I had booked the friday late night spicejet flight from bengaluru to mumbai. The flight was late by over 3 hours. Suresh mama and Siddant had come to pick me up and they waited for around 2 hours. I had sandwich and juice on the way and we were home at around 2 am.
I was in Mumbai! It was Jan 20th Jan. I was there to participate in the 5th Anniversary of the Mumbai International Marathon.
I had prepared for this event for the last 3 months. I participated in a marathon for the first time 2 years back in bangalore. Since then had been able to finish half marathons but a full marathon was still elusive to me... I had participated in the bangalore half marathon which was just a month before this event. I was not in shape as I hadn't practiced much and it took me 2 hrs and 30 mins to complete the half marathon.
Uncle had been also preparing for the Mumbai marathon and he was getting trained at Talwarkar's. At 6 amI dragged myself along with him as there was a small warm-up session to get everyone set for the marathon. We had warm-up and streching exercises and then a slow jog and I learnt from the trainer that we should breathe in through the nose and breathe out through the mouth. All these things and other tips for the marathon were really useful. Finally we went to have breakfast in a nearby restaurant. It was 10:30 am when we finally came back home.
After this I left with my cousin to Navi Mumbai to my aunt's house. The lunch there was simple and I slept well in the afternoon. In the evening we went to a temple and then had a walk in the park with my aunt. Later in the evening went out again for a walk with my cousin. I was totally excited about the next day's marathon. Evening uncle had got a lot of snacks and we couldn't eat much as we had to run the next day!
Couldn't sleep much as I had to get up early in the morning to catch the train to Churchgate station. From there we went to Azad Maidan were the race starts.
It was a great feeling... lots of people from various backgrounds and ages and come down to participate in the event.
I started out walking. After 2 km of walk I started to jog and then maintained a steady pace. Also I tried to stick to the breathing technique that I learnt the day before. I was running alongside my uncle when a Cricket Ball just whizzed infront of us. It was very shocking. Had we been ahead by a second it would have hit one of us. I just thanked God and continued. The Cricket ground was next to the road and somebody had hit a huge six! After 28 kms I couldn't run as I didn't have enough practice for the marathon. But determined to finish I continued walking. It was dead hot in the middle of the afternoon and every minute I felt like quitting... I still had 10 kms to go and I could see only people who were opting out of the marathon. Not much to motivate myself I kept on going. Finally there was Haji Ali and then Marine Drive. There are many things that I learnt out of the Marathon, but the best lesson I learnt is that "When you are close to getting to the finish, it gets tougher, and only the tough make it to the finish". Some other take aways are "Slow and steady wins the race!". Luckily just when I was just getting bored of walking in the hot sun, totally exhausted, I met Superman!! This guy was wearing superman costume and was walking at my pace. So we got into a conversation. His name is Meherosh. He gave me company to the finish line and thanks to him the last 4 kms of the marathon was not so painful.
I have to thank the people of Mumbai for organizing such a huge event. Nowhere in India can one get such enthusiasm and a clean road to run the marathon. Thanks to my mom who has always supported me. Finally to my uncle who had inspired me to win this battle of the mind, his never say die attitude is just great. Thanks mama, you are just amazing! I dedicate this run to my avva (grandma).
Thats how I became a marathoner!
March 14, 2008
March 6, 2008
Adobe Tech Summit 2008, Noida
Winds of Change! Yes thats true... Adobe will be undergoing a paradigm shift in the way it does business and it will definitely make a huge impact in the software world.
Adobe today has the potential to become a great software company and I think the stage is all set for it!
It has the Ubiquity, Platform, Loyal Customers and a great Brand Name! Usability, Aesthetics and Quality are the first things that come to mind when one thinks of Adobe products . A company that keeps innovating, it won't be too long for Adobe to become the best software company in the world!
These are my conclusions based on the Tech Summit that was held in Noida this week.
By the way, the tech summit was really great with our CEO, CTO and many biggies at Adobe coming over. The speakers were really good and we had some fun with the Sneak Peaks and Adobe Idol!
Some new products are on its way and I am pretty sure they will Rock!
Finally end this blog with the saying "Only the best Survive"!
Adobe today has the potential to become a great software company and I think the stage is all set for it!
