Kiruba Shankar at NITT

On an uneventful Sunday I chose to attend one of the guest lectures of Currents 2010. The reason being the topic of discussion – Blogging, something which I’m very passionate about. And more importantly the speaker – Kiruba Shankar. He is probably the best example  one can give of  Personal Branding. So I went for the lecture in spite of the fact that I’m from a different dept and not many other-dept guys were present at the lecture. Though the lecture got delayed too much, it was worth the wait.

He managed to keep the audience entertained through the entire duration of the lecture, something which is not easily achieved especially at NITT. He started off with a story of two friends trying to run away from a tiger and then went on to discuss how businesses could benefit from the social media. He cited quite a few interesting examples like Dominoes Pizzas, IIPM,  Trisha etc etc to emphasize on the fact that social media can have a huge impact.Though I have read/heard most of what he said earlier, it was interesting just because of the way he presented the lecture.

Like him I too give importance to something called the digital presence. If you google for ‘Alagappan’ you are sure to find my domain name at the top. As Kiruba said during the lecture, my domain is my digital property and this simple search can be a substitute of a business card.

He also made people think on the fact that so much of data could be generated if all of us start blogging. Even his lecture at NITT could be soon forgotten unless someone writes about it. As of now there would be just a couple of tweets, a few facebook updates and this blog post which records his presence at NITT on this day.

“If only everybody starts making proper use of the various tools available to them, they can have a huge impact on this world.”

NIT Trichy is a Desert!

With the blazing hot sun, the temperatures have shot up to probably its highest ever at Trichy. And NIT Trichy with its frequent power cuts and water shortages is nothing short of a desert! Often we have to walk quite some distance just to get some water. NITT has become almost uninhabitable. Whats the point in constructing numerous hostels if you can’t provide proper electricity and water to any of them? it wont be long before this place become uninhabitable.

Amidst all this I get messages asking me to switch off lights during the earth hour. I would have happily switched off everything if it was some other ordinary place. But at NITT we have earth hours almost throughout the year that such a concept is absurd here! As one twitter update said – ‘Asking Indians to celebrate Earth Hour is like asking malnourished kids to forgo a meal because burgers are making Americans fat’..

*The two hours scheduled  power cut was just increased in duration to three hours.!!!

Wayanad

We went the capital of God’s Own Country, Wayanad for a three-day trip. Ten of us. This is a big travel log of our trip.

*Warning* You’ll be damn bored by the time you finish reading this. I was. Thats why you can see that the size of each day’s description keeps on decreasing.

Day -0

We left NITT Campus at around 6.30. After dinner at Pushpam’s we boarded the tea garden express which left Trichy station at 8.20. We went through our original itinerary and made a few changes to it based on the distances and the approximate time we’d spend at each of the places. We dropped Chembra Peak from our list of places to be covered. Then Arun spoke to a few people in order to arrange for a cab and for accommodation. We reached Erode station at around 11. Since our train from Erode to Calicut was scheduled at 2 am we roamed around the erode station for about an hour before returning to the station to charge our mobiles.

Day -1

Once we boarded the Mangalore mail we directly went to our berths and fell asleep soon enough. I got up at around 6 and got freshened up in the train itself and i was looking forward to reach the station. We reached Kozhikode station at around 8 and had breakfast at one of the refreshment rooms available in the station. Those who woke up late went to the waiting rooms and got ready. Meanwhile a tempo traveller was waiting for us outside the station. Once everyone was ready we commenced our journey to Wayanad.

At around 11 we stopped at a hotel a few kms before Lakkidi. We drank something called Elaneer juice, which is a juice made up of smashed coconuts and is much differnet from tender coconuts. After buying some more snacks to fill our stomachs, we resumed our journey.

We temporarily halted at a small viewpoint from where there was an amazing view of the mountains and the valleys. After a few minutes travel we reached Pookot lake. It was an amazing lake but the only negative side was the unbearable heat. We hired three pedal boats and went for boating in the lake for about 20 minutes. Just as we were about to get down from our boats a huge group of girls came to the lake. As luck would have it the same group followed us to all the places we visited for the next two days. Coming back to the lake part, there was a beautiful path made around the perimeter of the lake. We walked some distance and clicked a few pics before returning to our van.

Our next stop was the Soochipara falls. One turn at Chundale and we could see numerous tea gardens. It was an amazing sight with so many small mountains covered with tea plantations.

Balki conveniently captured the window seats by threatening to vomit if not given one. It was around this time that most of the guys started talking about kalakkis an half boils from the stomach. But it was Smok who first made the half boil, a few kms before Soochipara.

It was somewhere here that I had a glimpse of the mighty Chembra peak. It was an amazing sight and i totally wanted to be at the top of the peak. but the other guys still preferred not to waste an entire day there. I still have a strong desire to scale the peak and i hope it’ll come true one day.

