when words skip you....

Sometimes words fail you. Something inside wants to come out, but cannot find a channel through which it can appear. Maybe things have become too complex or possibly one has become too jaded to find a new expression for every situation. And then, a miracle happens. You come across words thought by somebody else and you get the shock of your life. This is just what I was trying to say, you cry out.

This does not happen too often, but when it does it's an experience to remember. And this is what I felt when I read these lines...

A worried man with a worried mind
No one in front of me and nothing behind
There's a woman on my lap and she's drinking champagne
Got white skin, got assassin's eyes
I'm looking up into the sapphire tinted skies
I'm well dressed, waiting on the last train

Standing on the gallows with my head in a noose
Any minute now I'm expecting all hell to break loose

People are crazy and times are strange
I'm locked in tight, I'm out of range
I used to care, but things have changed

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h-a-n-g-o-v-e-r life........

The post party syndrome also commonly known as the hangover can be pretty awful experience especially if it occurs on a Monday morning. It signifies the rocking time we had while partying over the weekend. Coming to terms with it both physically and mentally can be a bit daunting especially when we realize that the party is over and now it’s back to work. When it comes to me, it’s quite unusual. In fact I simply love hangovers. Here by hangover, I don't mean the one we get from alcohol but the one we have after the end of a fabulous era. For me hangover is an extensive recollection of the good times we had. And in this whole recollecting thing I always end up screwing up my present. But the scary part is that getting over any kind of hangover can be pretty tough.

For me life was a party until very recently, I realized that the party got over a long time ago and everyone had left and I was the only moron who was left behind. The truth is that I was in denial for such a long time that I forgot that I am 27 already. I am no longer a kid or an indifferent teenager who can get whatever he wants by simply manipulating his parents, friends or simply the people around him.

Yes, hangovers can be pretty tough to get rid of but once over, we realize that its time to move on for the better. Life always moves on…..

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Hallelujah……… Web 2.0

I remember when as a child we used to send letters to my grandma – who stayed just 6 hours away from Calcutta (trunk-calls were difficult and expensive at those times). It used to be a ceremony. We used to put it in envelope, put the stamps on it, write the address and send it. And then, we used to wait for the answer, which would arrive in about 3-4 weeks time.

Cut to 2007. I have not written a letter in almost two years – the last letter I wrote was to my girlfriend some 3 years back. Come to think of it, I type instead of writing these days. Everyone I know has e-mail and I can contact them on chat/skype, scrap/message them on social networking sites, leave a message on their blog, text them or call them on their mobile. Any of this can be done within minutes. I don't post greeting cards any more. I just pick some 3D multimedia stuff to convey what (I think) I want to say.

I get upset if I don't receive a reply within minutes – checking the mail, social networking sites furiously. The response time has shrunk from days to seconds.

I have no contact with nature either – no trekking, no fun for over a year now. The only contact I have with nature is checking the weather forecast for tomorrow. But that’s all right. I worry more about getting the latest security and antivirus updates for my laptop these days.

I am bombarded with information in all forms every second, twenty four hours a day. My senses have saturated. Games (GTA, AOE, NFS), music (that I hardly understand or listen even for that matter), movies, sports (IPL – a total whitewash for my team), quotes, wildlife, history... you name it, I have got it. There's Wiki, Google, Youtube. A new blog is created every half second – and I keep on adding posts to mine. I use RSS feeds to keep me updated about recent developments and other friends musings. I have no time to reflect.

Hallelujah……… Web 2.0!!!!!

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the perils of technology....

Disaster struck last night. The energy source that nourishes life around it, was compromised and everything went cold and bleak.

Or so I thought, for a couple of hours. Electricity from MSEB went ka-putt and we the lesser mortals at Magarpatta, Pune were the victims. After some time being extremely frustrated about it (that too around 2 am at night), I realized that the situation was not so bad. Although it was peak summer mild climate of Pune (nights are actually better here) put me into ease as I strolled on the fantastic (if not useable – questionable) terrace that my flat provided. And as I walked and looked into the sky I saw a picture that I had not reveled in for quite some time. A beautiful night sky with stars glittering as far as the eye could see – a picture I had seen almost everyday as a group of friends chatting all night as Nescafe’s or the lawn outside the security office or the wind-T at the IIT. Nostalgia……..gripped me.

Again my mind got thinking – how we have evolved as humans. Technology has made life simpler – the television to kill time, computers, and mobile phones – everything leading to life being simpler – or it? There are so many things available at the touch of a button, that the line between luxury and necessity has been removed long back. How many things are really necessary for survival? Is technology achieving it's goal of making our lives simpler?

Probably, I should visit Japan again. Time to see how ancient tradition and ultra-modern technology co-exist side by side.

Now that’s something I have put up in my agenda as of now.

