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Daily Archives: December 2, 2007

Chasing World Records

02 Sunday Dec 2007

Posted by Prem Rao in Sports

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Cricket records, Muttiah Muralitharan

The making and breaking of records adds to the charm of the game for cricket fans. With so much cricket being played the world over, gone are the days when records created stayed for keeps. Clarrie Grimmett’s record for the most Test wickets was not broken for 17 years from 1936-1953!

Here are a few of the current world records which are close to being broken:

  1. Sachin Tendulkar ( 112890 ) is 664 runs behind Brian Lara for the most runs in Test cricket.
  2. Muttiah Muralitharan (704) is just 4 wickets away from Shane Warne’s most wickets in Tests.
  3. Muttiah Muralitharan (455) is 47 wickets away from Wasim Akram’s most wickets in ODIs.
  4. Ricky Ponting (33) is just 4 centuries behind Sachin Tendulkar for the most centuries in Tests
  5. Adam Gilchrist (391) is 12 dismissals away from Mark Boucher’s most wicket keeping dismissals in Tests.

I feel that Muttiah Muralitharan will end up as the highest wicket taker in both Tests and ODIs. The Sri Lankan off-spinner already has 1159 wickets in these forms of the game. That is amazing. More importantly, he has consistently been a match winner for Sri Lanka.

I feel Ponting will go past Tendulkar in the matter of Test hundreds.

Which Test record do you think seems least likely to be broken?

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Technology decides your work place

02 Sunday Dec 2007

Posted by Prem Rao in Trends

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Cisco, technology

“Now, Technology decides your work place” says an article in the Economic Times.

It explains how technology has facilitated greater convenience to executives at lower costs. We peek into the working lives of two executives in Cisco and IBM and see how they manage their international assignments working out of Bangalore, India.

Last year , Cisco launched a new technology called TelePresence that makes videoconferencing look like a technology of the Neanderthal ages. Using life like images, high definition video and special voice recording devices TelePresence makes it possible for people sitting in different rooms around the world to connect with each other as if they are sitting across a table.

There are 157 TelePresence rooms across Cisco offices today. Unlike video conferencing, which needs an IT executive to set up the call, TelePresence, claims Cisco, can be launched at the touch of a single button.

But don’t expect your HR head to go running out the door to buy this technology. For one, it is still expensive. It costs about $300,000 (Rs 1.17 cr) to set up a single TelePresence room.

The executives remark that technology can be a good master but you should not end up as a slave to it. Being accessible 24/7 does not mean working 24/7.

What’s in a Name?

02 Sunday Dec 2007

Posted by Prem Rao in A Step A Day

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A Step A Day, names in India

‘Hello, everyone” said the young lady brightly “ Let me introduce our guest. This is Rao. Let me know if you need anything else, Mr. BP” she said with a smile and away she went.

“It’s ok. What’s in a name?” asked the young lady when we were having lunch later. I had told her I preferred to be called “ Prem” or “ BP” but not “ Rao”.

“ It’s not ok” I said. “I’ll tell you why. Should I call you “Venkataraman”? Her face changed. “But that’s my husband’s name” she protested. ” My name is Veena.”

But you write your name as Veena Venkataraman, I pointed out. “Just as Veena is your name, my name is Prem. Rao is my surname or family name. For a formal introduction, it should always be “Mr. Rao” just as I would introduce you as Mrs. Venkataraman and not Mrs. Veena. For an informal introduction, introducing you as “This is Veena” is fine, “This is Venkatararaman” is not.”!

Confused? You haven’t heard everything yet. Names can be confusing to the uninitiated, especially in the South of India where there are many different ways of writing one’s name. In some communities like mine, our name is prefixed with the name of our hometown. My full name is Bantwal Premkumar Rao, with Bantwal being a small place near Managalore.

I saw Mr. K.V. Kamath, CEO of ICICI Bank referred to in Forbes as Kundapur Kamath. His name is Kundapur Vaman Kamath. His first name is Vaman. Calling him Kundapur at a cocktail party would be a faux pax as it is the name of a place.

Other communities in South India have their father’s name precede their given name. Calling Rajaraman Subramaniam “ Raj” may be wrong because his name may be Subbu. Raj may be his father who has been dead and gone for a long time. Celebrities, however, seem to be the exception. Krish Srikkant , a former captain of the Indian cricket team, has got used to the world call him Krish though Krishnamachari is actually his father’s name. In Maharashtra it is common to have the father’s name after your name and before your surname, like a “Sunil Manohar Gavaskar”.

In yet other parts of India it is common to have several initials precede your name, T.V.L.N.R. Murthy comes to mind. These initials frequently are names of Gods from the Hindu pantheon. In Kerala, the same name may come twice like a Mammem K. Mammem or a John.T. John. For the most part, names in the North of India are less complicated. You could have a Pramod Khanna or a Radha Biswas where their first names are easier to identify.

It is better to ask how a person prefers to be called. Also, if you are not sure of how the name is pronounced, it is courteous to ask rather than pronounce it wrongly. This is useful for names like “Mathizhagan”,”Ezhikutty” or “Thenmozhi”. His/her name is important to every person. They don’t like it to be mispronounced.

As always, I use a golden rule: when in doubt ask!

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Prem Rao

Blogger: Prem Rao

Author, Book Reviewer, Coach, and Social Commentator based in Bangalore, India. View B P Rao's profile on LinkedIn
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