tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20970625506416226072011-09-05T17:35:52.621+05:30This is a blog trying to deal with current issues in a way that respects their view points and is an interesting read... please do give your feedbackGeo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.comBlogger251100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097062550641622607.post-5283939920988618332010-12-08T16:14:00.002+05:302010-12-08T16:31:25.031+05:30

It had been more than three and half years since I saw him last. I will never forget him and the talk we shared in the Soul Café. It was one of those times I was made to bite dust. I could not even start talking to him while he barraged me with his arguments and reasoning. He was the son of the owner of the Soul Café. For those who have followed the Soul Café episodes will remember ‘the case of

Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097062550641622607.post-71808747364812453722010-07-16T08:10:00.001+05:302010-07-17T08:56:35.780+05:30

Humans yearn to be bound to someone in their lives to draw a meaning to their life. To lead a solitary life, unattached to people, is impossible.In relationships, romance takes the laurels! It is still the most celebrated subject in movies made worldwide and more so in India! Strangely, in our traditionalist country, a lot of it is still in the celluloid! There’s an evident disconnect between

Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097062550641622607.post-14553791137989004002010-07-16T08:09:00.000+05:302010-07-16T08:10:04.906+05:30

The financial year-end had kept me busy and I couldn’t go to the Soul Café for many weeks! Moreover, the temperatures were much higher this year compared to the years before that I have lived, and so, coffee and all its derivatives were not very high on my wish list. As April commenced, memories of the ‘All Fool’s Day’ and the amusement we had at the cost of our more naive peers flashed through

Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097062550641622607.post-55416984918949067382010-07-16T08:08:00.000+05:302010-07-18T08:00:15.026+05:30

Mandy, Shelly and Nita allowed Soul Café to become a discussion ground for the biggest topic on the globe these days – a doomsday prediction of another kind – “environmental crisis”. We presented our arguments very strongly and there perhaps was a kind of consensus emerging at the end of the discussion.However, what was going to follow was something beyond my expectation, especially since it was

Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097062550641622607.post-48749833126737257492010-07-16T08:07:00.001+05:302010-07-30T11:44:57.684+05:30

December 2009, one place that captured the imagination and attention of the whole world: Copenhagen, Denmark. Representatives from 183 countries met for a 12-day Copenhagen Climate Summit to try to come to agreement on how to best reduce mankind’s “Carbon Footprint” on our world. Though they finally ended up making a toothless and non-binding “Copenhagen Accord”, the summit was largely a failure

Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097062550641622607.post-20492743359048770442010-07-16T08:06:00.000+05:302010-07-16T08:07:13.097+05:30

Recently while going through an article, I came across a statistics that made my eyes pop out! A game show on one of the TV channels received as many as “nine crore” (ninety million!!) phone calls made by people across all age groups from all over the country, just to take part in it! What would invoke such a response! Technically, almost the 10% of the country, or should I make a guess and say

Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097062550641622607.post-64057610734032723582010-07-16T08:04:00.001+05:302010-07-16T08:04:47.305+05:30

Coming home to be greeted by an empty house, eating the lunch pack arranged from the neighborhood, playing video games and talking to the characters inside the game, sleeping off in the middle of the loitering around, rushing off to catch up with friends and sports at dusk, coming in late for dinner to see the parents go off sleep for the day were the ‘almost predictable’ routine events in the

Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097062550641622607.post-28373073790961932292010-07-16T08:02:00.000+05:302010-07-16T08:03:35.942+05:30

Johnson had a blessed marriage. I got an opportunity to speak at the wedding and it was a memorable event. The place where he got married was about eight hours by bus from where I lived. On the eve of the wedding, as we were traveling towards the destination by a bus, I sat by a young man I knew well. He had his phone in his hands and every couple of minutes he was looking into it. Suddenly it

Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097062550641622607.post-38782757396449830032010-07-16T08:00:00.000+05:302010-07-16T08:01:42.453+05:30

In my recent trips to down south, Kerala, I had the several opportunities for trysts with the laidback lifestyle of the Keralites. Except when they are on a strike or on a protest with loud ‘zindabaads’, the Keralites are noticeably very laid back. I have my reasons for the same. For example, the workers in the fields; supposed to report at 8.00am; nearly idle their way to their work spots well

Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097062550641622607.post-26902159107431506692010-07-16T07:59:00.000+05:302010-07-17T09:17:22.173+05:30

I had just returned from a long trip and was visiting the Soul Café after a long time. There were some visible changes to the place but most of it was only rearrangements. However, they were giving away Cold Coco at an almost ‘throw away’ price. I was surely going to try a couple of cups. I took the corner seat, ordered the Coco and took a relaxing position to make a review of the place. So many

Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097062550641622607.post-10945707337652768332010-07-16T07:58:00.000+05:302010-07-19T23:16:41.712+05:30

The author of the famous book “Purpose Driven Life”, Rick Warren was asked by President Elect Barack Obama to deliver the invocation at his inauguration ceremony. This apparently harmless choice got boiled over into a political debate and controversy. Some were opposing it because of Warren’s Evangelical allegiance but most decrying it because of Warren’s stand against Homosexuals and Gay

Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097062550641622607.post-41309562185797506572010-07-16T07:57:00.001+05:302010-07-16T07:58:05.482+05:30

This is how the 63rd session of the General Assembly of the United Nations began this year. The Secretary General, as usual, addressed the gathering. “Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen: Welcome to the opening of the general debate of the 63rd session of the General Assembly. It is customary for the Secretary-General, on this occasion, to assess the state of the world and to

Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097062550641622607.post-4263187377054684302010-07-16T07:54:00.000+05:302010-07-16T23:30:51.909+05:30

“Money is everything in life”, said a really bullish young man, who had made some good money in his careful investments spread across diverse investment options. He was willing to diversify it further into more riskier options to increase the chances of multiplying the returns. He was confident because, at a 9%, the GDP growth looked robust and increasingly improved ratings coming over from

Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097062550641622607.post-28483210478421871462010-07-16T07:48:00.000+05:302010-07-16T22:56:12.018+05:30

The young India is already behaving in a very different way than their parents. They are earning younger, and working in myriad “new age” professions e.g. dance and fitness instructors, radio and TV jockeys, adventure tourism, cooking, grooming, gaming, modeling, acting, counseling besides, of course, retail and IT and other emerging sectors. They are making good money too. More and more of

Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097062550641622607.post-13132310833611921652008-05-02T11:13:00.000+05:302008-05-02T11:43:33.415+05:30

The news coming from the west is not very encouraging. With the sub-prime fallout, US economy is troubled, in fact reeling. The US Fed has cut interest rate once again by another 25bp to 2%. However, market in US is not responding to these attempts by the Fed and markets worldwide are worried by this trend. Prices of food and gas are rising. Crude is at an all time high with no sign of cessation.

Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097062550641622607.post-30242807482952587542007-12-14T00:05:00.000+05:302007-12-14T08:45:28.584+05:30

During my long break from the Soul Café, I took time to catch up with my friends and acquaintances online. I also heard a lot of good music on You Tube. I was really amazed by the variety of good music that was now available even in the Christian music field. Internet has changed many things. One field that has seriously benefited by the advent of the Internet is “music”. Music industry

Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097062550641622607.post-28579688058555625472007-12-06T11:23:00.000+05:302007-12-19T09:05:35.176+05:30

My long sessions with Kumar and Rahul on a single day had been so heavy on me that I didn’t go back to the Soul Café for many weeks. I spent most of my evenings online catching up with friends and discussing with them on a range of topics, thanks to Orkut, and sometimes I was punching in for my blog, and at other times I was doing some reading and research of my own on the happenings around the

Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097062550641622607.post-14382905467089640712007-11-20T08:41:00.000+05:302007-12-19T08:56:55.762+05:30

For those who came in late, here is a recap of what has transpired very recently at Soul Café. I was meeting up with my old friend after a very long time and during the course of it we discussed about the various recent trends among teenagers in India and as we were talking about it a youngster chanced upon our conversations and joined in. The conversation then went on to explore evolution and

Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097062550641622607.post-83216047047770391292007-11-20T08:30:00.000+05:302007-12-19T08:55:53.104+05:30

For those who came in late, here is a recap of what has transpired very recently at Soul Café. My friend, Kumar, works in a premier market research agency and we were meeting after a very long time, and our conversations at the Soul Café happened to dwell on the modern trends among the teens, especially on the ‘skippies’. In the middle of this discussion, a seemingly well-read teen snooped into

Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097062550641622607.post-86644484694576438982007-11-20T08:24:00.000+05:302007-12-19T08:52:46.704+05:30

I was meeting my friend who working with a premier market research agency, after a very long time. We discussed the case of ‘skippies’ and the discussion took some interesting twists. My friend interrupted the discussions to leave. He had to finish off his business engagements and he promised to return later in the evening to continue our talk. As he walked to the door, he walked past several ‘

Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097062550641622607.post-70737525930748850712007-11-19T08:37:00.001+05:302007-12-19T08:51:42.624+05:30

Skippies is the market research term for young teens with earnings and (or) purchasing power, and there is no mistaking their influence in the buying decision anymore. And it is not just restricted to products that they buy for personal use. Whether it’s a car, a TV, breakfast cereal or gum, the young members in the family have a definite view on most purchase decisions. In India, Wrigley

Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097062550641622607.post-55593567131385929432007-11-19T08:23:00.000+05:302007-12-19T08:50:16.706+05:30

It was evening and I had to walk back home and rush to a meeting in the evening. However, the café owner held me back. I didn’t want to lose an opportunity to at least make a better acquaintance with him hoping that perhaps he would offer me a regular discount, whenever I came there in the future. He asked me about my vocation and why my apparent subjects were always youngsters. Now, he was the

Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097062550641622607.post-5615658051690203862007-11-18T23:33:00.000+05:302007-12-19T08:49:11.912+05:30

As we walked down the road to the café, the young man with me started revealing more facts about his life. His father was an elder in the church and was a man of outstanding testimony. While he grew up, he always looked up to his father and proudly said to himself that one day he would become like his father. This is the experience of most boys while they are still growing. Somehow I feel that

Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097062550641622607.post-4625441329947495932007-11-18T22:32:00.000+05:302007-12-19T08:46:49.866+05:30

I met this brilliant guy at one of the camps organized by a leading organization working among students. After a talk on teen issues, he came to me wanting to discuss a few things. As always, I was careful to be as friendly and relaxed as possible so that he didn’t get uncomfortable, even faintly. He said he was spending a couple of hours everyday on the Internet and he somehow wanted to reduce

Geo Verghesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10816449186046930238noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097062550641622607.post-31864385641193605442007-11-16T07:45:00.000+05:302007-12-19T08:38:56.318+05:30

My friend’s son has been nagging his dad since several days to buy him a mobile handset. I think the boy is justified to an extent. My friend had promised to buy his son the handset, provided he got a first class in his matriculation. Now my friend regrets, why he didn’t put a higher goal of say, a distinction. The boy’s classmates all flaunt their gizmos, just outside the school campus, since

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