And it's ..."Shraddha Surineni"

Hello Everyone, Long time no see......I have a zillion updates from my side since the last post, so you better be patient to read the complete post.

I am 5 months and 8 days old and ...uuff finally I have been named, err... though I have my doubts if they(my parents) gonna stick to this one or not. You might have guessed it with the title, it's "Shraddha Surineni". My father had different one in mind but you know...that's how it is ;-), I pity him.

I:

• Put every thing I can lift straight into my mouth


• Bring my mouth to everything that I cannot lift so that I can put it in my mouth


• Acknowledge when some one talks or sings to me by saying "Aaaaam", "Aaaa"


• Cry only when I am hungry or getting sleep or...yew.. you know... ;-)


• Get angry if one carrying me talks to someone else ignoring me.


• Sleep sideways and sleep all night without disturbing anyone and myself


• Roll all across the bed in all directions


• This is the best part, my grand mother thought me "Sit & Stand". Yes, I sit when someone says "Sit" and stand one someone says "Stand"(Of course some has to hold me up). My father thinks I am genius(like him...) ha ha ha ha..... he is so funny.


• Eat nestum rice meal, banana; Drink lactogen milk, tomato juice, orange juice


• I open my mouth to eat food only when someone sings to me

Last weekend everyone took me to this cool and nice place called Tirumala(Tirupati) to do something. We all went in a vehicle and my dad came up by stairs, I thought he will take 4 to 5 hours considering that he puffs and pants after climbing 7 floors at his work place. But he made it in 2 hours 10 minutes, without drinking/eating anything(My mom thinks, if he has his camera, he does not need anything). I was happy that my paternal Great Grand Parents, chinna ammamma(my paternal Grandmoms sister), chinna tata, Maternal Grand parents, Paternal grandfather and my pinni(my mom's sister) and babai were there for me.

Above: It looks like a closed room, all children are crying on top of their voice.... My dad is brushing my hair... I wonder what's going to happen!!!!

Above: The ambiance around is serious, my mom is tensed, I am not understanding what's happening here and my Dad - smiling like always, damn I cant get any clue from his face.

Below: My Dad put me in his lap and in few seconds they made me like this :-( . They also had my ears pierced. It pained but only for few minutes, I was normal later. My dad thinks if my mom had to undergo even the fraction of the pain I went through she would have cried the entire day :-).

Below: Its Annaprasna(eating food for the first time) time and they put books, food(bananas), money, pen, flowers, gold, silver in front of me and they wanted to crawl towards the items and hold few of those. It is believed that the three items I touch first, I will have plenty/sufficient of that.
Below: I first went towards bananas and held those. My Mom was screaming "Nooooo", My Dad - "Yessssss" because he did the same during his ceremony.

Below: Next I went for Money and Pen. Now my Mom was happy that I will have money and have good education.

Next I went for Gold and silver, after that they made me eat the Prasadam. Later in the day we went to my dad's dad''s home town "Chandragiri" which is very near to Tirupati. I was very tired and hit lap early.

Next day we went to see Lord Venkateswara's Kalayanam followed by darshan and it was amazing. I am surprised to see my dad so devotional and he looked funny in the silk dothi and gundu. Later in the evening every one headed back to their respective locations and I left for Eluru with my Maternal Grand Parents.

Next Saturday i.e., 17 January 2009, I will be in Hyderabad permanently. I wonder how my parents manage me with their work schedules. I am sure going to miss my Grand ma and Grand pa.....

So, Hyderabad.... get ready for Shradha!!!

Colours of Life...

Have you ever played with colours? I am sure we all would have at one point or the other. The other day my sister gave me showcase piece(I do not know what is it called) which is basically a transparent bottle filled with clear liquid and some sort of colour fluids with do not mix with each other and when overlap they produce different colours. Also to create a dripping effect there are small cabinet like enclosures at both ends with a small hole where the coloured fluid accumulates if put the "thing" in one position for certain amount of time.


I clicked the above picture at my home last Sunday
I got something like this couple of years back but it broke(fell down and NOT my mistake) the very minute I brought it home.

