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ajit balakrishnan
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Male cancer Mumbai(Bombay)

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LATEST FROM MEView all Posts  
 18:04 | 22/Apr/2009
How IIM Calcutta Fared in Thought Leader...
Speech I made at the IIMC Convocation April 2009     What an extraordinary year this has been!  Iconic companies, the ones who set benchmarks for management practices, companies like General Motors, Citibank, Meryl Lynch and Royal Bank of Scotland have been felled and now exist because of the kindness of their governments.  World over, there is a s... more...
 17:53 | 22/Apr/2009
The State of the Indian Online Advertisi...
Speech I gave at the International Advertising Conference meeting in Bombay 26th March '09     It was in August 1995 that VSNL, then a state enterprise, started an ISP service in Bombay. By the end of that year India had 25,000 users…I started rediff.com around the same time, so its been an interesting journey.      Today, India has 35-40 million u... more...
 17:14 | 7/Dec/2008
The World Financial Crisis: Part 3- Ban...
        Till roughly  10,000 BC, humans subsisted in small wandering groups that hunted and gathered food for survival. Then, in the  Neolithic age  the Sumerian civilization of the Middle East domesticated animals and plants, settled in one place, founded villages and started farming. A similar evolution is  underway in the financial services worl... more...
 17:07 | 7/Dec/2008
The World Financial Crisis: Part 2- Brav...
Some say that derivatives rank right up there with antibiotics and the microprocessor chip as one of the great innovations of the modern era. Derivatives are financial instruments that are used to reduce financial risk just as a fire insurance policy is used to reduce the risk of a fire by compensating possible damage in the event of one .  Why did... more...
 10:29 | 15/Nov/2008
The Worldwide Financial Crisis: Part 1- ...
Downstairs from my office in New York around the corner from Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange is the gigantic 3 ½ ton bronze statue of the bull that  symbolizes Wall Street. On a recent cool October morning, I found myself watching  the  morning sun bounce off the shoulders of the bull and wondering where to start the search for the mean... more...
 03:53 | 21/Aug/2008
"Rani Comes Safe Out of the Ruins"
One of the pleasanter outcomes of the ongoing newspaper wars in Bombay triggerered off by the launch of Hindustan Times, Bombay Edition and DNA has been the dramatic flight to quality of all including the incumbent, Times Of India. "The Mumbai Mirror" is a something  the Times now distributes free with the main paper and good , hard, well reported ... more...
 19:35 | 27/Jan/2008
The Misguided Search for Excellence
For a word that has its origins in 14th century Anglo-French, “excellence” has done very well. One can hardly ever attend a meeting of top policy makers in business or education or science without somebody or the other raising the question, “Are we striving enough to achieve excellence in our field?” For policy makers, “excellence” is one of those ... more...
 09:46 | 14/Jan/2008
The Tall Man Watching Over Chowpatty Bea...
The monsoon in Mumbai was winding down and Ganesh Chaturthi had just been celebrated when it struck me that this would be a good time to pay my respects to a man I much admire. So, on a recent bright and clear morning, on my way to work, I stopped by at Chowpatty Beach , that small stretch of sand at the start of Marine Drive that is an island of c... more...
 09:46 | 14/Jan/2008
Decoding the Rs 1 LacMessage
 It is early January here in New York and the weather had no right to be as warm and sunny as it is today. By any account it has to be freezing and below zero Celsius and the streets have to be speckled with dirty, melting snow puddles. These pigeons that we see hopping along in the square ought to be hiding from the cold in a warm nook of some bui... more...
 08:30 | 14/Oct/2007
Are our IIMs Overly US-centric?
Twenty six of us were seated around a long U-shaped table. It was late in the afternoon. The room was semi-dark. Each of us had a plate of sweets and a bottle of mineral water in front. A third of the people seated here were CEO’s of large and famous Indian companies, some recently retired, others still very active in business.  Another third were ... more...
LATEST FROM MY FRIENDS
 Shrikant S | 16:07 | 18/Apr/2009
Friends: (17)  | City: Indore  | Interests: photography, art ...
Brand India on Display
India is on a colorful display at South Africa and this season, brands in India will find a great recognition in South Africa.. IPL Season2you may never know, next year onwards maybe IPL will really become an international event.. like the IIFA awards..would anyone mind India going global??? well, not at the cost of the disparate economy of the nat...  more...
 swati phatak | 11:10 | 5/Feb/2009
Friends: (106)  | City: Delhi  | Interests: music, painting ,...
Signing Off !
