Monday, December 29

VastuSastra !!!

VastuSastra - Its an old scientific technique used for architecture and construction.

It is believed that without human interference the Five elements - Earth Fire Water Sky and Air are in perfect harmony with each other. But with human infiltration and construction the balance gets changed.Vastusastra is the science which deals with restoring the balance of the five elements even if some external factor is working on it.


Few handy tips :

1. Prefer a east / north facing plot over a south / west facing one.

2. Prefer a plot of rectangular shape with the north - south side longer than the east - west side.

3. The ratio of north - south side to that of the east - west side should not be more than 2.0

4. If the plot is not a perfect rectangular then go for a plot with north - east side projected. Other projections are not allowed.

5. If a plot has no right angled corners , Prefer a Goumukha plot (plot whose entrance is small and the size increase as u enter the plot) for residential purpose and Singhmukha (just the opposite of Goumukha, with wider entrance and narrower inside) for business purpose.

6. The slope of the plot should be always towards north-east corner i.e. high on south-west corner and height should decrease towards north-east corner.

7. A plot with 2 sides with road is a good plot and a plot with 3 sides road is a very good plot.

8. The entrance of the house should be towards north and east. If north east corner cannot be made as entrance , then south east or north west should be chosen, but never south west.

9. For smaller plots preference for direction should be ENWS (east, north, west , south) . But for bigger plots the preference of direction should be NEWS. i.e. for a smaller plot if north - east cannot be a entrance then the next preference should be given to south - east corner than to north - west and vice-versa for bigger plots.

10. Swastik , Om , Rangoli should be present at the entrance , they are said to get rid of the evil entering the house.

11. Kuldevata , Pratiharis well dressed and decorated ,picture of Cow with calf well fed and decorated with flower garlands should be present near main entrance.

12. There should be a puja room in every house. The ideal location is the north - east corner of the building or north- east corner of any room.

13. Clock should never be placed on southern wall.

14. pictures of ancestors should be placed on south - western walls.

15. South - west side should be preferred for bedrooms.

16. ideal place for master bedroom is south - west corner.

17. north - west , south - east corner should never have master bedroom. north - west corner is for guest-bedrooms south - east is for heating equipments and kitchen.

18. north - west corners of the building / individual rooms are ideal location for toilets.

19. north - east side is for entrance, it should be devoid of all kinds of clutter, toilets, heating devices and electrical devices.

20. person cooking the food in the kitchen and person offering puja should face the east / north direction.

21. Heavy furniture should be placed in the south west corner.

22. Bed should be placed in such a way that while sleeping one should sleep with head towards South or East.

23. the south - west corner should be closed , with no openings at all.

24. north - east is the water element , should be left open(hence good for entrance).

25. South - east is fire element , hence the kitchen.

26. South - west is Earth element , so no heating device or clutters or toilets. Earth element is for strength , so master bedroom should be there giving strength to the relationship between the husband and wife

27. center of any building is for Space / Sky element . it gives emotional balance if left open or maintained less clumsy.

28. north and east have air element,so should have maximum openings (windows, balconies) opening to the two directions.

29. Kitchen should be designed according to one's use, keeping in mind the 3 basic functions we perform in kitchen - Storage, Cooking, Washing.

30. The floor of kitchen should be hard and strong, should not be slippery. It should have marble or Kotah stone but not tiles.


Due to space crunch and increase in the real estate value Vastusastra also gives u certain reliefs.Its not always necessary to have the full house according to vastu , but make sure every room should be vastu complaint.

The year that was - 2008 !!!

2008....
a fair share of good happy moments with a unfair share of harsh truth...this is 2008 for me...

every year the Manorama year book lists a series of events for the year....
this time i will list my year book here....

Jan 2008 -
Return trip from Ooty, wonderful memories with some small moments of outburst of anger....
Lots of money spent on Credit card bills- thanks to my b'day ^_^.
Nagarjuna Sagar Dam visit with Shrubbu's family (in laws).

