*From To Sathish*-Sathish's new movie Info & Pics pg20! - Page 66

Management training programme

A group of junior-level executives were participating in a management training program. The seminar leader pounded home his point about the need to make decisions and take action on those decisions. "For instance," he said, "if you had five frogs on a log and three of them decided to jump, how many frogs would you have left on the log?" The answer from the group was unanimous, "Two." "Wrong," replied the speaker. "There would still be five, because there is a difference between deciding to jump and jumping.

Hi people,
Well i am back and have started working on a new story.It is just a seed now and i dont know how it will pan out.I am posting the beginnings of it and tell me it it is worth pursuing.Dont worry i have many plots swirling in my mad head and will come back again and again with new and more mad stories and weird plots.I wish all of you a great day and the very best that life can offer us all.God bless.

lots of love
satish

AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE

"In the English language, it all comes down to this: Twenty-six letters, when combined correctly, can create magic. Twenty -six letters form the foundation of a free, informed society." John Grogan

"Journalism can never be silent: That is its greatest virtue and its greatest fault. It must speak, and speak immediately, while the echoes of wonder, the claims of triumph and the signs of horror are still in the air." - Henry Anatole Grunwald


Some 40,000 years ago one of our ancestors stood inside a cave and using either ochre,wood charcoal and juices of crushed berries lay his hands on the walls and painted what he saw and lived with.Those images of bison,dogs,crocodiles,trees and humans still stand in mute conveying a simple but powerful message that speaks volumes of the mind.Although the debate still rages when and where the art of writing came to be,the art is well and truly here and as been for many centuries.From ochre,quills,pens,pencils to now the keyboard writing is a form of expression and communication which conveys what each and everyone thinks about a certain topic or everything for that matter.But more than any form of writing presented to you newspapers are what is consumed by everyone in particular.Yes bestsellers are sold in millions but they just do not equal newspapers in volumes sold and that too everyday all around the world.Every newspaper reader has his likes and dislikes and funnily enough stick to a certain newspaper and remain faithful to it forever.Yet more than the newspaper,the writers of the content in the paper are liked and disliked equally with love and venom.Reactions to certain headlines are attacked with rabid frenzy and sadly this symphony of emotions orchestrated by the newspapers is what drives sales.Catchy headlines turn to silly and vague content and this tactic is used by newcomers in the field of journalism to lure readers but very few last and die out quickly enough.


CHAPTER ONE

METEORIC RISE

"It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well." J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The election campaign by all parties would finish soon and the entire state would go to polls to decide who would form the next government.Three major parties and their allies were in the mix but all eyes were on the new kid on the block and that party was called TAMIL DRAVIDA FREEDOM PARTY.But more than the party it was its leader MR.DHANASHEKAR PANDIYAN whose name was on everyone's lips.He had resigned his job in America with Microsoft as a vice president and returned to india with lofty goals in mind and highly motivated.Maybe it was a change in Tamilnadu politics that was waiting to happen or just that he came at the right time when the ruling party was neck deep in corruption scandals and other political controversies,Regardless DHANASHEKAR had launched his party with one of the most incredible,hard hitting and rousing speeches that no one in tamilnadu had heard for a very long time.The speech had 5 million hits on you tube in the first few days and then everything went crazy for the hits became so numerous that you tube had to shut down for an entire day which was unheard of.When all the commotions and emotions had died down the speech by DHANASHEKAR had ten million hits and was still going strong.And not to forget that he was just 38 years old,a bachelor,incredibly good looking and loaded with oodles of charisma.Every word he spoke was measured,intelligent and the youth of Tamilnadu just fell in love with him and the strength of the party grew from one thousand on the first day to one lakh by the end of the first week.There were whispers in the corridors of power in chennai that he was soon going to be approached by the party in Delhi which now held the reins of the country.The two major parties in Tamilnadu asked him,requested him and even threatened him to join their parties but DHANA rejected them and said his party would go to the polls alone and was not bothered even if he did not win one seat which many scoffed at.For everyone knew that
TAMIL DRAVIDA FREEDOM PARTY headed by dhana would win many if not win by absolute majority and come into power.The powers that be in the ruling government tried to hoist many false cases like land grabbing,tax evasion on dhana but in the end threw dirt in their own faces.For with the help of tv channels and newspapers dhana proved that he was innocent and this hammered the final nail in the coffin of the ruling party and most had given up and resigned to the drubbing they were going to receive in the polls.But more than the electoral defeat,what most of members the ruling party feared was was that if dhana continued in the same vein then there was nothing to stop him for being in power for a very long time and by that time most of them now in their late seventies and would be forgotten.And then to add to their miseries a popular tv channel had organised an open public debate where all parties concerned could talk about their poll agendas and what they would do for the state if voted into power.The public clamor grew for all parties to send their representatives to speak at the public debate and with no other way to escape everyone consented but were dreading the event for all of them knew that going against dhana one on one would be disastrous.