It has the Ubiquity, Platform, Loyal Customers and a great Brand Name! Usability, Aesthetics and Quality are the first things that come to mind when one thinks of Adobe products . A company that keeps innovating, it won't be too long for Adobe to become the best software company in the world!
These are my conclusions based on the Tech Summit that was held in Noida this week.
By the way, the tech summit was really great with our CEO, CTO and many biggies at Adobe coming over. The speakers were really good and we had some fun with the Sneak Peaks and Adobe Idol!
Some new products are on its way and I am pretty sure they will Rock!
Finally end this blog with the saying "Only the best Survive"!
February 5, 2008
Panchakarma of Investing!
Ever since I started in the stock market which was way back during my engineering its been a rocky ride, with lots of surprises... You can get rich or poor in just a day... And for one thing, nobody can predict the market just like "Life"! There are a million parameters you have to consider before you buy a stock and hence good amount of research is required before you make your pick...
For beginner's in the Indian market -
Get a brokerage account which charges less commission such as india bulls, india infonline - 5paisa or sharekhan
Create portfolio on moneycontrol.com
Check out rediff money for stock updates
Read Economic Times
Panchakarma of Investing:
1. Don't put all ur money in one stock. I recommend keeping 3 stocks at any point of time. Keep your portfolio small.
2. Don't bleed - Cut down your losses before it is too late! Sell a stock if it goes down by 15%. And the loss will be a good lesson learnt!
3. Don't be greedy - keep a min and max profit margin before u actually buy.
4. Buy stocks which have long term growth and look for small companies that might turn big - when demand increases so do profits!
5. Don't invest when market is trading is at an abnormally high valuation - Wait. After a high there will be a fall!
What you do is what you get!
-Panchakarma ;-)
For beginner's in the Indian market -
Get a brokerage account which charges less commission such as india bulls, india infonline - 5paisa or sharekhan
Create portfolio on moneycontrol.com
Check out rediff money for stock updates
Read Economic Times
Panchakarma of Investing:
1. Don't put all ur money in one stock. I recommend keeping 3 stocks at any point of time. Keep your portfolio small.
2. Don't bleed - Cut down your losses before it is too late! Sell a stock if it goes down by 15%. And the loss will be a good lesson learnt!
3. Don't be greedy - keep a min and max profit margin before u actually buy.
4. Buy stocks which have long term growth and look for small companies that might turn big - when demand increases so do profits!
5. Don't invest when market is trading is at an abnormally high valuation - Wait. After a high there will be a fall!
What you do is what you get!
-Panchakarma ;-)
New Year 2008
the last 2 weeks of 2007 went absolutely fast! Roaming around bengaluru, meeting friends and had my japanese class on the weekend(22nd & 23rd), finally went to ccorg with an assorted friends group. one my old friend from 12th- Navyanth, another my friend from Engineering - Arun, and another my ex-colleague at Caritor (Now Keane). It was a short trip to coorg. It was the first for Arun and Manjunath.
After that after a day's gap left for wayanad with my college friends...
After that after a day's gap left for wayanad with my college friends...
December 21, 2007
Mega Holiday 2007
Its been so long since I took a break... and here it comes... Christmas and New year break... planning to give my brain a good work out during this time as well as practice for the Jan 20th marathon in mumbai... then celebrate new year with my friends at wayanad (hill station).
Planning to read a lot of books and stay hooked to orkut and facebook [:)]
and then my japanese classes... participating in japanese essay and speech competition..
hope to go to my native place... thats it for this year i guess...
Planning to read a lot of books and stay hooked to orkut and facebook [:)]
and then my japanese classes... participating in japanese essay and speech competition..
hope to go to my native place... thats it for this year i guess...
September 15, 2007
Nippon
The land of the rising Sun, Nihon/Nippon...
A small island nation, yet powerful and plays an important role internationally.
Japanese are a industrious lot. They are bound by strong ethics. I admire the respect they shower to the smallest of things. They believe in discipline, trust, valor... The list goes on! Of course there are exceptions but to a large extent we can say so about the people of Japan. Japanese continue to be traditional and are very proud of their tradition and language. However the new generation are a mix of both modern/western ideas with a mix of tradition, something not very surprising as technology has influenced this change in almost all younger generations in all progressive countries.