 It has been more than a year,Ever since I have landed here.It was a beautiful journey with words and wisdom,Met and read wonderful people in this forum.Came here to say a final hello to all,As it is time for me to just move on.Thank you for your input along the journey,All your words are precious to me.Wishing You All The Best in Your Life,Take ca...  more...
 Rajesh Chakr... | 12:58 | 20/Feb/2008
Friends: (11)  | City: Bangalore  | Interests: Music, Business, ...
Green Lessons from a Six Year Old
All this while I have been writing about trees and green things. Today, I am spell-bound to know that a six year old has done a great thing. Here is an email that was received by Janet's Trees for Free foundation. Friends, if it has touched your heart, join hands with Janet or maybe some other organization for planting trees. Its the need of the ho...  more...
 vira | 09:33 | 7/Mar/2009
Friends: (1702)  | City: Nagpur  | Interests: music,photography...
Inspring friendship quotesBuild bridges instead of walls and you will have a friend.A friend is someone who knows all about you, and loves you just the same. A real friend is someone who walks in when the rest of the world walks out. A true friend is the best possession. A true friend will see you through when others see that you are through. Hold ...  more...
 Think Tank | 12:05 | 21/Apr/2009
Friends: (823)  | City: Mumbai  | Interests: Eat healthy, Thin...
The Last five years and some Political M...
(India) (Politics) Myth # 1: Indian farmers are happy and prosperous: thanks due to Rs 72,000 Crore farm-loan waiver by the government.  Any good finance minister or economist won’t splurge on loan waivers unless there is an extraordinary need for the same: because it rewards the dishonest and lazy. Since our govt still waived off such a huge sum o...  more...
 Vikas Vij | 23:45 | 9/Apr/2009
Friends: (533)  | City: Delhi  | Interests: Everything
Mallika and Meera: Cleaning the great In...
In a country of 120 crore Indians, there are two women, exceptionally distinguished in their respective fields, who have decided to contest the India 2009 Elections as Independent candidates. Mallika Sarabhai rises against L.K. Advani from Gandhinagar, Gujarat, and Meera Sanyal contests from South Mumbai, the premier constituency of commercial Indi...  more...
 Jessica Singh | 09:49 | 13/Sep/2007
Friends: (865)  | City: Ever heard of Nadir ?  | Interests: blogging ...and t...
Sleepless in ......
I have always been a dreamer.But, these days I am not even able to sleep properly. A constant irritation itches on in my mind and I know not where it comes from. As a child, our own Doctor Uncle used to point out that diagnosis was pivotal to medication. I somehow found a deeper meaning in those words in connection to our daily lives even when I wa...  more...
 Uday Sodhi | 13:29 | 23/Jun/2008
Friends: (270)  | City: Mumbai  | Interests: Internet, Travel,...
Lonely on an island....
Once upon a time, a man decided to vacation on a cruise shipin the Caribbean. It was wonderful--the experience of his life! He was waited upon hand and foot. But, alas, it didnot last. A hurricane came up suddenly and the ship wentdown. The man found himself, he knew not how, swept up on the shore of an island. There was nothing else anywhere...  more...
 News Domain | 12:36 | 6/Oct/2007
Friends: (976)  | City: Chandigarh  | Interests: Reading, writing,...
please income
SantaSingh got his promotion and became principal in colledge. To keep up with his status, he decided tospeak only in English to all his juniors. One morning, his peon peeped through the doorto see if his principal was busy. Santa Singh noticed him and shouted, 'Why areyou outstanding! Please in...  more...
 Omkar Shende | 11:28 | 1/Jun/2007
Friends: (13)  | City: Mumbai  | Interests: Music, Painting, ...
Svacchanda
This is my first blog ever :)Just wanted to make a start, a Hi to all who view this page. I'll be writing about my own experience, thoughts, ideas etc.To start with, it rained last night in Mumbai and it was such fun. The anticipation of next day heat after the first rain, did not bother us. We were high on the fragrance she was emitting. It was th...  more...
 Srikant Sree... | 16:48 | 21/Apr/2009
Friends: (22)  | City: Mumbai  | Interests: Technology, Scien...
Sleep well little one
Sleep well little one ! Sleep in the comfort that you did not have to experience more callousness in this world. We don’t know each other, yet when you died this morning, all of us on the flight were grieving. A lady sitting behind my seat was sobbing through the flight after the captain announced that you have passed away. We are all strangers and...  more...
 friendly ghost | 13:27 | 15/Apr/2009
Friends: (393)  | City: Mumbai  | Interests: Our economists & ...
