Day 0 (24th June 2010) :
I don’t know if there was much different about that day. I know for a fact that I was trying to put together lists of things for vishwesh to do while I was away. Away where? I was still not sure. It was like mechanically my brain seem to be thinking that I was to be gone for 15 days and so I should hand over stuff to someone, but the gravity of the fact that I was going to be on the road to ladakh had still not registered. There was a bunch of shopping to be done, half of which I was sure I wouldn’t use during the trip, but who’s to argue at that last moment. It was a rather uneventful day and the only thing I distinctly remember about that day is the late nite coffee at CCD. i felt so relaxed and happy to be there, I cant explain it. Coffee at CCD is a weekly ritual, but that night I was unusually more relaxed and happy to be there.
The overall mood was still very somber, because Akbhabhi seemed quite upset at Satyenbhai finally going on the trip. Tejas was being his usual self by adding salt to injury with his smart ass comments. Its strange how bhabhi would kick my ass if I made any comments like that, but if tejas makes them she juz has funny faces to make. I need to take some training from tejas in buttering.
Day 1 (25th June 2010):
We were supposed to start off at 6:30 in the morning, but to nobody’s surprise and my frustration it wasn’t until 7:30 before we had finally picked up Jaydev before embarking on towards Delhi. Delhi, woooow!!!! We were going to be driving to Delhi, onwards to Manali and Leh. Woooow!!!!
Everyone was in such a shock that it took the first hour for each one to convince the others that we were finally headed out towards Delhi. Satyenbhai’s monstrous SUV was all loaded with the right gadgets to make our life easy and pleasurable.
By the time we crossed Himmatnagar we had got the first taste of a lot of experiences to come. A speeding white swift rushed by us, then slowed down, drove parallel to us and asked us to pull over. Why?? Because he wanted to know what freaking car it was and take a picture with it. WTF. The guy told us that he was following us at 140 kmph juz to keep up with us before he finally pulled besides us to make the request.
People sure are obsessed with size. Arnt they?? Lol
The morning for most part was wonderful and we enjoyed a nice cool beer before lunch. We had picked up the beer on Udaipur by-pass and enjoyed the beer before we took a lunch break. Satty-boy could not enjoy the beer since he was driving and so he was enjoying a nice cool masti chaas.
The afternoon is when the fun really started. As we were driving through the HOTTT steamy part of Rajasthan, the car finally decided it had had enough and wasn’t going to fight the head anymore. So the a/c went out. YES, the a/c went off in the middle of the afternoon, in the middle of the hottest state of the country. Whatever could go wrong, was starting to go wrong on the first afternoon of our long anticipated trip. The stick-shift was so hot you could barely touch it, forget changing gears. We even tried our luck by spraying water on the under-chassis of the car in the hope that it would cool off the car, the stick-shift and make the a/c work. It was only wishful thinking. The next cpl of hours none of us spoke a word. We were too darn drained and sweety to say something.
Satty-boy finally gave up and handed over the car to me to drive while he caught up on some much needed sleep. As luck would have it, around 50 kms before jaipur we had stopped to fill up gas, and a huge dust-storm hit us. You could barely see anything a few meters ahead. Luckily for us, I think that was the trigger which changed things for us. With the dust-storm the temperature came down, it rained a bit, the car cooled down, the a/c came back to life and we were all fresh and kicked.
It was time for one more beer(s).
The car, dust-storm and rain had slowed us down quite a bit and so we were running well behind schedule of reaching delhi around 7 pm.
Varun had his own reason for reaching Delhi by around 8 pm (for details you would need to ask him). He was soo darn disappointed at our delays that eventually satty-boy used all his rough-driving skills to somehow get us into the Raddisson at 10:00 pm in the night.
Better late than never I say. I was glad to be in a hotel instead of the car. Satty-boy was happy to find a bed to sleep on. Jaydev was happy juz to be able to get a drink. And varun was happy he had a chance. ;)
A chance which he took or not is something only Varun can answer.
Friday, July 9, 2010
On a Journey to the Land Of GOD - Preface
Honestly, I still cant believe me made the trip.
