War For Talent - Does A War has to be vaged for Talent?

Read a very nice article about "The Talent Myth" written by Malcolm Gladwell. A Must Read Article for all who believe that superior talent & star-power alone are the reasons for a success in an organization.

Though the author primarily establishes his thesis through a single company (Enron), I do believe the principles (to a certain degree) applies for the most companies. Some points that i liked and are relevant too.

• Some organizations have started believing more in stars rather than the system. But the organizations that are most successful at that task are the ones where the system is the star. (e.g. SouthWest Airlines where the people do tend to give raises based on seniority)
• In today's world, asking people to think outside the box has become a fad statement.  But if everyone had to think outside the box, maybe it was the box that needed fixing. 

Do read the article. 

Wonderful Tourist Trip to United Kingdom (Britain & Scotland)

Disclaimer: This post is written primarily that these memories stay with me.. rather than for a third person

I had been thinking about a trip to United Kingdom for a long time (maybe a year or two). And finally was able  to action it over the last week. 

Why UK?

1. Matter of Convenience - A Known Language & Boarding & Lodging options available in London

2. Saravanan being there. It has been five years since we met.. 

3. History is an area of interest to me.. 

How planned I was?

Other than a day trip to Edinburgh, none of the other dates were scheduled in my trip. But had a distinct understanding that Saravanan would be taking me to Lake District trip for the first two days. And most of the other days would be spent in London & nearby areas. 

Day 1 & 2:

First day, I travelled to Windermere and spent the entire afternoon and evening in the lakes. Especially spending an hour in a self-driven boat was an experience in itself. 

After figuring out that there would not be much to do at Windermere, we travelled to Blackpool Pleasure Beach - UK's most visited theme park & one of the oldest in the world. Just suffice to say that it was a day of adrenalin rides. 

Day 3 - My first plan for the day was spend just a half day in British Museum. But i found the museum so good that i spent the entire day in the museum. One of the happiest moments of the trip was to see the million year old hand-axe from Chennai, Tamilnadu - proving that Tamil civilization is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Other areas of interest were Assyria, Babylonian & Egyptian empires because of their linkages with Israel in the Bible. Entry to British Museum is free but an audio guide will make your museum visit memorable. A Must for anybody visiting London. Evening was spent in Trafalgar Square, Piccadily Circus & Buckingham Palace. 

Day 4 - Plans for the day was to spend the morning @ Madame Tussads(Wax Museum), afternoon @ UK Parliament (Guided Tour) & Evening @ London Eye. But Madame Tussads was a dud - Came out in an hour. Marvel Comics 4D Movie was the only good thing about Madame Tussads. UK Parliament Guided Tour was enjoyable - good to know the system behind our imperial rulers. London Eye does give an bird's view over the city. Since there was time left, went to the famous Tower Bridge & Tower of London.  

Day 5 - Visited Edinburgh. And this was the best of my 8-day trip to UK. Visited Edinburgh Castle, Scottish Parliament, Holyrood Palace. And was lucky to watch Royal Edinburgh Military Tatoo.. (Bought Tickets in Black and watched it)

Day 6 - Travelled to Windsor Castle.. Took the conquer the towers tour in Windsor Castle.. It was great. On the way back, visited Robert anna & IJ akka. They convinced me to come back on Saturday.. 

Day 7 - Visited the state rooms of Buckingham Palace & St. Paul's Cathedral. Buckingham is the richest palace that i have ever come across. Wealth amassed from conquered nations were displayed proudly in the palace. St. Paul's Cathedral is one of the most beautiful cathedrals. If you have time, do climb the towers. On the top, you will get to see one of the most beautiful sights of London. 

Day 8, Sunday - Went to Hillsong church london in the morning and science museum in the afternoon. Time out with Lovelyn & Robert anna after the fiver year gap was lovely. And with that - one of the most beautiful vacations of mine came to an end.. 

Interesting Things I Noted:

• There are 2 Britain - a cosmopolitan London and a common-man Britain seen outside of London. It is because of this common-man London, Britain's future is secure
• Contrary to my misconception, British people are not as rude as one seen generally in Heathrow Airport. 
• Scots are a proud people and bent on preserving their identity even in this small nation. Made me to think when was the last time - I was proud that I am from Tamil and have a different culture, identity to people from other parts of India. 
• Surprisingly the cafes in the palaces of London are a lot cheaper than the cafes in Indian palaces..  
• Most of the tourists to London are from other European countries. But expect to see quite a few Chinese on your trip. 
• Indians South Asians are everywhere. Can't even spend 5 minutes without seeing another south asian on the roads. 
• Britain's current fashion Trend among Teens: Weird is Cool

Altogether a lovely & memorable visit. 

Links to my photos 

2 Special Days in a Week

Special Day 1

What a special day in India's history. A day in which my neighborhood became a party house. And I am sure it was same across the entire nation. I have seen the most happiest day(in my 25 years of existence) of this nation's history. 

Hats off to Dhoni & his team - for doing this. A day which will be remembered and relived (thanks to zillion highlights that will be shown) for the rest of my lives. 

Special Day 2

India's semifinal match against Pakistan - This is because I can tell my future generation that "I was there". :)

India Northeast Trip Report - Kaziranga National Park + Tawang

Disclaimer: This post is written primarily that these memories stay with me.. rather than for a third person


When Ajay suggested that we might go for a trip to Northeast, my major motivation was to ensure that the holidays of this year did not lapse (My company has a policy of allowing only certain holidays can be carried forward to the next year) and also to make use of cheap Rs. 1 ticket fare.