I simply love to play with this one(of course when I have nothing else to do), various shapes, colours and especially with sunlight in the background this looks amazing. If I give it a thought, like my camera shows, this also has colours, shapes, light and ... O my God! Sometimes I feel like I have started looking most of the things as "Through the Lens" ala Frame, color, composition, Depth etc.

You know what? basically, I am confused and completely off the track as I started off to write something and ended off with something else. I find no relation with the title, picture and text. In my native language they say "Tala Toka lenidi" which basically translates to "something which has no head and tail... :-) :-( ... Ok ....Ok I stop

I guess I will end this Freak Show and get back to what ever I have been doing... ha ha ha ha.

Work like an ant and be prepared for the hard times...

I cicked this above picture near my home

Other day I was lazing around with my camera around my home enjoying the beautiful sunset. FYI, I can spend hours admiring and of course clicking the Sun Set, Alas! that is lasts only few minutes.

I was composing a plant with sun in the background and I noticed a group of ants working their ass off even at the fag end of the day. We all know how much hard workers Ants are and their well planned colonies which are engineering marvels(especially when you are at that size) explains it all.

When I was composing this picture the thought which came to my mind is "Let the Sun set on the past year's difficulties and let us march ahead into the new year with all our vigor, strength and positive orientation".

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!!!

Cost Cutting...

The buzz word's which is going around these days are recession, pink slips, fired, Economic Slow down, Bail out, bankrupt and cost cutting. In these times please go through the email circulated in a small company by its management before its xxxx year celebrations:

XXXXXX XXXXXXX x year celebration:

Frequently Asked Questions

xxxxxxx 2008 is an important milestone for us. We complete x years of operation in Hyderabad. The journey has taken us from a small start of xx people in the first batch to a team of xxxx people. While the journey started earlier in xxxxxxx, the big commitment came with the Hyderabad operations. It is a pleasure to be celebrating this event with more than xx of us who have completed 5 years or more. We want to treat this as a coming of age celebration. So let us all immerse ourselves in the spirit of the event where we celebrate the past and welcome the future which comes with even higher expectations.

How is the current economic environment going to impact the event?
As we all understand, we are being very prudent with our costs given the overall economic climate. We have reduced the budget for the event by over 50% and that will definitely have some impact. However, we did not want to miss the opportunity of getting together as a XXXX XXXX family and celebrating this milestone.

The application seems to allow only one guest at no charge
Yes, that is true. Whether the employee is single or married, the rule is the same – one guest. For married, the assumption is the guest will be the spouse, however the system allows you to bring a parent, brother or sister. In the case of single employees the guest can be brother, sister or parent. Please note this is an event for our employees to celebrate and mingle with their colleagues and their families so friends or non-relatives are not allowed at all, even as guests.

What about my children?
You can bring YOUR OWN children and there is no charge for them. Please note that this does not include children of your brother or sister, that is, no nephews or nieces.

So who qualifies as Additional Guests?
As you see from previous answers, you can bring in one guest from your immediate family at no charge and your own children at no charge. If you like to bring in an additional guest – parent, brother or sister for example - then you can bring them by paying the additional charge. The ticket price of Rs. 500 for the additional guests covers the incremental cost per person. By doing this, we are able to give you more flexibility in having your family participate in this event while staying within the budget. The charges will be reflected as payroll deductions at the end of the month.

After the registrations close, in case you have any changes to be made to the number of guests attending the party, please send an email to xxxxxx xxx before 3 PM on the xxth of xxxxxxx, 2008 at which time, payroll charges will be processed. Once payroll charges are processed, they will become non-refundable because the costs would have been incurred by then.

If I have a driver, can he get dinner?
If you bring in your vehicle and you have a driver, a special dinner pass will be provided to your driver at the Entry Gate with instructions on when and where the dinner will be served. A packed dinner identical to the main dinner will be provided for drivers in the Cafeteria starting at the same time that the main dinner is served.

Who is going to know if I register my friend as a brother or sister?
As clearly stated on the registration site, employees are expected to follow the guest policy strictly and any violation is considered a serious code of conduct violation and will be dealt with accordingly.