Dhanashekar or dhana as he was called by his parents and friends was a typical Chennai boy and his dad worked in the electricity board as an assistant engineer and his mother was a english professor in Loyola college.Dhana did his schooling in Don Bosco,EGMORE and later did his graduation in Loyola college.He seemed to be good with computers and programming so was sent abroad to America for further studies.Good became fantastic and when he finished his engineering in computer science,Microsoft came calling with open arms and a seven figure cheque.But even from school days dhana was like a human magnet and he attracted people to him from both sexes.Like in school and in college people came to him for advise and inspiration and many a student who were written off owed him their change of fortunes in academics and life.Just his aura and soft words pushed people to do better and in college he was the only student to be ever elected president without elections being held.Well one final year student arjun did think of standing against him in the race for the college president but developed cold feet in the last second and withdrew from the contest.The fairytale continued while he was working in MICROSOFT where he was the first employee to become vice president in the shortest time.The company realised that more than Dhana's computer skills it was his people and management skills that was of the real value for them.His face was featured in Time magazine and his fame just grew.He became a noted figure and was invited to most of the high profile dos and some dont kind of parties.Maybe the only news that marred his otherwise perfect image was his alleged affair with a very famous Hollywood beauty which ended bitterly and in a very famous Oprah Winfrey the actress complained that Dhana was more interested in doing good for the rest of the world than being in love or getting married .This news actually boosted and did more good than bad to DHANASHEKARS image and when he decided that he would give up his job at MICROSOFT and return to his hometown to work for his state and country,everyone thought that he was mad and it was a foolish decision.But even before his arrival news of his achievements were often splashed in a few magazines and tv channels,but what irked dhana was that people seemed to be more interested in his good looks and party going image than his achievements.Photos of him in swimming trunks shot with telescopic lens showed his chiseled physique and a few leaked pics of him practicing Taekwondo made him a poster boy and well his picture hung in thousands of young girls homes and hearts and marriage proposals kept flooding in.

"Don't raise your voice, improve your argument."

Hi Sathish,

Great that you started with your next story. I was about to read it, when I got some work.. I will read it later in the day... Eager to see wat plot it is...

The Story of the Birth of The Indian Institute of Science



In 1893, in a boat that sailed from Yokohama to Vancouver, two great Indians, one, a monk and the other, an industrialist met for the first time. The monk was Swami Vivekananda, who was to take and interpret to the West, more effectively than anyone else, the religious and philosophical tradition of India. The industrialist was Jamshedji Tata, the father of Indian industry. As they got talking, Vivekananda explained his mission of preaching the universality of all religions in the US. Jamshedji said he was in search of equipment and technology that would build the steel industry and make India a strong industrial nation.
Vivekananda blessed Jamshedji, and remarked "How wonderful it would be if we could combine the scientific and technological achievements of the West with the asceticism and humanism of India!"They never met after that journey. But these words struck a chord in Jamshedji's heart.

Five years later, Jamshedji's response came in a letter to Vivekananda.

Esplanade House, Bombay.
23rd Nov. 1898

Dear Swami Vivekananda,

I trust, you remember me as a fellow- traveller on your voyage from Japan to Chicago. I very much recall at this moment your views on the growth of the ascetic spirit in India, and the duty, not of destroying, but of diverting it into useful channels.I recall these ideas in connection with my scheme of Research Institute of Science for India, of which you have doubtless heard or read. It seems to me that no better use can be made of the ascetic spirit than the establishment of monasteries or residential halls for men dominated by this spirit, where they should live with ordinary decency and devote their lives to the cultivation of sciences -natural and humanistic. I am of opinion that ,if such a crusade in favour of an asceticism of this kind were undertaken by a competent leader, it would greatly help asceticism, science, and the good name of our common country; and I know not who would make a more fitting general of such a campaign than Vivekananda. Do you think you would care to apply yourself to the mission of galvanizing into life our ancient traditions in this respect? Perhaps, you had better begin with a fiery pamphlet rousing our people in this matter. I would cheerfully defray all the expenses of publication."