Even after the propulsive effect of World War II, Japan has grown positively in all directions. The main reason being the rise in literacy levels ( currently it boasts 99% literacy). Not every nation is able to do so even though it is a well known fact that literacy directly contributes to a nation's well-being. Japan's education system has played a central part in enabling the country to meet the challenges presented by the need to quickly absorb Western ideas, science and technology, and it was also a key part in Japan's recovery and rapid economic growth in the decades following the end of World War II.
Somethings that I have liked about the Japanese culture is "bowing" for greeting people and the style of bowing depends from person to person. They use both the hands to present/give any thing. While presenting a document to a person, it is turned in such a way that the receiver can see the contents of the document. I recently found out about "Respect for the Elders Day" where they show their respect to elders. Their culture teaches them to be humble, a Buddhist teaching. Japanese believe in utilizing their resources efficiently. This aspect is easily observable to anyone. Recently I came across "Capsule Hotel" where the Hotel utilizes space very efficiently and is very popular in Japan. Japanese are a resilient lot. Even with frequent earthquakes they are able to live prosperously till today, I guess they are the only nation who enjoy the occurrence of earth-quakes. They have adapted very well to their natural surrounding!
I admire the way the people of Japan are ready to accept change and move on. Though Japan was a traditional nation, they realized the need to learn new things due to which they were able to improve upon in the fields of science and technology to become one of the advanced nations.
Asia’s race to the Moon began today (15th sept 2007) when Japan launched an unmanned lunar probe, the most ambitious mission of its kind since the United States’ Apollo missions of the 1970s. The lunar orbiter Kaguya, named after a Moon princess in a Japanese fairytale, was launched from Japan’s space centre on the small southern island of Tanegashima.
It is amazing just how such a small nation can grow so progressively and beat the odds. Japan's industrialized, free-market economy is the world's second-largest purchasing power parity (PPP) after the United States. The most striking feature of Japanese agriculture is the shortage of farmland. Around 60% of its total food supply is imported. Its economy is highly efficient and competitive in areas linked to international trade although productivity is lower in areas such as agriculture, distribution, and services. Japan has few natural resources, and trade helps it earn the foreign exchange needed to purchase raw materials for its economy. Japan has a comparatively small defense allocation especially after World War II which has helped them focus on more important issues and has helped them to become a more stronger nation.
In the book "Art of War" by Sun Zu, a Chinese philosopher quotes that one shouldn't make use of one's might and should use it only for defense. The art of war is in avoiding war, being smart and efficiently using one's resources. In my opinion Japan truly symbolizes this philosophy following their World War II debacle.
Coming to Japanese language, its very special. They have adopted the western language through Katakana. The influence of Chinese brought Kanji script which is the pictorial representation of words, While maintaining Hiragana which is their own script. With the rich confluence of these 3 scripts and also writing vertically and horizontally has given the Japanese books more style. Though at first it might look difficult to learn Japanese it isn't. Moreover learning Kanji is an added advantage as such pictorial representations help improve your memory and thought-creation as well as creativity. Yet to be frank it is tougher compared to other European or Indian languages.
Last but not the least, Japanese have utmost importance to quality. Be it any industry they maintain high quality standards. It tells upon their maturity in understanding the simple process of work/labor and productivity. With this I would end my blog with "Soreja mata" meaning "Then see you again", with one more blog, one more thought! Sayonara!
A small island nation, yet powerful and plays an important role internationally.
Japanese are a industrious lot. They are bound by strong ethics. I admire the respect they shower to the smallest of things. They believe in discipline, trust, valor... The list goes on! Of course there are exceptions but to a large extent we can say so about the people of Japan. Japanese continue to be traditional and are very proud of their tradition and language. However the new generation are a mix of both modern/western ideas with a mix of tradition, something not very surprising as technology has influenced this change in almost all younger generations in all progressive countries.
Even after the propulsive effect of World War II, Japan has grown positively in all directions. The main reason being the rise in literacy levels ( currently it boasts 99% literacy). Not every nation is able to do so even though it is a well known fact that literacy directly contributes to a nation's well-being. Japan's education system has played a central part in enabling the country to meet the challenges presented by the need to quickly absorb Western ideas, science and technology, and it was also a key part in Japan's recovery and rapid economic growth in the decades following the end of World War II.