Feb 2008 -
Sumi's marriage which i was not able to attend and regret till today...
Visited home after 8 months or so....was getting desperate but finally..Was my 1st holiday from Oracle, since i joined in 07.
A great trip to Ghatagaon Tarini Mandir with family... truly unwinding from my tiring 8 months work...
Samy's birthday

Mar 2008 -
Wishes to Mom-Dad on 26Th Marriage Anniversary... both kids couldn't make for it... but wishes are always there.....
KK's show in Infy and my revisit...
Holi celebrated with friends , roomies and roomie's parents

Apr 2008 -
Pondichery trip with roomies and roomie's parents....great place... though tough for pure vegetarians like me -_^.
Priyank's n Reena's marriage , my excuse for Delhi visit ..had a great time with my sis.
completed my new yr resolution of visiting Amritsar and paying my regards there.
April also saw Papa's visit to Hyderabad....

May 2008 -
Kept my profile low for the summers in Hyd are really really hot
Shrubbu's birthday

June 2008 -
2ND visit to home for the year...was so happy i could make it...

July 2008 -
Dad's birthday.... May God blesses you with lots of happiness
My first blog
Go+ Training in ICRISAT... bumped into some wonderful people....

Aug 2008 -
Mom's birthday..Sumi's first attempt in baking a cake for mom...

Sept 2008 -
3rd visit to home for Dusshera....had a great time with family ...it was after yearssssssssss we all were there for the Bhai Juntia and Durga Asthami

Oct 2008 -
Had a wonderful get-together with college gang in Mysore, revisited Infy Mysore and spent a day in there... ahhh... i love the place the people the feeling ..
Celebrated Diwali with roomies and roomie's parents ...
also my First outing from Oracle ^_^ .
Got my first Promotion too .........cheeseeeeeeeeee

Nov 2008 -
Faced the very truth of our existence in an never ever imagined way....
Memories Harsh to remember, Hard to Forget, Pricks the heart, yet Resist to cry lest the tears would wash the memories away....

Dec 2008 -
Frightened to move away from 2008 , not ready to move to 2009 and beyond...
But Time stops for NONE.....
My first attempt in a blogging contest...
Christmas and New year decorations and celebrations at office and neighbour's home ^_^.
Nidhi's, Udit's and Uncle's birthday ..happy birthday to them....
31st night at a friends place with good food and friends...

and Wishes for a Peaceful new year

Tuesday, December 23

Soft Skill Training Takeaway !!!

In the last few days I have attended two soft skills trainings - Assertiveness Skills and Interpersonal Skills.
I would like to give a brief summary of the sessions in a combined form - my learnings and my take away points from them.

To start with a few self assessment handouts were given which were really helpful to know the Self; our Working Style, our Social Style - our willingness / reluctance to a given situation, the Personal Audit - verbal and written communication styles and our preference.I learnt which quadrant I fall into in the Johari Window and the combination of Responsiveness and Assertiveness I possess.

There were lots of role-plays with different real life scenarios and following them were discussions with the other participants present.This helped in knowing the different perspectives of different people.
We even got to see the clippings from the movie "Happy Gilmore" ; how being passive and aggressive never turns out to be beneficial to the self and the people around and how when changed, assertiveness helps to make the same situation suitable and favorable to all.

Learnt about the 3V's (Vocal, Visual and Verbal) of communication.

The other important part of the sessions were about building relations, working with team and feedbacks (giving and receiving).

These were the Key points for self assessment and the areas to work with, rest being just theory.

What do we mean by Interpersonal Skills?
The skills we need to deal with different persons.

Why do we need interpersonal skills ?
for effective communication - listening and probing.
for working well in groups maintaining a healthy working environment.
should be easy in giving and taking feedbacks.

Benefits of learning the skills?
Helps in personal and professional fronts.
Share work , work in teams comfortably.
helps to know about other persons' nature of working.

Different types of people
Passive ,
Aggressive,
Assertive,
Passive-Aggressive.

Define Assertiveness .
Definition from our group after a discussion - Putting across your point in an acceptable and factual manner by also listening to the other person and being responsive and not reactive.
Definition given by trainer - assertiveness is standing up for yourself in a way that doesn't violate the rights of the other person. Its a direct, honest and appropriate expression of your feelings and opinions.It is a Win Win situation for both.

How to Say "NO"?
Say a genuine no, don't cook up , don't walk around the point, approach it directly.
Say a reasoned NO or say a Rain checked/ Postponed NO.Types of communication.
External / Internal.
Formal / Informal.
Written / Oral - Verbal , Vocal and Visual

Verbal Communication - Through words and languages.
Visual Communication - Postures, Gestures, Movement, Facial Expressions, Eye Contact.
Vocal Communication - Voice Amplification, Tempo, Emphasis, Pitch, Tone,Pause and Silence.