Mr Citizen, Don’t let them Betray RTI’s ...
1947: Beginning of Neta Raj & Babu RajIn 1947, British Rule ended, but we did not get Swaraj (Self Rule). The British administrative system continued. Indian administrators, judges etc resisted becoming answerable to you, the citizen, the common man. They concentrated power with themselves by making arbitrariness and “discretionary powers” their fo...  more...
 VineethNambiar | 13:18 | 7/Dec/2008
Friends: (3)  | Interests: Business,Music,Sp...
vote for a better India
The Incredible power u Have...Section 49-O of the ConstitutionDid you know that there is a system in our constitution, as per the 1969 act, in section "49-O" that a person can go to the polling booth, confirm his identity, get his finger marked and convey the presiding election officer that he doesn't want to vote anyone!Yes such a feature is avail...  more...
 dilip krishnan | 13:04 | 8/Apr/2009
Friends: (274)  | Interests: Reading, writing,...
Migration in a Globalized World!So, the Second IPL has moved to South Africa, bag and baggage, not to forget Preity Zinta, SRK, Shilpa Shetty, et al. Whether the cine stars are part of the bag or baggage is another story! Thankfully, some cricketers too will be traveling to RSA, I presume.When the IPL was being shifted to South Africa in the wake o...  more...
 Down Feather | 22:11 | 9/May/2007
Friends: (63)  | City: Bangalore  | Interests: Music, Dancing, R...
Where is GOD?
**Prelude**I am a lil sad today, my mom has been taken again to hospital and we did an ECG on her, though Doctors cleared her of just about everything, I feel depressed seeing Amma like this..Not really sure why she is suffering so much...She never expected things to turn out this way, on that fateful day in Novemeber, when they decided to do a Kid...  more...
 Matthew Schn... | 20:27 | 18/Dec/2008
Friends: (66)  | Interests: Working, reading,...
NEW BLOG
Hello all, After a year's hiatus, I'm back blogging. theamerican.rediffblogs.com Regards, Matthew  more...
 Shruti | 18:15 | 17/Sep/2007
Friends: (173)  | Interests: Travel, Music
Missing you all..
Dear Friends,Sincere apologies for not been able to keep in touch with you all for a long time now. Just came back to say Hi to all my friends.Off late, been very busy with my work and personal engagements, guys……….don’t get ideas not settling down with someone, ( u see abhi meri umar hi kya hai J).But needless to say I miss you all a lot, don’t kn...  more...
 Dil Kannur | 10:32 | 23/Jul/2007
Friends: (101)  | City: Bangalore  | Interests: Music,Sports(Exce...
Date with ???
This is a beautiful story that touched my heart, trust you will enjoy reading it and then practice it .. Toooo.After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie. She said I Love you but I know this other woman loves you and  would love to spend some time with you.The other woman that my wife wanted me to ...  more...
 john sudhakar | 14:10 | 16/Jan/2009
Friends: (185)  | City: FIGURU FIGURU SUPER FIGURU  | Interests: SALSA and JALSA
SEX AND SENSEX
SEX AND SENSEX  There’s a nice doctoral dissertation out there-me calls it SEX and SENSEX… Ideal stuff for clinical psychologists and | or social stragists… This can be a multi-center study….HYERABAD,MUMBAI,AHMEDABAD,CALCUTTA,BLORE and CHENNAI….  You can use the latest statistical stuff and the variable can be age-wise or gender-wise…. I am juzt gi...  more...
 neoamaan@red... | 03:39 | 11/Apr/2007
Friends: (11)  | City: Ahmedabad  | Interests: trying to not for...
The code of Business Conduct
The code of Business Conduct* Always conduct business at your place of comfort. A familiarity with the place/surroundings/people gives an upper hand in any business dealing.* Never hire dumb people. Nor only will they under-perform, neither will they let you climb up.* Always hire smart, good-looking people, and know what exactly you have hired th...  more...
 brijesh mishra | 14:58 | 16/May/2007
Friends: (1)  | City: Delhi  | Interests: Online, Online, O...
Classifieds continue.......
some body was peeping in my PC. Man, after completing work, why can't guys just do some creative work, like me. ...Classifieds continue....I searched some thing and found they same. Pls you don't start search, you are not like me, or don't have knowledge that I possess. HEHEHE.. i have developed classifieds. Ok. I found information i was looli...  more...
 Sudhir Bisht | 16:48 | 10/Apr/2009
Friends: (41)  | City: Delhi  | Interests: I am COO of a Tel...