Somethings that I have liked about the Japanese culture is "bowing" for greeting people and the style of bowing depends from person to person. They use both the hands to present/give any thing. While presenting a document to a person, it is turned in such a way that the receiver can see the contents of the document. I recently found out about "Respect for the Elders Day" where they show their respect to elders. Their culture teaches them to be humble, a Buddhist teaching. Japanese believe in utilizing their resources efficiently. This aspect is easily observable to anyone. Recently I came across "Capsule Hotel" where the Hotel utilizes space very efficiently and is very popular in Japan. Japanese are a resilient lot. Even with frequent earthquakes they are able to live prosperously till today, I guess they are the only nation who enjoy the occurrence of earth-quakes. They have adapted very well to their natural surrounding!
I admire the way the people of Japan are ready to accept change and move on. Though Japan was a traditional nation, they realized the need to learn new things due to which they were able to improve upon in the fields of science and technology to become one of the advanced nations.
Asia’s race to the Moon began today (15th sept 2007) when Japan launched an unmanned lunar probe, the most ambitious mission of its kind since the United States’ Apollo missions of the 1970s. The lunar orbiter Kaguya, named after a Moon princess in a Japanese fairytale, was launched from Japan’s space centre on the small southern island of Tanegashima.
It is amazing just how such a small nation can grow so progressively and beat the odds. Japan's industrialized, free-market economy is the world's second-largest purchasing power parity (PPP) after the United States. The most striking feature of Japanese agriculture is the shortage of farmland. Around 60% of its total food supply is imported. Its economy is highly efficient and competitive in areas linked to international trade although productivity is lower in areas such as agriculture, distribution, and services. Japan has few natural resources, and trade helps it earn the foreign exchange needed to purchase raw materials for its economy. Japan has a comparatively small defense allocation especially after World War II which has helped them focus on more important issues and has helped them to become a more stronger nation.
In the book "Art of War" by Sun Zu, a Chinese philosopher quotes that one shouldn't make use of one's might and should use it only for defense. The art of war is in avoiding war, being smart and efficiently using one's resources. In my opinion Japan truly symbolizes this philosophy following their World War II debacle.
Coming to Japanese language, its very special. They have adopted the western language through Katakana. The influence of Chinese brought Kanji script which is the pictorial representation of words, While maintaining Hiragana which is their own script. With the rich confluence of these 3 scripts and also writing vertically and horizontally has given the Japanese books more style. Though at first it might look difficult to learn Japanese it isn't. Moreover learning Kanji is an added advantage as such pictorial representations help improve your memory and thought-creation as well as creativity. Yet to be frank it is tougher compared to other European or Indian languages.
Last but not the least, Japanese have utmost importance to quality. Be it any industry they maintain high quality standards. It tells upon their maturity in understanding the simple process of work/labor and productivity. With this I would end my blog with "Soreja mata" meaning "Then see you again", with one more blog, one more thought! Sayonara!
August 26, 2007
Marathoner's Archives
It was end of 2004 when I saw the Mumbai Marathon which sparked in me a desire to become a marathoner. This inspiration was partly to evaluate my stamina, to see if I really could run those 42 kms!
It was a year after I had finished my Engineering and had joined a software company. I consider Software Engineers physically the most weak among professionals which partly can be blamed on the software work culture and also due to todays life style. I believe Marathon is not just physical but a mental challenge too.
You lose and yet you win! This is what I have to say about marathons!
I have till now participated in 3 full marathons and a half marathon and its still a dream to finish one...
I had started running some distance before the D-Day. My longest run which I feel was one great practice session was a run to my Office in Basavanagudi. I started at 5 am in the morning and was back home at around 7:30. Distance covered was 16 kms.
My first marathon was the first international marathon in Bangalore. I was very over confident. That tells it all... 5 hours of running and i gave up with another 9 kms remaining. at the 32nd km milestone ie..
My second run was a half marathon - 21 kms. This one i am glad to say I finished to perfectly. This accomplishment was very satisfying :) I didn't stop from start to finish. It was a great feeling.
This run now boosted my confidence to try once more and be a true marathoner!
To people who are new to marathon: Marathon is not just about physical strength but also a test to your mind. Can you withstand the pain, can you be in peace with your mind.
