Future of IT- Cloud and More

Technology is changing at a very fast pace and everybody is wondering where all of this is going to end. For the first time all the components of ecosystem are evolving at the same time and changes are disruptive. Advancement in end-user devices, virtualization technology, storage devices and telecommunication- all happening at the same time. And all of this is just making Cloud computing more feasible and viable, which may be the end game.

Ancient time, each town had its own power generation facility. If a new town was envisaged, the infrastructure included a power plant. Then they discovered that this not efficient, why not build a centralized power store which will store electricity form various power generation facility. The towns do not need to own its power plant, they just need to plug into already existing centralized power store, the Grid.
                       
Keeping ones most valuable possession with someone else takes lot of trust and this takes centuries to build. The bank that we see today has evolved over several centuries. But now the trust ecosystem is mature and system robust; making banks the preferred place to keep ones earning. The most valuable possession some place else with zero visibility on whats being done on it. Amazing !

Cloud mirrors both the Grid and Bank system. Its the IT implementation of 'Economics of Scale' concept. Its a global consolidation and centralization IT infrastructure, platform and applications bringing with it significant cost savings.

Every organization needs a messaging system. If there are 1000 organization in a  city, each will setup its own messaging infrastructure. The service needs architect, project managers, subject matter experts for implementation. The infrastructure needs skilled people to manage it round the clock. 1000 infrastructure requires 1000 messaging team to build and operate providing exactly the same service. Not efficient.
                           Cloud messaging service acts like messaging Grid and facilitates people to just plug into into the system instead of investing on infrastructure and skills. Cloud for a town will make 1000 messaging infrastructure redundant, Cloud for the world will make millions messaging infrastructure redundant. Advancement in virtualization, storage and telecommunication (bandwidth) will make this system viable. Result, a per user messaging license now costs $50/year instead of $1000/year, significant cost savings.

cont..

IPL 5 RCB Experience - Chinnaswamy Stadium

Poorly managed event by the IPL franchise at Chinnaswamy stadium, Bangalore.

The ordeal starts, when you reach at the stadium and try to find a parking space. Comes the shocker, you can't park it at stadium even though it has space for 500 vehicles, one is supposed to go 1 km down the road to Shivaji Bus Stand to park. Its one-way traffic to the bus stand, what that means for you, is that you've to come back all the way walking.
                               One should park the vehicle in a mall or somewhere or use public transport to visit the stadium. Personal vehicle is a big hassle if you don't have a driver.

Electronic Ticket - If you've booked online then one should go at least 2 hr prior to the match. There is only one single counter manned by one guy at Gate 7 for provisioning gate pass to electronic ticket holders. Thousands with electronic ticket and just one counter, are these people absolutely nuts. I saw a 50 m queue and I had just 15 mts left for the game to start, I had to jump the queue. Not sure when the last person may have got into the stadium, not before 2nd innings that's for sure.
                                                 Why its so hard for these people to arrange at least 10 counters, what is the constraint, why torture people ? There were foreigners in the queue as well looking totally frustrated. Thanks  KSCA.

And the ticket prices are very steep. The minimum ticket available online is for Rs 1,250 and it goes upto over  Rs 1,00,000. I saw tickets being sold at Rs 250, Rs 500, Rs 600 in Pune for a stadium which is 100 times better and the support it got for the first match was tremendous. This RCB people are really very cunning.

The gate to enter the stadium is very narrow. People pushing each other to get into those passages. The return  is even more dangerous when all spectators rush at one go and that dimly lit passage becomes bottleneck and a absolute nightmare.

After paying Rs 1,650 you get a plastic chair which is not fixed. So, far too many chairs crammed into the first few rows, with people pressing against each other while seated. Extremely uncomfortable .

Watching sports at a stadium shouldn't become such a nasty experience. Experience is not just about what happens on the ground, it includes the overall experience. Tons of money is being collected every year, and so little being done. Its one the worst stadium in the country. Dirty walls, compound and surrounding, amidst maddening traffic, narrow entry/exit gates, poor ticket distribution and shoddy management. The whole experience becomes an ordeal, which no one wants to repeat, especially with family and kids.

I wonder why these people can't even do the basics right, why even after so much revenues stadium doesn't change and why people comfort and experience is not respected ? Promoters of RCB should be ashamed of themselves.