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the power of CHOICE.....

I remember long time back I had gone to an “Art of Living” workshop during my MBA days, actively trying to hide the fact from my friends that I had been there. If the news got out – I could have faced ridicule amongst my friends group I had thought. Now the entire fact has shrunk to a point that now I am, or rather would be proud if I could proclaim the same act repeated by me again.

Going back then - it was a very powerful workshop, full of so much useful information, and insights into various aspects of life, intentions, manifesting and of course the art of living. I definitely learned a lot but I also felt like I’m was getting to a point that because of the amount of information that I constantly fed myself, the kind of interactions I had with people but at the end I always felt there was something lacking in my life and that I was not learning anything new, anymore.

Well what seemed like a load of trash coming out from an equally weird looking (read calm) person in front of me – these days I look back with a change in heart for the same. Well there have been numerous changes in the last one year of my life – family troubles, change in my job, my marriage and moving to a new city and starting afresh. I too have brought about a lot of changes in my life of late – and the fact has made me realize that it was time enough and I had in fact began the art of practicing. In many ways I felt flooded with information and emotions galore – living life in a new way and actually enjoying it. Actually, let me change that word flooded to overflowing instead, and now all that’s left is simply putting it into practice consistently on a day to day, moment to moment basis.

With every interaction with people and life there is an opportunity to practice the art of living that life – that promises a lot more. With every new event there is an opportunity to practice and put in use the principles one upholds in life. Often the trick is remembering to practice and not letting old habits take the wheel so to speak. That is the battle - it’s an art of war against my old habits with my new ways of thinking.

I guess I have tried to see every moment as an opportunity to practice the fine art of living and therefore slowly but surely growing happy and being better prepared to make the most of life. That I guess is the power of choice.

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Happiness: Who's line is it anyway?

The first thing that any careful discussion of happiness has to deal with is the fact that the term happiness has many distinctive uses. We speak of happy moments and happy lives. Thoughts about what would count as happiness may conjure visions of pleasure on the one hand, and success or achievement on the other. At times, we might think that happiness is just getting what we really want. Sometimes we say that happiness is what really matters in life; other times, we say that there’s more to life than mere happiness (as when we claim that someone is happy when she shouldn’t be). At the root of the term, of course, is the notion of hap or happenstance, and so happiness is also connected to the notion of good fortune, or luck (blame me for spending too much time on the internet perhaps trying to quench my thirst for knowledge albeit it's omnipresence).

And yet we often think of happiness as something that is not simply a matter of luck, but something that we can bring into our lives by effort, money, pleasure etc etc. Claims that any one of these ways of using the term happiness points toward the correct definition of happiness are mere assertions, which turn a blind eye to the other ways we use this term to successfully communicate something about a moment, a person, or the ideal of happiness itself. It is quite easy, when discussing the nature of happiness, to descend into a verbal quibble which simply has no principled resolution.

If we try to take some particular way of thinking about happiness and make it our standard, then we always run into problematic cases. That’s what my experience says………..

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dissecting friendship......

This entry is dedicated to the hundreds of wonderful friends out there (didn't realize I had so many!) who have given me the strength to go on the journey, with the guidance of God

Recently one of my well-wishers admittedly criticized me for the definition of friendship I had posted on my blog lately. Since I could not however reply back since the well-wisher had posted the feedback anonymously I could somehow not responded back directly to him/her.

Coming back to it - friendship is a feeling that can be in described in 100 possible ways with anyone being as accurate as the other is describing the sentiments involved in it.

There can be many a number of definitions about friendship but to me it’s just sticking together through the thick and thin of life and not running away at the least opportune moment. I had some many definitions of everything as I grew up – friendship at 10 was different to friendship when I was 20 and it’s evolved to something that will, I guess will stay permanently.

I have discovered lately that some people whom I have perceived all these years to be true to me - are not. Disappointment, sadness, hurt and…...ironically blessed as someone told me that I should feel fortunate to discover this earlier and not later. Overnight, my old friends 'downgraded' to just an acquaintance or as better described by that same someone, fair-weather friends. At the same time there have been a couple of friends who have “upgraded” to the status of best friends for life – and I am damn lucky for that I guess.

Well I guess like every other self-respecting Indian I prefer to die fighting rather than running away. That’s the approach, I guess to true friendship – being there all the time, every time.

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driving: up the wall.......

Disclaimer: “First off, I don’t hate women–I’m no misogynist. How can I hate women, my Mum’s one”

okay I would be dragged my moral police and feminists alike when I make this particular statement but my general observation is that a majority of women as a % of population behind the wheels of a car make really pathetic drivers. Well the belief was always there somewhere in the back of my mind seeing my mom drive or even my friends behid the wheel s of her Santro in Delhi or recently my better half who has recently got her license in Pune. Well it happened a week back as I was there with her on her final day’s lesson (we were about to go to a place after that – hence I had chugged along with her) – what unfolded in the next 1 hour left me at my wits end. The play behind the wheels, the utmost effort that was put in to change the gears (hey in India 95% and more cars have manual transmission) and the propensity to swerve and hit equally game bikes on both sides on the road (in equally traffic-crazed Pune) left me praying. Well the act was repeated later by another woman in her 30s.