Now it was time for the Mumbai Marathon, it was the end of 2005. This time I wasn't alone. I had my dear uncle with me :) and truly he was the man who showed what the true spirit of marathon was... This run an episode for me, I will elaborate about my marathon experiences in a different blog whenever I find some more time... For the time being, all I can say is if it wasn't for my uncle I would have stopped at 26 kms... But I went on for another 12 kms, after which I lost my way... I didn't know the way back as I was not familiar with the Mumbai traffic and moreover it was 7 hours of running... So the organizers had left and I didn't have any idea which way to go... so had to abandon my run :( It was so near and yet so far... At 38 kms it was end of the greatest runs of my life :)
Later in the year 2006 I participated in the Bangalore full marathon event without enough practice... This time too I failed to complete, doing just 32 kms similar to my first full marathon attempt.
All in all I still enjoy running and I hope to fulfill my dream to do the full marathon some day.
A word of precaution: Please don't attempt the full marathon without proper practice. Prior to the actual event you should have atleast done a 30 kms "comfortably" to be sure of completing a full marathon.
End of it all I have to praise the way the Mumbai Marthon was conducted. In Bangalore the run isn't really appreciated by the public nor do the organizers hold on for the slow runners who can't make it within 4 hours.
Running is good and I believe it is a simple indicator to our city's health and its sportive spirit.
Next time I run, I will be running on veg power :) It is end of August now... Starting Oct, for the next 2 months I will be working out in the gym and then I hit the roads :) another 3 months of running before I attempt my final run. That will be end of one of the many quest's I have chosen to quench! One quest ends and the other starts :)
It was a year after I had finished my Engineering and had joined a software company. I consider Software Engineers physically the most weak among professionals which partly can be blamed on the software work culture and also due to todays life style. I believe Marathon is not just physical but a mental challenge too.
You lose and yet you win! This is what I have to say about marathons!
I have till now participated in 3 full marathons and a half marathon and its still a dream to finish one...
I had started running some distance before the D-Day. My longest run which I feel was one great practice session was a run to my Office in Basavanagudi. I started at 5 am in the morning and was back home at around 7:30. Distance covered was 16 kms.
My first marathon was the first international marathon in Bangalore. I was very over confident. That tells it all... 5 hours of running and i gave up with another 9 kms remaining. at the 32nd km milestone ie..
My second run was a half marathon - 21 kms. This one i am glad to say I finished to perfectly. This accomplishment was very satisfying :) I didn't stop from start to finish. It was a great feeling.
This run now boosted my confidence to try once more and be a true marathoner!
To people who are new to marathon: Marathon is not just about physical strength but also a test to your mind. Can you withstand the pain, can you be in peace with your mind.
Now it was time for the Mumbai Marathon, it was the end of 2005. This time I wasn't alone. I had my dear uncle with me :) and truly he was the man who showed what the true spirit of marathon was... This run an episode for me, I will elaborate about my marathon experiences in a different blog whenever I find some more time... For the time being, all I can say is if it wasn't for my uncle I would have stopped at 26 kms... But I went on for another 12 kms, after which I lost my way... I didn't know the way back as I was not familiar with the Mumbai traffic and moreover it was 7 hours of running... So the organizers had left and I didn't have any idea which way to go... so had to abandon my run :( It was so near and yet so far... At 38 kms it was end of the greatest runs of my life :)
Later in the year 2006 I participated in the Bangalore full marathon event without enough practice... This time too I failed to complete, doing just 32 kms similar to my first full marathon attempt.
All in all I still enjoy running and I hope to fulfill my dream to do the full marathon some day.
A word of precaution: Please don't attempt the full marathon without proper practice. Prior to the actual event you should have atleast done a 30 kms "comfortably" to be sure of completing a full marathon.
End of it all I have to praise the way the Mumbai Marthon was conducted. In Bangalore the run isn't really appreciated by the public nor do the organizers hold on for the slow runners who can't make it within 4 hours.
Running is good and I believe it is a simple indicator to our city's health and its sportive spirit.
Next time I run, I will be running on veg power :) It is end of August now... Starting Oct, for the next 2 months I will be working out in the gym and then I hit the roads :) another 3 months of running before I attempt my final run. That will be end of one of the many quest's I have chosen to quench! One quest ends and the other starts :)
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