My Sabarimalai Pilgrimage :: The Vratham Period.

Hi folks,
One fine November morning,I sudenly got a mail from my friends Suku/Athi regarding a trip to Sabarimalai this year.I had gone to Malai in my final year of college with the same college group. It was an awesomely spiritual experience ...but thats a different story and I wouldn't talk abt that now.Still, when I got this mail, it occurred to me IF I hadn't slipped quite far from God (as we conventionally call the Unknown Higher Power) - except for the times when I was in trouble and prayed .Its been a loooong time since I've been to any temple for that matter.So, I decided it was high time I did something spiritual to recharge my soul.
So, I put on my maalai on 4th November 2005.I was joined in this endeavour by my college friends Sujin in bangalore and Suku,Athi,Mummy,Half & Senthil (Suku's friend) from Chennai.

For people who aren't aware about the intricacies of SabariMaalai and the general details of the pilgrimage to Sabarimalai - Please visit this website. The vrath that I had undertaken was a very uphill task....especially to a guy like me who's become accustomed to a decadent and excessive lifestyle.
But I decided to make the effort.One of the main driving forces for taking this decision was that the last time I had been to Sabarimalai, I had been plagued with very heavy wheezing due to the dust and the cold.So, I had to climb the Sabarimalai with wheezing.I would climb 5 steps and stop to get back my breath, and I still dont actually remember how or even believe that I actually managed to climb the whole mountain.I climbed the 18 steps (ponu pathinettam padi), and as soon as I had the darishanam of Aiyyappan, I passed out.The next thing I remember is that I was lying in the hospital in Sabarimalai with my blood being tainted with Asthalin spiked glucose.The other fact that i remember was that every now and then, a new doctor would come and stick in the needle in another vein on my hands -only he knew why.But I was proud that I had atleast steeled my body till I had the darishanam.
This had been a pretty bad experience for me and so, I also wanted to prove to myself that I could do it properly.

So, coming back to the present, having donned the Maalai(put on my neck by a Guruswamy at the local Aiyyappan temple), I set out to be the ultimate pilgrim.
I got up early in the morning around 5:30 - 6:00 AM , took bath in cold water (which in Bangalore is not usually wise) . donned the kaavi (sandalwood color) dhothi , went to the templ, prayed to God , came back and got doned my formal dress for the company - sans shoes , went to company, as soon as i got to my desk, i would take the print out which had the 108 Saranams and chant them, In the evening, when I got home, I'ld sleep on a mat instead of a mattress. I bought some MP3 CDs of Aiyyappan songs and listened to them all the time on my MP3 player.I stopped listening to ROCK or any other music for that matter.This was one of the bigger sacrifices to a rock fanatic like me.I didn't shave/ cut my hair and tried to be as inconspicuous as possible.But I wasn't able to totally curb my active tongue.But I was good enough.

The reasons for all these chittai's (rules) as I understand them are very practical.
* U have to take bath in cold water in the morning 'coz during the pilgrimage, the only baths that u will be able to take will be in rivers and no one has till now devised a way to heat up rivers.So, ur body should be hardened to the water.
* U have to walk on bare feet as the path to Sabarimalai through 5 hills will be done on bare feet and the 50 days of walking like this before that will harden ur feet for the ordeal ahead.
* The non usage of luxuries is for the same reason - Ur going for a pilgrimage not for a 5 star trek.

I don't claim that I followed ALL these rules ALL the time, But I tried my utmost to keep my body and most importantly my mind clean all the time.Which is pretty tough especially considering how the gals in my company dress up (or is it dress down??) on fridays.I am proud to say that there were very few instances when I let down my guard and was for the most part a pretty good (if not perfect) Saamy.

This is the way I looked during those days.....


So enough about my Preparations about my trip...I'll shift to the Trip log now.
-Cne

Half of Infy Bangalore is trying to solve an awesome puzzle created by guyz in IIM Indore.

I got this link to an amazing puzzle from my friend in TCS - GK Vidya....She's my old partner for all cultural competitions while in college.Myself,GK and another wierd jandhu called Winsley used to go for all competitons as a team and we have had our share of successes....
Well, thats besides the point.The link is : http://www.iimi-iris.com/iris/irising/klueLESS
Ths puzzle is really good and will tax ur knowledge , wit and even ur software knowledge to the edges of genius.
I posted this link on our Bullettin Board in my company.And got soo many replies and requests for hints that I couldn't do any sort of work that day.The same was happening on the BB.But then this guy posted all the answers for the puzzles on the BB......I saw this and mailed that guy -
This is the sequence......For Best effect : Read from the bottom!!