With kind regards, I am, dear Swami

Yours faithfully,

Jamshedji Tata

Vivekananda was busy starting the Ramakrishna Mission and could not accept the offer but he promptly sent his disciple Sister Nivedita who met Jamshedji and his advisor, Mr Padsa. A detailed plan formulated by them was promptly suppressed by the Viceroy, Lord Curzon. However Tatas persevered and continued to work on their plans. Swami Vivekananda died in July 1902. Jamshedji did not live long either. In 1904, he died unaware that his vision would be realised five years later.The Indian Institute of Science, a gift from the Tatas, was born in 1909 and is today the pride of the nation.Tata's subsequent ventures covered the humanistic and scientific dimensions of research and development and included the establishment of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (1930's) and of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (1940's).Nearly a hundred years later, in his book, Megatrends, John Nesbitt spoke of the need to match High Tech with High Touch, technology with a human response. An eloquent reminder of the common aspirations of Swami Vivekananda and Jamshedji that all of us need to note in this age of robotics!

AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE

METEORIC RISE-2

"The most important tactic in an argument next to being right is to leave an escape hatch for your opponent so that he can gracefully swing over to your side

without an embarrassing loss of face." Stephen Jay Gould

The debate in which all parties contesting the elections were going to participate was being held in Jawaharlal Nehru indoor stadium and it was going to be telecast live on all the local channels.Some of the national channels were there to record the debate and show it as clippings in their regular news slots.All eyes were on the politicians involved and what they were going to say and how they were going to defend against each others accusations.The job of keeping all concerned in their places and to control them was handed over to former chief justice RANGACHARI.The patriarch was 82 years old, a former army major and philanthropist.His track record as a hard working and highly motivated person blessed with a sharp and witty brain was well known in the country for he was frequently called upon to give his views on current affairs in popular tv channels.All the members from the various parties taking part in the debate gave their assent when MR.RANGACHARI'S name was proposed and all knew that he was a fair and honorable man and would not be swayed by sentiment or corruption.

The stadium was packed and tensions were running high for this was the first time in the history of tamilnadu a live debate was going to take place and that too before a crowd of thousands.There had been live debates before but they all had taken place on tv and many knew or suspected that shows that were supposed to be live were in fact recorded and highly edited shows with a tag "Live" added to it.Accepting the request,each party had sent their nominee and also a list of those who would accompany their nominee.Only ten members were allowed for the simple fact that there were not enough seats to be provided for more than that number.And it was limited to just ten members for they did not want any fights or screaming matches to happen for that had been a common occurrence in the esteemed parliament halls and inside the assembly.


At the stroke of 7.00 p.m the members taking part in the debate started filing in one by one as their names were announced and were requested to take their seats.The first member was obviously from the ruling party ANNA TAMILAN PROGRESSIVE PARTY and he came in and standing before the crowd bent before them with folded hands seeking their blessings.Well there were muted claps but no boos which the member Mr.AYYASWAMY
feared there might be for his party had been mired in corruption from the second year in office and although the ministers concerned were sacked and cases filed against them,the damage had been done.But this member had a good and clean history and was a senior member of the party and hence his presence on the podium.The second member's name was announced and in came the opposition leader MR.THANGARAJAN belonging to the ANNA DRAVIDA TAMILAN PARTY.After that members from the communist party,forward christian party,muslim freedom party,muslim welfare party,islam fundamentalist party,hindu forward bloc,hindu right wing party etc came in and took their seats cautiously and in silent dread for they feared what all issues might come out during the debate.But there was no escape now for they were in the limelight and live before crores of tamil people.The last name was announced and the second the words

MR.DHANASHEKAR PANDIYAN hit the air the crowds erupted noisily and for nearly ten minutes utter chaos ensued.Clad in a simple white khadi shirt ,a blue jeans and leather sandals DHANA strode in like a god,like a giant and many who were seeing him for the first time had their jaws drop even without their knowledge and their hands clapping on their own for they were stunned by the mans persona.Amidst many pleas from the Mr.rangachari the crowds started settling in their seats and dhana then did something totally unexpected when he touched the feet of the chief justice,well the crowd went mad and all one could hear was dhana,dhana,dhana.Well there were seventeen chairs on the podium and DHANA was seated in the last chair,but everyones eyes were only on him.Every tv channel focussed only on him.

