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2020 New Year Resolutions
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it” After many weeks, I picked up a non-fiction book and was able to read it only for 15-20 minutes without reaching for my phone or PC to Google / take down a note / check WhatsApp. And, that led me to the following New Year 2020 resolutions: Improve the duration I can be focused on while reading books, watching online courses and movies; Reduce the frequency of social media during the day; the number of TV Shows I watch on Netflix/Prime/Hotstar; Keep reminding myself especially while on Facebook, whatever I wish to “comment” is just noise and Silence is Golden when…
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The American Civil War created the Pav Bhaji?
1. Did you know that the favourite “Pav Bhaji” was a result of the American Civil War?. //When the American Civil War was going on, the British didn’t have a stable supply of cotton because of the disruption in America. Hence, they came to India looking for it. The mills started getting huge orders and the workers would often have to work late into the night. And to keep the workers fed, vendors would be found outside these mills selling plates of pav bhaji.// More on this by Aakar Patel in the Mint newspaper. 2. Did you know that a Hyderabadi businessman in Hawaii started the Friday dressing concept? //In…
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Be open to reset, change track and take risk in your career
Today, I had an interesting morning session, attending my alma mater’s alumni association general body meeting. I graduated more than two decades ago from Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering (SVCE, Sriperumbudur), Electronics and Communications (ECE) department. The keynote was delivered by Sri A.C.Muthiah, Chairman of SPIC and Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering (SVCE), Sriperumbudur, who recalled the early days of how the college management was handed over to him by His Holiness Kanchi Mutt’s Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal, and, the importance of Alumni for any educational institution. Sri A.C.M. expressed his dream of seeing an industry innovation centre in the backyard of SVCE, just like Silicon Valley in the neighbourhood…
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Compulsive Disorder to read Newspapers in full
I come home after three days of travel, and, after handling priority items, I had to spend the next three hours reading all the newspapers that have pilled up in my desk. I have a compulsive-disorder to read every days newspaper, from the first page to the last, even the ones that are a few days old. Even then I am no smarter, maybe that shows I have to improve my reading and my memory! Are there others here who read newspapers like what I have mentioned above? #TimesOfIndia #EconomicTimes #TamilTheHindu #NewsPapers
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Career Guidance for 9th to 12th Standard School Students
The whole day I spent today with my son and wife, is likely to turn out to be the most “valuable” for my son’s career. My son is 15 years’ old, going to start his XI Standard Senior Schooling from next month. He has opted out of Engineering, Medicine & Commerce streams – instead, he has gone for Humanities, Political Science & Sociology stream. When friends and family ask me what are his career choices I was not able to answer beyond saying he can do his Bachelors in Law, Political Science, Language and Humanities. That’s when I reached out to my friend Mr Nedunchezhian Dhamotharan, CEO of India College Finder. Chezhian…
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TEDxChennai 2019
TEDxChennai is one of those independently organised TED events that happen around the world. This is the event’s sixth year in running in Chennai, and my second year of attending a TED event. Read here for TEDxChennai 2018. The event organization was better than last year. For every talk, each speaker’s name slide had personalised clipart made in the traditional Tamil style of Kolam, by talented artist Udhaya Sankar. The organizers have done an appreciable job of staffing the registration booth and other areas with transgender men and women from a social inclusion start-up called Periferry – and it was a new and nice experience for me to interact with…
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The Inevitable by Kevin Kelly
I have been referencing this book in many of my talks for more than a year now but getting around to writing this post only now – Venkatarangan The Inevitable by Kevin Kelly is an insightful book about the technological forces that will/are shaping our future. Kevin Kelly is a well-known thought leader, he was the executive editor of The Wired magazine and has written for most of the marquee magazines including The New York Times, The Economist, Science, Time and the WSJ. The book starts with the author setting the stage for the discussion to follow: Computer age to have begun in earnest when computers merged with the telephone…
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Tamil and English medium education in Tamil Nadu
இன்று காலை ரேடியோவில் (Radio City 91.1 சென்னை பண்பலையில்) இசை அமைப்பாளர் திரு ஜேம்ஸ் வசந்தன் அவர்களின் பேட்டி கேட்டேன். நாட்டில் நடக்கும் உண்மை நிலையை, அதில் அழகாகச் சொல்லியுள்ளர் என நினைக்கிறேன் (paraphrasing the interview from my memory): “தனியார் பள்ளியில் படிக்கும் மாணவர்களைத் தமிழில் படிக்கக் கட்டாயப் படுத்துவது தவறு. தனியார் பள்ளியில் சேர்வதே ஆங்கிலத்தில் தேர்ச்சி பெற தான். தமிழ் ஆர்வமூட்டுவது, தமிழில் சிறந்த தேர்ச்சி பெறச் செய்வது பெற்றோர்களின் மற்றும் சமுதாயத்தின் கடமை. நானும் ஆங்கிலப் பள்ளியில் தான் படித்தேன், ஆனால் தமிழ் (நன்றாகவே) தெரியும், (பிழையில்லாமல்) பேசுகிறேன்“. இதே தான் என் அனுபவமும். நானும் தனியார் ஆங்கிலப் பள்ளியில் தான் படித்தேன், எனக்கும் இரண்டாம் மொழி தான் தமிழ். என் அதிர்ஷ்டம் பள்ளியில் ஒரு நல்ல தமிழ் ஆசிரியர் கிடைத்தார், அவரும் என் பெற்றோரும் தான் என் தமிழ் ஆர்வத்திற்குக் காரணம். தற்போது தமிழில் மேலும் மேலும் படிக்க வேண்டும், ஓரளவிற்குப் பிழையில்லாமல் எழுத வேண்டும்…