---

Hi Vinod,

Let me summarise what u just said!! If getting the answer to a puzzle is the only reason someone spends great time and effort on solving the puzzle, then its similar to saying the only reason to live is to die(since thats the last thing u get-its the answer!!).......and spend all ur time and effort trying ur best to DIE!!

No Sir, people work on puzzles to sharpen their thinking skills.....sharpen their logic and increasing their knowledge and last if not the least, the thrill and self satisfaction u get when u solve a puzzle by urself.

So, when I look at it from this perspective, I dont think sitting in office till 12 at night trying to move to the next levels (which i did) is not wrong!! - It was NOT wasted!!

If u dont agree with me on this....its ok!! But i request you not to spoil the fun for others by posting the answers on the BB.

And I would also request you to remove the answers from ur blog.

[If i may be forgiven for giving an anology here........Posting the answers on the BB because u think solving puzzles is a waste of time....is like someone pissing in a pool just because he/she thinks swimming is a waste of time].

Disclaimer : This mail is not meant to hurt ur feelings.....its just to help u understand that other's feelings need not be the same as urs!!

Regards,

Srini

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Hi Srinivasan,

Frankly speaking I dont have time to look and solve into these kinds of puzzles. Just for curiosity I happenned to see the link in the BB with so many people wasting their time and mind to solve this puzzle. I just got the answers in the same website which had the puzzle. I posted the answers also on BB but got many mails to remove it........hence today morning I put those answers in my blog. How much time you wasted to reach level 20 (May be 7 hrs till now !!) ? Dont you think you could have utilsed this time to learn any thing new/useful regarding your project ?

I just wasted 5 min to find the answers !!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Third Foto

The Third Photo is the lowest altitude photo without compromising on clarity and shows my house clearly - its a room in the terrace of a house.The size of the house is ridiculously small considering the rent i pay for it- but I'm not complaining.I have a nice playground right in front of my house and trees all around.Most importantly, I have a wide terrace which is 2.5 times the size of my house.I'm happy!!

U wana see my house in Bangalore?

U may remember the issue which was HOT around a month back.It was even the first page news in Times Of India in Bangalore which in itself is not too much of a compliment.But anyway, it was about how terrorists and other sane people with normally ulterior motives can use Google Earth to see the happenings inside the the biggest and most secretive establishments in India...like the BARC in Mumbai,the mumbai shipyard and the Kalpakkam Nuclear Power Station.
Whether the grainy pictures that are many many months old will help any terrorist is a moot point.Hey, the only way he/she can use these pictures is to land/crash a plane on the building.Well, most of the planes in India seem to have enough trouble getting off the ground - on time or otherwise and so, to hijack one and crash it in any of these premier installations is in itself a stupendous task.But even if someone does indeed do it......what difference is it goanna make to our country's mothballed bureaucracy? They'll just get a new excuse not to work.

Well, I've gone a lot offtrack.The main point i was attempting to make is that we normal people canmake good use of the Google Earth (which is conveniently free) to show routes inside the city.
I've made use of it to show the way to my house in the fashionable suburb of Koramangala in Bangalore.The roads may look cool from space...but do not be deceived by the looks, they are treacherously bad!
The first photo is a very high altitude picture which can set the context for the route.I've taken the Hosur Road and FORUM as the main landmarks to my house.

The Second Photo is a lower altitude one which will show the important landmarks in the immediate vicinity of my house.

-Cne -The Coolest Dude

A PitStop post on my Hairy Story....

This is a continuation of my Hairy Story....if u can't understand what I'm talking about, then please scroll down and read my 'One Long Hairy Story' then come back up.

This is a Pit Stop post...meaning, this is the first pit stop on my way to having really Looooong hair!!

THEN :
When i was having short hair, she was low on maintaintenance (i never even had to comb her!!), never caused too many worries,and looked ok as long as i didn't disturb her too much. I could get up in the morning and look at her ONLY when I wanted to(whjich was not too often).And she was always a topic of conversation with friends - who leered at her!!
Life was soo much simpler!!
In fact she was much like a girlfriend!!