What is it about women that makes them such bad drivers? I came up with three answers:

• Women make up the “fair” sex. They are taught, or are naturally predisposed, to be more passive and deferential than men. While these personality traits help in some aspects of life, they don’t help at 80 km/hr. A good driver is an assertive driver. He (or she) sees that the other drivers are going much faster and that he’ll have to eventually be going the same speed, so he speeds up accordingly. Women are naturally inclined to slow down and let the others pass - males do tend to be more aggressive drivers than women, but I don’t think there are nearly as many or that they pose quite the same risk as do passive women drivers.
• Women are communicators. Their personal relationships with other women rely a great deal on verbal communication. As such they’re more likely to be on the phone while driving their cars. I’m sure I don’t need to mention the numerous conclusive studies showing that phone conversations and driving don’t mix. I could also point to the numerous other things I’ve seen women doing while driving (applying makeup, brushing hair) but these are easily offset by the stupid things guys attempt at the wheel (smoking rings, picking noses - etc).
• Women are less likely to grow up playing sports in India. As a general rule, athletics aren’t stressed as much for women as for they are for men. And this, I think, is the biggest difference. It is very easy to make a distinction between someone who spent long hours as a child learning a sport and someone who did not. Two key differences also apply when driving a car: spatial awareness and decision making. Sports heighten one’s sense of his surroundings. In team sports like crickey and football you have to constantly update your assessment of where other players are in relation to the ball and yourself. In individual sports like tennis you have to pay attention to your bodily momentum, the spin of the ball, and the angle of the shot. Spatial awareness is also important when driving a car. At any given moment you have to be thinking about where the other cars are situated on the road and where they’re likely to be when you decide to switch lanes or hang a U-turn. Being able to anticipate where other cars will move makes for safe driving. Split-second decisions are a second hallmark of most competitive sports (again excepting track and field). Being able to make a decision quickly comes in handy when you come across a freakish call-center cab driver waltzing through traffic behind you. I think that playing sports as a child helps to fine tune the senses, and it’s just common sense that practice makes perfect.

While it would be easy to dismiss the above statements as sexist hogwash, I think that there is an element of truth to each. And although women and men are on more equal footing than ever before, societal norms still create enough differences to support my arguments. That being said, I don’t really want anyone to accept them at face value…I really enjoy a good argument. So keep it coming.

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life: as is……..

well some years back a particular movie caught the fancy of most of my friends in IIT Delhi. The movie ‘Life in a Metro’, narrates the individual lives of a few ordinary people living in Mumbai and deals with topics like extra-marital affairs, sanctity of marriage, and love, failures, tragedy, happiness & so on. Though a ordinary film with lots of flaws in production & direction - the film somehow touched one and many – probably due to the failures that one face in life and maybe the happiness, ultimately when (like in a typical hindi movie) everything turns out fine at the end.

In reflect often why failures are important in life and why does a normal human being attach so much importance to failures. I am no different with my fair share of failures in life. It got me thinking this weekend as I went through over 700 kms of travel over tons of laid out uneven gravel, that we call roads in India. As my family managed to doze off amidst the rocking of the Chevvy – my mind raced through as I relived every moment of my life as it had been played out in the last 27 years. And gosh that was something.

Life comes in certain packages and our past is more or less a part of that package. When I say past, the only thing that comes to our mind are often unpleasant and bitter memories. We all must have dealt with it at some point in our life, but we never seem to come out of it. When I recall an era of my life, the only things that come to my mind are my mistakes. It puzzles me all the time that why is it that, I regret my mistakes so much that i almost forget to acknowledge my own achievements? Why is it that we always end up regretting our mistakes all our life? And I am not really talking about the end (i.e. end of life when these things hardly matter anymore)

My dear friend had an altogether different take on that. According to her she never regretted making mistakes because if she wouldn't have made them, she would have never known how to correct them. Though it sounds very sweet, but I was never convinced with her theory. Another cousin of mine thinks time is the best healer and everything settles down with time. I really don’t think so because if this was the case she would have long gotten over her first love. From where I see she is still in the ruins of her past relationship.

In my search for the truth, I happened to read something. According to it the only path to liberation is truth and the truth is, “YOU WILL HAVE TO GIVE UP THE HOPE THAT THE PAST COULD BE ANY DIFFERENT ".