The New Born - Life's Biggest Change Agent

Human mind gets bored of things very quickly. When bored it loses enthusiasm, passion and interest. Life ensures that change is permanent and human minds is always engaged because of it.  Multiple seasons makes every year different and interesting. Marriage, kids and family- the changing relations and responsibilities- keeps the mind occupied and busy.

Kids have a very pleasant life in most of the cases. The child years are best, filled with innocence and happiness. The child grows up to become a youth. New found love and romance keeps one involved. Then job; initial few years are very interesting. As 20s dies away, human mind longs for somebody permanent, to call its own. Marriage brings couple of years of fun and post that mind again starts to feel restless. Kid arrives to bring with it new joy and happiness. The next few years, kids life becomes source of joy. The midlife opens new doors of opportunity in career and instills excitement. Kids grow up to become an adult and start their own journey. Journey continues with their marriage and kid. The arrival of children kid signals the beginning of the end of one's generation. One now becomes totally irrelevant and waits for life's second most important change agent- death.

Birth and Death are life's two biggest change agent. The arrival of new born signals the dawn of a new generation and end of a older generation. Its simply extraordinary to witness life in action with regular changes. The birth of a child is like arrival of a most beautiful guest. Such innocence and divine beauty; really kids are god's avatar. Small hands, beautiful smile, the laughter, the cries- everything so wonderful. Not sure who thought of this process or programmed it; greatest of all changes.

No body can escape the life's change agent. Time waits for no one. Every one has to go through this cycle. If one misses one of these change agent in one's life, mind becomes deride of all enthusiasm, excitement and happiness. It wanders aimlessly with no end in sight and gets sick. Humans cant be ever substituted by materialistic ambition or things; they have a very small shelf life in human mind. Wise people realized this centuries ago and created the concept of marriage which facilitates functioning of life's change agents.

The New Flat World

Sometimes when you look back at millennium gone by, you wonder how countries and their business functioned. Colonization, murder, slavery and war in the name of business and money. Your industry needs raw material, find a country which has in abundance, just capture the god damn country. Moreover, there was a gap in technology, knowledge and awareness, which facilitated in putting some countries to higher grounds. Millions benefited from this act of greed; living a very affluent, convenient and easy life for centuries. Thankfully, grounds are being leveled now and technology is playing a big role in it.

The dream of  'one world' was always there and people at various times in history contemplated on its viability. The definition, though, was never clear. Should the physical boundaries be gotten away with, should there be one constitution and law, so on and so forth. With serious differences in access to technology, resources and wealth, the idea never seemed probable. If 'one world' would ever come into being, a new kind of boundary should be defined and then it should be gotten away with.

Countries wealth now is judged by economic metrics which in turn is defined by the business houses there. Industries are playing big role in defining and influencing government action and policies. Businesses no longer work within the physical boundary of the country, their boundary encompasses the whole world now. They produce a product for the world collaborating with the world.

Entrepreneurs today build a global product leveraging the competency of various countries. They may use R&D of US, manufacturing of China and services of India to build a unique competitive product which can compete with the best in the world. Sony tried to do manufacturing in their own country with disasterous results. The labor costs play a big role, so while others are using a low cost destination, one can't just afford to ignore it. One cant wage a war to capture resources but one definitely can acquire it. Chinese and Indian companies are acquiring business from the west to add a competency or to meet a demand. It may have taken 100 years to build Ford but it doesn't necessarily means that every global automobile company will take a century to mature. One can get there in 20 years by acquiring design companies from Italy, factories in red and hiring best skills from around the world. Inorganic growth reduces the gestation period significantly.

Demand is the new king and its in the emerging market. Technology is facilitating the remote skill development and distributing knowledge capital. This unique demand will help in leveling the playing field and usher us into 'one world' era.

Art of Living Ashram Visit - International Center, Kanakpura Road-Bangalore, India

Art of Living is founded by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (Guruji). The institution is involved in teaching yoga & meditation since last three decades and also does lot of social welfare activities - running schools, colleges, etc. for the needy. The foundation is present in over 100 countries.

International Center at Kanakpura road, Bangalore is where it all started and has a ashram where Guruji along with his disciples stay. The sprawling campus spans over several acres and has got hostels, several lecture centers, fountains and lot of plantation.