Communication Techniques.

KISS - Keep it simple and short.

3T - Tell them what you will tell (give a hint of the message like a subject line) Tell them (Give the information) Tell them what you told ( repeat it, give importance to key points, summarize/ paraphrase, get a feedback through Q&A)

EDGE - Express emotions, Describe Situation, Give Consequences, Express Actions.

Effective Communication -
Effective communication is always a two way communication happening between sender and receiver through a common shared space.

Sender (with a intended thought) --> sends information/ shares thoughts by verbal or non-verbal communication techniques to --> Recipient (receives a thought) --> analyzes and sends a feedback to the sender for clarification --> sender clarifies.


Probing techniques.
Open ended questions.
Close ended questions.


How to give a feedback?
don't be judgmental while giving feedback.
Listen carefully for some concern.
Try to be empathetic.
Analise / Check for correct opinion.
And then give a Sandwich feedback - Good/Positive feedback followed by Negative points/Points to work upon and concluding with good points again for motivation.


Different Styles of Working.
Responsive Style ( Helps you decide the right and wrong) - Amicable and Analytical

Assertive Style (Helps you speak out right and wrong) - Driver and Expressive.

Tuesday, December 2

Marketing !!!

Whom can we say a good marketing professional....
One who believes in his product and then presents it to the customer or one who just concentrates on selling the product and markets it according to the customer needs....
Do we have to believe in something to make someone else believe it... or its just how we convince...
Is not believing in a thought or product that we are selling ethically wrong... should we feel morally bad about it...
or its like you are giving words to what the other person just wants to listen....

When it comes to products and goods we might decide whats just right or how we are (practical or emotional), but when it comes to selling ideas , or when someone asks for suggestions...how should we give the ideas to the person ..the way he /she is looking for or the way we feel like....

Monday, December 1

6th Sense !!!

Do you believe that apart from the 5 senses of Sight, Smell, Sound, Taste and Touch we have a 6Th sense also.... ?
I too wonder many a times.. if its true that we possess a 6Th sense or its just a co-incidence that we mistake as a sense...

When i was doing my engineering and was in my hostel for studies my ma and papa used to visit me every Saturday/Sunday and used to bring me home made food or snacks items for the week...
I didn't have a cell phone then and the hostel land line (for incoming only) used to be busy all the time (thanks to the love birds); but on those days when i felt like having something however common or however weird i used to find it in the box mom used to send me...
How did she knew it....

After my 10Th board exams and 12Th Board exams on the very day of results my sis used to tell Mom my exact percentage before we could put on the net on search my results...
How did she used to know it....

I my hostel my room was at such a place where the Common Land Phone's ring was audible... and the moments i used to feel that it should be a call from my Home.. i used to say the guard shout "Priyanka Panda Phone"....
How did i knew that....

Once during my engg days i had a dream about one of the guards dying of a heart attack... and the same night my friend saw a similar dream about the same hostel guard... and in the morning she got a news of her father admitted in hospital with his first stroke....
Doesnt it sound uncanny...

When my Nanaji expired me and my mom were sick for the whole night..
it was something uncanny about the situation....
how did we felt that....

When my Bade Mamaji passed away in the morning why had i dreamt of a beautiful path full of colours and fragrances feeling like paradise/heaven and me accompanying him until a guard came and didn't let me in saying "your time has not yet come"....
I could not make any analysis of the dream till i heard the news of his heart attack....
What would i term that....

then my recent experience....
for the past few days until 14Th Nov a thought came to my mind.. when did i feel crying for someones death.. ans too came.. 1st my pet's death and then my uncle's... but the thought never left me ...even if i tried a lot not to think in the line......it just came back to me every now and then and on 14Th Nov the children's day the youngest and cutest child of our family left us all in a tragic accident...
Was my 6Th sense making me mentally prepared for some incident...
How would i believe that...

and the most recently....
i saw a dream of getting an sudden unplanned foreign trip to my other office such that my dates for my trip planned with family was coinciding....and i saw myself very depressed and clueless...
the very evening nothing happened to me but my roomie returned from office and told of her sudden plans to client location when she was supposed to go home... and she was very fed up of saying NO to her boss....