This is the best thing I have heard in ages. I don’t know if it liberated me but it certainly took off the baggage I had been carrying for years.

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hypocrisy_the indian way of life…!!!!

Pronunciation: \hi-ˈpä-krə-sē also hī-\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural hy·poc·ri·sies

Etymology: Middle English ypocrisie, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin hypocrisis, from Greek hypokrisis act of playing a part on the stage, hypocrisy, from hypokrinesthai to answer, act on the stage, from hypo- + krinein to decide — more at certain

Date: 13th century

1: a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not; especially: the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion

2: an act or instance of hypocrisy

Why do I start this piece today with a definition picked up from Merriam’s – just read on. I was deep in thought reflecting on a plausible future for myself as I was It is a peculiarly Indian form of reasoning: to flat out deny the existence of reprehensible practices in the face of incontrovertible evidence. While the common man has been facing a hostile barrage of rising prices across all items of daily use be it food grains or even cooking gas – I was bewildered because the politicians (read central government) had been blaming the state governments and their policies for the situation – no one was owning up or even trying to bring into picture the bigger cause of global inflation and food shortfall. And while the ignorant “common” Indian man was blaming everyone else for the inflation, the politicians try every trick in the book to suppress the problem or even the peoples voices & opinions at least till the next election.

The new “next best thing” – hold the innocuous cheerleaders responsible for indecent show and criminal acts of indecency. Net result the irresponsible media (read seemingly irresponsible Indian channels headed probably by stupid men admittedly suffering from a bout of intellectual diarroea) airing news about how the common man has been affected by lewd movements of the cheerleaders and how the Mumbai police & politicians were responsible enough to act up and prosecute the cheerleaders.

This coming from the state which has dance bars operating in bandstand in Mumbai let alone Navi Mumbai. This coming from a land from which Kamasutra originated.

I am bewildered why a common Indian man not differentiate between indecency & entertainment (read acts of levity). When will we grow up?

PS: This post is not indented to be of manipulate intent - social, political or religious. Any objection will be seriously considered that may prompt the author to take this off.

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fallen heroes......

"Learn to live in this world with self-respect. You should always cherish some ambition to do something in this world. They alone rise who strive. Some of you nurse the wrong notion that you will not rise in this world. But remember that the age of helplessness has ended. A new epoch has set in. All things are now possible because of your being able to participate in the Politics & Legislatures of this country"

- B.R. Ambedkar

I start this post with a quote from Babasaheb Ambedkar whose birthday happens to be today i.e. 14^th April. For the uninitiated, Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (April 14, 1891 — December 6, 1956) was an Indian jurist, scholar, Bahujan political leader and a Buddhist revivalist, who is the chief architect of the Indian Constitution. Born into a poor “Untouchable” community, Ambedkar spent his life fighting against the system of Chaturvarna and the Indian caste system. He is also credited for having sparked the Dalit Buddhist movement. Ambedkar has been honoured with the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, given for the highest degree of national service.

Overcoming numerous social and financial obstacles, Ambedkar became one of the first "untouchables" to obtain a college education in India. He went on to pursue higher studies in Columbia University, New York, United States and England, where he earned law degrees and multiple doctorates for his study and research in law, economics and political science. Returning home a famous scholar, Ambedkar practiced law for a few years before he began publishing journals advocating political rights and social freedom for India's untouchables.

Well I can go on mentioning his numerous deeds – well this page might fall short. For more info please refer to Wiki at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._R._Ambedkar

Anyway I mention this because he is one of the heroes every Indian should feel proud of – these people were the ones who shaped up India as it evolves and grows today. But somehow the teachings and the learning’s from the sacrifices these great leaders made during our struggle for independence, somehow seem to have been lost in time.

I was on my way back to office from a quick dinner with my wife (it was our new year after all) – and I saw a huge din on the road i.e. on the intersection of M.G Road and Ambedkar road in the heart of Pune. Well I would not mind getting caught up in a procession meant to pay tribute to our heroes – what the major concern of dismay for me was hordes of youngsters hardly in their twenties swaying to some cheesy & cheap hindi songs and making wild gestures in air with all their limbs. An average American can identify the situation if on a peaceful Independence day procession up there, someone started playing Metallica or for that matter any kind of punk or rock music.

Shame on these people – while we take pride in the small but growing number of Indians leaving a mark globally in these modern times, I feel somehow sorry for the masses who somehow are clearly at a loss, hardly contributing to India’s economy or social wellbeing as a whole. When will the common man stop blaming the government for every small incident and take it upon themselves to create a better India. The beauty lies in self-creation – when an average Joe goes beyond the norms and creates his identity. No we are not an nuclear superpower (and I wonder if we ever will be), or have the largest oil reserves so that in the future we can hold the capitalist countries at ransom, nor we can always sustain a phenomenal growth rate – what we have is our people. They are I believe the key to India’s well-being in the future. This shift in the emphasis from natural resources to human resources is epochal – and must be recognized. If India wishes to shine better, it has to boost the marketability of its human resources. And not always can govt hold the key to this.