We reached Soochipara falls at around 2. We placed orders for lunch so that it’ll be ready by the time we return from the falls. Soochipara falls was about 1.5 to 2 kilometres away from the parking location. We had a climb down a bit in the path provided to reach the falls. It was during the same time that a shooting for an Ayurveda product was going on at the falls. Thankfully it didn’t stop us from having some quality time at the falls. We got ourselves all wet at the falls and soaked ourselves in the fresh water there for sometime. Then we started clicking pics at various locations each of us seated on one of the rocks.
After climbing back to the top we ate some fruits and drank some juices before proceeding to the van. After having lunch a few guys did some shopping buying hats, chocolates and tea.

We had originally planned to go to the Karapuzha dam in the evening. but it was almost 5 by the time we left Soochipara. So we stopped at one of the numerous tea gardens on the way to click a few pics.

Since the dam was on our way to the accommodation we thought of giving it a try. Luckily it wasn’t dark by the time we reached the dam. There wasn’t much to see at the dam except for the vast stretch of water and mountains.It was a great spot for landscape pics. I went to a clicking spree taking quite a few pics during sunset.

After it was quite dark we started to our accommodation. It was some Mor Ignatius Nagar, a lodging maintained by the cathedral of Meenangadi which is around 12 kms from Kalpetta. Accommodation was quite cheap there and it was very much comfortable. The same girls gang had followed us to the accomodation too.

We played a few games of bluff before going to sleep.

Day – 2

The next day we got up at around 6 and went for having tea at a nearby tea stall. We also ate the so called banana roast made of nendarampalam. Then after all of us took bath and had breakfast we went to the Edakkal Caves.  It was about a km climb up to reach the caves and after the ticket counter the climb was more steeper. Once at the top the view of the mountains and valleys was spectacular. Inside the caves we found thousands of years old carvings. After more pics clicked there we returned to the van.

We started for our journey to the Kuruva islands. We had lunch at a small hotel in Mananthavady. And we reached kuruva at around 2. Kuruva islands were located between the tributaries of the Kabini river. we had to cross the river to reach the islands. Once inside the islands we clicked a few pics at the seats made of bamboo.
Then we began our walk inside the islands. After walking for a while a few of us wanted to go for rafting. It was just still water rafting where the raft took us across the river! It was nothing like the white water rafting I went in Himachal in 2003.
After roaming around the island for some more time we started to walk back. On our way back we saw the Ayurveda ad shooting with some Saamiyars carrying some herbal stuff. What nonsense! After returning to the van we spent sometime eating before our return to the dormitory.

Day – 3

Next day we got up around the same time and left for the Meenmutty falls. Similar to Soojipara falls, here too we had to climb down the hills to reach the falls. But this was much more exciting and fun since it was peripheral trekking which gave us a spectacular view of the mountains and valleys. We spent quite some time inside the pool of water at the feet of the falls. It was fun.

After filling our stomachs with ice creams and soft drinks we started on our journey to the Calicut beach. We reached Calicut at around 4 and we dranks some milkshakes. It was extremely crowded just like any other place in India on a sunday. At the beach we spent sometime waiting for the sunset. But we had to leave early since our train departed at around 7 from the station. We travelled  till Tirussur in an open ticket. Then we switched trains and we moved on to our berths and slept till Trichy. Had breakfast again at Pushpam’s and reached college at around 9.30.

Overall it was a fun trip which could have been much better if only the climate had been better.

Forums or Blogs

Communication on the internet takes place in two ways. Public and Private. Private is through chatting email etc, whereas public is through forums and blogs.

Blogs

When it comes to blogs the emphasis is only on the post and the author. People generally don’t bother to go through the comments from other readers of the blog. Take for example this post on 3 idiots by Sagarika Ghose. [ Just a blog post which I read recently ]  Here the author of the post is a professional journalist and shares her view on some topic which here happens to be the recently released movie 3 idiots.

If you look at the comments section of this blog post almost all the comments are about the views she has expressed and are directed to her. We do have a reply to this post option for all the comments here, but despite that the discussion is limited to the actual blog post. Not many responses are directed at other readers.

Forums

In an online forum, the emphasis is on the discussion. People from a specific group actively take part in a discussion here. An example which can be given here is the Pagalguy Forum which is the meeting place of hundreds of MBA students and MBA Aspirants of India.

A forum essentially allows you to post messages and comment on other messages. It is in structure similar to that of a blog, but the difference here lies in the fact that the discussion which takes place is not solely based on the orignial post. One essential requirement of all online forums is the presence of a large number of active contributors which you can clearly see in forums like Pagalguy. By the term active we mean contributors who create queries and respond to other queries.

In order to find peace among the chaos called forums one has to monitor it constantly.Every forum has a set of rules and structure which its users have to follow. A group of moderators and administrators have to regularly go through the contents of the forums and ensure that the forum rules are being followed.