NOW:
Now, that I've grown my hair, she's started demanding a lot of time and effort on it.When I get up in the morning, she'll be all over my face.I have to comb her first.Then, while taking bath, I have to decide whether i have time to bath her also.If I bath her also, I'll have to go out and stand for arnd 15 minutes under the sun while she takes her own sweet time to dry herself.I can dress up only after she has been dressed up.I'm having to spend on cosmetics for her.I've also bought something which has been an alien object to me for the most of my life.....a COMB!! and I've bought two of them...one for home and one for the office.She's changed me a lot.Now, I have become more responsible....I think twice before dancing in the rain! I think twice before I go out on my bike without a helmet. I have started looking in my face in the miror more often.In fact, she has become a factor when i make many of my decisions.And she won't let me remain sane until I have acceded to her wishes!!

In fact, She's become more like a wife...and behaves like one too.....

Well, just as u cannot make omlets without breaking eggs OR u cannot code a program without putting comments OR u cannot drink more than a half without throwing up .......just like that I'll have to adjust to her vagaries and variations....
I guess she's goanna be a lot of fun after some more time.....
I'll keep u guys posted!!
Luv,
Cne.
7Cne -The Coolest Dude8

Too Much work!!

I've too much work today.....I'm in the middle of a small post on something i had the pleasure of viewing last sunday......I hope to finish that and post it by EOD today!!
And thanks for the flurry of comments for my last few posts....I love u all.....
-Cne

I'll Fight to the Bitter End.

I know if u've blogged something negative about the company u work in, there's a chance u'll be kicked outta the company.But I've not said one negative thing about my company....hey for hat matter I've not even said what my company's name is.I've only used the name of my company once in my whole blog, and that was after it had blocked my blog.This is soo sad.But i really believe that this is a case of misplaced notions...and I also believe in the high ethics and sense of righteousness of my company and I believe that my company always plays fair - with everybody.

I'm not saying this just for kicks.......but I really believe in what I'm saying.I've always had a very good experience with the beurocracy in my company...they've always responded with sincerity and responsibility to all my queries.So, I'm sure that if i follow this query to the end, I may get an answer.....even if its 'Sorry,This is according to company policy'.

And by the way, thanks to Ravi (The Italian student), I'm no olonger Blind-Blogging....I'm able to access my blog through some convoluted channels.....and if u think I'm goanna spill the beans on how I'm doing that, then u better put on ur shorts and go back to UKG.

So, this post is dedicated to my college friend Ravi.....Just like Anniyan, He has an alter ego -an erudite philosopher hiding inside him who comes out under 'certain external liquid stimuli'.We've discussed a lot of philosophy back in college when we both were activated by the similar 'liquid stimuli'.Not that he always talked sense, or that I always understood what he was saying but I've always found that he had (and still has) the ability and (more importantly) the desire to think beyond the horizons of the thinking necessary for normal living.That will take u to BIG places.....Keep doing it!!

Hey Ravi, my friend and Philosopher, If ur reading this from Italy, accept my thanks....and hope ur torturing those roommates of urs there like u did to us in college!!

7Cne -The Coolest Dude8

What did i do??

I'm now Blind Blogging right now...I know that what I'm blogging will be posted on my blog, but I'm not able to see it on the net from office.I had said earlier that my company (X to the X to the X to the X) has blocked all blogspots...but alas!! I was sadly mistaken!! The afore mentioned company has only blocked MY blogspot.Why? I dont know...... Who? I'm trying to find out!!

But that hasn't broken my spirit.....in fact that has just incited me to blog more.....Nothing can keep us down!!What say, bloggers?

Even though i say all this with bravado, I am a little responsible about the fact that I shouldn't say anything negative about my company.......and I haven't.Then, I dont understand why they've done such a thing!!

Sooooo mean!! I raised a request to know why they've done this and got a response saying 'We don't give information about blocking on site by site basis'.

I'm goanna raise this issue....and raise hell if necessary to get to the bottom of this matter.I will keep u guys posted!!

7Cne -The Coolest Dude8

Infy's Bocked Blogspots....

From last week, Infy has blocked acess to blogspots....so, I can post but can't see what i've posted.