Each one of us had our doubts if the trip was actually going to happen. None of us said it out loud, but until we set off at 7 pm on 25th morning, all four of us were still skeptical if we were actually going to go out on this wild trip that looked fantastic on paper, but too good to be true in real.
There are painters and sculptures who with their colors and forms wow us. Then there is GOD who with his mountain forms and the colors of nature tells us how he is the best painter and sculpture of them all. The entire greater Himalayas is something of a canvas on which god has put together amazingly beautiful landscapes with gorgeous colors that only he could think and conceive. From various shades of brown, to luscious green shades, to ever amazing purple mountains, white show in different shades, green on mountains to saffaron yellow grit. As if the mountains and greenery wasn’t enough, he finally decided to add water streams, water falls, rivers, lakes smack in the middle of all these awe –inspiring mountain ranges.
The sights just leave you spell bounded. Pictures dont tell you the entire story. You have to be there to see if for yourself.
It was a journey into the land that GOD has truly created for himself.
Each one of us had our doubts if the trip was actually going to happen. None of us said it out loud, but until we set off at 7 pm on 25th morning, all four of us were still skeptical if we were actually going to go out on this wild trip that looked fantastic on paper, but too good to be true in real.
There are painters and sculptures who with their colors and forms wow us. Then there is GOD who with his mountain forms and the colors of nature tells us how he is the best painter and sculpture of them all. The entire greater Himalayas is something of a canvas on which god has put together amazingly beautiful landscapes with gorgeous colors that only he could think and conceive. From various shades of brown, to luscious green shades, to ever amazing purple mountains, white show in different shades, green on mountains to saffaron yellow grit. As if the mountains and greenery wasn’t enough, he finally decided to add water streams, water falls, rivers, lakes smack in the middle of all these awe –inspiring mountain ranges.
The sights just leave you spell bounded. Pictures dont tell you the entire story. You have to be there to see if for yourself.
It was a journey into the land that GOD has truly created for himself.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
The Power of being a Woman!!!
This is for all the wonderful (girl)friends (friends who are girls) that I have who have helped me learn to respect and appreciate all women.
Who the hell am I to write about the power of being a woman?? I cant claim to know anything about it from two aspects: 1) I am a guy, how would I know the powers of being a woman and 2) I am not even married, so I haven’t even been at the receiving end of the powers of a woman. ;)
However, having had (girl)friends, and girlfriends (the last one being mmmmmmmm.. I cant even remember when) and then having guy friends sharing their experiences, I am definitely entitled to having an opinion of my own. After all, the last time I checked, India was still a democratic country.
Far too often women are made out to be at the receiving end of an unfair and biased system/society/culture where men usually dominate the other sex. Far too often, women make themselves out to be the weaker sex, and put forth a sorry figure for themselves.
In a country where we have more goddesses than we would have gods; where, each and every clan is supposed to have a ‘kuldevi’; where the rivers which are the lifeline of the country (Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Narmada and plenty more) are considered feminine; where, we had a female president in our forth decade of independence when America hasn’t even had one for over 250 years, with all this overwhelming evidence, how in the world can we make ourselves believe that women don’t have enough powers and that they don’t need to be given.
More often than not, women themselves need to believe in the powers that they have, they need to realize that be it family, profession or social life, they have a phenomenal control/power over men.
I have seen guy friends(read: every guy friend of mine who is married) shit scared of their wives. I have seen guys who were immature and never listened to their parents during school or college turn into mature and obedient of their wives after marriage. What part of that relationship does the wife not have powers/control of?
I have unfortunately also seen the impact that a marriage break-up has on a guy compared to a girl. For however much my (girl)friends, would disagree with me, I know for a fact that guys have a much tougher time getting themselves out of a marriage break-up. Its just that men don’t show it because they are too proud to show their weakness. But the behind the scenes story is far different. Men become too dependent of the wonderful powers that a woman has over them. And when that woman is taken away, it leaves them not knowing what to do. A guy will almost always need to get married again, however, the girl/woman is strong enough to make it on her own the rest of the way. (FYI: its not called “moving on”, its called, “being-so-weak-that-you-need-someone-else-desperately”)
In the professional field, watch how a saleswoman is able to convince a guy much better than a salesman. Watch men respond to a woman colleague compared to a insensitive male compatriot.
