Celebrating the Suchness of Life - From the Happynesswalas- First Edition- The Art of going with the flow :-) 03 Feb 2023- At Feathers Hotel, Chennai

 AVIS and Vaani Anand never fail to inspire me and Raghu.   We have been lucky to be part of their 'Happyness Conversations'  way back in Feb 2020, where for the first time, Raghu opened up before a gathering and shared his thoughts in a very touching way.   Life can never be just a bed of roses... and AVIS and Vaani's life teaches us to be smiling irrespective of the odds of life.  

Stay blessed and count the blessings despite of a very sad financial bankruptcy.   AVIS strongly says that they are rich both emotionally and mentally and stay grounded and not to get crippled by the financial bankruptcy they are dealing with the last 16 years.  

Despite of the terrible personal circumstances, they went ahead with spreading happiness through their 'Happyness Conversations' and  Bliss Catchers and staying positive in life-disturbing crisis.   The worklessness, pennilessness and imponderables for such a long time is not easy in life.  AVIS and Vaani have lived through all these without forgetting the purpose of life spreading happiness and positivity

Remember God so  much that you are forgotten -   AVIS goes on to mention the quotes from Rumi as he takes us through several other meaningful quotes and songs from the yesteryears film music.  The lyrics that unwind and make us think through the evening, soaked in poetry and music, both Hindi and Tamil, relentlessly making you see beyond the song and stories around.  He points to many in the audiences whose stories have brought out the human courage, resilience and firm thinking to struggle through and emerge successful and here the success denote the human peace and passion than the materialistic accomplishments

"When there are ruins, be sure there is a hope of treasure" - RUMI vibrates in the hall.  The reference to the song "Yeddayum Thangum Idhyam Irundhal, Kadaisi Varukum Amaidi Irukum'' translating 'If you have a brave heart to embrace anything, you will have peace of mind till the end"  - However, we feel like questioning the reason to endure, how long and how far,  but AVIS strongly puts together the fact that "If you follow your passion, You will be at peace"  no matter whether it brings you material wealth or emotional health.    

AVIS and Vaani brings out very prominent references -  especially AVIS when he says that 'Life is No Meaning" according to OSHO,  while Joseph Campbell says 'Give Life a meaning and follow your bliss and the doors will open"

Sometimes, you just feel like going and giving them a tight hug,  for the strong message of being happy despite of the circumstances is not an easy thing to do.   AVIS and Vaani reiterates the fact that "Happiness is the ability to be non-worrying, non-suffering and non-frustrated",   Vaani goes on to tell that if you have a solution to a worry, why worry? If you do not have a solution, then also why worry? "  As by worrying the problem is not going to go.  "The pain is inevitable but suffering is optional" according to Lord Gautham Buddha.  

Ability to deal with life is happiness.  The art of going with the flow of life is not easy, but not impossible.  Vaani is all smiles, when she says 'Life is a kambath jezz hai',  the mischievous fellow.    Their faith in the Divine blessings of the universe, all gurus and Gods, especially Sai Baba who reaffirms the fact that 'Faith is the basic of Life".   The concept that 'marthaye vechavan thani uthuvan'  meaning, the one who sow the seed of the tree will water the same too;   

Acceptance is the first step to resolve problems.   The reference to the Rotta Fortune wheel was a eye-opening scenario.   You have to stand in midst of all the battles and chaos of life and fine your centre -  Says Swami Vivekananda.    Vanni and AVIS requests the audience to soak in gratitute and stop having the complaining attitute.  

STAY in STILLNESS and you will find answers, solutions and clarifications.   They speak about miracles and refer to Mary Oliver who says "Being alive amidst the broken world and every morning is a miracle"   

Be Happy to this moment.   Life will flow in its own charming way

The evening ended with loads of songs, meaningful lyrics, welcome note from Garima of Feathers Hotel to enjoy their hospitality and buffet dinner matching with Cheryl and team from Sula Wines pouring the best of wine in India for the audience to soak in wine and cherish to dine through the evening.  

Raghu and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening, meeting several of our friends, associates and also meeting new people.  Enjoyed the music that accompanied the lavish dinner buffet and lots of sparkling wine.  The day ended with the memorable pictures with our friends and the hosts.   Thank you AVIS and Vaani for the invite and amazing hospitality and spreading happiness as usual.    Three Cheers to you both for the toasts of life!!! God bless!!!

