For quite sometime we have reserved comment on the much awaited economic turnaround with the apprehension that it may yet be too premature to let optimism take over good sense. But with as many as eleven top multinationals setting up their back-office units in India during the third quarter things are definitely looking a lot brighter than in months. Not only were expansion plans shelved till now but many existing facilities had been forced to withdraw operations. Signs of overall recovery perhaps need more sure indicators but as of now the BPO sector is looking good.


On a completely different track, Sachin Tendulkar, crossing the 17000 runs mark in international one-day cricket has now swept away any doubt whatsoever as to his supremacy in the game. He is the greatest. Period.

The Cricket season has begun. Not that there is really any time in the year nowadays when we are not watching cricket but this is the season proper. Well, things are pretty balanced at this moment. It is one match all in the India - Australia one day series. Yuvraj singh is back, Dhoni is back in centuries and Sachin's new residential property is doing incessant rounds on the net. All very cricket. Australia is conveniently down with injuries. Or may be it's a lack of form that needs to be explained with a bit of grace. But it is a fact that they are not well enough yet, to reach their top sledging form. Let us wait for a while.


So long then...

There are a few definite indicators that mark the approach of winter. All of a suddden commercials time on TV seems to be dominated by moisturizers and glycerine soaps. You tend to oversleep everyday in spite of going to bed at the right time. The vegetables market registers the arrival of fresh cauliflowers.....All of these may not be in the same league but all of these sort of remind you to shake off the mothballs from winter wear. In many parts of our country though, woolens are just a part of seasonal fashion and may be sported for a week or two. But whatever you actually say, winter is vacation time in our predominantly scorched country, even if you stay at home. It is a time when you feel like being more tolerant towards situations (or people) that would normally make you irritable. So, now that its winter, feel all charged up and get all that is pending completed.

Take care.

It is believed that if you buy 'dhan' or wealth in the form of precious metal before Diwali it brings you good luck. The way potatoes and onions are priced these days perhaps an alternative 'Dhanteras' will be approved this year. It is just an idea, that. Anyways, if you have survived the onslought of good luck, you are immediately burdened with the task of enjoying the delights of seeing your hard-earned money burn in multi-coloured flames. Have you checked the price of fireworks? It does not matter that sound crackers have been banned, it would be unaffordable in any case. When we run out of everything, we have lots of the famous Indian spirit to spare.

So, cheers to the spirit of Diwali, the real thing is bonding and love and sighing after the fireworks that the wealthy neighbour sends up in the sky. Kidding to an extent…Happy Diwali !

We are truly proud this week. Tamil Nadu born Venkatraman "Venki" Ramakrishnan has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He shares the Honours with Thomas E Steitz (US) and Ada E Yonath (Israel) for their "studies of the structure and function of the ribosome". Beginning as a theoretical physicist, Ramakrishnan gradually moved into researching the challenges presented by life. The Nobel laureate has several acclaimed publications to his credit.

Ramakrisnan is the seventh person of Indian origin to have received the honour. We salute his brilliance and wish him all the very best for his future scientific endeavours.