I believe women are so much more focused and sincere in their work than men can ever be. If they put their minds onto something, they will more often than not achieve it. You are seeing that more and more in the exam results, and with time you will see the same in the increased number of female CEO’s across industry. Today there is a huge dearth of female CEO’s, and according to me, apart from a lot of other reasons, one of the bigger reasons is the fact that women are not always serious about their professional careers. They take their professional life as it comes in the balance of their family life (kids, husband, in-laws). This does not allow them the continuity of growth that they would otherwise have if they were just professionals.
I see my friends, and I see that there is a significant change in the attitude for the better. But this change is only visible in the urban population of the country. Hopefully there will be a much bigger shift in attitude from women across the urban and rural background, because empowering and emboldening of women is about the only thing that can prevent crimes against them. Empowering them of the powers that they have but don’t know that they have, that’s all that is required to be done.
Its about time that women across the country realize the enormous powers they have over the whole society and they need to stop feeling sorry for themselves. And the best people to help spread the awareness across the country are women themselves.
On a lighter note: the one power that we men had, has also now been taken away from us.
It has finally come to a situation where women don’t even need men to have a baby. :)
So much for the power of men!!! For all you know, we men could be extinct in a couple of centuries if women actually end up using all the powers they have that they don’t know about. Lol
Who the hell am I to write about the power of being a woman?? I cant claim to know anything about it from two aspects: 1) I am a guy, how would I know the powers of being a woman and 2) I am not even married, so I haven’t even been at the receiving end of the powers of a woman. ;)
However, having had (girl)friends, and girlfriends (the last one being mmmmmmmm.. I cant even remember when) and then having guy friends sharing their experiences, I am definitely entitled to having an opinion of my own. After all, the last time I checked, India was still a democratic country.
Far too often women are made out to be at the receiving end of an unfair and biased system/society/culture where men usually dominate the other sex. Far too often, women make themselves out to be the weaker sex, and put forth a sorry figure for themselves.
In a country where we have more goddesses than we would have gods; where, each and every clan is supposed to have a ‘kuldevi’; where the rivers which are the lifeline of the country (Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Narmada and plenty more) are considered feminine; where, we had a female president in our forth decade of independence when America hasn’t even had one for over 250 years, with all this overwhelming evidence, how in the world can we make ourselves believe that women don’t have enough powers and that they don’t need to be given.
More often than not, women themselves need to believe in the powers that they have, they need to realize that be it family, profession or social life, they have a phenomenal control/power over men.
I have seen guy friends(read: every guy friend of mine who is married) shit scared of their wives. I have seen guys who were immature and never listened to their parents during school or college turn into mature and obedient of their wives after marriage. What part of that relationship does the wife not have powers/control of?
I have unfortunately also seen the impact that a marriage break-up has on a guy compared to a girl. For however much my (girl)friends, would disagree with me, I know for a fact that guys have a much tougher time getting themselves out of a marriage break-up. Its just that men don’t show it because they are too proud to show their weakness. But the behind the scenes story is far different. Men become too dependent of the wonderful powers that a woman has over them. And when that woman is taken away, it leaves them not knowing what to do. A guy will almost always need to get married again, however, the girl/woman is strong enough to make it on her own the rest of the way. (FYI: its not called “moving on”, its called, “being-so-weak-that-you-need-someone-else-desperately”)
In the professional field, watch how a saleswoman is able to convince a guy much better than a salesman. Watch men respond to a woman colleague compared to a insensitive male compatriot.
I believe women are so much more focused and sincere in their work than men can ever be. If they put their minds onto something, they will more often than not achieve it. You are seeing that more and more in the exam results, and with time you will see the same in the increased number of female CEO’s across industry. Today there is a huge dearth of female CEO’s, and according to me, apart from a lot of other reasons, one of the bigger reasons is the fact that women are not always serious about their professional careers. They take their professional life as it comes in the balance of their family life (kids, husband, in-laws). This does not allow them the continuity of growth that they would otherwise have if they were just professionals.
I see my friends, and I see that there is a significant change in the attitude for the better. But this change is only visible in the urban population of the country. Hopefully there will be a much bigger shift in attitude from women across the urban and rural background, because empowering and emboldening of women is about the only thing that can prevent crimes against them. Empowering them of the powers that they have but don’t know that they have, that’s all that is required to be done.
