dad... :))

Go Green... Go Cycling!!!

Last Sunday(March 20th), TOUR DE TAIWAN road bicycle racing event (20 international teams representing 15 countries covering 1137.65Kms around the island)started successfully. Along with that, HSBC also arranged a leisure 10Km leisure cycling excursion for amateur bikers. GREEN was the theme with bikers meandering along the wide and shady Ren'ai road towards Zhongshan north road lined with Chinese sweet-gum trees.

My legs were a bit stiff from a 25Km cycling on Friday and 10Km running on Saturday, but I was very interested to join this event that I pushed myself to wake up around 5AM so that I can reach the venue by 6:30AM. The event started around 6:45AM. Weather was really perfect with warm sunlight sprinkling down through seams in the thickets of leaves above.

I could see thousands of interested bikers participating in the event. It was really nice to see the whole area filled with nothing but bicycles.



Bikers of different age groups, from the very old to very young were seen all around.Even some cute little buddies joined the excursion to show their support for the GREEN movement.



Cycling is a wonderful exercise to keep ourselves fit and it also helps us to be eco-friendly. I am sure that everyone who participated in the event might have enjoyed it and also passed the message to others to go GREEN .




You might also be interested in:
Pedestrian power for a greener future.
"Thirukkural" about vegetarianism.
Five reasons to be vegetarian.

My Drawings...

When I went home for a short vacation this time, I could find one of my old drawing book. Huh, it was nice to see all those stuff and took me back down the memory lane. I thought that it will be better if I can digitize them so that they can be preserved for a longer time. These were done some 12-15 years ago and the drawing book already started loosing their texture. Well, some pictures which I thought are worth sharing in my blog.





When I was young, cartoons like Mickey mouse, Tom and Jerry etc were more popular and I think Mickey is one interesting but easy figure to draw. I remember sketching Mickey in different ways and colors. I like this one because it portrays a runner.



I think this one is from the fairy tale, "Puss in Boots". The gleeful face of the cat brings in some joy. I have used some oil paint and sketch pens in this drawing.






My favorite character, "CHARLIE CHAPLIN". May be looks a bit "EVIL" here, huh, didn't come out very well, but not bad I believe.



I have used some water color and sketch pens to do this one.



This one represent the traditional marriage ceremony in India. I found it in a wedding invitation and tried to replicate it. I used oil paint for this drawing. I remember drawing it again in a big canvas and it was decorating(???) our living room for some years.



Its a very simple pencil sketch. I like this one very much. Other than some mistakes, I has come out quite well.









I like the simplicity with pencil sketching. Just with few pencils in hand, we can bring in a lot of shades. I learnt a bit from my friend Narendran to use pencils and charcoals in different ways to draw.



Lord Ganesh. One other figure which I love drawing. Very much like Mickey, I have tried drawing him many times in many different ways. We can use his figure to draw very simple drawings to very complex ones that we can imagine. Also, brings in a lot of happiness. This one is a very simple outline sketch in pencil.

I had one other drawing book with few more interesting stuff. But, I could't find it. I should search for it when I go home next time. This is one hobby which I liked the most at some point of time in my life, but pretty much lost touch right now.

Pencil Sketching

Secret of success: Get the mind-set of an ant!

Sometimes the biggest lessons in life come from the smallest folks around us.


All of us tend to look up to big people for lessons on how to get better. We are keen to learn the secrets of their success. But we forget that sometimes the biggest lessons in life come from the smallest folks around us. Now that’s a good lesson to remember!

Take ants for instance. Would you believe those small creatures can teach us how to live a better life? Jim Rohn - the great motivational guru – developed what he called the ‘Ants Philosophy’.

He identified four key lessons from the behaviour of ants that can help us lead better lives. Jim Rohn is no more – but his messages continue to inspire. Here then, are the four lessons from Rohn’s ‘Ants Philosophy’.

1. Ants never quit. Have you noticed how ants always look for a way around an obstacle? Put your finger in an ant’s path and it will try and go around it, or over it. It will keep looking for a way out. It won’t just stand there and stare. It won’t give up and go back.
We should all learn to be like that. There will always be obstacles in our lives. The challenge is to keep trying, keep looking for alternative routes to get to our goals. Winston Churchill probably paraphrased the ant’s mindset when he offered this priceless advice: “Never give up. Never, never give up!”

2. Ants think winter all summer. Remember the old story of the ant and the grasshopper? One bright day in late autumn a family of Ants were bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer, when a starving Grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat.

“What!” cried the Ants in surprise, “haven’t you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?”

“I didn’t have time to store up any food,” whined the Grasshopper; “I was so busy making music that before I knew it, the summer was gone.”

