Z-Blogs

As we see the unraveling of Satyam...maytaS...i.e. the reversing of Satyam, there are some learnings from a due diligence perspective. It is surprising that a case of this size has escaped notice for several years. Maybe it is time for the general public also to step up vigilance, so that all the people are not fooled all the time. There are some practices which are typically followed, such as review of past financials and business performance, reviewing management policies, looking at churn of employees etc. In addition, there are some learnings from the Satyam Saga. Below are some initial thoughts…

It’s 2009 and I went to school (Government Kannada Model Primary School, Pottery Town) today during lunchtime. I volunteer part-time at this school in my neighbourhood. Divya and others enquired if I’d eaten and wanted me to join them. I can meet them only on Saturday mornings as I have recently resumed working full time and they’re busy with tests/exams and will continue to be. Some are a tad disappointed but others know that we can continue to interact outside class. Suhasini, Surya, Divya, Monika, Vijay et al want me to come from Monday 12th January as their next round…

Here's the first beauty which you can spot, if you are lucky, just inside the West Gate of Lalbagh:That's the Asian Paradise Flycatcher, one of the more spectacular birds to be found in the city! You can see the wiki entry about it here .The other beauty is something that is blooming right now near the Bandstand, near the Deputy Directorate of Horticulture building. It is the Philippine Jade Vine:That is the true, and unusually beautiful, colour of the flowers!Here's the board giving the scientific name:Do try and catch them now! ⊕

I am normally not out in the evenings, but this evening, I was able to watch how, at least in one respect, the truckers' strike is impacting our city.  Many of the petrol pumps were closed, and where petrol was available, the chaos was unimaginable. Long queues of vehicles snaked back across the roads, and sometimes down side roads as well. Two wheelers kept jumping the queue trying to get their chance ahead of others, and added to the mess. Can the government do nothing right? If it saw the transporters' strike coming, could they not make sure that there were…

As a matter of principle, we don't like over-achievers around here. But some, we let pass. Rakesh Sharma is currently interning at St. John's Medical College. He will head to Oxford to pursue a D.Phil in Clinical Neurology as one of this year's Rhodes Scholars. Like that were not enough, he manages his own show on WorldSpace Satellite Radio. He also writes a popular blog about the pains of juggling medical education alongside culture clashes. Having excelled in theater, music, writing, and academics and, yet, miraculously managing to retain a sense of humor, he talks to me about pulling off…

Happy New Year to everyone. I'll greet you with the same wishes in March-April (twice if you celebrate both Sankranthi & Vizhu/Baisakh in Bangalore). We have many new year days, dont worry. Somehow the charm of new year's arrival is lost on me. I'm not a cynic or philosophic, so please hear me out.In Western countries, which are predominantly christian, there's no confusion. The festival frenzy starts in mid-Nov (Thanksgiving), runs through entire December and early January. People plan their annual holiday around this time. There is festivities in the air the entire December which culminates with the new Year…

Sometimes misspellings have a kind of weird association that make you wonder if, after all, the mistake was one after all...How fitting that Bangalore which, these days, seems to have a seamless transition from the summer to the winter monsoon, should have, not a mega, but a Megha (cloud) sale! ⊕

The morning sun shone through the trees as we entered Lalbagh today...The trees and the light together gave the effect of a painting!The light shone on these flowers...this little squirrel:this lady with her morning newspaper:It turned the sky blue as a backdrop for this magnificient Brahminy Kite:and in spite of this white Asian Paradise Flycatcher trying to hide in the foliage, shone enough for me to take a photograph!Truly, Lalbagh is a magical place of light and life....It was a wonderful Christmas; we might not have celebrated the birth of the Son, but we certainly enjoyed the birth of the…

The 919 km cycling trip across the Nilgiris, the Tour Of Nilgiris event got off to a flying start early this morning.In the mist, some of the organizers held the flag aloft:And then that flag was used to start off the trip:The cyclists set off to cheering and applause from the gathered crowd...Here's Sukhdev, the youngest rider (he is riding under medical supervision), with his family:The message these riders are carrying is that cycling is a great way to get from A to B, no matter what the distance between A and B may be!For more pictures click here Let's…

Mohun Bagan created history by winning the Federation Cup, India's annual major club football tournament, for a record 13th time at Kolkata on the 21st of December 2008, avenging their 2004 defeat to Dempo at Bangalore.Apart from SBT and Viva Kerala from God's own country, there were a few other South Indian Clubs in the picture, including but not limited to ICF-Chennai, HAL SC-Bangalore and BEML-Bangalore. Let's have a look at their campaigns this year... And before that, for those in the dark, a few words on the two Bangalore outfits.Arguably the top football club from Bangalore, HAL SC is…