Though this adds a little overhead, its ok.I get a mail whenever anyone posts a comment and so, can post a reply as soon as i get that mail.

So, please do keep visiting and keep commenting.......Bouquets and Brickbats will be enjoyed!!

I pledge to post atleast once a day!! Something atleast!!

This is a Promise!!

7Cne -The Coolest Dude8

The Hairy Story Continues.....

Today's a landmark day in my young life of exactly 23 years and 10 Months.For the first time in my life,I'm FREE to choose my hairstyle.As I've mentioned in an earlier article, I've till now been on the losing side in my fight with my hair to make her stay in some position. But now, I've grown my hair long enough to be able to dictate to her what style i want her to be in, and make her stay that way!!

I've parted my hair in the center now.And wonder of wonders, she's staying that way!! Before, she would stay the way in which i had shaped her till the next time i moved my head and then, all of her would come crashing down onto my face.

As i gain more confidence in my hair, I'm goanna try out more and more hair styles-The more outlandish the better.

I'm finally free......Hurray!!

7Cne -The Coolest Dude8

 

 

Whats with this daily rain in Bangalore?

It rains daily in bangalore.DAILY!! I'm sure people in chennai won't believe this.....provided they remember what rain means.

'Rain' - means that water(which u usually only see in thanni lorries) actually falls from the skies in drops.- For the benefit of Chennaiites only!!

Well, everyday when I get up, its bright and sunny.Makes me feel glad to be alive.I brush, take bath and bike my way to the office without my jacket - afterall its soo sunny!! I start working...atleast pretending to work.When i go out for lunch, its sunny again and I even sweat a little walking back to office from the 'aunty mess' which is opposite gate 4 of my company.I again work and in the evening, as soon as i decide to leave for home, suddenly, the skies darken,lightning flashes,thunder rumbles and it starts pouring.It pour,pours and then, pours a little more.I decide that its not in my best interests to venture out into such weather on my bike and I settle back onto my chair and start working - for want of a better thing to do.I go on working and pretty soon, the rain stops-at 8 O'clock.I start from office after that and reach home with enough time for dinner and around 30 mins to watch TV before i fall asleep.

 

The companies cannot actually ask u to stay back in office after working hours.So, they try other devious ways.

This ultra rainy weather is the handiwork of the cunning HR people of the Software companies in Bangalore I say!!

They saw that Bangalore city is full of nice parks,pubs,shpping streets and nice chicks which can lure the employees away from their desks pretty early.So, the companies decide to build their campuses in far off places with swanky names (eg:Electronics City - As soon as people hear the name Electronics city, they think of wide avenues with well planned residential layouts and Mega Malls for the software engineers who dont know what to do with their money to splurge in.But in reality, its just a slummy village with rats running around on one side of the road and gleaming buildings with designer lawns on the other side.Its a nice study on the contrast in living conditions in India).

Now, ur working in a place arnd 15-20 KMs from the city which can be accessed through only one road - The notorious Hosur Road.Actually calling it a road is not exactly correct.During the timings (8:00AM - 10:00AM & 5:30 PM- 9:30 PM) it somewhat resembles a Huge looong parking lot.So, driving any place inside the city after ur already tired from ur office work will make u shudder to even think of it.(Driving on Hosur Road is a diferent topic in itself and I'll write on it later).

So, u stay in office. and work.

So, I believe that when the HR people of the software companies saw that even after making going to the city so unattractive, some people were still escaping from office after working hours.So, they made a deal with God to make it rain in Bangalore on all working days and I guess for every 5 days of rainy weather , God granted them 2 days free.Thats the whole week accounted for.

 

God,Its soo unfair!!

If u people also feel the same, Please post ur comment and I'll collate all these comments and mail to God as a protest campaign!!

 

-Cne

7Cne -The Coolest Dude8

 

 

 

Its one long Hairy Story.

