Movie Review - Air Force One

Subsequent to an emotional speech in which the President takes a hard stand against terrorism, President James Marshall (Ford), jointly with his wife and their 12-year-old daughter, boards his jet to return to the States from Moscow. Midflight, but, the plane is taken hostage by a terrorist group, led by bad guy called Kurshonov (Oldman). The group's demands are just clear cut and cruel. The release of their leader General Radek (Jurgen Prochnow) who is behind the bars or they will kill a passenger every half-an-hour. The secret service agents on the plane sacrifice themselves to get the President into the escape pod of the plane, leaving the President's security  advisors, as well as his wife and daughter, at the mercy of the bad guys...

Vice President n-charge Kathryn Bennett (Glenn Close) instantly tries to bargain with the terrorists to get the hostages off the plane alive while the military follows to the president's escape pod.

President Marshall taken to be out of the plane actually never leaves the plane and he is resolute to make the terrorists pay for their deeds. But, the terrorists promptly become aware of that their numbers are diminishing and take for granted that there is a secret service agent on the plane. The terrorist begins to kill hostages and with the increase in numbers of hostages being murdered, President Marshall is nothing left but is forced to negotiate with the terrorists and arrang for the release of General Radek. But that no way mean that he has fallen as he uses every trick learnt as a solider to get the terrorists off his plane... 

Air Force One is one of a great movie from Hollywood. It is a fast paced, full of action and the audience instantly relates with the characters, particularly to Harrison Ford, as he have played the character of the president so many times that it is instantaneously believable. Many of the scenes in the movie are just fantasy. For example, the escape pod. To the best of my knowledge, Air Force One in reality has no escape pod. The easy way in which the group of terrorists boarded the plane. Also, it’s amazing to see in spite of constant firing from the guns, nothing is punctured. As a matter of fact all these are not at all thought during the movie and only comes to mind after the movie ends. The only reason for it may be the fantastic direction and the way the entire cast have carried their character. This certainly is a blockbuster action adventure film at its very best!

A movie not to be missed...

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Save the Sparrow

The familiar house sparrow is one of the most omnipresent birds around us. It is certainly one of the more common feathered companions of human beings. It has, over a period of time, evolved with us. However off late this wonderful bird has been on the downfall because of the decline of its habitat. Habit demolition and unavailability of food are considered to be the main reasons for numbers going down day by day.  This decline is a pointer of the continual degradation of the environment.

March 20 celebrated as World Sparrow Day, is now an internationally acknowledged day, observed in almost 50 nations across the globe, and involves top ornithology establishments and bird organisations. Unfortunately, in spite of all the pains taken, there is not much awareness in the general public about the threatened status of the bird which is disappearing from most localities.

Why the Sparrows are being killed?
Scarcity of nesting sites.
Shortage of trees to perch upon.
Lack of food, especially for the young ones.
Planting of exotic species of grass and trees.
Competition for food and shelter.
Excessive use of Pesticides.
Electromagnetic waves from cell phone towers.

Measures to Save Sparrows
Arrangement for the availability of food and water for sparrows.
Try to curtail pollution as much as possible.
Prudent use insecticides and pesticides.
Installation of bird boxes/sparrow houses outside house or in gardens.
Putting up bird-bath to help birds re-hydrate.

Let's all Help and Support Nature to Retain its Biodiversity.

What I didn’t learn at Business School

Long time ago, I studied for my MBA. It must be more than 10 years ago. With the spirit of businessmanship coming to to me from my father, i decided to learn all the bits of business.  My father was not a complete businessman, but used to do some business in his free time which was available in plenty after his central government job. I decided to learn business the classroom way. Also my love for marketing made me study MBA. And in the process of my MBA I was certain that i really loved marketing and that is what i wanted to do.

Also marketing I loved was because Operational Management, Finance, HR and all the other bits of business most definitely weren't my thing. It took a hell lot of time and also a lot expensive. It took 3 years for me to find out Marketing was my thing, and I was born for it. But also i came to know which are the areas in the business which are complete NO for me.

I learned a lot of theories and case studies of big business. If someone today asks me, i can certainly write out a balance sheet and cashflow forecast. But, there were things which i didn’t learn. I didn’t learn the actual practical business, that business owners do while managing their businesses. Many of us today are doing the same.

Let me put down what i didn’t learn the classroom way...

Ideas matter, execution matters even more.
The idea which you have with you and you think that it’s a Eureka moment for you. The guy next door might also have the same idea. It’s the execution which matters.

Every employee has to do Sales.
MBA teaches to be a perfect manager. It teaches to entrust, analyse and co-ordinate. What a MBA don’t teach is that in any organization, at some point or the other, everyone has to sell.

Work Life balance is crucial.
Taking a break from work has often helps to get back to with being much stronger. Organisation behaviour teaches about optimising processes and ensuring a high-quality work space to see that the employees can give their maximum on the job. Taking breaks helps.

There’s no such thing as a perfect business model.
Case studies are always fascinating. Case studies about successful businesses are more than fascinating. Strategy, leadership and the product plays a very important role in a successful company. But also luck is absolutely necessary with all of these.

Business Can Be a Lot More Fun, Inspiring and Powerful.
the classroom always teaches you to be analytical and conservative. It’s taught that business is done wearing suits. Business is all about taking smart decisions, creating new products that surprise and delight people. This all can be done in a very novel and innovative way. A simple idea which was born on a kitchen platform can be an attention grabber.

