Subramanyan

Why change ???

Guhan — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:15:57 +0000

Change is the only constant! age old statement that people keep reminding themselves of. But got me thinking, why change ?? I have been told by my near and dear ones that I take too long to make a decision and because of that seem indecisive. But even I have changed :-) I have made some good decisions quickly and acted on them. So it looks like change is a good thing. At the same time, letting go of the things you have built around you, protected yourself with and shared moments with in the name of change is bad.

The Emerging leader program at work had a guest speaker who was there to speak about happiness at work. He said that one must not tag anything as bad, for there is always some learning from it. My take away from that was, Everyone is a genius in retrospect.
There is always a lot of emotions associated with change. I have a substantial change coming up in my way of life right now, looking forward to it, scared sometimes, anxious some other times, excited too. Bur emotion and logic seldom agree, we find our answers and convince ourselves with reasons. Resistance to change is not always from within, its from all around. The moment you announce a new direction, you will have people around you wanting you to pay caution to that direction. Some do it because of genuine concern, so do it for the pure sadistic joy of causing guilt and some do it fearing change in their own environment because of the influence you have. People who enjoy instigating your guilt are the ones you want to kick, but that is a whole different matter.
Letting go any set paradigm is really hard and I firmly believe it has nothing to do with what you are actually getting in return. Getting use to the change always takes its own time and once that is done, it becomes a way of life.
Once you have a good enough motive to make that change, then you are convinced. All other stuff just falls into place. So ultimately its just the idea of change that that one fears or challenges, but never the change itself.

Mango Mania

Guhan — Sat, 29 May 2010 18:49:45 +0000

Its that time of the year again, when one can feast on Mangoes. Its one of the most delicious fruits one can bite into.
Today, my aunt ( periamma) cooked up a great Mango mania dinner with mango rice, mango chutney. The wife whipped up some yummy mango souffle. For more mango recipes and other south indian delicacies, take a look at Chitra Amma’s Kitchen

All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go

Guhan — Mon, 10 May 2010 12:49:44 +0000

Vacation time is here !! Its a great feeling to start a vacation. This time we are off to Turkey, the land of the Ottoman Turks. This was another must see place in my Bucket list and I am really excited that I am finally going there.
This time, more fun traveling because Mom and Sis are joining us. Its a 11 day 10 night trip, covering all the important historic sites and some natural beauty. Our trip itinerary is
11 May 2010 – Arrive Istanbul on Air Arabia flight via Sarjah
12 May 2010 – Byzantine and Ottoman Relics Tour
13 May 2010 – Bosphorus and the tour of the 2 continents. Will see the water way that divides Europe and Asia
14 May 2010 – Off to Izmir to see the houe of Virgin Mary and the Greco-Roman city of Ephesus
15 May 2010 – Pamukkale and Heirapolis tour
16 May 2010 – Off to coastal town of Anatalya
17 May 2010 – Off to Cappadocia and a day to relax
18 May 2010 – Visit the ruins at Devrent and Terra Cotta art work from 3000 BC
19 May 2010 – Natural Rock formations south of Cappadocia
20 May 2010 – Back to Istanbul
21 May 2010 – Leave back to Bangalore on Air Arabia via Sarjah

There are many more historic places we will be seeing, like the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, the grand spice bazars and the famous Topkapi palace. We also plan to visit the Temple of Artemis, one of the older 7 wonders of the world.
I will blog about the places in detail when I get back, or if the computer gets the better of me, will blog from my hotel room :-p

Off we go!

Tee off

Guhan — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 16:14:20 +0000

I got back to hitting in the range after a long gap. Thanks to some high work load and laziness :-)
I really took an interest to Golf about a year back. Today, it was almost like the first time I went to a driving range, but the difference was that some of the coaching tips helped me look less stupid.
Well, it was not all bad. Actually today I hit the ball pretty well. The Wilson 10.5 Fairway driver was good to me today, hit a few mighty blows. I tried some delicate chip shots with the sand wedge as well, they too were pretty good. Overall a happy return to Golf. Will get on to the course before I head off on vacation. The wilson set I got for my last Birthday is really good and I am enjoying it. I think its more than enough for the kind of golf I play. Still in the learning phase and already I am able to hit a 300 yard drive on the fairway :-) Not to get too carried away, such drives come only once or twice in a bucket of balls
The weekend and the monday has been good days for sport. Hit a powerful 98 with 8 6′s and 7 4′s in a 20-20 corporate cricket match. I thought I was middling almost every ball I hit. And this was the first 50 off my new Pume Vandetta 2000. I love this bat, its got an amazing sweet spot. I was initially reluctant to use such a good bat in corporate cricket, where slogging is the way to go and the leather balls are cheap and of bad quality. But I could not wait any longer. The hits were clean and many 6′s were in the ‘V’
I have been wanting to start swimming again. I am searching for some good pools in Bangalore closer to Indiranagar or Koramangala preferably. I love swimming. I think its the best exercise and is one good activity to work up your appetite.