When will an average Indian learn, what pride is?

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change....not quite !!!

Well not quite. It’s New Year according to the Bengali calendar and things haven’t turned out quite rosy for me. Had to get up at 6 in the morning to help my better half with Pujas i.e. morning prayers (the usual norm on a day like this back home). Got to work and somehow the greetings from my colleagues all fell to deaf ears almost. I had a long day ahead of me – had to visit a temple in the evening and take my wife out for a dinner. That too, with a long list of queries and mails to be answered back in office. Boy I had a long day ahead of me.

My mind wandered back - around couple of years to be precise. We were discussing life with a couple of friends back at the Nescafe stall in IIT Delhi. One of my friends from engineering days, an architect who was doing his masters in Design from IIT Kanpur had dropped by and we were busy recollecting thoughts and sharing amusing anecdotes of life in campus when we got caught up on a discussion of things we had learnt from life. Scribbling on a piece of paper we tried to make a “dhobi-list” of things we as individuals have learnt and follow religiously in our lives ahead. And the fun we had that day…..

Things look so different today in perspective.

And then I realized nothing around the world has changed – the change has come in us that somehow leads us interpret the same things in a different way. The following small story might reinforce my idea…..

Once upon a time in a certain village in India there lived a guru. Every evening the guru would sit on his seat and deliver a lecture to the public. It so happened that the guru had a cat, and just at the time of giving the lecture the cat would create a big disturbance.

Being greatly annoyed by the cat, the guru decided to tie the cat to a tree before starting his lecture. So doing, the guru then delivered the lecture without disturbance. It worked so well that the guru regularly tied the cat to the tree before beginning his discourse.

After some years the guru died. His disciples carried on the guru’s program. They also continued tying the cat to the tree. When the cat died, they bought another cat and thus the ritual of tying a cat to a tree continued generation after generation.

In the fifth generation that followed the guru, one of the renowned followers wrote an elaborate treatise on the spiritual significance of tying a cat to a tree before beginning one’s studies of the scriptures.

“For the current of our spiritual life creeds, rituals and channels that may thwart or help, according to their fixity or openness. When a symbol or spiritual idea becomes rigidly elaborate in its construction, it supplants the idea which it should support.”

- Rabindranath Tagore

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the beauty of simplicity.....

"......the time has come to unleash the creative potential of our scientists and innovators at grassroots level. Only then we can make India truly self-reliant and a leader in sustainable technologies....propose a national foundation for helping innovators all over the country. This fund will build a national register of innovations, mobilize intellectual property protection, set up incubators for converting into viable business opportunities and help in dissemination across the country.''

This is what screams out loudly on the homepage of National Innovation Foundation. I was scouting through a pile of documents looking for a particular one when I suddenly came across a certificate that I had obtained from them during my MBA days at IIT Delhi – me and my team of 4 AV, KB & N reached the zonal finals of a b-school competition hosted by NIF & IIM Ahmedabad. How we reached & finals and that too managed to actually do the scouting in record time & submit the B-plan is a different story altogether.

I don’t remember the dates specifically but it was the second last day of entering the competition. That we registered – it was good till then. Then we sat on it for over 20 days thinking that one would finally take the initiative. Then with 6 days till deadline the panic bell rang. Two from the team decided to give it up and not submit the plans at all – while dutifully me and AV decided to go forward. The night we were supposed to leave for Rampur a remote town in UP, AV walked out citing some problems. Some insane force actually took over and in an hours time I was off with KB to the bus depot to somehow reach Rampur minus any concrete directions to it.

We managed to change a couple of buses & hitch a ride of a tempo and then take a hike for a couple of kilometers – reached our destination took the info of the ‘tile making machine’ and off we went. (It’s a different take that we took a detour to Nainital that afternoon and got back somehow to Delhi next morning – bouncing all night on the last seats of a dilapidated Volvo).

With 3 days till submission we were in a dilemma – the plan was on tile making machine.(figures are close approximations of what we obtained from the inventor)

Cost to setup = Rs 8000-12,000

Raw Materials = Rs 100 /day

No of tiles made = 50/day

Labour Charges = etc

Price of tile = 3 (approx including labour charges)

Cost of a similar tile in market = Rs 5-8

Cost advantage per tile = Rs 2-5

Now looking at the overall picture and the rural economic conditions we decided the best use would be for someone to set up a sort of small workshop with say 20-50 machines which then would not only provide steady employment to people in the locality (believe me the peoples’ economic condition in Rampur was deplorable), and our concept was supported by the inventor as well. Also although the cost advantage of Rs 2-5 per tile was huge one had to keep in mind logistics and sales costs. So individually selling tile making machines we found out was not a viable option at all.

