Electronic Commerce Processing

Here is a brief discussion between two friends about the electronic commerce processing and these sessions will be continued in future blogs.

Alex: I am curious to know about the credit card transaction. I just go to a shop, swipe my card and everything happens in less than a minute. Wow….amazing right?

Rico: Yes you are right; it is one of the most intelligent creations of mankind and offcourse complex architecture.

Alex: Which was the first credit card?

Rico: Diner’s card, during early 1950’s.

Alex: OMG….i didn’t know about that…

Rico: since its introduction into the world market, electronic commerce has undergone numerous enhancements and the evolution was phenomenal.

Alex: Electronic commerce? Are you talking about Credit card?

Rico: oh well…Electronic commerce cards are Debit, credit, prepaid….etc

Alex: Who are the main stakeholders of a transaction?

Rico: Basically five major stakeholders are involved. They are Associations (Visa or MasterCard), Issuer, Acquirer, Merchant and Cardholder.

Alex: Who is cardholder?

Rico: Well, it is the customer who holds a valid credit card issued by some banks.

Alex: What is the role of an Issuer and an Acquirer?

Rico: Issuer is the bank which issues the credit card, where us the Acquirer is the bank which holds the POS machine or the bank of the merchant.

Alex: What is POS machine?

Rico: It is Point of Sale, the machine used to swipe the card. It is issued by the bank which the merchant hires. There are third party processors which provides POS machine as part of their services.

Alex: Can the issuer and acquirer be the same banks?

Rico: Off course, both can be same or not. Some countries have restrictions like in Canada.

Alex: Associations?

Rico: Yes, They are non-profit organizations which provide medium/channels between banks for speedy transactions. The revenue they yield is utilized for the technology enhancements and the employee benefits.

Alex: How will be the Visa and MasterCard benefited?

Rico: Visa and MasterCard charges every transaction which happens through their network, a small service charge.

Alex: How exactly is the transaction happens?

Rico: The time when the Cardholder swipes the card in a POS machine, it undergoes a cycle of processes starting from authorization until billing.

Alex: Who are processers?

Rico: Ah!!! They are third party vendors or processors, who help the banks in transactions. They do authorization, billing, report generation with the help of Visa and MasterCard channels.

Alex: How does the Merchant receives money?

Rico: There are applications which pull the merchant files and the files are fed into batch jobs (which run during the night). After successful batch run the merchants will receives the money. Also, some service charges are deducted from the merchants for using POS machine.

Alex: you mean to say that merchants will not receive money when a customer swipes the card???

Rico: No, merchant will receive only after the successful batch run.

Alex: Rico, lets continue the topic some other time…I need to push off now……

Boas Festas – my Christmas celebration 2010

2010 was a year of overwhelming surprises and marked an era of self realization, knowledge, acceptance, adaptability and significantly in embarking new scales of adventures.

I got a unique opportunity to celebrate Natal (Christmas) with Dani’s family. It was the union of Felippe, Toffoli, Debuire (French), Petareli and Vadakkedath (Indian) families under an umbrella on a well decorated table. Bringing all these families together signaled a salient upcoming change, prosperity and was an opportunity to cement the declining family relations

hips. To me, it was the perfect opportunity to introduce myself into the big family. The gathering constituted 45 people with mixed age groups, living in neighboring cities and of multiple professions. The magnitude of this year’s Christmas commemoration was significantly high because of international participation, as we have a French family, Debuire and an Indian. The celebration was held at the newly constructed house of Dani’s tia (aunt), Teia. She is a retired physical instructor from military and an artist.

Julien from Debuire family is married to Helen from Toffoli family is cousin of Dani. Recently they are gifted with a new born cute baby boy, Cauan. They were accompanied by their visiting French parents who are on a short visit to see the new born baby. Not to ignore, myself, an Indian native who was recently tweaked into the Felippe family through Dani.

The celebrations started with an introduction, were everyone gets a chance to introduce themselves, like belonging to which family, profession, plans for the coming years …..etc. I gave a very pleasant introduction and thanked the families for the hospitality and support in the last couple of months. I appreciate the idea of this theme, but there was lot of annoying interruptions, unwanted comments and teasers from some of the participants. The Dani’s uncles gave an awesome introduction and thanked the other families for inviting them.