3 cheers to sport :-)

Vacation!

Guhan — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 18:53:43 +0000

Its that time of the year when I gear up to go on a vacation. This time, its exotic Turkey that I will be visiting with family. Looking forward to the trip. Last year, I had been to Jordan on work, and managed to sneak a trip to Petra. The grand structure at Petra which makes an appearance in the Indiana Jones movies was a spectacular sight. Petra as the capital of the Nabataeans, is enclosed by towering rocks and watered by a perennial stream. Petra not only possessed the advantages of a fortress, but controlled the main commercial routes which passed through it to Gaza in the west, to Bosra and Damascus in the north, to Aqaba and Leuce Come on the Red Sea, and across the desert to the Persian Gulf. During this trip I also managed to go to Dead sea, a salt lake bordering Israel and Jordan.The dead sea is the lowest elevation on the Earth’s surface. It is also one of the world’s saltiest bodies of water, with close to 40 % salinity. This makes floating on the dead sea a one of a kind experience. Its like sleeping on a water bed. You just have to ensure you dont dip your head in water, because the salt and minerals can give you an eye burn to remember.

Turkey is one of the must see places I have in my Bucket list :-) and I am really happy I have finally planned a trip there. My mother will be coming along, and its going to be really great because she is an ocean of knowledge. I am sure by now she knows a lot of history about all the places we are going to see in Turkey. So apart from the tour guide, I am going to have a walking talking encyclopedia with me :-)
Its also a much deserved break. Work has been hectic and have been working my ass of for a long time now. Plus some frustrations over the last few months to get over and some happy moments to celebrate. The vacation is coming in good time. Will unwind, forget work, forget routine and hopefully come back refreshed to make some important decisions in career and life in general.
More on where all we are going will come shortly

2 Years

Guhan — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:35:05 +0000

2 years ago on this day, sporting a wide smile and dressed up in a grand saree, a beautiful lady sat next to me tossing stuff the priest gave us into the holy fire. Our parents stood behind us, almost blessing us every second, and a huge audience in front of us, all set to literally shower us with their blessings. The celebration reached its crescendo at 9:30 am in the morning, every one eagerly waiting for the all important index finger flick by the high priest. And exactly at 9:40 am, the music had more base, it was raining rice and I was working my way up to a complex double knot of a turmeric coated thread!! We were no longer single, we were smiling, we were married !
I know its a cliche, but time sure does fly. 2 years has zipped past, and it stills feels like it was just the day before that we were rushing through the preparations for the wedding. Its been an amazing 2 years, lots of fun memories, the couple getaways, the gifts, the celebrations, decorating our home, the parties, the great food, the little fights, the big gestures, the love notes, caring, being cared for and most important of them all Happy times.
All through our lives, the wedding day is hyped up to be this momentous day in ones life when supposedly every thing begins to change and we are expected to have this great epiphany of all things grown up and mature. In retrospect, I personally dont have any horror stories to share about the wedding contrary to popular belief. It was a fun day, when 24 hours felt more like 10 minutes. Over the 2 years, we got to hear many stories about our wedding day, different perspectives and little incidents around the function. It almost seems that people who attended the wedding had more fun and remember it a lot more than the bride and groom. Which is why I always say, the wedding is for the people attending, the marriage is for the bride and groom.
So today, as we celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary, I am happy to have some one who I can call my better half. I have enjoyed this phase of my life, its been different for sure, but in a good way. Its been full of interesting moments, moments that you remember, moments that you cherish, moments that you learn from, moments that you hate, scary moments etc. Having that special someone witness all those moments relevant to you with out judgment or prejudice is what my marriage has meant to me.
Wishing for many more happy moments.