I've been blessed from birth with a wierd crown of hair on my head!! Its actually an extension of my charactor, wild,crazy and fiercely independant!! But even though I may extoll its virtuous properties, I have to admit that its a bitch to make it look nice.The main characteristic of the hair is that it stands straight up-whatever be its length or position on my scalp.The hair in front falls down straight onto my face and the hair in the center insists on standing straight up.It maybe because I have two hair circles(The concept is similar to crop circles-with hair in swirls instead of plants) on my head.
Having said this much about my hair, I guess u must now have got an idea of how my hair is.
Right from my school days, its been the center of attention in any gathering and all my nicknames have been based on it.Right from 'Mulli' during my school days to 'Mottai' during my college days.
In my school days, I've tried all sorts of remedies-right from the most mundane to the most outlandish!I have paid 250/- bucks for a haircut (this was back in the early 1990's....when 250 represented a hell of a lot of spinning tops and sticky notebook labels).I've also cut my hair for Rs:5/- at the local saloon in my grandparents village.Al the barbers always complained but couldn't offer any gyan on how my hair could be set right!I read somewhere that if u apply grease on ur hair, it will soften and wouldn't stand straight up due to the weight.And believe it or not.I did it! I bought a packet of industrial grease and applied it on my hair for some days.But absence of any permanent results along with the panic stricken requests of my mom made me stop that treatment.
Then, in my 12th standard i had my revelation, I went to a saloon for hair cutting.The barber complained that he couldn't cut my hair because the cut hair kept entering his eyes all the time.So, I loaned him my cooling glasses and he cut my hair with them on.It was then that i decided enough was enough.I wasn't going to bear anymore of this.I asked the barber to 'machine' my head!! He plowed the hair cutting machine over my head like a lawnmower and pretty soon, i looked like a guy who's had his head shaven just a week back.I sorta liked the look and the freedom that came along with it.
Freedom from thinking a lot before washing my hair.Freedom from towelling my hair.Freedom from worrying about my hairstyle all the time.Freedom from combs....also freedom from comments about my hair.Now, I was completely free.
Thats when when i decided to keep that look.And I did that-for the next 5 years.All through my college, I'ld 'machine' my head every 2-3 months or so, which resulted in my nickname of 'Mottai' which means shaven head in Tamil.This has been the history of my hair till arnd 4 months back.
Around 4 months back, i became tired of the same old short haired look and decided to grow my hair long.Really long.My room mate Naseem Bhai was also a big inspiration.He has his hair very very long.It looks soo cool.
Of course, there were a lot of hair growing pangs.When the hair was short, it wouldn't seem weird even if it stood straight up.But once it started growing, it became very hard to manage it.Imagine hair 2-3 inches long standing straight up on the center of ur head! It sorta looked like palm trees near an oasis in a black desert of coarse hair.I managed that by the simplest way possible.I bought a nice round cap and started wearing it ALL the time, I'ld put it on as soon as i took my bath and it would be on my head all the time, while working,while walking, even while eating.I'ld take it off only at night.
Pretty soon, my consistent efforts bore fruit and my hair raising days were over.The hair was long enough to be unable to stand up straight up and fell down to my scalp in dejected defeat!!
I thought I had won.But how mistaken i was.I had won the battle, but the war was just beginning.
It just gets tougher when ur hair is long.
Now, I have to think twice before i take a bath.(which in itself is a rare phenomenon-so, this is not too much of an irritation).
I now have to brush/comb my hair daily.My hair tends to fall down the front of my face and cover my eyes.Though this is nice during the headbanging sessions, it gets a little irritating and i have to keep on tossing my mane of hair out of my eyes.
I'ld like to narrate a nice incident whioch happened a coupla days back.I was playing pool and everytime, i bent down to make a shot, my hair would fall over my eyes ,blocking my vision and I would have to flick it off with my hand.I saw a guy watching this and smiling at me.I at first didn't understand why he was smiling at me as I didn't know him.Then, i saw that he also had very long hair.Then, i understood the meaning behind that smile.
'I can also understand ur pain' it said.
Nice, huh??
I plan to grow my hair long enough to put it in a ponytail.
Lets see where his leads to.I'll keep u dudes posted.
Bye,
-Cne

Saturday Blast!!

Hi,
Todays saturday, but I'm in office......Thats 'coz I've been put into a new project and have to learn a lot of stuff.....Its been just 1 week since I've joined this project and my PM's asked me to start being productive from the coming Monday itself.
The past week's been just a whirlwind of trainings and sessions......and I couldn't even go to sleep....'coz there were just 5 of us for the sessions.....personalised attention can be such a pain in the neck u know.
Now, my PM's saying he's goanna keep a test for us on what we're suposed to have learnt during the past week.This is the limit.But anyway, tests are good for u.......as they're some sort of feedback.
Alls well thats works well!!