MR.SWAMINATHAN,THE HONORABLE CHIEF MINISTER who was watching the live feed in the confines of his home looked at his cabinet secretary and his wife and said 'how does one compete against that man who seems to have more charisma and good looks in his one finger than the entire crowd gathered there'.Well as he suspected there was no reply for even his people standing and sitting next to him had their eyes glued on dhana.


Mr.RANGACHARI leant forward on his seat and started speaking softly.He first welcomed everyone in the crowd and the members who

were taking part in the debate and then requested the people not to interrupt when a member was speaking and also informed the press that once every member had presented their views the debate was over then they would have time to pose their questions.He then informed the members that each one of them would get 15 minutes to talk and after that they could question one another.Finally he said ' i hope all of you realise that all the happenings are being telecast live not only in tamilnadu but all over the country and also on the internet.So i kindly request you all to maintain dignity and composure and at all time please mind your language'.This brought laughter from the crowd and so it started,a debate first of its kind but a trend that would follow in every election.

"I believe in everything until it's disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind. Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now?" John Lennon

Fly In The Soup

Waiter, what's this fly doing in my soup?
Um, looks to me to be backstroke, sir...

Waiter, there's a dead fly in my soup!
Yes sir, it's the hot water that kills them.

Waiter, there's a fly in my soup!
Don't worry sir, the spider on the breadroll will get 'em.

Waiter, there's a fly in my soup!
No sir, that's a cockroach, the fly is on your steak.

Waiter, there's a dead fly in my soup!
What do you expect for $1 - a live one?

Waiter, there's a fly in my soup!
Keep it down sir, or they'll all be wanting one.

Waiter, there's a fly in my soup!
Its OK, Sir, there's no extra charge!

Waiter, there's a fly in my soup!
Force of habit, sir. Our chef used to be a tailor.

Waiter, there's a fly in my soup!
Couldn't be, sir. The cook used them all in the raisin bread.

Waiter, there is a fly in my soup!
I know, but unfortunately we are out of turtle.

Waiter, there is a fly in my soup!
Sorry sir, maybe I've forgotten it when I removed the other three.

Waiter, there's a fly in my soup!
Surely not, sir. It must be one of those vitamin bees you hear so much about.

Waiter, there's a fly swimming in my soup!
Then we've served you too much soup, the fly should be wading.

Waiter, what's this fly doing in my soup?
It's fly soup sir!

Waiter, waiter, there's a bee in my soup.
Yes Sir, it's the fly's day off.

CHAPTER 3

BROADCASTING LIVE


"I'm not saying that I think one man is better than the other. I'm not saying that either is kinder or wiser or more ambitious, more thoughtful, confident, or able. But the fact is that when I'm with the one, comfort settles into my bones. I feel calm around him, as if the sun is smiling down on me and the world has suddenly become a sweet, safe place to be. I feel good about life about myself. And it's hard not to want to be near someone who, just by their very nature, makes you feel that way." Richelle E. Goodrich, Smile Anyway


Mr.Ayyaswamy sat stiffly and after clearing his throat started talking.He confessed that some of the cabinet ministers had taken bribes while a few other party members had been accused of land grabbing.But he proclaimed that his government was doing its best and that in politics there always existed a few bad apples which needed to be cast out.He requested the public to have faith and vote their government back to power and thanked everyone concerned for giving him an opportunity to air his party's views.Well the boos turned to jeers and Ayyaswamy knew what their fate was going to be in the coming elections.Next Mr.thangarajan was invited to speak and without hesitation the man launched a scathing attack on the Mr.ayyaswamy accusing him,the chief minister and their party of not only looting the state but aiding and abetting rowdy elements with whose help they had come to power.But Thangarajan after finishing with ayyaswamy next went after DHANA and heckled him saying that he was too young and inexperienced to rule a state and would be better of if he joined their party.His speech only got more boos and this time filthy names were flung from corners of the crowd.Thangarajan knew that his plan had worked well until he had gone after ayyaswamy but had backfired when he went after dhana.Each member spoke their piece but all of them knew that the crowd was waiting patiently for dhanshekar to speak.In fact the final member of the Islam fundamentalist league said that he would not waste too much time before allowing dhana to begin his speech and joked that people should remember this good gesture while voting.