Collection of Passes:
Once you have registered, you will be able to pick up your passes a couple of days prior to the event from the Admin on your floor or a designated person on your floor. If you have registered for transportation, please collect the passes from the Transportation desk at the Campus. Important: Please note that the Event Pass is an absolute requirement for each person to gain entry into the event. So please DO NOT forget to bring your Event Pass. Similarly, the Bus pass is required to using the Bus. You should also note that you are required to carry your XX Access Card or XX ID card to gain access into the campus and your guests must accompany you to meet our Security requirements.

Why am I paying for the bus?
The cost of the bus charge is quite nominal. Once again, financial prudence requires managing within a constrained budget. Please note that children under the age of 12 can ride the bus at no charge. The bus charges will also appear as payroll deductions at the end of the month.
Again, after the registrations close, in case you have any changes to be made to the transportation costs being incurred by you, please send an email to xxxxxxx xxxxx before 3 PM on the xxth of December, 2008. Once payroll charges are processed, they will become non-refundable because the costs would have been incurred by then.

Is there any special transport facility for women employees?
If you are a women employee and have no registered guests then you can use the home-drop shared cab facility. Cabs will leave at 10:30 PM and 11:30 PM only and while the routes will be optimized, each cab may have several drops along the way. This facility is offered to women employees only to meet the legal requirements for providing late-night home drops to women employees.

My paid guests would be utilizing their own transportation and will be joining me at the campus. Why am I being charged for my guest’s transportation?
For security reasons, the guests cannot be permitted to enter the campus without you escorting them. Please make arrangements to either meet with your guests and accompany them in their vehicle or bring them along with you in the transport provided by the company.

Neither my guests nor I are availing the company provided transportation. Can we arrive at different timings?
As explained in Question 10, for security reasons, you are required to accompany your guests and make arrangements to come in at the same time.

What does the Formal Indian Ethnic Dress code mean?
This is a 5 Year Celebration for us so we would like to make it really festive. Obviously, the ladies will be in Saris, Salwar Suits, or Lehngas. We would like the gentlemen to also look like royalty and wear either Sherwanis or formal embroidered kurtas. Clearly jeans would look really out of place.

What is the entertainment program?
We are working on a good mix of internal and external entertainment. Details will be provided closer to the event.

Why do I need to decide on my food preferences now?
It would give us a better estimate of the quantities of food and providing variety.
I understand there are no drink coupons this time.
Yes, that is true. There is actually no limit on soft drinks, tea and coffee. However, beer will require a direct payment to the caterer. The caterer will charge for small beer bottles very close to the cost.

Will my family members be able to see my office location?
Not this time. We are starting late and the entertainment program will start right away. So for security reasons the building will be locked completely above the first floor even for employees. The gym will also be locked.

Is there a specific time that I need to arrive?
The event starts at 6:00 PM and we recommend arrival by 5:45 pm. Gates to the campus will close at 7:30 PM and NO entry will be allowed after that to ensure proper security.

"So please come and enjoy this special event".......... ??????????

Little less 'Converse'ation...

Little less 'Converse'ation...Little More Action

This is for all the "person's who are professionally involved in politics, especially as a holder of an elected office and person's who act in a manipulative and devious way, typically to gain advancement" = Politicians (As per the oxford Dictionary)

W. A. K. E UP!!!



A little less conversation, a little more action please
All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me
A little more bite and a little less bark
A little less fight and a little more spark

~Elvis Presley

Sometimes mother nature has its own ways to remind us...

Yesterday, while driving back from work I saw a beautiful scene in the sky. The moment I looked at it my heart was filled with joy. For my mind and heart which were filled with rage, disagreement anger and disappointment with all the current happenings in our country from last few days , it came in as a relief.

I clicked the above picture from my home (Hyderabad) yesterday night

It's like someone telling us to something; conveying a strong message, "To stand as one even in our deepest grief's" and answer back the cowards that no matter what we Indians always stand as one!!!

Coming to the above picture, its The Moon-Jupiter-Venus. It was a spectacular sight and I relished it very much. When I googled for more information I came to know that we won’t see this kind of incident for another 44 years.

If you don’t mind losing the moon, Venus and Jupiter will repeat this gig in 2011 and again in 2012, once in the morning and once in the early evening. But the next time the moon, Venus, and Jupiter gather like this will be Nov. 18, 2052. Reserve your seat now :-)...