Our Objectives of the trip was very simple..
1. Visit Kaziranga National Park and take as many jeep rides and elephant rides as possible
2. Visit Tawang in Arunchal Pradesh.

A Bad Start
First shock of the trip was the cancellation of the train from Guwahati to Furkating station near Kaziranga.. Thankfully, Guwahati bus stop was near to the railway station. So we took the bus to Kaziranga National Park. Actually this turned out to be a blessing in disguise since we landed at Kaziranga National Park at 4.30am rather than the expected noon landing.. Seeing me roaming on the road(actually trying to find a lodge to stay) with a trekking bag at 4.30am, the Assam police van promptly stopped and interrogated me & Ajay for 30 minutes.. (Hmm.. What a start to the tour.. )

Kaziranga National Park - Safari Ride
But all this was forgotten when we took out first jeep ride inside the Kaziranga National Park(Central Range -   Range nearest to most of the tourist lodges and hotels) And was lucky enough to sight my first rhino immediately after entering the park. And that started a day of sighting more rhinos, wild elephants, wild buffaloes, wild hen & cock, swamp deer, monkeys, birds, birds and more birds(especially in Eastern Range).  (Photos Here)..

Kaziranga National Park - Elephant Ride
Next day, we took the early morning elephant ride in the western range of Kaziranga National Park. As expected, saw quite a few rhinos very close - mostly in pairs (mom and a kid)..And with the elephant ride, our Kaziranga stay came to an end and it was time to move to next destination. (Photos Here)

Interesting Things I noticed in Assam:

• Unlike most other states of India, I did not notice even a single malnourished kid on the roads during my travel. This might be because of the fertile land or because the state is not poor or both. 
• Thatched roofs with Dish Antennas were the common sight during my trip. It was rare to see a home built with brick & cement. Either construction material is very expensive or the earthquake-prone Assam has learnt the hard way about building homes in brick & cement. 

Change & More Change in Plans:

Our initial plan was to travel from Kaziranga National Park to Tawang in 2 days - Kaziranga National Park to Bomdilla and Bomdilla to Tawang. But one of our friends recommended not to miss Nameri Eco Camp. So we left for Tezpur in the morning. But when we met the travel agents in Tezpur, the shortage of seats for the shared Tata Sumo travel from Tezpur to Tawang became quite apparent (Because of the usage of vehicles by parties for the Assam elections). So we decided to stay for the night in Tezpur and try out luck for the early morning ride from Tezpur to Tawang. And thanks to God, we got our seats.. And that started 14 hours of hell travel from Tezpur to Tawang. Funny/Idiotic BRO (Border Road Organization) boards and the beautiful scenery made the entire journey through no bad roads bearable.

Tawang:
But the morning walk to Tawang Monastery (Largest Buddhist Monastery in India) made me to forget those aching muscles (from the travel). First day was spent in walking through the small town to Tawang Monastery & War Memorial built in the memory of Indian Soldiers who sacrificed their lives in Indo-China War. It was great to read and see about the Indo-China War in Tawang. (Chinese claim to Tawang lies in the fact that Tawang is part of Tibet  - thereby belongs to India. India's claim is based on the British agreement with Tibet on the Territory)

Paradise Unexplored?
On the second day in Tawang, we travelled to Madhuri Lake..  (Would have loved to travel to Bumla Pass/Indo-China Border. But the army was not ready to allow people because of the recent snowfall. ) This was the day you realize that North East is really the the Paradise Unexplored (Claim about the NorthEast by Incredible India Campaign). It was a day of beautiful mountains, cold & frozen lakes, snow, snow and more snow. (Photos of Tawang Trip Here)

Interesting Things I noticed in Tawang:

• Tawang's economy is built around the army and its troops. 
• Town wakes up early. Don't expect to find breakfast after 8am. And most of the city closes by 6pm. 
• It is surely not a touristy place. You can count the lodges by your fingers.14 Hour Journey keeps the tourist away. 
• Entire trip from Tezpur to Tawang & Tawang to Madhuri Lake is infested with Army Training Institutes, Battalions and outposts. 

A Journey of Firsts:

It was the first time that I saw wild rhinos, Did my bird spotting, Saw snow in India, saw frozen lakes in India and took a helicopter ride. And it was a journey that i would never forget - thanks to this post. 

Regrets:
Though we met our initial objective of visiting Kaziranga National Park & Tawang, missed out on visiting  places we were considering during certain part of the trip. (Shillong & Nameri Eco Camp). 

Why I am looking forward to 2011 Cricket World Cup?

Until today, 2003 Worldcup world cup was the high point of my cricket passion/cricket craziness. The passion/craziness owes a lot to do with the fact that I was living in a boy's hostel during the world cup. 

1. Going  2 hours before the match to occupy the best place in the TV room (Just before TV). 

2. Not being able to take a toilet break.. Because the entire room is so packed that you are sure you won't be able to find a place when you come back.

3. Predicting that India will reach semi-finals after 2 poor performances in the first two matches - And seeing the prediction coming true

4. Commentary better than Harsha Bhogle from friends sitting with you. 

means that 2003 world cup will always be one of the most memorable memories of my life. So the defeat in the final was one of the bad memories of my life. It even cured my cricket craziness for a certain time. Even T20 world cup win did not rekindle my love for cricket. But somehow I am awaiting the start of this world cup. 

1. Unlike 2007 world cup, this India team is focussed on winning the world cup. 

2. This is Tendulkar's final world cup. And he surely does want to add a world cup win to his resume

3. Again, I believe and am predicting that India will reach another semi-final. 

So again.. Counting the days for world cup to start.. 24 more days..  Hoping that this would be my best memory of India in a world cup.