Ants know that summer - the good times – won’t last forever. Winters will come. That’s a good lesson to remember. When the going is good, don’t be so arrogant as to believe that a crisis or a setback cannot happen to you. Be good to other people. Save for a rainy day. Look ahead. And remember, good times may not last, but good people do.

3. Ants think summer all winter. As they suffer through the unbearable cold of the winter, ants keep reminding themselves that it won’t last forever, and that summer will soon be here. And with the first rays of the summer sun, the ants come out – ready to work, ready to play. When we are down and seemingly out, when we go through what looks like a never-ending crisis, it’s good to remind ourselves that this too shall pass. Good times will come. It’s important to retain a positive attitude, an attitude that says things will get better. As the old saying goes, tough times don’t last. Tough people do.

4. Ants do all they possibly can. How much food does an ant gather in summer? All that it possibly can! Now that’s a great work ethic to have. Do all you can! One ant doesn’t worry about how much food another ant is collecting. It does not sit back and wonder why it should have to work so hard. Nor does it complain about the poor pay! Ants just do their bit. They gather all the food they can. Success and happiness are usually the result of giving 100% - doing all you possibly can. If you look around you, you’ll find that successful people are those who just do all they possibly can.

Follow the four simple steps of Jim Rohn’s ‘Ant Philosophy’ – and you’ll see the difference. Don’t quit. Look ahead. Stay positive. And do all you can.
And there’s just one more lesson to learn from ants. Did you know that an ant can carry objects up to 20 times their own weight? Maybe we are like that too. We can carry burdens on our shoulders and manage workloads that are far, far heavier than we’d imagine. Next time something’s bothering you and weighing you down, and you feel you just can’t carry on, don’t fret. Think of the little ant. And remember, you too can carry a lot more on your shoulders!


Note: I took this out from the internet, a very inspiring piece of writing. I did some small changes to it and added a couple of pics that fit the column. The original author of this piece of work is Prakash Iyer, MD, Kimberly-Clark and Executive Coach.

My Name Is.....

Many Indian names are long… long enough to compete with the Great Wall of China.

There is even a joke around in the internet.
On a flight James bond was sitting next to an Indian guy.

Indian Guy: "Hello, May I know your name please?"
James Bond: "My name is Bond" Continuing in his inimitable style,
"......James Bond."

Then Bond asks: "And you?"
Indian Guy: " My name is Rao...
Siva Rao...
Samba Siva Rao...
Venkata Samba Siva Rao...
Yarlagadda Venkata Samba Siva Rao...
Rajasekhara Yarlagadda Venkata Samba Siva Rao...
Sitaramanjaneyula Rajasekhara Yarlagadda Venkata Samba Siva Rao...
Vijayawada Sitaramanjaneyula Rajasekhara Yarlagadda Venkata Samba Siva
Rao..."
James Bond faints…



Well, my dad has a long name (Kalyanavenkatramanan) and he always have trouble signing his name in cheques, documents etc. Keeping this in mind, he gave me a short name, Sriram. “All izz well” till I decided to get my passport. Generally, I write my surname abbreviated as K.K. (Stands for Kesarimangalam Kalyanavenkatramanan, Kesarimangalam is my native place) and this holds good for any purpose inside India. But, when I went to get my passport, they asked me to write my name completely.

I had my first problem when I went to New Delhi to get my Visa to Taiwan. The Taiwan Embassy officials printed my name wrongly (They printed “Kesarimangalam Kalyanavenkatraman Sriram” instead of “Kesarimangalam Kalyanavenkatramanan Sriram” – Can you make out the difference???). Be it my mistake or fate, I missed to find the mistake, I even came back home traveling 44 hours from New Delhi and had to return back all the way again and finally got it corrected. This cost me 88 additional hours of train travel, some money and brought in a lot of tension.

Every time I book my air ticket, the ticket booking agents in Taiwan get confused on how to put my name in the ticket. Once, an agent abbreviated my surname in such a way that the person issuing the boarding passes refused to issue one saying that my name looks different in my passport. After some phone calls to the agent and some waiting, I could get my boarding pass.

When I traveled back to India this time for a short vacation, I was asked to fill the immigration form. The funny thing is that, in our country with many people having long names, the column under “name” had only 30 boxes and I was asked to fill my name with one space between every part of the name. How can 40 letters be filled in 30 boxes? I had to write the remaining letters in a small space under the boxes. It would be better if they print a single bigger box instead of separating the space into 30 smaller squares. In that way, one can write his/her name in smaller fonts that can fit into the given space.



I wonder how Mr. Vijayawada Sitaramanjaneyula Rajasekhara Yarlagadda Venkata Samba SivaRao will fill his name in this immigration form...