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Saluting the spirit of Women hood - International Women's Day

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, an Indian spiritualist and yogi from the 19th-century was known to worship his wife. From Sita to Kittur Chennamma, from Rani Jhansi to Savitribai Phule, all are not only notable women but also their contribution to social transformation and awareness had been gigantic.

Gandhiji always said – Intellectually, mentally, and spiritually, woman is equivalent to a male and she can participate in every activity.

India always has been the acceptor of the concept of the Mother Goddess. Women in India have always been honoured and respected. Only in India a Woman is worshipped as Shakti, Saraswati and Lakshmi. No other country in the world worships women hood in the way it has been always done in India. In the Hindu Mythology, women are given absolutely 50% of Mental, Spiritual and physical space in the life of a male.

India always has had been fortunate to produce many great women - Auvaiyar, Annie Besent, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Mother Teresa, Sarojini Naidu to Indira Gandhi,  P.T.Usha, Kalpana Chawla, Indra Nooyi, Chhavi Rajawat to Pratibha Patil and many more in the Indian Corporate quarter who have proved to be more than a match to their counterparts. Their contribution to Indians and the society in whole and to Indian Women in Particular is invaluable and priceless.

In the Modern Indian society women play a significant and impressive role, even challenging the males. The most important role they play is in building a family and keeping it together. Also they play a major role in the upbringing of the society. Indian woman today is emerging out of her conventional role, sticking only to the kitchen and are realizing their infinite talent and potential and have begun to take major responsibilities in all the walks of life.

Recently, at a function, Bollywood Actor Sonam Kapoor Said - I feel that women today, here and in India’s smaller cities, rural areas and everywhere, are our everyday heroes. They are bold, brave, standing out and empowering themselves. They are compassionate, giving and sensitive to the needs of others around.

An Indian woman is gorgeous, tender, caring, loving yet powerful. Indian society today looks up to their women and expects them to take a lead, which is gradually happening.

When India becomes a superpower, definitely there will be more significant contribution from great women.

Let’s all, across India salutes the spirit of their women hood, their achievements and their unlimited sacrifices too, not only today, but everyday and that would be the true way to celebrate International Women's Day.

Image Source - http://www.uthtime.in/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/mother-and-child_600x248.jpg

A new politician is born

Kanhaiya Kumar ,  28-year-old is a Leftie student leader, also is the president of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union.  Kanhaiya  also is a member of All India Students Federation (AISF), which is the students wing of the Communist Party of India (CPI), India’s second-largest Left party.

Kanhaiya come from a poor farmer family from the state of Bihar. His family had been traditionally been CPI supporters. During his school days, Kumar took part in several plays and activities by a left-leaning cultural group. After initial schooling, he joined college in Patna, where he was introduced to student’s politics. . After his post graduation, Kumar moved to Delhi and joined JNU where he is currently studying for a PhD in African studies at the School of International Studies. Last September, Kumar became the first AISF member to become president of the JNU students’ union.

 Kanhaiyya is a very social person. He has a natural ability to connect with people. A heartwarming person is also very kind and caring towards his friends. With a strong mindset he is certainly not to break down, and will come out stronger than before.

With his post release speech, Kanhaiyya has established himself in the national league as an exceptional orator. General Secretary Sitaram Yechury of CPI (Marxist) today announced that Kanhaiya Kumar, will be a lead campaigner for the Left in next month's assembly elections to be held in n Kerala, West Bengal and three other states. This will be a launching pad for him in the national politics from students' politics.

The CPI can hope some Magic with Kanhaiya doing the damage control. Mamata Banerjee & her Trinamool Congress in West Bengal has nearly vanished in thin air. In Kerela, the left hopes to move away from the congress led government that is knee length in corruption charges.

Lets all hope that this new found Poster Boy for the Left Politics in India runs his magic on the national level as he is doing in JNU.

Image Source - http://static.abplive.in/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/02/12201806/Kanhaiya-Kumar-1-720x400.jpg

We and Social Networking

Can you imagine your daily life without social media services like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn?

Social networking was introduced as a tool for the people, by people all around the world. The sole intention was to encourage and aid communication. However, this technology may be doing more damage than good. It is not only altering how we communicate, but how we interact with each other in daily life.

Just recollect when was the last time you were in a hotel on a dining table for a meal and you or someone at the table responded to a WhatsApp. When we go out for shopping, how many people we see doing the scroll and completely ignore people around them.

Over the last ten years, technological progress has taken a huge jump. Social media has impacted our lives profoundly. Today, social media tools have a deep effect on the way we interact with and socialize online.

But one thing is certainly sure, the more we use social media, the more it creeps into our consciousness and without knowledge impacts the decisions we put together.

Before social media came in, the only way to get connected with our loved ones was through phone calls, by word of mouth from known people or friends, or even notices in the broadsheets.

Personal interaction with other people has lessened because of these social networking sites. Nowadays most probably we send a text to someone instead of picking up the phone to talk to them? 

While the electrifying and thrilling world of social media can offer us many benefits, we must be aware of the negative impacts it creates on our well being if we use it greatly. We need to empower ourselves to take care of our  welfare, safety and health and control our social media use by setting strong borders around it, and focusing on being present in ourselves.

Image Source - http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/social-media.jpg