Highs and Lows

Guhan — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 05:06:22 +0000

The last 2 months have taken me on a joy ride with lot of highs and lows! It all started off when certain plans did not materialize and I was at a all time low, I even started writing up a very negative blog post, but decided not to. After all, I did not need more negativity. But all of that changed when I participated in the University hack day and got to meet up with a lot of students. Its always a rush when you can have a good discussion with students. And I think coming from a big company helps, they always tend to listen to you more eagerly :-)
Then there was another high, I won an award in office. But the bigger high was when loads of friends, colleagues and family wished me the best and told me I deserved it. The family making it to the award function was icing on the cake.
My profile made it to Yahoo! careers site and was also the photo for Yahoo! technology in the careers site, another high.
Me and my wife love traveling, and a holiday together is pending for a long time now. We have just been planning the last couple of months, but nothing finalized as yet. Another low.
Then in my cricket, I had a good start to the year, scoring a good 50 in a corporate tournament match. Then a series of low scores and again I started feeling low about my game. Recently, i seem to have found my form back, and it was a thrill winning the match against Wipro this weekend, and I am happy i contributed.
Its that time of the year when all salaried slaves expect their increments. The industry has not been doing good, and last year, there were no hikes. This year, the appraisal was again a low. Was really disappointed with whole thing. Another low.
I tweeted that may be the outcome of all this has to be “change”. Time will tell

Yahoo! Ratna !

Guhan — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:52:35 +0000

I have been working in Yahoo! for almost 5 years now. Its been a really great time here. Yahoo! has a very open and informal culture, and are also the things I like about working here. You can really enjoy the work atmosphere.
Yahoo! has many cool awards they give out. The You Rock!, Yahoo! Ratna and Yahoo! Super Star, in the same order of importance.
This year, I was given the Yahoo! Ratna. It was a wonderful moment for me. Earlier I had won the You Rock! award as well. May be Super star is next. :-)

IISC University Hack Day

Guhan — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:49:07 +0000

I was part of yet another Hack U. This was a first for me because it was at Indian Institute of science and all the students there are PhD students and doing heavy research work. It was a good experience talking with them because their view information and computer science is completely different. They are more focused on the science, algorithms, efficiency and more core problems. Me on the other hand am more about the applications and the end user experience side of things. So the discussions with the students was really interesting.
I blogged about this on YDN, so check out my YDN blog post

200

Guhan — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:48:41 +0000

Wednesday, 24th Feb 2010 was the day when the world witnessed 200 runs scored by the greatest batsman to play Cricket, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. Standing 5 feet 5 inches tall, Sachin is a class apart. Ask any bowler in world cricket, he would have surely had a night mare or 2 about bowling to Sachin.
Today, I had to miss office and a team outing because of a bad cold and an infected throat. But no regrets after watching this stunning innings. I was glued to the TV watching Sachin toy with the South African bowling. Not even a single chance, not a single slog shot nor a sign of nervousness during his innings. 36 years old and close to 20 years in professional cricket, Sachin was as hungry for runs as anybody. There was great article in Times of India by Rahul Dravid about today’s cricketers lacking the hunger to succeed and how they have way too many opportunities to fail. All of the new breed of cricket, the so called Young guns can sit down and watch this Sachin innings at least once a week. They will learn what it means to have passion for a game.
Even after batting for 50 overs, running hard for his runs, Sachin walks out on to the field encouraging his bowlers and settling down in first slip. Today’s cricketers are plagued by injuries and comforts that even if they were to score 50 runs, they choose to get a massage and allow for a replacement fielder to take their place.
There was a board in Australia held up by a fan that read “I have seen god, he opens the batting for India”, such is the respect Sachin commands. Never dogged by controversy, never got into an argument with a bowler, no fights, just goes about his business of scoring runs. I think Sachin is the only sportsman for whom an entire nation prays to do well. There was a phase in his career when people doubted his talent, and suggested that it was time he retire. People expect so much of him, I cant even begin to imagine the pressure he would need to handle every time he takes guard. And its just unbelievable that he most of the times lives up to the insane expectations of the cricket fans, and has done so for 2 decades with humility, passion and such style. He is undoubtedly a great role model. He is one batsman every bowler in the world wants to bowl to, just so that they might have a chance to get him out and go into the history books, but at the same time, have night mares the moment he takes guard.
Every time I bat in the cricket matches I play, I just wish I get to hit the ball as well as Sachin would. It would be hard for anyone to match Sachin’s talent, even harder to even come close to his achievements and all most impossible to be a better ambassador of cricket. All hail Sachin Tendulkar, the master blaster.