My close friend SuKu has come from chennai......and so, tonight we're goanna have a blast at Styx or some other nice pub in Bangalore....Will keep y'all updated on the happenings.
I kinda like Styx as its the only pub in bangalore which plays nice Metal.The other pubs compromise on the music.And u can enjoy the music for 2-3 hours for just 200 bucks.....thats cheap man! I remember once we went to a pub in Chennai.....and no ordinary pub mind u.The 'Bikes & Barrels' in the Residency Hotel on Pondy Bazaar road.The hotel looked posh (3 Star I guess).But the pub pissed me off from the time i entered.Its seems there are 2 floors for the pub and the stags were herded upstairs while the guys who came with gals tagging along with them were directed to the ground floor.....what the heck is this? So, the whole scene ended up looking like the whole level 0 was a stage with actors on them while the audience in Level 1 ogled at the gals below.....It was sooo demeaning.And they started playing bhangra stuff.......at one point I was almiost afraid they'ld play 'appadi podu...podu....' or 'manmatha rasa'.
I know I may sound like a snob for saying this, but my experience with the pubs in bangalore sorta raised the standards.
In bangalore u can be urself and headbang urself to nirvana.All in all an enjoyable experience as ur neck starts to hurt only the next day.
I'll update u tomorrow on how it went tonight.
Till then......Keep reading my blog.
I luv u all....

PS: This is for the guy who keeps commenting on my blogs.I have enabled word-verification.Hope this satisfies u.And keep commenting.....its people like u who make my days sunnier!!

-Cne

Life's Great!!

Hi,
I'm back into Blogging after a loong hiatus.I'm working in a new project now....onn a machine with English OS - which has made life a lot easier.
Now, its possible for me to atleast try to decipher the error messages Windows pings me with.And I dont have to click on 'OK' or 'CANCEL' just by fuzzy logic.When I was working on the Japanese OS, any dialog box which opened would be totally in Japanese and so, we had to navigate by trial and error method.
Now, I can navigate happily...I remember the days when if i needed to change soem windows settings, I used to call up any of my friends who was working on the English version and ask him to read me the settings line by line......
In my present project , I'm learning lots of new technologies......its interesting.But my whole day is spent in one session after another.I'm unable to stay at my comp for any appreciable amount of time.
So,though I have a lot of articles written up in my mind......I am not getting the time to transfer them to the system.......would have been nice if there were some tool to directly download ur thoughts from ur mind to the system......hehe!!
Now, I'll post some of the articles I've writen.....enjoy maadi!!
-Cne

My Tuppence on Cell Fones...

Cell Phone Comparison

I've owned and used the following brands of cell phones
NOKIA(3210,3310,8210,8310,1100),Sony Ericsson(T100,T105,K500i), Samsung(R220,C100), Mitsubishi Trium, Motorola(Walkabout), LG (5130) and Panasonic(GD 90).

Based on my user experiences, I give my ideas on the comparison between these brands based on different parameters.
This is a completely subjective and approximate comparison. The absolute stats may vary based on the model u buy and the price range ur interested in.

Technology :
Sony Ericsson seems to be the winner in this area. All its models in all price ranges offer some technological edge over other brands in the same price range. Motorola comes a close second, with Panasonic and Samsung tied for the third. Nokia comes last in offering technological innovations. It is usually the last to offer innovations. LG is still learning the ropes.
The technological edge I mean can be
- Quality of voice
- Quality of the pictures taken with the camera in the phone
- New features like 64K color screen, Flash for camera, MP3 player etc.

The features offered by SE maybe offered by NOKIA in a higher model.
But speaking on the lines of 'More bang for the buck', SE phones are lot better. Motorola phones have good features, but only at a higher range. (>20K)

But in terms of Battery Standby and Talk times, NOKIA beats them all hands down!!

User Friendliness & Stability:
Predictably NOKIA comes trumps in this arena. All its phones are designed to be 'FOOL-PROOF’. They’re the easiest to use and incredibly stable. I’ve dropped my NOKIA phones (3210, 3310, 8210, 8310) too many times to count but they've always been fine. The maximum physical damage u can do to ur NOKIA phone by dropping it is to break its Panel and keypad-which are damn cheap to replace.