Net-net we aired the same views in the competition and the entire crowd was appreciative of our logical conclusions (even the team that won gave us a standing ovation), but in the end we could not make it to the all-India finals because of the simple fact – we had gone out of scope. The B-plan was that of a “tile making machine”, and the judges contested that I should have prepared a plan that would have enabled them to sell these machines to individuals – how weak an argument when the per capita income is less than Rs 10,000. Just imagine that of uneducated simpletons in rural India. Take again in consideration sales & logistics costs – how would that be borne. These were questions they never addressed. Sigh………

Today I look back and the entire episode makes me smile – with due respect to the judges, I felt then and still feel that simplicity is often the key success factor in innovation. While in retrospect the business model would probably make sense with people with management degrees tweaking the business model every now & then making it complex at each stage to juice out efficiency, the end user who was the rural Indian would be completely at sea manufacturing the stuff, distributing it, and selling it subsequently. That to after spending a couple of years earnings for buying this machine.

Whoa!!! I never saw any sense in that then. Even now as I study various businesses and interact with various people both in and outside my company, this fact emerges every time that simple process planned & executed efficiently, was the indication of success in every organizational function.

“This single point of administration ultimately increases the simplicity of running complicated systems while reducing the cost of ownership a great deal. This is what enterprises are looking for and need”

- Don Becker

Maybe that’s why we are in business.

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the cutting edges of the mind.....

A couple of years back during my stint in college I met a couple of friends working for a NGO in Delhi. As we got talking amongst other things a couple of questions popped up regarding the fascinating work they do – this was more to satisfy my curiosity about the same. They seemed to be working with so many kinds of people from different segments in life - working with the common man, politicians, corrupt politicians, film-makers or even sometimes locals goons. Sounded like a fascinating job – interacting with top directors, thought leaders, and even celebrities at times. The “Narmada Bachao Andolan” episodes she mentioned in detail were vivid and realistic – somehow they had a way with words and I and my friends could visualize everything.

Wonderful!! After the realization the basic human characteristic “maya” took over.

How do you get that kind of career? Most of these guys were BA or B-Coms and just “fell into it” by accident. My mind went racing and it actually took me a long time to decide what to make do with my life.

Well I had gone through a similar advice from Scott Adams from “Dilbert’s Blog”, only recently and that probably struck a chord in me. Maybe someone else had earlier discovered something before me but the entire event was one sweet moment for me.

I second the same emotions that were portrayed in that blog:

If you want an average successful life, it doesn’t take much planning. Just stay out of trouble, go to school, and apply for jobs you might like. But if you want something extraordinary, you have two paths:

1. Become the best at one specific thing.

2. Become very good (top 25%) at two or more things.

Well I had believed in this theory for the last 10 years or more. I could have opted for medicine or engineering in grad school (almost) – but I took up engineering possibly studying the number of avenues that would open up instead. I realized that with the kind of mindset I had, it would be difficult for me to be the best scholar in medicine in particular batch – and no way could I settle to be the average physician round the street corner.

Then again I took up chemical technology as my engineering major – computer sciences were passé and mechanical or electrical would prove too technical – although I realized in the later part of my stint that reactor design, process technology or thermodynamics though interesting for the top 25% of class, failed to hold my attention for long, although I could fairly understand and comprehend most of it.

Then my MBA – Finance was the buzz of the day with investment banks being the key driver for students choosing the major. But I opted for marketing as majors & IT+ Strategy as minors – a strange choice that was mirrored by some of my colleagues. I was always a decent speaker in school or college and my people skills were really never in question.

What I lacked (which I had identified earlier was the subject matter and the scope to which I could speak on). Well all my career choices seemed to be right to this point as I am chasing targets speaking to tons of people around the world discussing their business, their pain points, and probable solutions on a daily basis. While travel and interaction with people are probable incentive for my job – what I most admire is the knowledge that I gain every time I speak to a customer discussing his business challenges. I get to see parts of the whole business conglomerates just speaking to these people - whether they be in the engineering, R&D or the CEO’s office. It’s always a rewarding experience.

Well I must say at this point there are so many avenues I want to learn more on. As I delve deeper into the life sciences & health care industry I feel there are so many more things I need to know – building knowledge is like natures way with life. It has got to evolve and shape up better with time. This is one more key factor to success I guess.

Well look around for most of the celebrities & famous people around – they seem to be better than 25% of most people in 3 or more things. It’s a simple concept of evolution that nature has followed every time for survival – if you can’t be the biggest be the fastest or the strongest etc etc or the smartest or maybe a combination or three or all of the above.

There might be 1001 ways to fail in life, but only a handful of ways to be successful. Make it worth - make yourself worth it.