Food, an integral part of all the celebrations in Brazil, was diversified this time, with the presence of an Indian dish and variety of typical Brazilian dishes. Honestly, I ate a lot and decided not to eat for another couple of days. Followed by this heavy food were the delicious deserts. Another interesting event of the celebration is the exchanging of gifts. I enjoyed this part incredibly because I received numerous gifts. To list a few, my dream shoes from Dani, a suave shirt from mae, a football shorts from Mariana and goes on. Sadly, I was not able to gift Dani on our first Christmas together.

The fiesta continued until early morning 3:00 am…

On the flip side, I missed my family back in India and I sent good vibrations, blessings and wishes from here. Julio's absence had a huge influence in the family and everyone got the opportunity to speak with him on phone. Again, I Thank all the families for the immense support, motivation and unity for realizing many dreams. I wish all the families, individuals across the globe are blessed this year and the following years….

Call for the event!!!

Om Sai Ram

Life and time has quite moved on and we keep moving on with the stream, sometimes up and down off the stream...and we pause for a short break to keep moving on .....and here, I am going to get started again. I am getting married to my long time love, Dani, who is around me for past 5 years and I am really excited and happy to invite my friends and relatives for this union. I am officially inviting my friends, relatives, well wishers to join this communion of different culture and values. It will be a flamboyant turnout to see my friends, relatives around and receive the liberal showering of blessings.

We both have been running for years to unite and spread the message of love (amor) to nooks and corners of the world. We cruised across ups and downs; raged a ceaseless battle against critics by closely listening to our inner self. We Thank our families and friends who supported and motivated us through all these years.

Thanks to my parents, siblings and friends. Thanks to Dani's parents, siblings, relatives and friends. We Thank our soul divine source, Sri Sathya Sai Baba for uniting us and giving us a rare blessing while we were in Puttaparthi.

Thanks and best wishes to Sri Sathya Sai Orphanage Trust, for considering and accepting our proposal to organize our marriage in the beautiful Sai Gramam village in Pandavanmala, Trivandrum. (www.saigrama.org). Best wishes to all the activities and endeavors in the coming years.

Friends, relatives, well-wishers and families, please join in this divine communion and bless all the families.

Influencial quotes from Buddha

Here are some interesting, inspiring quotes from Buddha. Buddha was of the greatest spiritual master that humanity has ever experienced and he led a life of principles, actions and practices. He experienced the divine enlightenment and channeled the human beings to follow his path to realize his experience. He is living within us and around us. He is one of my best teacher and companion. Every day i have a quick glance into some of his quotes, which gives me an opportunity to unite my consciousness and work collaboratively.

---------------------------------------------------------

We are what we think.

All that we are arises with our thoughts.

With our thoughts we make the world.

In this world

Hate never yet dispelled hate.

Only love dispels hate.

This is the law,

Ancient and inexhaustible.

Better than a thousand hollow words

Is one word that brings peace.

Better than a thousand hollow verses

Is one verse that brings peace.

There is no fire like passion

No crime like hatred,

No sorrow like separation,

No sickness like hunger,

And no joy like the joy of freedom.

It is better to conquer yourself

Than to win a thousand battles.

Then the victory is yours.

It cannot be taken from you,

Not by angels or by demons,

Heaven or hell.

You are the source

Of all purity and impurity.

No one purifies another.

It is better to do nothing

Than to do what is wrong.

For whatever you do, you do to yourself.

Master your words.

Master your thoughts.

Never allow your body to do harm.

Follow these three roads with purity

And you will find yourself upon the one way,

The way of wisdom.

You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.

Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.

Neither fire nor wind, birth nor death can erase our good deeds.

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

The greatest prayer is patience.

With gentleness overcome anger.

With generosity overcome meanness.

With truth overcome deceit.

Never speak harsh words

For they will rebound upon you.

Angry words hurt

And the hurt rebounds.

Like a broken gong.

Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.

The mind is everything; what you think you become.

Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.

Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others.

The wise have mastered

Body, word and mind.

They are the true masters.

Let no one deceive another

or despise anyone anywhere,

or through anger or irritation

wish for another to suffer.

-----------------------------------------------------------

The Story of India

Recently I got the privilege to watch the documentary about “The story of India” broadcasted by BBC for the second time. It is a unique journey, a mammoth task collating the 10,000 years history of the great nation in two DVD’s. The feature is a heavy gush of ideas, colors, cinematography covering the nooks of the Indian geography and the people of this mesmerizing mystic country. It is broadcasted in a series of five episodes closely packed and blended with diligent editing, incredible stories and vivid description. It covers a broad range of topics pulsating from the drifting of Indian sub-continent from Africa, rise and fall of civilizations, emperors, religions and languages to modern India. Furthermore, my admiration plucked on the British legendary historian and writer Michael Wood for his remarkable and enduring presentation.