Panasonic comes second in user friendliness. Samsung and Sony Ericsson come third. The main differentiator is those small small improvements in the user interface, in the options menu. Those insignificant additions to the menu options go a long way to decrease user fatigue. LG is OK, but has to add the many small options (like being able to edit the number u just called) which we've come to accept as default.

One more thing I've seen is that Sony Ericsson phone soft wares seem to be designed on the same lines as Windows 98.All the fones I've used (T100, T105, K500i) will hang on the drop of a hat. U press 2 buttons at once, it hangs. U start a game, it hangs. Change the ring tone, it hangs. And sometimes it hangs without any reason at all. But once u re start it, it starts working fine- till the next hanging. Just like Windows.

And the behemoth Motorola comes last. The low end Motorola phones are designed for geeks i guess. In the higher end Clamshell PDA phones, Motorola is the leader, but it fails miserably in the lower end of the spectrum. The phones are a pain to use. And they have an attitude problem. The buttons for accepting and rejecting calls and the menu buttons are arranged in the opposite order to all other models. So, if u're accustomed to using other phones, u try to use a Motorola phone, u'll go mad.

All Said and Done,

I've chosen the categorized the users and the Brands suitable for each.

Yuppies (age 21-24) –
These are people who want the most features in the optimum price. But at the same time have a fascination for gadgets and smart phones. And they’r eready to pay extra if the phone catches their fascination.
The utilities these people need the most in their phones are-
- Nice easy key pad for fast & frequent SMSing
- Nice features like Real tones(MP3 set as ring tones), >1 Mega Pixel (still & video) Camera, Large onboard memory,MP3 player, VIDEO player,3D Arcade games, Bluetooth, if possible-Symbian OS, Net Browsing capability etc.

Brand: Sony Ericsson (K500i, K700i etc) or Motorola (E398) or even NOKIA (6600, 3230) etc...... They come for arnd 15 K now. But worth the money for the oomph quotient!!
(Yours truly falls in this category)

Business Users -(25+) –
These are the people who are PM & above who have to travel frequently. They use their phones as an extension of their office.
What this category needs in their phones:
- PDA capabilities. I can go on and on abt the features, but this tag line explains it all. They don’t need phones. The y need mini PDAs. Of course Sony Erickson P910i and NOKIA 9300 are pretty popular among them.

If they're already using Palm Pilots / Handspring / Oxygen PDA phones, and also need a simple phone for talking purposes only, I’ve noticed that they go for basic models of NOKIA (Eg:3310,3100,2100 etc) which fulfill their need for a low maintenance, simple to use phone with good battery life.

Older people (55+) –
They are mostly our parents whom we gift cell phones so that we can keep in touch with them all the time and also for medical emergencies. They also need low maintenance, simple to use phones with good battery life. Basic models of NOKIA or SAMSUNG will fulfill their needs. (In my case, my dad uses a 1100.But my mom refused to be happy with such phones and snatched my cute little NOKIA 8310 away from me.)



Women –
I know I may draw flak for categorizing them as a separate category. But from ‘my experience’, most of the girls I’ve seen have been always attracted to small, cute, clamshell models with colorful screens to which they attach frilly lacy straps and carry around in their hands – flaunting their feminism. That’s the reason Samsung R220 in spite of being a crappy phone was blessed with a faithful female following. The main reason being that while all other brands at that point of time had utilitarian yellow or white display light colors, R220 had a ‘bright’ blue display. The girls fell for it every time.

Now that all the models have color screens as default, I guess they’ll now be going for the clamshell models from Samsung or NOKIA (2650, 6170, 6260 etc). But there are a lot of women who fall in other categories as well.

Rest of the people –
These are the people who (rightly??) use and consider a cell phone as just that – a phone. They just want a simple to use phone with ok features and ok battery life. They form the segment to which most of the Mobile Phones advertising aim at. They are the people who are easily influenced by the catch words and the promised lifestyle the ads promise. And as they don’t care what they buy as long as it fulfils their needs, they go for a phone without researching the market and the features of the phone that they’re goanna buy.

This results in the fact that many end up buying phones because they wanted some feature which was described in the ads as being awesome and something they cant live without, but finally end up not using the feature at all. But I’m not saying they’re all unhappy with their choice. Just that their decision may not have been the most efficient and optimal.
These people form the bulk of the population.

