Bunch of Thoughts

How many 3G/4G dongles does one need to buy to be assured of an internet connection in India ? Here is my 'catalog' ... 3 Dongles but No Internet It seems that Vodafone, Airtel and Tata Docomo all put together cannot assure decent connectivity in Bangalore ( the so called 'Silicon Valley' of India) My journey began with Vodafone 18 months ago. They setup a kiosk in my office offering a 3G dongle at a discount - Rs 800 only and an attractive plan which promise UMTS speeds. The Vodafone guy came over to my home for a demo. The demo showcased speeds of up to 4MBps. I signed up for a postpaid plan.. For the next few days I was always logged on to Vodafone's EDGE network. Many complaints later, I was told that Vodafone does not have a 3G license for Bangalore and that they have a tie up with Airtel so I need to manually log on to the Airtel network with a Vodafone 3G dongle ... For a few months I endured the pain of manually logging in to Airtel every ti...

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. So for this week, will use pics from my holiday in Coorg instead of just words. Just a few of my favourite pics Lets start with the location - Club Mahindra @ Virajpet which welcomes you with a gorgeous lobby with a panoramic view Lobby at Club Mahindra, Virajpet View from the lobby Next the room, very elegant, the lighting was just amazing - set the perfect holiday mood Bedroom of a 1BHK unit The pool ... the view from the poolside was so beautiful that you have to be crazy to dive in the pool and miss the view. Pool  The food , I am a Gujju after all , no place is good unless the food is good Buffet They had all my favourite dishes - Dhokla, Khandvi, Jalebi & Fafda Gujju's delight  For the long walks with my wife... some good flora and fauna Some decent art ... What did I miss ?  A Spa ( they tell me - its in the works) And finally ... ...

History has been very un-kind to one of the greatest leaders and administrators to have ever ruled - Shivaji. As a student who passed matriculation from the local state board in Maharashtra , we were taught on the life and the times of Shivaji, the Maratha empire and his legacy. But beyond the dates, events and many a tales and anecdotes that form a part of the history curriculum and local folklore - Shivaji left behind a unique model , a model that could unite a large population cutting across caste and religion to achieve a larger goal, a model that set a benchmark in governance, administration and reform. Here a few salient aspects of the Shivaji's model of governance  1) Organize - Shivaji started off with barely 2000 troops but ended up with an army of more than a lakh. From a local presence in Maharashtra, the Marathawada kingdom at its peak spanned 4% of the subcontinent. Shivaji's reached out to all sections of society irrespective of caste, religion and or...

Sunday mornings are typically a gift I give to myself for a long week of hard work. I spend the first half of every Sunday doing what I like best - attend a weekly RSS shakha called as a 'Milan',  breakfast at a local Udipi joint and a good book to begin the week with. As I was away for the last weekend to Bombay, I decided to break my routine when I was asked by my wife to drop our daughter to her chess class.  Sunday morning traffic is a breeze and after dropping my daughter, I went for a walk in the neighbourhood of her class.  After a good 4km walk , I returned back to find the front tyre of my car flat. Having an engineering degree and never shy of getting my hands dirty, I was confident that this was something I could fix with no help required. I pulled out the spare tyre and the associated tools and began work.  Step 1 was to jack up the car. After a few turns, the car was all jacked up and I somehow felt proud of myself.. Step 2 .. th...

After 3 long years, I came back to a city where I have lived for the most part of my life and a place I call 'Home'. Bombay has been a very integral part of my identity - I have always introduced myself as someone from Bombay although my family roots have been in Gujarat. It always felt special being from a city that never sleeps, the so called 'resilience' of a Mumbaikar, the charm of Bollywood or dreams of making it rich. For a wannabe star or someone trying to make it big in cricket, Bollywood or even the mafia, Bombay is always the place to be. Bombay is one place where your pedigree, which school or college you went or whom you know just does not matter - you are all treated equally as just another Mumbaikar. Be it on a local train or celebrating Ganesh Chathurthi there is very little that separates one Mumbaikar from another. Bombay was always unique and will forever remain so, no matter which city in the world you go to, Bombay always has its charm. My...