The Story of India, a topic which has immense depth of humanity and traces through the civilizations like IVC (Indus Valley Civilizations), Harappa, Hindukush and gigantic dynasties, emperors like Chandra Gupta Maurya, Kanishka, Asoka, Akbar…etc. and emperor turned humanitarian and teacher, Gautama Buddha. Silk route, connecting India with the central Asia which opened new doors for trade, transport and cultural transformations. The tour gave a picture about the reality of Great War of Mahabharata by digging the remains from the supposed battle field, the great engineering works during the ancient periods which is yet to be deciphered, magnificent monuments, festivals and great sanctuaries. Excellence and brilliance of Sanskrit, the ancient Indian religious language was clearly explained and its connection with other ancient languages like Greek and Latin. The long train journeys gave composition and mixed feelings about the normal class people of India.

I strongly suggest who are in search of deep connections about this historic land should have a glance on this video series. India, known for its religious significances, a land with great leaders and masters has astronomical surprises. As we dwell deep, more astonishing surprises are revealed and we are thrown into a well of mysteries. Every Indian should see the series and be aware about their great history and share the knowledge through medium of peace, righteousness and simplicity.

Michael Wood and his crew clearly deserves a high applaud for this embarking endeavor capturing and deciphering the sacred, ancient history of India. His voice is magical, simple and entertaining.

The documentary is available in
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/story-of-india/
Or, Download from isohunt or any torrents..
Or, Buy DVD from Amazon or any video shops…..

Noite Indiana (Indian Night)

Yet another ceaseless effort, I have only considerations to thank my family, friends and God for achieving and entertaining a handful of people from my city, Espirito Santo do Pinhal, in the country side of Sao Paulo state. “Indian night (Noite Indiana)”, a culinary delight intertwining the north and south Indian flavors in a delicate and calculated magnitude supporting the interests of the Brazilian tongues. The whole event was creative and proportional interests of a couple whom established a phantom chemistry of love and destiny, bridging the Indo-Brazil relationship. The event took place at “Clube Recreativo” on 16^th October in the city center. The Indian music and videos added flavor to the spicy night, which took a wild and geographical trip through the countries rich culture and diversity. This small city, geographically situated on a group of mountain chains has a rarity for having such a magical event, in fact a type of festival happening for the first time in whole of Brazil. The event employed a new revolutionary space to share and bridge a new relationship between the two economic giants.

It could have come as a surprise to skeptics, a polished and trained software engineer who spearheaded billion dollar transactions every single day for an MNC few months back, with pride and prejudice; in an ardent attempt, passion to portray his country and culture through true and pure devotion to his mastery of culinary skills, offcourse with the support of family. Food symbolizes the definition and culture of a country, especially a country having 10,000 years of solid history. Indian cuisines are known across the globe for its ravishing, spontaneous and resonating tongue twisting spices.

The menu included, Chapatti (the traditional and principle food made out of wheat flour), Tomato curry (mixture of sliced tomatoes and onions with relative composition of spices), Aloo curry (smashed potato and thinly sliced onions along with incredible combination of spices), Spicy Chicken tikka masala, Beef Toran ( a very typical meat dish from Kerala), Spiced rice, Sambar (vegetables with lentils, a typical south Indian dish, which in fact became a smash hit of the night), Payasam (vermicelli with milk and cashew nuts), Mango pickle and finally the Indian tea.

Day before the event we spoke on Radio about this event and inviting people to be part of this event. On the day of the event Mae and I started organizing and cooking in the morning, we were followed by bunch of relatives extending from uncles, aunts and cousins. We had arranged an altar for displaying the Indian spices, Gods, books and other artifacts from India. The club was remarkably decorated by displaying the walls with Mandalas (a product of many sleepless nights) and Indian clothes. We had also created an artificial pond with water, leaves, flowers and candles floating through the surface.

It was a mixed and boundless effort with no boundaries laid between Brazil and India. Rather it was a family reunion, were ideas shared, discussed and rejoiced, an explosion of laughter, cheering and learning. I shared with the group the delicacy, the divine combination and composition of various Indian spices, surprisingly new to the Brazilians.

The crowd started popping around 8:00 PM, the Indian music and videos entertained the groups. Friends and family gathered, formed groups and circled around the tables passing, inventing comments. Friends from other cities (Valinhos, Campinas, Rio Claro, Sao Paulo) arrived on time and occupied their reserved seats. Some of the dishes finished in the first hour and the demand for the dishes increased. Dani wore a beautiful and colorful saree and she was joined by couple of other guests who wore some Indian clothes as well. The fiesta continued until mid night and the crowd left happy and enlightened.