The center of attraction is VishaLakshi Mantap (VM)- place for all the major activities in the ashram- Meditation courses, Guruji discourses, satsang, etc. Beautiful building with traditional hindu architecture with enough space to accomodate over 500 people. Lot of cushions available to sit or lie down for meditation. The view from the first floor of the building is amazing with nice cool breeze flowing all the time.

The spiritual places must have lot of greenary- trees & plants, vegetation helps in relaxing the mind. Most of the people visit ashrams to run away from dust & pollution. This ashram has got lot of vegetation in and around. The ambience is really good and has got a calming effect. Thats how people should live, amongst nature- flowers, green trees, birds-in harmony with them. The concrete jungle is making people go insane.

The ashram provide rooms for stay- twin, triple & quadruple sharing basis, costing Rs 900, Rs 600 & Rs 300 resp. The hostels are very neat & clean. The waste management is really good, wont find any garbage lying around, a welcome change in Bangalore. Food is provided free to all the ashramities.
                  There are various courses in which one can enroll and learn yoga & meditation. Part I, Part II , Advanced, Yes+, etc. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar discovered Sudarshan Kriya, a form of breathing patterns, and is taught in every courses run here. The Kriya is very powerful and effective, and if done regularly, can really help to clean the cellar filled with lot of garbage in your head.

There is a Lake just behind the ashram and the views around it is very good. I spend some time sitting around the lake and appreciating the beauty of nature. One should take a stroll around it while there. Amazed to see the size of fishes available in the lake.

RadhaKunj is another must see place within the Ashram. This is where Guruji stays with other key disciples. This has got lot of vegetation, lecture halls and a big fountain. Few rabbits, a deer & some birds are other occupants.

The highlight of entire stay is always the Satsang- religious song sung in VM. Satsang happens every weekday from 6.30 PM to 8.30 PM. Some really good singers lend their voice to popular religious compositions. Everybody joins in and the effect it creates is really amazing. Some just go into medititation, some start dancing while others join in the chorus. Guruji, when he is around, delivers his talk post the satsang at this very place.

Art of Living has grown really big. Lot of sevaks are required to run the entire ashram & its various courses & establishments. Bangalore has grown big enough and come close to this ashram. The land of Ashram, running several acres, will be worth several hundred million dollars in future. Usually, these foundations running in the name of one spiritual Guru, do not survive post the passing away of founder. And bitter squabbling over property starts and ruins the sanctity of the institution.

It is to be seen how successfully they manage to come up with a succession policy. Finding a CEO is easy, but finding a suitable enlightened Guru these days is very difficult. Disciples world over need a leader to continue the good work as the Guru is their only guiding light. People renounce everything and devote their lives to spiritual Gurus, making them the purpose & motive of life. I wonder how they cope with passing away of their Gurus. The only motive of life dies, what next.

HRA Calculation - Income Tax Act 1961 - Section 10 ( 13A)- Rule 2a

Step 1: What is defined as Salary?


Salary = Basic Pay + Dearness Allowance (D.A.)
DA – Govt Employees (% Basic)

Private Sector – No D.A.

Step 2: Eligibility Criteria

Three conditions must be fulfilled:

A.HRA Component as part of package
B.Staying in rented accommodation
C.Rent is more that 10% of salary { Basic 40,000/ Rent>4,000}

Step 3: HRA Exemption in Metro & Non-Metro

Metro [Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai or Kolkata] = 50% of Basic Pay
Non- Metro = 40% of Basic Pay

Step 4: HRA Tax Exemption Calculation

A.What’s your HRA allowance amount (salary slip)?

Ex:
Basic – Rs 40,000
HRA – Rs 20,000
Flexi – Rs 30,000

Ans: Rs 20,000

B.What’s your HRA Exemption amount based on location {metro/non-metro}?

Ex:
Location - Bangalore
Basic – Rs 40,000
HRA – Rs 20,000
Flexi – Rs 30,000

Ans: Bangalore [non-metro]= 40% x Basic = Rs 16,000

C.How much rent have you paid in excess of 10% of your basic pay?