Always remember Einstein’s golden words:

Try not to be a man of success, but rather to be a man of value……….

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friends are forever.....

Well I have shifted to Pune for some time now - 4 months to the calendar. Shifting between jobs, a new city, new people - i guess life was chugging along merrily but somehow i had completely lost track of it. Setting up a new place so that it can at least be called a house instead of a home, getting the essentials in place - somehow I lost track of so many things in my life - one including my friends.

Well I am no the sort of guy who would completely lose track of the good things in life – friends essentially are right there in the top 5 of my hit list. An occasional hi over the phone could never substitute the hours of fun and meaningful (J) conversation we had amongst the 4 of us – somehow I am not mentioning the names here but I am sure they will know its meant for them.

Nothing could substitute the unadulterated threads of friendship between us – the nights that were spent shivering in the cold of the coffee shop in IIT Delhi or under the main building of the complex. Neither the incessant bites of mosquitoes nor the glaring eyes of the sentry’s could deter us from having a hearty laugh while the others toiled away for the semesters. Mind it – somehow we too were appearing for the same semesters – it was either a act of foolishness or the random obscure though or fearlessness backed by self-belief (maybe) that gave us the courage to still enjoy & live life in that serene ambiance.

Well life was never the same as we all duly completed our Post Grad with finesse (well almost) and got jobs – a avenue to probably fight meaningfully to make a life of what was thrown at us. And yes I guess we did well. Two of us in the same company in Delhi, one other in Bangalore (all 3 trying still to make a career out in the IT industry), while the other after some sour-searching found her calling for a PhD from a university in North Dakota. Similar fate was somehow awaiting me as a year later again a couple of friends went their own ways – one pursuing targets in the US, the other trying his hand in a business he had long planned.

Email trails went cold somewhat, calls hardly happened an occasional scrap on facebook or orkut wishing on an eventful occasion was all that was left. We still feel the excitement mutually when we talk once in a blue moon, over the phone probably trying hard to relive the older moments of glory trying to quench the hungry soul of emotions & feelings.

Yes, it is hard to be away from the people who really care for you. But, that is life. Everyone moves on in this journey called life.

Maybe it is because people move on that we finally start to understand the meaning of a true friendship. Maybe if life were to be enacted as a fairytale, we’d probably never be able to appreciate the good things in life….friends, laugher, unadulterated joy, banter.

But, one thing is for certain. Once the paths of life have met and an exchange takes place, there is no need to renew it. Unlike others, with friends life continues at any point in time. You may be engrossed in a big business, a major crisis and yet when a mail, call or a forward arrives, you are transported back to the days and moments you’d spent with this person called friend. And that is enough for this Indian to push on and live life in this world of aliens.

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natural conclusions......

Some people are just endowed with the ability to make the right decisions at the right time (or at least I believe they have). Look around at hundreds of successful investment bankers or industrialists or even an odd common man who has risen to great heights based of this fact alone.

However when it comes to making decisions in my own life, yours truly has often been swamped with trouble. Advice has not helped much either – people say listen to your heart, chose your gut instinct while management gurus preach us to visualize what we want. There are so many ways to make a decision - (yet all assume) that I know, deep down, what's best. The fact is, I don't know what's best, and really, I never will.

Also, I don't trust my "man" inside either; I'm a typical Indian and tend to be on the overly emotional side. Listening to my heart would cause me to fall in love too fast, make too many purchases (my credit card bills would shoot off the roof), eat and drink too much, basically moderation would be out the door (well it has not happened as of now but I live in the constant fear of this fact).

So what do I do? My past experiences in life generally has helped me develop an innovative yet insane (profoundly) methodology - I take the choices I have, and think which choice - having not been chosen, would I regret the most?

It's the polar opposite of what everyone normally suggests, but I've found it helpful because I also have a fear a failure (who doesn't, right?). That fear sometimes causes me to make the safe choice. What if down the road I look back and think about that choice that wasn't so clear? Will I regret not even trying?

My best friend gave me some similar advice, which was basically that you should choose the option with the most unknowns; it'll be a better learning experience.

Making a decision is difficult and whenever I'm feeling stressed out about it, I also try to remember to be thankful that I have the power to make the choice. Some aren't so lucky I guess

I end this post with one more line that existed on my signature in outlook earlier…….something this Indian follows even to this very day.

Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions - Why am I doing it, what the results might be and will I be successful. Only when you think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead.

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motto of the day.....

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort......

Well this happened to be on my outlook signature in my previous company. I really don't know on how many people it may have rubbed off in a negative fashion because of all the wrong reasons. Sometimes I wonder if being too honest & upfront in your work style may affect how people in the workplace actually see you.