I received immense amount of responses and appreciations, and it represents the integrity of family effort. Dani was the brainchild of the whole event and I just followed her path. A special thanks to Rosi, (Owner of Grafica) for her unflinching support and providing us with the panelas (cooking utensils). Bruno did a good job in making the chapathi dough soft. Ricardo, Jose Carlos, Terezina, Alessandra, Marianna, Andre, Mi, Flavia, Victor and Mae (Marlene) has done an incredible job in helping me cooking the dishes. The newspaper published a half page article stating “the people of Pinhal became vegetarian for a night”. The guests have heavily recommended to continue doing our efforts and waiting for the next “Noite Indiana”. I have received responses from couple of other cities to organize such an event. Until the next “Noite Indiana” ………NAMASTHE …..OM SAI RAM

World cup 2010; Rise and fall: Reporting from Brazil

The FIFA World Cup 2010 needs no explanation to be volatile because I am in the land where the people speak the language of football. Football is a religion, a global entertainer, a festival and a versatile human manifestation of joy, passion, faith and unity. This is one amazing event which tries to nail down the racial discrimination and spread the message of humanity. This is my first time that I am part of a country when that country goes on to play. Evidently I don’t need to explain how much the people are fantasized by this global gathering.

In my city (E.S Pinhal) the streets was filled with variety of flamboyant placards, banners and flyers indicating support to the Brazilian football team. Not surprisingly everything freezes including banks, government offices, shops, educational institutions and supermarkets on the day when Brazil goes on to the field. Apparently the street goes completely empty (numb) like the war hit streets of Iraq. The crowd crouches in front of the big screens set on the parks, squares, pubs or attractive locations.

Brazil has won 5 world cup titles and has already targeted for the championship this year, repeating the histories of the past (1994, 2002…etc). Brazil has gifted many football legends like Pele, Socrates, Romario, Bebeto, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho…etc. The current favourites are Kaka, Robinho, Fabiano, Daniel Alves, Julio Caesar….Etc who are under the stringent mentoring of Dunga, the former Brazilian international and the Captain of the 1994 World cup title. Brazil was raging a gruesome battle in the group including Portugal, Ivory Coast and North Korea.

Brazil had a snail like start in the opening game against North Korea, who defended Brazilian strikers from netting the Jambolini inside their goal post. After many desperate attempts Maicon gave the breakthrough for the Brazilians in the second half, a strike which left the North Korean goal keeper helpless. Few minutes later Evano converted the mesmerizing pass from Robinho by a delicate touch which pierced the Korean goal post again. Voila, the crowd erupted again with whistling, howling and some sounds which I cannot define or express. Even though Brazil had a narrow victory, the Brazilians are never hesitant to celebrate this moment with absolute thump up.

After the Brazil games, irrespective of age, gender, a volcanic parade of devotees engulfs the street making howls, honks and drum beats. The blasphemous crowd are wearing blue, green, yellow coloured costumes and controls the street, another depiction of carnival festival. The ceremony includes performances by local bands and continues until midnight. It is an amazing event to be watched with naked eyes and leaves the guards/police helpless. I went to the square to watch this ceremony in real and left me completely lobotomized and smash buckled. I realized and recognized why this game has found a place in the hearts of each Brazilians. Football integrates people and in this gathering you meet old and new friends, relatives, ex’s (boyfriends, girlfriends..etc) and other fellow religious followers of the football. I was held in the traffic for a long while and the cars kept honking, while people slowly crossing the road like a snail, the police kept the arms crossed and gave a mystifying smile.

Even though Brazil had a consecutive success and has helplessly defeated their opponents, they had to end their campaign by an awful defeat against the European favourites, Netherlands. The fall of the giants was a catastrophe, a state of deep moaning and an ocean of tears. But before the wounds goes into oblivion Brazilians has already started promoting and commercialising the 2014 world cup. The 2014 WC will be a massive communion of ardent followers of football from all the continents.

The 2010 world cup has left me unforgettable experience and enlightening spirits of this beautiful game. Brazil and football is a mysterious chemistry, a cryptic equation, mutual coexisting bond which cannot be separated, it is part of life, part of the body. It is not just a game or entertainment; it is equilibrium of mind and body. Let’s cross our fingers and anxiously wait for the 2014 WC to arrive.