Dreams Unlimited

'Bangalored' is the new term for outsourced in the diction of the US President, Barack Obama He is determined to make outsourcing an unattractive proposal by imposing stricter tax norms. He is unhappy with the fact that American firms are preferring the Indians or the Chinese over natives just to lower their operating costs, have a higher profit margin and avoid paying taxes on the higher return by reinvesting offshore. But it is not completely true that the US stands to gain nothing from outsourcing. The companies that have offshore offices expand their business as they now reach a wider section of society and compete with local businesses also. These companies don't hire people only because labour is cheap but because they are talented and meet their standards. So it is because of outsourcing that these companies generate the revenues they do. Obama's new policy will just enable other global players to gain a competitive edge. In this era resorting to protectionist or

I am currently working in an IT firm, my first experience in the corporate world (more details in coming blogs). In a recent interview(not a job interview, but one to pursue higher education...in times of recession switching jobs is not a good idea), i was asked to name the CEO of the company whose tools I'm currently working on. This simple question stumped me. I realised i had absolutely no clue regarding the management of the organisation whose tools I use with elan and regarding which I claim to have significant knowledge about. Any ways, the point being that i failed to see the larger picture and was content with just playing my part. This incident triggered a chain of thoughts in my mind. Why is it that we just focus on the task at hand and put all our efforts towards accomplishing a goal without knowing where our ambitions and mundane tasks fit into the larger scheme of things? A possible explanation could be that we are not the omnipresent, omniscient being called the Almig

The future is one thing we obsess about and the one thing we can never be certain about. I was recently watching the movie Next wherein the protagonist could see into the future. He made attempts to change it for the better. But what he realised at the end of it was that even though he succeeded in altering the course of events, his actions caused the future to change in unforeseeable ways. He aptly summed it up as "You can never see the future, because everytime you see it, it changes" Humans, by nature, are curious beings. We are not satisfied in knowing the present, we want challenges and there is no bigger challenge than knowing the unknown. Perhaps thats the reason for the time machine being the heart of many sci-fi stories and movies. (Love Story 2050 has other factors to blame). That is why there is such demand for the astrologers, tarot card readers, witches(yes, black magic is followed world over) and other such professionals. The common man blindly believes these pe

The citizens of Mumbai have finally spoken. They came out in large numbers to vote, to make a difference, to participate in the decision making process. Their commitment is really strong. Their interest did not dwindle with the passing time. They have shown that they still care. After all who would have thought that the voter turnout in Mumbai after the 26/11 carnage would be a whooping 43.5%. All that was expected was just a 15% increase in the turnout compared to the 47% turnout in Mumbai five years back in 2004. Must say, this city never fails to surprise me. Way to go!!! After all, which individual with all his senses intact would choose to stand in long tortuous queues in the sweltering heat just to press a button when they can clearly spend the long weekend with their family holidaying somewhere or even perhaps relaxing at home. How many times do we overworked, underpaid, underappreciated (as we believe) Mumbaikars get a mandatory paid holiday? Very rarely, right. So why waste it

Today is the day that Mumbai votes and this year's election is special as the 26/11 attacks have been a wake up call. Many citizens have realised that apathy is not helping, they need to do something. So strong was the feeling in some that the number of independent candidates contesting have risen. And they have not chosen to contest against the weak. They want to defeat the best. And according to me it is a very smart thing to do. It is a win-win situation either ways. If you win then your victory will be hailed, for you have defeated the best and even if you lose, you gain respect because you had the guts to pick such a strong opponent, not to forget all the publicity you would garner-it would ensure that you have a strong foothold and you can definitely come back again-this time against a candidate you are sure to defeat. Brilliant strategy!!! And my bet is that most of these independents will try again next year with renewed vigor(if they dont win that is). My wishes to them. B

Life has a way of throwing surprises when you least expect it. A disastrous event can spoil the flow of things or one positive incident can make you forget even the most difficult phase in your life. Success is a very relative term and so is happiness- some think they know what they want and the smart ones know that even if they want something it is just a temporary phase. Once you get what you desire you no longer want it and crave for something else. Sometimes you can surprise yourself specially when you do something you never imagined yourself capable of. Thats when you taste true victory. I was reading "Its Not About the Bike" by Lance Armstrong.His is a classic tale of overcoming all obstacles and set backs to achieve the impossible- he won Tour de France(7 times),the most rigorous and competitive cycling tournament after battling cancer. Many people wrote him off long back. but he fought back. He proved them all wrong. The only thing that he kept saying to himself was t