Forums or Blogs?

Forums are an example of many-to-many mode of online communication whereas blogs are one-to-many mode of online communication. Both these are essential ingredients of the internet today and one cannot do without either of these. Judicial use of such sites has to be done to get the best out of each.

Interesting and Useful Google Chrome Extensions

Recently I made a switch to the new Google Chrome Beta browser since I was having some trouble with Firefox and also because I was looking for some change. Two major attractions with the chrome browser are its speed and its simplicity.

Though presently Chrome cannot match the number of Add-on’s which Firefox has, I guess it eventually will, since a large number of useful extensions are becoming available for Google Chrome everyday. He is my list of interesting and useful extensions.

Gmail Checker -Displays the number of unread messages in your Google Mail inbox. You can also click the button to open your inbox.

Google Reader Notifier -Displays the number of unread items in your Google Reader account. Clicking can show a preview popup or open your Reader account.

Adblock – The same features which were present in the Firefox Add-on. Blocks all advertisements on webpages.

Add This – This extension allows you to easily share, email, translate and bookmark webpages. You can configure the setting yourself or you can set it to autoconfig based on usage.

Send from Gmail – Do you get irritated when MS Outlook opens up each time when you click a ‘mail to’ id on a webpage.? Make Gmail your default mail application. It opens a compose window each time you click on a mail address on a webpage.

Chrowety, Chromed Bird – Excellent Twitter Extensions for Google Chrome. They come with a set of really useful features and both are easy to use. I prefer Chrowety for my regular usage.

One Number – A extension which lets you gather all google services in one button. Using this would eliminate the need for a number of other extensions in this list. Would be handy for those with a large number of extensions making the toolbar a bit crowded.

There are also extensions like the google wave notifier whcih might be useful for those who are actively using Google’s wave.

Gravatars for you

Gravatars are Avatars which you can use on your blogs, on other blogs where you comment and anywhere on the internet. Having an image associated with your mail ID enables you to easily use it in other blogs and websites without having to upload one on each of them.

Why am I telling you this?

This is because it gives you a complete blogging experience. Whenever you comment on other blogs you are given a plain image or a random image as an avatar. Instead, wouldn’t you like to have your image or an image of your choice follow wherever you post and comment? When I see comments on my blog posts I see a rather boring gravatar logo adjacent to the user’s name. I often wish that it’d be more interesting to have all my friends own an avatar for themselves and hence this post is an attempt in making them do so.

Just check out a small screen shot. Notice how having a gravatar gives that extra something to your comments.

The Change

Its hard to imagine that barely ten years ago we didn’t have any Wikipedia, Facebook, YouTube,  iPhone or even a phone for that matter. Much of the decade has been shaped by the internet and the next decade too will see the same sort of enormous change.

It was in 2001 when we got our first phone. A landline phone connection for which we had to wait for weeks. Within the next few years we have had a much greater number of mobile phones. Computers and other gadgets have become essential. Times are changing. And we got keep up with the speed at which everything is happening.

What people generally consider is that change will occur at the same pace it happened. Technology changes exponentially. There is a great pace at which everything grows now and what happened in the first decade of the millenium might happen in just a few years.

The rate of adopting new ideas is doubling each day. Both biology and technology are similar. They are both evolutionary processes.  They create a capability and use that capability to bring on the next stage. With better interaction and communication this growth is bound to accelerate.

It was barely a few years ago when I first sent an e-mail. Now mail, instant messages etc are a part of life. A few days ago I made a list of the trends which I’d like to see in the year 2010. These are impending changes. Even if they don’t occur in 2010, they eventually will…

Goodbye 2009. Welcome 2010.

Time is a continuous passage of time and it is we who divide it into years, months and so on. And  New Year too is nothing but just a noting of the passage of time. But the significance of this day is that is probably the only such occasion where all of us forget all barriers and come together in the hope that the year ahead would bring us joy and happiness.

The same time every year we look back at the year that was, how quickly the year has passed, all the good things, wonderful things, bad things and awful things we did throughout the year. However the past year was, we always look forward to a great year ahead. That is the special thing about this day.

As one of my college senior says – “This day symbolizes hope. Hope that there will be a refreshing change in our lives starting today. Hope that all the sorrow that had encircled us till now would vanish and joy will fill the lacunae that exist in their lives. It is with this hope that we coin various resolutions; the ones that cater to the actions we feel are wrong or unhealthy.”

Putting the past behind, I look forward to a great year for me, my family, my friends, for my country and the entire world in the new year and the new decade. Wishing you all a Happy New Year and a New Decade.

Christmas 2009 at Marina and Ampa Skywalk

Travelling to the Marina on Christmas day indeed was a bad decision. There was a huge crowd of people who like me wished to get a glimpse of the newly beautified Marina. Even with the supposedly modified Parking arrangement, it took about 15-20 minutes to take my car from the parking slot. But I did get to see the beach with some leisure as I reached the place a bit early before the rest of the crowd could come.