Well my philosophy like many others of my generation has been to stick to honest regimen of conducting business dealing whether internally or externally with clients - it has (till date) never put me on a sticky wicket although there have been an odd occurrence at times. (I will have to call up my ex-colleagues and probably get their version on me).


Till then I guess I will live by it.

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enlightenment......

It happened to me as I was returning from a tourist destination with my in-laws in tow - a night long ride on a lousy Volvo with broken seats and hot air (literally) coming from down under my seat which somehow negated the AC "effects" of the bus. My father-in-law happened to be someone of high importance in the telephone exchange back home in Calcutta but for the last decade taken greatly to religion devoting most his time in religious and philosophical pursuits which somehow didn’t go down very well with me.

I was not actually planning a long conversation on this lousy bus that too at wee hours of the night so I was tapping away the buttons on my newly acquired psp wildly when my father-in-law broke the silence and laid the foundation of a communication piece that has somehow taken some mind share off me these days - topic was not arbitrarily chosen, and I feel deliberately taken as religion & philosophy. It started interestingly, when he suddenly asked me, "Are you an atheist?"

Now I AM an atheist-at least according to the dictionary. Basically I don't believe in worshiping God, in religion or idol worship. I do, but, willingly partake in all the social and cultural activities which have a religious inclination. This I do as per the advice of my parents, firstly because these are abundant in India and secondly to avoid antagonizing my parents and stay away from societal controversy and consternation. Considering all this, I DO believe in a power above myself and that the universe is governed by a higher energy force, this I do for my own reasons.


So, getting back, I answered my FIL’s question in the affirmative and explained to him that I believe in the omnipotent energy, of which I have seen proof, and this belief I require for strength when my mind is weak or when I falter.


He then explained his point of view with the help of the Upanishads and the Bhagvad Gita (OMG). Having said that, I must clarify that though a thorough religious person himself, he took a purely philosophical approach while speaking to me.

It would be quite impossible to retrace the exact discussion owing to my rather poor memory and the fact that we digressed a lot in the course of the discussion, which was obvious I guess.

But at the end of it I wished to summarize the conversation. That resulted in the following:

The concept of 'God' is a man-made one. Every different religion is the result of the limitation of the mind of man in the way of 'conceptualizing' God (same old wine in a new bottle concept – but something that I had never given a thought).

For eventually every religion in essence preaches the same thing- 'God is and omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient manifestation of our belief.'

Religion is a tool for initiation into the 'philosophy of life'.

The various contorted consequences and unfortunate abhorrence in the name of religion is a result of the decay and limited cognitive and perceptive abilities of man's mind or a shrewd mind with an ulterior motive.

So I guess in the end, I was enlightened!!!

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karma.....the balancing act !!!

Did you ever give karma a thought???

This strange but somehow deep question from my better half a couple of days back caught me on the wrong foot. Well I have tried my level best all my life to ensure that I always had a direct perception of truth and never use it to take advantage. Also whenever I did commit positive deeds, rarely had it been to get ahead in the rat race – it was outcome of the simple fact that the end usually made me happy & satisfied.

But lately I have come across so many people – many my long cherished friends who have somehow lost the way in life, compartmentalizing lives thinking it in terms of boxes. I wish we gave our lives a second thought. We gave karma a thought.

Karma literally means action, whether good or bad, right or wrong. When it comes to spirituality we define it as the fruit of our actions.

Each time we think, speak and act, we are setting into motion the laws of karma. We are planting a seed. The kind of seed we have sown is the nature of the sought, word and action we set in motion; fear, hate, judgment, love, blessing, anger, joy etc. And every time we think and act similarly we are nourishing the seed. The seed eventually grows to a big tree bearing tons of fruits. This is the consequence, our reward or punishment, however one likes to perceive it. We are hated, judged, loved, and blessed many times over depending on what the seed contained when it was first sown. We reap what you sow many times over.

The key to a successful life is the transmutation of karma into dharma. It is the ability to make of the past a prelude to a noble future. Evil is essentially the refusal to move toward the future. The ultimate meaning of karma must be identified with interconnectedness and interpenetration of all there is. Anything is possible because all there is a network of multi-dimensional relationships.

It holds true for every sphere of life even in our careers & every job function I feel – marketing, sales, human resources and so on. Somehow I wish that the present generation can step back and look at the totality of life not at the random opportunities that come their way. It is not the frequent change of jobs, a random increase in pay slip that gives us happiness after all – it is the collective smile on the faces of people we care for, or the number of lives we touch through our actions that ultimately matters.

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Einstein on the eGO...

The fact that man produces a concept “I” besides the totality of his mental and emotional experiences or perceptions does not prove that there must be any specific existence behind such a concept. We are succumbing to illusions produced by our self-created language, without reaching a better understanding of anything.

Most of so-called philosophy is due to this kind of fallacy - Albert Einstein

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