Alex Ferguson's Formula

I'm not a big fan of Alex Ferguson's tactics but he was an excellent in man management. As i was browsing magazines in the book store i found Harvard Business Review, on the side of the front page i saw "Ferguson's formula'' . Intrigued i bought the book and read that article. The article was written by Anita Elberse . In that they had discussed eight leadership lessons , here are they:

1)Start With Foundation.
2)Dare to Rebuild Your Team.
3)Set High Standards and Hold Everyone to Them.
4)Never , Ever Cede Control.
5)Match the Message to the Moment.
6)Prepare to Win.
7)Rely on the Power of Observation.
8)Never Stop Adapting.
Those who follows Manchester United knew most of the above lessons. And Ferguson was right and proved it . For me one very important lesson which highlighted Ferguson's carrier was " Never , Ever Cede Control " , he got many bad press for that approach but he was successful , and he never allowed any players to question him and he made sure that no player is more than the club.The above lessons can be applied to any business too.

A successful manager.Adios Sir Alex!

Letters To A Young Scientist - Edward O.Wilson

I came to know about Edward O.Wilson in a book fair two years ago. A book name "Naturalist" got my attention and i bought it. Started reading when we are expecting our first child and finished after the birth. "Naturalist" is a autobiography of Edward O.Wilson. I loved the way he narrated his earlier days and his field work. I started searching about him in internet and what i found was interesting. He is a leading biologist in the world and an world renown authority of ants. From then on wards i read whatever i found in internet and National Geographic articles by him. The documentary "Lord of the Ants" showed me genius of Edward O Wilson.

Put Passion ahead of training . Feel out in any way you can what you most want to do in science, or technology, or some other science related profession. Obey that passion as long as it lasts . Feed it with the knowledge the minds needs to grow.

I was very eager to read this book and once i got the book i read in two sittings. A gem of  book with pearls of wisdom for not only young and aspiring scientist .  The book is divided into five parts and each parts has its own chapters. I'm not a scientist but i still enjoyed the anecdotes of ants used by the author. The author spent lots time explaining his research which makes the book, sometimes, too technical in this case biological.

I always think our educational system is not matured enough to appreciate the nature and encourage the young minds to pursue their passion . For schools and colleges marks are more important , even parents are not interested in what their children interested.For parents , job opportunities comes first  and the kids also falls into it.Later in life when someone engage in their own passion , these kids feel bad about their job and life.  I have never came across anyone who studied entomology or any specific branch of biology in my schools and colleges. Whenever i talk to students i ask them why they chose that particular subject,almost 98% replied me with "my parents liked it".


I think the author tries to pushes the young minds for a greater understanding of science and scientific community.

The principles given by Edward O Wilson :

Principle No:1 Its easier far easier for scientists to acquire needed collaboration from mathematicians and statistician  than its for mathematicians and statistician to find scientist able to make use of their equations.

Principle No:2 For every scientist, whether researcher , technologist, teacher , of whatever competence in mathematics , there exists a displine in science for which that level of mathematical competence is enough to achieve excellence.

Principle No:3 March away from the sounds of guns. Observe the fray from a distance , and while you are at it , consider making your own fray.

Principle No:4 In the search for scientific discoveries , every problem is an opportunity. The more difficult the problem, the greater the likely importance of its solution.

Principle No:5 For every problem in a given discipline of science , there exists a speices or other entity or phenomenon ideal of its solution. Conversely , for every species or other entity or phenomenon , there exist important problems for the solution of which it is ideally suited .

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

This is an astounding story of Liesel Meminger , an young girl,  who steals books during world war II . The narrator of the story is death. And its very opt as the story happening during World War II.The story unfolds when death travels to Australia to take the soul of Liesel Meminger. I think the author should be appreciated for making death as the narrator of this story of hope and survival.

At age of  nine Liesel was sent to Hubermans family to be taken care. She arrived after stolen her first book , The Grave digger's handbook . The Hubermans were good in heart and adopted Liesel as their own. Hans Huberman to calm Liesel's nightmare started reading the book. But he himself was struggling in reading words, so they both started learning the alphabets by writing on the wall. There starts the journey of reading and sharing.As Liesel discovers the power of words,he started stealing books from the mayor's home , though mayor's wife knew about it.

Liesel was captivated by Max Vundenburg, a Jew, whom her foster parents hiding in their basement. Huberman who sent Hitler's Mein Kempf to Max with their home address , so that when needed he can come to Himmel Street and stay with them. Slowly they both grew in love and friendship . When Max was sick and brought to her room , she gave many mementos and he in turn wrote her a very touching and emotional book .He presented her a book and asked to read latter.The story of Max was heart warming , a  real fighter who when staying alone in basement fights with imaginary Hitler. His walk to death was very emotional. I liked those fights Max had with Hitler. A man's inability to fight against the power.

The author's description of each character is subtle, sometimes poetic."a small wardrobe with a coat hung over it" thats for Rosa Huberman. Most of the words including in German ,sentences and paragraphs are lyrical.The compelling characters make one fall in love with them.  I enjoyed reading it. It appears that this is based on a true story of author's grand mother. This book also shows human resilience in times of struggle. This book also shows the destructions of war.

I loved this book . I finished the book in two sittings. Many beautiful things one can experience as progress through the pages. Of course lots of tears too!! As i'm reading books related to World Wars, one thing is clear to me - War is not the solution for any problem even if its nuclear or chemical.

Wonderful book!

Check out the movie coming out soon

The Testament of Mary - Colin Toibin

As the name suggests this is a fictionalized story of Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. The story is in the form of monologue. As Mary was nearing death , she narrates her feelings and emotions during  the time when Jesus was in Jerusalem. At first i did not understand why two guards are watching and staying with Mary but as story unfolds we can understand that they are ordered to protect Mary. Throughout the story Mary was under watch by Roman spies and his son's followers.