Have Shoe, Will Throw
Whensomeone as venerable as PalaniappanChidambaram (PC) has a shoe thrown at him, it becomes news. People must react to anincident like this. The reactions are spontaneous, sharp and divergent. “Lookwhat a real gentleman PC is. He seems so devoid of any anger or hatred at theshoe thrower. A saint among crooks, a deer among a bunch of swine” my Mom ...  more...
 Krishna Prasad | 14:12 | 24/Mar/2009
Friends: (1554)  | City: PALAKKAD  | Interests: Reading, Writing,...
All alone walking at night
All alone walking at night  Long days agoI remember walkingBesides a burial groundAlmost near to my houseAfter getting down from last bus My village sleepsAround Nine PMTime was Eleven PMNobody was on the roadExcept me Creaking sound of myShoes on the sandMade me scaryI could hear my breathAs trumpets I ever heard When I was nearingBurial groundSta...  more...
 Arindam Sen | 17:04 | 8/Nov/2006
Friends: (313)  | City: Ahmedabad  | Interests: Management
Last post in the interview series!
CAT experiences of IIMA students - I received quite a good feedback for the interviews. CAT aspirants have now a guideline and benchmark to follow. I remember we were quite unsure about how many to attempt! Some of us screwed up CAT just because they had no idea how many is adequate and ended up trying for the impossible. Now you have a definite pl...  more...
 Madhavan PK | 18:28 | 10/Apr/2009
Friends: (433)  | Interests: Books, crossword,...
Man's best friend
My sister stood still. A Great Dane galloped towards her, barking. It was an open playfield. She had nowhere to hide. She stood still and turned her eyes away from the dog. The screaming owner of the dog was a good hundred feet away. The dog sniffed her, dragged itself back a few yards, barked at her, sniped at her legs and repeated the maneuver th...  more...
 janus janus | 19:20 | 14/Apr/2009
Friends: (361)  | City: Mumbai  | Interests: Yoga, music, cook...
Rakhi ka swayamvar
Reality TV seems to have hit a new low with the announcement that NDTV Imagine plans to beam Rakhi Sawant’s swayamvar. As my friend asked, tongue all a-drool, if they will also telecast the suhaag-raat. Groan. I can understand television needs big ideas constantly given the cut-throat competition in the marketplace. I have seen some duds come out a...  more...
 PRATAP TC | 20:16 | 5/Sep/2008
Friends: (39)  | City: KOLLAM/QUILON  | Interests: travelling,Cookin...
A stray Doggie tale !
 I have been living in front a Women’scollege for about43 years, but some how I’ve never got much positive attentionto my liking from any particular college student so far! But the other day, when my my wife said to me …” I didn’t know that she likedyou so much!”, I was thrilled and surprised beyond my wildest dreams! I askedher ‘mmmmmm..who?”My mi...  more...
 Apurba Sen | 21:20 | 31/Aug/2008
Friends: (73)  | City: Mumbai  | Interests: Trend Spotting,SE...
Le Cafe - Pondicherry
If you are on a leisurely walk on the beach on the Goubert Avenue , Pondicherry, The Le Cafe must fascinate your eyes . During the French period, the present Le Cafe building was Pondicherry"s harbour office. It was the first site the Europeans saw and landed on. In fact , the harbour captain and his staff worked here. The 200 years old building wa...  more...
 Cyril Paul | 07:39 | 26/Mar/2009
Friends: (19)  | City: Mumbai  | Interests: Whoa...! Music/ M...
Big Theories, Small People
Recently I was asked to address a batch of 1st year MBA students, explaining to them in simple terms what investment banking was all about. In the span of one hour, we discussed a number of terms such as listing, delisting, hostile takeovers, seed capital, venture capital & private equity, capital market regulations, and the like. They egged me to ...  more...
 Siddarth-The... | 21:32 | 18/Jan/2009
Friends: (143)  | City: Madurai  | Interests: Anything under th...
Crossing
I crossed an ocean to discoverto find out if there was someone as still as the waterI crossed the tallest mountain peakto find out if there was no more knowledge left to seekI crossed the deepest valleyto find out if there was darkness beyond itI crossed the largest desertto find out if there could be life I crossed the great ball of fireto find ou...  more...
