RANDOM THOUGHTS

ETIHAD AIRWAYS NEED TO BE APPRECIATED My son and family were returning to Toronto after attending his Brother In Laws Marriage at Coimbatore from Chennai on the 27 th of June  by the Lufthansa flight starting at 1.15 AM and reaching Toronto at 4.oo PM Toronto local time after a 4 hour transit at Frankfurt  on the same day that is the 27 th of June . With my daughter also settled in Canada and my son s Formal New House Grehapravesam fixed on the 13 th of July , self and wife made a rather late decision to accompany them and spend time with our children in Canada . The hitch was that there were  no seats available in the Economy Class and the Business Class rates were forbiddingly high . We booked our tickets by the Etihad Airways for the same day the 27 th of June , starting from Chennai at 4.55 AM and reaching Toronto at 4.15 PM local time with a much shorter transit time at Abu Dhabi . We had envisaged that both my son and we too  would be reaching Toronto almost at...

                 IS ANYONE LISTENING ? An off hand remark by a friend who admitted to being a Smoker for almost 45 years now and the relief of getting out of the Vice now  not only for  himself but his entire family . That he was a Very heavy Smoker in the range of 20 Cigarettes a day is a case in point . Being from a rich GUJARATI family , money was never an issue . His brand was the Imported DUNHILL variety.  By his own admission it was costing him  close to Rs 3000 per month for almost  the 45 years under its grip . This set me thinking , what would  the amount be if he had invested in a totally non speculative enterprise like the LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF INDIA  . A little dwelling into their Website , interestingly gave the following details.  An ANNUAL  investment of  of Rs 2000 for a 15 year Life Endowment Policy gave a return of Rs 42000 on maturity .  If my Gujju friend had i...

 The Best Coffee Shreemati               Ever Had  It was already late when they got to the station . The big clock at Egmore Platform No 1 showed the time as 3.50 . They were to catch the Chennai Egmore Tiruchendur Express on their way to Kumbakonam to spend time with their Daughter there on the long weekend ahead . The Scheduled Departure time was 4.00 o clock . Shree and Shreemati departure from home their Home at Vadapalani itself was on a wrong note . She wanted to travel by Cab , while he insisted on the Metro as it would be faster and cost much less . They soon found their coach and settled in their seats . No sooner had they done this , Shreemati pointed to the Book Stall opposite to their window and asked Shri to get her some books to read to while away the time . Shree did not know what to do . Only a few minutes remained , he rushed to the stall , bought the books and huffed and puffed his way back into his seat . Shree...

 Meeting a Nice Father / Son                Combination  The Best Coffee Shrimatee                   Ever Had  H GANESH 

  The passage below is one which I came Across recently . It set me thinking and as i thought this was very enlightening, I am sharing it on this platform . ----------------------------------------------- HOW RICH ARE YOU AND ME ? Amazing answer by Mr Awadhesh Singh, an ex student of IT-BHU (now IIT-BHU) When I was doing my B Tech, there was a Professor Das Talukedar who used to teach us Mechanics His lectures used to be very interesting since he had an interesting way to teach and explain the concepts. One day, in the class, he asked the following questions, 1. What is ZERO? 2.What is INFINITY? 3. Can ZERO and INFINITY be same? We all thought that we knew the answers and we replied as following, ZERO means *nothing* INFINITY means *a number greater than any countable number* ZERO and INFINITY *are opposite and they can never be same* He countered us by first talking about infinity and asked, ‘How can there be any number which is greater than any count...

     HAVE YOU MADE IT TO                    THE TOP  This is one incident I can never forget. Each year the Appraisal time brings with it many new tensions . Will I be promoted , will the increase in October be 7.5 % or 10% or better still the 15% . The ad hoc increase in Basic Salary was also a factor .  I was at a senior position and we had just finished our annual appraisal  reviews. I had the list of employees who were to be given their Promotion Letters/ Salary Increase Letters or COVERS as they were referred to by everyone .  THE FEAR OF THE Rs 1 Lakh Cheque in the COVER WAS ALWAYS A LOOMING FEAR as it meant that the company was only too pleased to relieve you of your services . All was going well until I  called this guy to talk to him about a new opportunity. It was a promotion from his current role, and he had the right skills and qualifications. *Sorry but I'm not interested,* he politely...

  Test Cricket     Championship  The just concluded Cricket Test Championship held at Hampshire Bowl in Southhampton was really interesting . Lasting as it did over Six Days with more than Two Days play washed away due to the rains , it could have been anybody's game till the Tea Time of the Final Day . New Zealand emerged as the deserving winners . This was a contest spread over more than 2 years and was a contrast in many ways .  The Largest populated Test Playing Country was facing the Least Populated Test Playing Country . An out and out Professional Side was Pitted against a side whose  majority of players are amateurs playing Cricket only during the Weekends . The playing conditions at Southampton suited the Kiwis more because of the Green Top of the Pitch and the Swing and Seaming conditions on offer both in the air and off the pitch  due to the heavily  overcast conditions . Their battery of 4 superbly talented pace bowlers with Kyle ...

 PANDEMIC GIVEAWAYS/TAKEAWAYS  Let me at the very outset make it clear that I am not against any of the heip extended to the needy in cash or kind during these difficult Pandemic Times . Each one of us has been affected in some way or the other . Loss of someone close , loss of livelihoods, Lockdowns , Comorbidity, Hospital Bed Shortage , Oxygen Shortage , Not able to go abroad for Higher Studies , No School for the Kids and many other setbacks have totally changed the way of our life. The less fortunate ones in our society have been hit even harder . They are left groping at  finding ways and means to tide over the crisis . This is where the Govts of the day have extended a helping hand . Cash assistance and a bag of grocery items to each family has gone a long way to mitigate at least some part of their hopeless position . Some , glorified followers have gone on to point out that as a welcome change , these bags are being supplied without pictures of any personality . N...

     Vaccination Certificates and Link to                       Your Passport  Going by the way things are unfolding , the mandatory 72 Hour RT/PCR  NEGATIVE Certificate before any Travel in the Domestic or International Circuits by Air , Train , Ship or Road will soon be a thing of the past . Your  FINAL COVID VACCINATION CERTIFICATE  will be the all important Document . So folks be sure to have a laminated copy of the same at all times and if you are an International Traveler , make it a point to have your PASSPORT  Number as the verifying document in your Certificate.  Almost all countries that have opened up the borders for International Travel and others  who  will be opening up  the borders shortly are expected to  start insisting in on what is now  being termed as The Vaccine Passport .  This is essentially your Final Covid  Vaccination Certi...

            WHAT IS HERD  IMMUNITY  From time to time , we come across terms which sound highly scientific and  rather   difficult to understand . There is almost a deluge of such terms during recent times  in these difficult days . PANDEMIC , EPIDEMIC, CONTAGIOUS  HYDRXYCHLOROQUIN , REMDESIVIR AND THE LATEST TO JOIN THE LIST BEING  HERD IMMUNITY   Being just about Passable in my English and far from being Versatile in Tamizh ,  my offhand translation to  AATTU MANTHAI PAZHAKKAM , somehow does  not seem to have a connect with the issue on hand  .  Herd immunity seems to be the final frontier to be conquered in this fight against the pandemic . How fast we achieve this is the big question . Immunizing a sizable population is the agreed way to go about this as is being insisted  by the learned Medical Fraternity. All this makes HERD IMMUNITY sound even more interesting  . So ...