Mary always wanted to bring his son back to their house , she traveled to Cana for the marriage but no use, she found Jesus beyond recognition . He was dressed in fine clothes and surrounded by so many people , most of them are encouraging him as he call himself "Son of God". And then after she got confirmation from Marcus that her son will be crucified, she traveled to Jerusalem . The moment she saw Jesus , she wanted to save him but her guardian and Martha prevented her from go.After Jesus's crucifixion , they escaped to Ephesus and she dreamed of being with her son alive.She slowly realized that the people who were protecting her were building a circle of stories about her dreams and about her son. They are not listening to her , they just create their own versions of events and spreading it, in a way they are writing the Gospel. For them its politics and power.  She wants to tell real story and she is adamant about it . The image of her son's suffering did not leave her until her death.

The author portrays Mary as angry, frustrated and confused by the events happening around her. This Mary doubts the miracles attributed to her son. Even though some of the events described were not in Bible ,i think the author just wants to tell the story from Mary's point of view , a mother wrecked by fear, grief and guilt. Toibin really makes the reader to feel sad for Mary and how other used her circumstances.  The author enters a very dangerous territory as the devotion to Mary grows over the centuries.

This book is emotional and thought provoking . 

POSB Run For Kids 2013

After three months ran my first race. It was 10KM race. There was heavy raining and thunder previous night prior to the race day. I thought there wont be a race. But on the race day morning , it was only drizzling and no thunder. I reached the starting point on time 6:30AM but the organizers delay the race for 15 minutes. I did practice previous week for this race, so i was confident of finishing the race well.

It was my first run on rain. Race was flagged off on 6:54AM and i started the race briskly, crossing first three kilometers with consistent pace. Around 4KM mark my  felt bit uncomfortable, that was because of my breakfast , i did not eat properly . I ate three cocktail sausages and 1 cup of coffee without milk . But i was prepared for it and took two power gels . I opened and ate the first one from 4KM to 6KM, i felt better. I walked and crossed over the Marina Barrage bridge. The view from Marina Barrage was stunning!

I completed the race with good timing and felt good. As usual the volunteers were awesome , the bore the rain and did excellent job. The scenic race route made the run even better. 

கோவேறு கழுதைகள்(Koveru Kazhuthaigal) - இமையம் (Imayam)

This novel is considered as one of the classic of modern Tamil literature specially in Dalit writing. And i believe it should be. The first and foremost striking feature of this novel is the portrayal of  delicate caste structure among Dalits. I never thought something like that really exist. This is the second book i read by the same author. Both books have one common feature sexual harassment to women by the upper cast or by dominant male.

This is the story of a dalit Christian couple  Savuri and Arockiam. The story moves along with Arockiam. She is the one who guards and guide the family and its tradition. A very strong willed woman. "அவளால் சதா நேரமும் அழ முடியும் . பேச முடியும் . வேலை செய்ய முடியும்."  - that summarizes her character.   The gradual decline in their income due to various external factors drastically affects them . The author explains the decline clearly and its true. I have seen some of them.

They not only collects clothes and do washing but also all involves in all other events from birth to death without expecting and asking much . The couple used to these kind of daily things (i think i can call it slavery) but their children started asking questions and not accepting that life anymore.The conversation between Arockiam and Joseph about the habit of collecting food at night is something very sentimental and we needs to answer him. Arockiam's life goes awkwardly downwards with changing lifestyle of the people as she moves on with her memories of good time and hope for the future. The author explains the changes like this
"இப்போதெல்லாம்  அடிக்கடி அவளுக்கு 'தான் புதிதாக ஒரு ஊருக்கு வந்துவிடவில்லையே ' என்ற சந்தேகக் கேள்வி வருகிறது . பழைய உயிர்ப்பு இல்லை .அந்தப் பற்றுதலும் , பாசமும் எப்படி இல்லாமல் போனதென்று எண்ணி வருந்த ஆரம்பித்தாள் . இது பழைய ஊர் இல்லை . இந்த  ஊரின் மண் என்பதற்கு இப்போது எவ்விதமான அன்பான அடையாளமுமில்லை . முன்பெல்லாம் சுடுகாட்டுச் சாம்பலில் கூட ஒரு மணம் , ருசி இருக்கும் ."

Its really sad to know that the upper caste people needs people like Arockiam and Savuri for doing everything but they are treating them inhumanely. As Venkat Swaminathan puts " படித்து அரசு வேலையில் அமர்ந்து காரை வீட்டில் வாழும் தலித் இப்போது உயர் சாதிக்காரனாகி விட்டானே. உயர் சாதி மிதப்பில் அவன் சந்தோஷிக்கவேண்டாமா? அவனுக்கும் ஒரு தலித் இருந்தால்தானே தன் உயர் சாதி வாழ்வை அவன் அனுபவிக்க முடியும்? தான் உயர்வதில் மட்டுமல்ல; நேற்றுவரை தன் சகாவாக இருந்த மற்றவனைத் தாழ்த்துவதிலும் ஒரு சுகம் உண்டே. "
Along with Piragu by Poomani , this novel brings the detailed day to day to life of dalits . But this book was staunchly criticized by other dalit writers and associations because of its portrayal of  dalits among dalits.  I remember the word "Vannaathi(வண்ணாத்தி) used by our people (Not sure whether they are using it now), the same word repeats many times in this book.  My mother never called our cloth washing (laundry) akka 'vannathi' ( i dont know about her caste ) for me she still remains the same old akka whom we love and we knew she too loves us. 

The title of the book is perfect. This book was translated in English as " Burden of  Beast" .