 Nandan Newla... | 01:20 | 22/Aug/2007
Friends: (73)  | City: Cochin  | Interests: read write arithmet
SAND
im never myself and never for myselfand that was why i had dug down the sandfor some short messagesthe bucket was deepand the sand mostly dryi took it out one after otherbucket in hand i emptied my messagesand my world went tring tringno one knew where i had hidsuch was the load of unread messagesi was dog tiredbut i still tried and tried to keep t...  more...
 shishir bhate | 19:52 | 21/Mar/2006
Friends: (161)  | City: Mumbai  | Interests: Reading, writing,...
Are more H-1B visas good for India?
By the end of this month, if will be clear if the US Senate Immigration Reform Bill introduced to decide whether H-1B visa limit should be increased from 65,000 to 115,000 has been defeated or allowed to sail through successfully. Everyone says an increase in the H-1B visa limit will help Indians the most. Will it, really? But more on that in just ...  more...
 Sabarinath Nair | 11:08 | 3/Apr/2009
Friends: (72)  | City: Chennai  | Interests: Nature Photograph...
The Temple Elephant and the Wild Elephan...
One of my friends told me the analogy: that a regular employee is a Temple Elephant, whereas a freelance consultant is a wild elephant.The temple elephant gets enough food at regular intervals, but is a slave to the temple authorities; whereas the wild elephant has to find food on his own from the forest, but he is his own master.I can endorse this...  more...
 Krishna Reddy | 23:08 | 19/Apr/2009
Friends: (339)  | City: Mumbai  | Interests: Art of Living, Sw...
I have taken the following following from L. K. Advani's website:Sri Sri Ravi Shankar responds to Advaniji's letter to spiritual leaders * appreciates initiative to include leaders of all faiths to keep the secular & spiritual character of our country intact.* lauds Advaniji’s move to bring back 74 lakh crore rupees of Indian black money from Swiss...  more...
 jasmeet singh | 09:49 | 12/Jun/2008
Friends: (38)  | City: Mumbai  | Interests: swimming, wrting
Re_locate
Dream, reality...nightmare? The grime under his chipped fingernail is inky black as he points in the direction he wants me to take. "Sirji aap gol chakar se dahiney haath mud jao, phir ring road se outer ring road ko ho lena...bas." He has a belly that I can rest my breakfast tray on, a handlebar moustache that coils funnily at the tips and a dark ...  more...
 The Witch | 23:29 | 4/Jan/2006
Friends: (51)  | City: Oz  | Interests: Fair is Foul And ...
My Stupid Suicide Plan - Chetan Bhagat
Last week, an IITian committed suicide. People who commit suicide do itwhen they feel there's no future. But wait, isn't IIT the one placewhere a bright and shining future is a foregone conclusion? It justdoesn't add up, does it? Why would a young, hardworking, bright studentwho has the world ahead of him do something like this? But the answer isth...  more...
 surya s | 02:18 | 20/Apr/2009
Friends: (107)  | City: Helsinki  | Interests: ReaDing, MOvies, ...
Spring
Spring is here.I saw my first spring flower, a tiny dot of bright yellow, on my wayback from work last week. I have been able to stay up late and wake upearly, all without an alarm clock. I can smell the new buds in the air.Looking closer, the buds are deep red like new born babies, waiting forthe perfect cue to surprise us. Bulbs have started spro...  more...
 Amit Agrawal | 23:56 | 5/Dec/2008
Friends: (306)  | City: New Delhi  | Interests: hayaa aur hayaat
thodi si naadaani
ek jumbish si bhi hai seene mein koi khalish bhi hai aur koi tapish si hai yahan kaash thodi der aur karti ye maut naadaani kar lete hum jeene mein ---zauq  more...
 ratna rajaiah | 22:20 | 20/Apr/2009
Friends: (479)  | Interests: reading, writing,...
Ten Best Alternatives to Suicide
I guess it was the all the blah-blah-blah about OSO being a tribute to the 70’s era og Hindi films that put me in a nostalgic mood. So, I thought to meself – what better way to raise my own little sentimental toast than to dash off a list. For example10 films in which Dharam pra-ji said “Billi-Badmash!” instead of “Kuttey-Kameeney!” Or “10 films of...  more...
 sandeep ozarde | 15:35 | 15/Dec/2008
Friends: (624)  | City: Bombay  | Interests: BREAKFAST: Assam ...
Do We Have the Guts?
 I am convinced that India will take another 100 years to reform itself or we need exceptional strong leaders. No great reform will happen after this attack in Mumbai. India has all the power to fight back, unfortunately Indian government has no guts to attack these terror camps like US did in Afghanistan after 9/11. Pathetic Indian Law System is a...  more...