Pictures from the event:-)

Effective management of ONLINE Conference Calls and virtual meetings

 There are 2 important ways to manage online conference calls and effective handling of virtual meetings

1.  Organizing the call

2.  Leadership during the meetings

Important steps to note during the Organizing the calls:

1. Time management - Rehearse all important calls
2. Duration of the call based on the agenda and number of participants
3. Tasks split as micro activities for tasks and smaller audience
4. Issue resolution calls to identify dependencies and vendor involvements
5. Extend invitees to dependent resources on technical aspects
6. Subject:  Summarize on the call to address queries, clarifications and approval requests
7. Keep agenda crisp and state the urgency s needed
8. Outlook Repeats/ recurring invites not adding as issues
9. Bullet points on agenda for clarity to discuss and give background
10. Repeats should not be more than 7 weeks or 2 months
11. Invites can be extended and knowledge shared 
12. You should know your participants and customers management
13. Action items log appended in the minutes with ETAs (Expected time for action completion)
14. Keep watch on the silent spectators for their feedback
15. Know the features of the bridge line
16. Go on mute during noise behind you
17. Record the meetings with the permission of the participants
18. Disconnect single line of disturbance
19. Audible and clarity is important
20. Speak slowly, with right modulation, pause and listening to others

Importance of Leadership during online calls

1. Controlling of the call is important
2. Identify line ups of key stakeholders
3. Information to get from resources participating
4. In Project calls, round table to capture risks and constraints from all concerned
5. Repeat calls with continuous trackers, action items log for continuity and process
6. Time zones availability to be embedded in the invite itself
7. Conflict management is vital for leadership
8. Severing of the tasks, changes and need for managers to provide resources during on and out of business hours
9. Maintain harmony on calls with no blame game 
10. Provide correct information in calls and get info on the root cause analysis if needed
11. Identify management calls is in operations management and not project management
12. Buy in on due dates and expected time for delivery during the calls itself
13. Decision and discussion groups to be clearly identified
14. Trackers with percentage completion on the tasks needed for calls
15. Voice modulation to command authority
16. Handle the ice breaking filling the gaps
17. Give an opportunity for all people on the call to talk
18. Make sure bridge is not silent
19. Provide clarity and audibility to all is important
20. Set priorities, goals and action owners for tasks as a leader

The above principles of management of calls will bring in effective program management and also to address all issues, risks and concerns managed by the teams.   It is important both for the person organizing the call, moderating the call and leading the call to know these basic but mandatory principles of effective online call management

How to manage stakeholder issues

• Prepare a project plan with the technical teams
• Schedule the call with scope and tasks
• Pre-preparation for the call is important
• Confirmation with all technical teams and call in control during ownership conflict
• Technical resource non-responsiveness should be clearly handled 
• Tracking project status with slippages handled effectively by leaders
• Change window management - change not going as per plan 
• PM to facilitate to conclude on issues and PM decision watch on roll backs
• Checking point calls during changes is important

Project Manager efficiency is key during Calls -  Few Tips and Tricks

• Meeting invite should have proper audience, call details, agenda, key stakeholders and action items defined
• Customer requirements gathering calls should have organizers and bridge participants clearly defined
• Identify the issue or the problem that the customer is not happy about the project or progress of the program
• Scope creep - with additions or deletions of the CR Process
• Deliverables not in quality-  technical fixes to be identified
• Missed milestones and deliverables - how to bring them back to the track
• Red and Amber calls presentation to the customer diplomatically with offered solutions and back to green plans
• Customer non-responsiveness situation, leaders should try to have one on one discussion to get their inputs
• Escalations on team members - all criticisms to be handled privately
• Change outage windows extended or roll back needed- should be thoroughly communicated to the customer
• End customer or application owners approvals for Go/ No Go -  plan B preparedness to handle the same

It is very important that we follow these practices which are effective for having global programs and projects spread across various time zones, geographies and cultural background with multiple technologies spread across the world...

History of Lean in Technology World and key components of Lean Methodology

 The IT world caters to the requirements of the Service Lines and Delivery Centers:

History of Lean:

Started in 2006 in Hyderabad based on Toyota Production Systems  and Lean is to identifying and elimination wastes... They are for value and quality and enrich customer values.