Ex:
Rent Paid – Rs 15,000
Basic – Rs 40,000
HRA – Rs 20,000
Flexi – Rs 30,000

Ans:
10% of Basic = 4,000
Rent paid in excess of 10% of Basic = 15,000 – 4,000=11,000

D. Least of three rule- Income Tax Act, 1961

Least of following three is exempt from tax:

1. Actual HRA received
2. Rent paid in excess of 10% of salary (Basic + DA)
3. 40% of salary in Non-metro (50% if residing in a metro i.e., New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai or Mumbai)

E. Example

Rent Paid – Rs 15,000
Location – Bangalore
Basic – Rs 40,000
HRA – Rs 20,000
Flexi – Rs 30,000

1.Actual HRA received
[Rs 20,000]

2. Rent paid in excess of 10% of salary (Basic + DA)
[15,000-(10%x 40,000)] =11,000

3. 40% of salary in Non-metro (50% if residing in a metro i.e., New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai or Mumbai)
[Bangalore= 40% x 40,000 = 16,000]

Least of three = Rs 11,000

Yearly HRA exempted from Tax calculation = 11,000 x 12 = Rs 132,000
Taxable = 20000(HRA) x 12 - 132000 = Rs 108,000

Step 4: Proof

Rent is < Rs 3,000: No Proof Required

Rent is > Rs 3,000: Rent Receipts Required


Income Tax Act, 1961, Rule 2a

Pattaya Tour 2011

Thailand is one of the most popular tourist destination in the world and asia-pacific in particular. Thailand is known for beaches, temples and sex tourism. Pattaya and Phuket, the cities of Thailand, are highly rated and enjoys millions of visitors every year.

I decided to visit Pattaya and spend some memorable days there. Landed at the Suvarnabhumi airport, Bangkok early morning mid Dec-this being the nearest airport to Pattaya. The airport is quite large & good architecturally and buzzing with travellers. Pattaya is around 120kms from the airport and bus is the cheapest mode of transportation. Booked a bus online from http://www.belltravelservice.com/ - no payment required. One is required to visit their office at Level 1 Gate no 8 at the airport to pay and board the bus. They have luxury bus service running every 2 hours from airport to Pattaya starting at 6 am in the morning, costs 200 Bhat. The buses are airconditioned and very comfortable.

The road from airport to Pattaya is wide and very good throughout, built with concrete on most parts. No point paying over 1000 Bhat for taxis if not a big family. It took less than 2 hrs to reach Pattaya- airconditioned bus station at the northeren end. Bell services will drop you to your hotel in mini-vans free of cost from the bus stand which is located on the outskirts. They will pick you from the hotel for the return journey as well.

Pattaya thrives on tourism. The first glimpse of Pattaya - tourist, tourist and tourist everywhere. The sea waves sound and pleasant breeze greets you the moment one enters the town. Plenty of hotels on every street and corner. The December weather in Pattaya is very comfortable- no humidity, cool breeze and convenient temperature. Only during the afternoon, 1-3 pm, can one experience some kind of heat. Soi 6,7 and 8 are the places to find hotels in as they are at the edge of Walking Street- the epicentre of all the buzz.

After 6pm the entire Pattaya resembles like one Big bar. Hundreds of bars with hundreds of girls seeking your attention for a round of drink at every inch of Pattaya. These bar girls mostly look for older european tourist- who enjoys the younger girls company, spends money on buying their drinks and picks up the girl later on as well. They dont spend too much time on tourist who just comes and drinks 60 Bhat beer and disappears. Their skin is not for them. Older white men with pension money are the most sought after. These bar girls double up as escorts and one can take them out. Some of these bars have live bands playing english music, the others have LCD playing football matches, the rest playing loud english music. Kind of surprising that they haven't yet started playing russian music, they dominate Pattaya from sheer numbers perspective.

Go go bars are also in plenty with entry rates of 100-300 Bhat(one free beer). Nude pole dancing by girls starting at age 13. One can buy them a drink which costs 100 Bhat and enjoy their company for sometime, people are seen doing all kind of activities with these girls possible in public. They also double up as escorts, one can take them out or go upstairs for quick pleasure. Everything is possible with money there.
                My heart goes out for teenage girls working over there, not sure how they become part of this business, by force or by wish. For me it was painful to witness them doing what they were doing in a age when they should be playing in schools. Everyone of these girls was smoking and drinking. Sex has become a commodity for people in Pattaya.