The marina now has a glossy touch with good marble flooring where we can sit leisurely and enjoy the scenic beauty of the magnificent beach. The entire stretch of about 3.5 km from the Port to the Light House has been beautified and has a wide path suitable for walking and jogging. I didn’t get to see the lightings in their full glory, but it is said to be exceptional.

The use of Plastic has been banned and attempt is being made to clean the beaches. But you just can’t help noticing the amount of plastic bags strewn all around. Another major part of the renovation funds went into the Parking arrangements. And I’d say the parking arrangement is  very poor. They have just made space for parking of ‘n’ number of cars with no proper management of cars entering and leaving the lot. Ideally they should employ a few personnel to monitor it.

Our next destination was Ampa Skywalk, the newly opened mall on Ponnamallee High Road, near Aminjikarai and Anna Arch. This location too wasn’t spared by the crowd. Construction of this mall has taken a very long time and it is still not fully complete. The cineplex by PVR Cinemas and quite a few stores like Landmark, Spencer’s Hypermarket etc are yet to open.

The food court on the third floor with a variety of shops is fully operational and thats where the crowd was focussed on, apart from McDonald’s and KFC on the so called, ‘Upper Ground Floor’. The food court has something call the ‘Fcube’ Debit Card, which every diner has to obtain in order to place his order at any of the stalls. The card comes with a security deposit of Rs.10 refundable on return of the card. Valid for 365 days from the previous usage day, it can be ‘recharged’ in multiples of 10 based on how much you need to spend at the food court. The sad part though is that this card is not applicable for McD and KFC which aren’t a part of the food court.

Apart from the food court, there is nothing much in the mall right now. Once a few stores like Landmark, Spencer’s etc open there’ll be purpose to visit the mall. For now its just the satisfaction of having a look at the newly constructed mall which is going to have the city’s largest cineplex.

The one major difference in the two major places that I visited on Christmas 2009, was the way they manage their parking. The Ampa Skywalk has a multi stoery car parking where you can park your car with ease, while the beach has a 3.5 km stretch with a large area alloted for parking, but still it is difficult to park a car. But since the mall being a private place, their parking charges are exorbitant compared to other locations. I was charged 30 rupees for just over 2 hrs. At the marina it was free parking. But I wouldn’t mind to pay some nominal amount as long as I don’t have to suffer in such utter chaos.

PS: This PVR Cineplex will be the largest just for a couple of years I guess. Sathyam Cinemas plans to open another cineplex at the new Express Avenue Mall which is gonna come soon near Spencer Plaza. For details on the Express Avenue mall, click here.

PS: Few pics of the beautified Marina Beach can be found here - http://goo.gl/3KmH

Tech Trends I’d like to see in 2010

There are quite a few things which I’d like to see happening in the year 2010, when it comes to gadgets, computers and the Internet. A few of these can also seem as if I’m expecting too much. But at the pace everything is happening, I’d say nothing is impossible.

• E-Commerce – Internet can thrive if its users are able to make money out of it. Facilities similar to Google’s Adsense and Adwords will become more prominent.
• mCommerce – Mobile Payment avenues like Airtel’s mChek Reliance’s mPay are already present and I guess in 2010 these will become more effective and useful.
• Online Retail – This is one feature which is yet to create a buzz in India. But I guess 2010 has a lot in store for online retail. Currently sites like flipkart.com are available in India for purchase of books.
• Videos and Internet TV – There’ll be a huge rise in videos created and circulated throughout the internet. Movies, TV Programmes and Soundtracks made specially for Internet audiences will be in vogue.
• Social Network and APIs – 2009 saw a huge rise in social network users and applications centered around these networks. Apps made for mobile devices will see a steep rise with smartphones combined with their App Stores.
• Real-Time Communication and Collaboration -Google Wave and Twitter are already reducing the time barrier which used to exist. With more apps and features available in the future, real-time communication and collaboration would become more easier and relevant.
• Smartbooks – A device falling between smartphones and netbooks. To be sold through mobile operators, these will be of huge use to all users. Emergence of Smartbooks might even kill the entire netbooks category.
• Mobile Operator Wars – Once Mobile Number Portability is available in India it’ll create huge price wars between mobile operators thereby benefiting users.
• Storage – Wider usage of Flash Drives and other solid state drives would be seen. Availability of these storage devices at an affordable level would probably mean the death of existing rotating drives like CDs and DVDs.

Update : One more feature I’ve always wanted. I hope this becomes feasible in 2010.

• Status Updates to the Caller on mobile phones – Whenever someone calls me, they either hear the boring ring or some song as a caller tune. Instead I’d like some feature through which I can tell my status to my callers.