Balance Lean:

1. Eliminate Waste based on lean

2. Eliminate bottleneck scenarios - inflexibility

3. Invariability -focuses on Six Sigma and 3 variances

Production Systems - NO MORE- NO LESS

• Inflexibility and Invariability
• Set of Best Practices and based on lean principles
• Enable global delivery consistent excellence
• For quality, standard processes
• Efficiency and defect prevention

Three types of Productivity losses

1.   Eliminate waste based on lean-  Waste based on quality

2.   Eliminate bottleneck scenarios -  Inflexibility

3.  Invariability focuses on six sigma + or - 3 variances

3 Ps to focus on

1.  People - mindset, behavior and capability (MBC)

2.  Process - Operating System

3. Performance - Management System - Metrics, measurements, visual boards

8 Types of Waste -  IITWROOM

1.  Intellect

2.  Inventory

3.  Transportation

4.   Waiting

5.   Rework

6.  Over-process

7.  Over-production

8.  Motion

7 Levers to eliminate waste:

SSPRRRF

• Segmenting complexity
• Standard Operation
• Pooling
• Redistribute activities
• Reduce non-variables
• Reduce incoming work
• Flexible Staffing system

Operating Systems focus on the Lean components

• Delivery catalog
• Advance pooling 
• Maximum utilization
• Minimum idle time
• Cross accounting 
• Skill management 
• Standardization
• Quality and Productivity
• Staffing Flexibility
• Three components of a pool
• Min pool size 
• Single service component
• Co-location of pool members
• Advance Pooling Requirements
• Shared resources
• Skillsets 
• Segmentation and dispatch process
• Pool size - Project pool structure
• Co-location of resources
• Language
• User id compliance
• Dispatching requirements
• Segmenting
• Batching
• Distribution / Swing
• Pick, Push, Pull
• Pool Structure
• Dispatching - incidents, problems, changes
• Simple requests maintenance
• Dispatching workflow
• Receive incoming demand
• Segment by complexity
• Batch work to manage lows - by rules
• Assign to available technician
• Trigger swing or hands-off
• Pool Dispatches
• Queue monitoring
• Workload management
• Performance management
• Continual improvement
• PICK
• Self-selection
• Not recommended
• Bad batching and picking
• No control to dispatch
• PUSH
• Dispatch automatically
• Reduces control
• Rework
• Sub Optimal decisions
• PULL
• Recommended solution
• Assigned resources availability
• Framework and delivery catalog
• Service Catalog
• Compliance Task Accountability Matrix
• Solution design and pricing
• Contracting
• Mapping
• Transition to Delivery

#KnowYourCountry #KnowIndia - What is Republic Day? Interesting facts about Republic Day

• The Indian Republic Day, which is celebrated on 26th January every year, commemorates the day on which the Constitution of India came into effect in 1950 by replacing the Government of India act (1935). 
• After Independence, on 29th August 1947, a resolution was moved for the appointment of a Drafting committee to draft a constitution for the newly independent India with Dr BR Ambedkar as the Chairman. The Draft committee submitted its draft to the Constituent Assembly on 4th November 1947.  
• After nearly two years of deliberations, the Constitution was adopted and came into effect on 26th January 1950. With that, India officially came to be known as the “Republic of India”.
• As the Indian Constitution incorporates a synthesis of flexibility (contemporary challenges) and rigidity (essential nature), allowing it to respond to the emerging circumstances and situations from time to time, the Indian Constitution is known as a Living Document.
• The president unfurls the flag on Rajpath in New Delhi, followed by other celebrations.
• 
• When the flag is unfurled on Republic Day, it is closed and tied at the top of the pole. The President unfurls it without pulling the flag up as it takes place on Independence Day. On Republic Day, the country celebrates the day when the Constitution was adopted.
• Republic Day marks the occasion when the Constitution of India came into effect on January 26, 1950. 
• The constitution was created and was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949.
• Since the India Constitution came into effect in 1950. The first Republic day parade was held 1950. It took place at the Irwin Amphitheater (now Major Dhyan Chand Stadium). Three thousand Indian military personnel and over 100 aircraft participated in the parade.
• In the initial first four years, the venues of these marches were Irwin Stadium, Red Fort, and Ramlila Grounds.
• The first parade at Rajpath was organised in 1955. Pakistan’s Governor General Malik Ghulam Muhammad attended the event as chief guest. It was the first of the only two times that a Pakistani leader was given the honour.

• The Beating Retreat ceremony, which takes place at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi on January 29 every year, traces its origin to a tradition from the 1600s. This tradition to announce the return of the troops began when King James II ordered his troops to beat drums, lower flags and organise a parade to declare the end of a day of combat.
• The first foreign military contingent, French Army soldiers, took part in Republic day Parade in 2018.
• A salute of 21 guns and the unfurling of the Indian National flag by Dr. Rajendra Prasad heralded the historic birth of the Indian Republic on January 26, 1950.