Pattaya beach is narrow but clean. This is the first stop in the morning for any tourist for sun bathing, relaxing or just lazing around enjoying the magnifient view. Jet skiing, banana rides and parasailing are some of the sporting activities found in plenty on the beach. One has to be careful while hiring these Jet ski bikes, its a scam and the Thai mafia can make you pay for as much as 50000 Bhat for damages to the bike. Its better to avoid, police is involved as well.

Koi Larn beach is 9 kms from Pattaya beach. One can club the Parasailing andseawalking with the Koi Larn tour- the entire return trip with activities will cost 2000 Bhat. Pattaya sea is bit rough, the speed boat really gives you tough time during the 20 mts ride. The view from Parasailing deck is really nice- good photo oppurtunity. For me Koi is about privacy, the beach is not yet popular, so few tourist there. The beach has got just one bar and restaurant. One can hire bikes to discover the island, will cost you 600 bhat/hr (very steep and the owners very rude). One can do snorkelling there apart from lazing around on the beach. Filled with Russian tourists, the beach didn't excite me much.

For me the the Pattaya beach pathways was like heaven- full of coconut trees, shady and cool breeze. Lot of concrete benches to sit and the area very clean. One can laze around on the pathways throughout the day and thats what most of the long term tourists do. Fruit vendors will ensure you always have something to eat and the view and sound of the vast sea is just amazing.

Pattaya beaches are narrow and sea a bit rough. There is lot of concern on the beaches disappearing because of sand erosion, which can have a huge impact on the tourism industry there. The wave on the shore are bit strong as well, one has to careful while swimming. Moreover, the sea water is not clean, of late it has become a dumping ground for city waste.
                  The scenes, feel and atmosphere at the beach is very pleasant. Sounds of waves crashing at the shore is music and one can order drinks and food at the stalls on the beach. The settings on the beach is good enough to let you relax and unwind for longer hours.

Pattaya at night looks very interesting as well. The beaches are well lit and one can find tourists strolling on the beach even late night. And its absolutely safe. The fun of having beer and enjoying the silence of night only broken by the sound of waves and nice feeling cool breeze is just awesome.

 The Pattaya beach pathways becomes a never ending queue of prostitutes at night. It seems like each and every girl working on bars, massage parlours, shops convert into prostitutes seeking your attention and money. They come in all shapes, sizes, colour and sexuality with price tag starting at as low as 200 Bhat. They wont disturb you, touch you or mess with you, they will keep standing silently waiting for their next prospective customer.

There are lot of sightseeing places to see in Pattaya, like ecojungle(not the exact name), aquarium, tiffany show(cabaret), temples, etc. For me taking in the feel of the place, the culture and atmosphere is more important that sightseeing places and thats what I did.

Pattaya is now attracting lot of visitors from Russia and India. One can find beautiful russian girls all over the place. I think the bar girls should now start learning another language- Russian. Infact russian tourists dominate the entire Pattaya, coming in big numbers. India new found economic progress has brought in a new culture of travelling abroad and the nearest tourism country is Thailand and Singapore, both these countries are attracting plenty of tourists from there. Soap massage parlours in Pattaya have 80% customers from India.

Shopping malls don't fit into culture of tourist destination like Pattaya and in fact kills the makeup. Central, shopping mall, has comeup on the edge of Pattaya beach and it ruining the earnings of localites. The food court over there is cheap and has lot of variety, no wonder its filled with tourists who end up shopping there as well. I think the govt over there has committed a blunder. Sophistication kills tourism, infact people go on a vacation to places like Pattaya to run away from sophisticated city life. Local restaurants, local food, local made souveneirs, local shops should be encouraged over malls to ensure the livelihood of people associated directly with tourism.

The 'Land of Smiles' is really a land of smiles. The bar and massage girls lead a tough life but never short of smiles. Wake up in the morning , put-on makeup, invite customers to bars, play with them, drink with them, have some food and its evening, put the makeup again, invite customers, drink with them, dance for them, play with them, seduce and go to the hotel with one of them, have sex , wakeup, go back to your bar, makeup and start all over again with a big Smile ! Its Tragic.