It was now the turn of dhanashekar pandiyan to speak but rather than beginning his talk dhana leaned towards Mr.rangachari and asked him something to which he nodded.Mr.rangachari leaned forward and announced that mr.dhanashekar would prefer to stand,walk while he addressed the crowd and since there was nothing wrong about it he was going to allow the gentleman's request.A flurry of activity ensued and a man came running in and handed dhana a wireless mike.Dhana thanked him and tapped the mike to see if he was being heard clearly and loudly.After the sound engineer said he was good to go dhana started his speech by thanking mr.rangachari for accepting his request and also for doing a great job with the ongoing debate.Then dhana turned towards the audience,looked, smiled and folding his hands humbly thanked them for all the support they had given thus far to him and his party.He slowly walked smiling that mesmerising smile and everyone present felt that he was talking to them and only to them.Every person who was glued to the television had their eyes fixed on him and his every word.But beyond that something else happened.The national tv channels who had made a cursory appearance for their debate realised that there was something special happening before them and that they were seeing the dawn of a new era and hurriedly made calls to their studios and in a matter of minutes dhana's speech was being broadcast live all over the country.

Dhana spoke calmly without ever raising his voice but stressing the needs of the people and what needed to be done.He wondered loudly that even after 67 years of getting independence nearly 40 percent of the population had no running water,nearly 50 percent had no proper sanitation facilities.But he said what hurt him the most was the infant mortality rate and when he revealed that 4 lakhs babies were dying in the first 24 hours of birth there was a palpable shock in the audience.He stressed that this infant mortality rate was more than our neighbouring country Bangladesh which was far behind us in every other field.He added that every year nearly 17,000 people died due to road accidents which could have been avoided.What surprised and caught everyones attention was that not once did dhana accuse the members and their parties of any wrong doings but spoke gently about what he and his party were capable of.He finished his speech by reminding that being in power was not some prestigious position but a job given by the people who were their real employers and that everybody who worked in the government and who were involved in politics were servants of the people of Tamilnadu and India.


The minute dhana ended his speech and walked towards his chair the crowd erupted noisily and many tried to rush on to the stage.A few succeeded and they rushed to touch dhana's feet and a few women tried placing kisses on his face.But calmly and without ever losing composure dhana politely thanked them and requested them to go take their seats.Just as everyone were calming down and taking their seats a slightly weird looking guy stood up in the second row from the front and raised a gun and pointed it towards the stage.Dhana had bent forward to take a sip of water from the glass placed in front of him and he caught the man in the corner of his eye.Before people could react the man aimed his gun at MR.rangachari and fired two shots before people near him pounced on him and subdued him.But that was nearly twenty seconds after the first shot fired by the mad man.Later when the whole incident caught on video was played what amazed everyone was dhana's reaction for he had moved faster than the blink of the eye and thrown himself before mr.rangachari.Well the first bullet missed dhana's face by a few inches but the second bullet went straight into his chest and yet all he did was push himself on top of rangachari and force him down to the ground so as not to present a target.By the time the mad man had fired his second bullet a few people had pounced on him but he managed to escape and tried to run towards the stage but was stopped by three shots fired by a special force commando of the elite police division.Two shots hit him in his body and when it looked like that might not slow him down the commando drilled a bullet into his head and the mad man fell dead to the floor.You have to understand that all this took place in 40 to 50 seconds and most people were still frozen in their seats but now absolute pandemonium ensued and people were running to the exits.Dhana slowly rose to see if the scene was clear and realising that the man who had shot at them was dead slowly sank to the floor with blood gushing from the hole in his chest.He looked at rangachari and asked him if he was okay or hurt in any way and smiling slipped away into darkness.


"Every society needs heroes. And every society has them. The reason we don't often see them is because we don't bother to look.Heroes are selfless people who perform extraordinary acts. The mark of heroes is not necessarily the result of their action, but what they are willing to do for others and for their chosen cause. Even if they fail, their determination lives on for others to follow. The glory lies not in the achievement, but in the sacrifice." Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

So about a month ago, I posted the first song of the yet-to-be released film "Ek Villain"...