So, finally after all these ideas and opinions, what am I trying to convey??

When ever u decide to buy a phone, please try to do the following:

Ø First decide on ur price range and identify the phones in that range from all brands.
Ø Take some time to reflect on what ur goanna use it for. If u’ll be using it mostly for SMSing and calling, NOKIA and Samsung phones will be the best as they have nice handy Keypads which are very good for SMSing.
Ø Think if u will be needing the extra features like radio, speaker phone, GPRS etc. The salesman may say that the phone has GPRS and u can browse the net using GPRS. But believe me, it’s no fun browsing sites with a screen the size of 3 postage stamps. GPRS is usually useful only when u have PDA phones or have camera phones.
Ø If ur going for camera phones, see what photo resolution the phones offers. If its anything less than 640 x 480, its not worth it. And most importantly, ask how much memory it has and also what facilities it has to send the photos u take to ur system. For eg : NOKIA 6220 was a nice phone with still and video camera.(One of the first from NOKIA I guess) .But it had a measly 4MB memory. So, even if u took photos or videos there wouldn’t be enough space store them. Ditto with Sony Erickson K500i. It had just 12 MB memory which had to be divided among photos, videos, MP3 songs, Games, Applications, and Themes etc. Memory management becomes a big head ache.
In these cases go for phones with expandable memory (accept MMC cards) and which have Bluetooth. Infrared is of not much use.
Ø Try not to buy the first version of any phone. U may get lucky or be unlucky? (Like the buyers of NOKIA 3530 – the first color mobile from Nokia.)
Ø But at the same time, don’t be afraid to experiment. With the mobile market in India growing at an amazing pace, more and more BIG players are entering the market. For eg, u’ld may not have heard of SAGEM or BIRD, but they are very big players in the European market. U may get great value deals.

In the case of Cell Phone Networks, I’ve used AIRTEL, HUTCH, IDEA, BSNL, AIRCEL , BPL and RELIANCE.

In Bangalore, AIRTEL had the best network, but I heard form a honcho at Hutch that they’re pumping in loads of money to better their coverage in India. And in CDMA phones, I heard reliance is good. But all these depend upon who has a tower near ur house/office. So, don’t believe what I say. Talk to people around u what connection they’re using and decide for urself.

Regarding Post Paid or Pre Paid. I would suggest those who wanna restrict their Phone bills and make very few outgoing calls to stick with Prepaid. U may think that u pay 300 per month as rent (Assuming u charge ur cell with 2 Rs: 315 cards a month) and if u come to post paid, u’ll have to pay only arnd 200 rs as rent. But unfortunately, life doesn’t follow this logic. Once u don’t have that little message telling u ur balance after every call, u don’t think of restricting ur calls and end up spending a lot on bills.

Always remember, the Mobile Services companies use the Prepaid to lure users to postpaid. So, prepaid users have more features, more freebies and more hype but generate very less income for the company. The postpaid users are the cash cows who have to pay for the deficit of the prepaid business of the network provider.

So, switch over to Postpaid only if u make a lot of Outgoing calls.
And finally, do remember that the Indian Market is one of the fastest growing in the world and has the cheapest call rates in the world too. This won’t be like this for too long. Make the best use of this as possible. Try to make the most optimal choices and extract the most benefits out of ur network provider.

Happy Calling…..

Regards,
-Cne
Standard Disclaimer:
I accept that all these above words and the ideas described in them are mine. U didn’t pay me for these words, so I assume no responsibility for any actions u take based on the above ideas and comments. But I’ll be happy if u have gained something from reading this.

Bouquets and brickbats please direct as comments.

Bangalore is cool

Funny Start
Here I am sitting in a I way paying money and creating my blog.......Sound funny when u know that i have high speed net connexion at office and i can do it in a more relaxed manner,and can write more without worring abt the time.
But what to do?? Since i'm working in a project for a japanese client, my system is loaded with Windows XP - Japanese version and these Google guys have coded their blogger page in such a way that it automatically detects my language settings and i get all of my google pages in nice graphic japanese....and i can make nothing out of it.
I've gotten accustomed to this being the case with my working environs......didn't think this could intrude on my fun life too....Anyway, i hope that once i've created and configured the bog, posting wouldn't be that tough!!

Lets see.......

-Cne