• PS:  All Images are taken from internet for information purpose only.  Kindly request the owners of the images to inform in case you want them to be removed.  

Chennai Poets’ Circle conducts Annual Seminar and Launch of the Anthology ‘Efflorescence 2022’ at T. Nagar TAG Auditorium- 22 Jan 2023

 After three years Chennai Poets’ Circle had their annual seminar at T Nagar on a Sunday morning  22 Jan 2023.   

Chennai Poet Circle is a 25-year-old organization with members all over India and abroad and its annual seminar is an event for its high-profile speakers and professional conduct of the event and comraderies the members share, a close-knit relationship they cherish. This year it was held on 22.1.2023 in its annual seminar at TAG Auditorium, Ramakrishna Mission School at T.Nagar, Chennai.

 The annual anthology 'Efflorescence 2022' consisting of poems from 103 poets and 9 young poets are included in this collection. It was a mind-blowing experience to listen to the young poets, as young as 7 years old and definitely Poetry is safe in their hands.  

Dr. V. Rajagopalan, retd HOD of English department Madras Christian College was the chief guest avd addressed the gathering with his scintillating speech. Paper presentations by Saranya Francis and Vishnupriya started the poetry session.

 Famous poets Pankajam Kollareth poem’ The Fire of Passion’, Umasree Raghunath’s ‘Shakthi’ are also included in the anthology. Hema Ravi,  the curator / editor of the anthology Efflorescence 22, and all editorial advisors did a great job and were present at the occasion

#KnowYourCity, #KnowYourChennai- Magnificent Churches of Chennai City - Part- 3 - Little Mount National Shrine & St.Thomas Cave, Little Mount,, Chennai

 Little Mount National Shrine (Chinnamalai)

1. According to legend, St. Thomas, a disciple of Christ, lived out the remainder of his days in a rocky cave, known as Little Mount (Chinnamalai).
2. Today, Little Mount is home to a Portuguese church dating back to 1551, as well as a small altar to St. Thomas and a palm print believed to be left by Thomas himself as he fled.
3. This historical place has been made sacred by the presence of St. Thomas, the Apostle. He was the first missionary, a direct witness of Jesus, who handed over the Christian faith in the first century.
4. Little Mount is a cave in which St. Thomas hid in AD 68 and did penance. There is an opening to the east of the cave through which St. Thomas escaped when his pursuers caught up with him here. 
5. The palm print and hand print near the tunnel’s entrance are believed to be those of St. Thomas himself. 
6. We will also see the masonry cross cut at the top of the hill which is believed to be the cross before which St. Thomas prayed.   
7. Another interesting aspect of this cave is the spring inside the hill which is perennial and is supposed to be the miraculous creation of the St. Thomas himself
8. The cave at Little Mount is a treasured memory of St. Thomas, as it offered him a silent and serene space to reenergise himself in prayer and meditation to preach to the people and to baptise them.
9. An impression of the apostle’s own hand, the bleeding cross, the perpetual spring and the right foot impression of St. Thomas evoke revered memories of his presence at Little Mount, who exclaimed in profound faith: “My Lord and My God!”
10. He was stabbed to death and martyred at St. Thomas Mount. He was buried at Santhome, where the magnificent cathedral now stands.

Faith:  Roman Catholic,  Timings : 6 am - 8 pm Location:  

Little Mount, before Saidapet Court

https://littlemountshrine.org/

#KnowYourCity, #KnowYourChennai- Magnificent Churches of Chennai City - Part- 2 - Luz Church, Mylapore, Chennai

1.  Commonly referred to as the ‘Church of Our Lady of Light,’ the Luz Church was built by the Portuguese in the year 1516. 
2. Though it was renovated under the British rule, the architecture that we see at present has typical Portuguese designs. 
3. According to folklore, when Portuguese sailors were once caught in the rough sea, they saw a bright white light that guided them to the shore. 
4. Later, a church was constructed at the same place after a few years.
5. Besides the main altar, which is the key attraction of the church, the structure has beautiful patterns of Baroque ornamentation and Gothic arches. 
6. The gilt-carved wooden reredos cover the entire wall behind the altar and look beautiful.
7. Every year, on the 15th of August, a grand mass and car procession is organized to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Light
8. Location: Mylapore, Chennai
9. Timings: 08:00 am – 11:00 am, 01:00 pm – 05:00 pm (All days of the week)
10. Denomination/Affiliation: Roman Catholic