Its about time that women across the country realize the enormous powers they have over the whole society and they need to stop feeling sorry for themselves. And the best people to help spread the awareness across the country are women themselves.
On a lighter note: the one power that we men had, has also now been taken away from us.
It has finally come to a situation where women don’t even need men to have a baby. :)
So much for the power of men!!! For all you know, we men could be extinct in a couple of centuries if women actually end up using all the powers they have that they don’t know about. Lol
Saturday, February 20, 2010
The modern day Taj Mahal.. in the midst of CHAOS.
Disclaimer: i am not a "swaminarayan" follower. or maybe my family is, i am not really sure. but thats not why i am writing this. i would be saying this even if it was a monument of buddhist, jain, muslim or any other religion.
Ok, it’s a little bit of an exaggeration, or maybe not. But it truly is a monument of epic proportion. The New Delhi Akshardham, it’s a monument rather than a temple. It is majestic in its size, its beautiful in its landscape, and its breathtaking in its architecture. There are few structures in the world that have impressed me more than I have been impressed by this place.
This my friends, is the closest thing to the modern day Palace that the Maharajas used to build for themselves in ages gone by. The gardens, the landscape, the area, the various buildings, the exhibition halls, the huge idols, everything you lay your eyes on is either grand, serene or exotic.
It is probably guarded more than the Taj Mahal is guarded, and it probably gets many more visitors than the Taj Mahal does. On a Saturday and Sunday, there is a MAD rush to just get in there. People are lined up in hoards and I definitely would not want to be the one in the queue when the gates up for people to go in, because you will be stamped on, jumped on, and pushed from all sides by people who want to push past you.
But once you are past the grueling frustrating hour or two long wait of getting in, the rest is shear joy to the eyes for someone who likes grand things. The carvings all over the place are quite exquisite. The exhibition halls are so well planned and designed, that you know some smart people have put a lot of effort behind it. There water ride through the history of India is also beautiful done. The only drawback it has for universal acceptability is the fact that it’s a monument in appreciation of a particular religion and a particular god. All displays and videos are based on that religion and so ‘might’ not give the people from other religion who are visiting the same satisfaction that someone from the same religion would have.
But without being too critical, I will say its one of the best modern day monuments that has been build in world, and definitely the best one built in India since the Taj Mahal.
You know how a Lotus blossoms in the midst of dirt, and how a rose is surrounded by thorns. Well, believe you me, there is something similar to this monument as well.
The city of Delhi is by far the worst big city that I have been to. There is no surety of the time it takes for you to visit from point A to point B even if the two might only be a couple of miles apart. People living in the NCR themselves admit, that they can only complete one errand in a day, and when they go for a meeting to any location, in most cases, they are late at the meeting, or reach after the meeting has finished. Driving in Delhi is a nightmare that I wouldn’t want to wake up to everyday. There is construction going on everywhere, and all that is at such a slow pace compared to the growth of delhi, that by the time the new roads and bridges are made, they will become inadequate for the increase in volume of delhi traffic.
Yes, there are some beautiful areas, but those are only for the MP’s and politicians to enjoy, once you get past those areas, nothing in New Delhi fascinates me.
For the capital of our country, New Delhi leaves you wanting so much more than what it presently offers.
Ok, it’s a little bit of an exaggeration, or maybe not. But it truly is a monument of epic proportion. The New Delhi Akshardham, it’s a monument rather than a temple. It is majestic in its size, its beautiful in its landscape, and its breathtaking in its architecture. There are few structures in the world that have impressed me more than I have been impressed by this place.
This my friends, is the closest thing to the modern day Palace that the Maharajas used to build for themselves in ages gone by. The gardens, the landscape, the area, the various buildings, the exhibition halls, the huge idols, everything you lay your eyes on is either grand, serene or exotic.
It is probably guarded more than the Taj Mahal is guarded, and it probably gets many more visitors than the Taj Mahal does. On a Saturday and Sunday, there is a MAD rush to just get in there. People are lined up in hoards and I definitely would not want to be the one in the queue when the gates up for people to go in, because you will be stamped on, jumped on, and pushed from all sides by people who want to push past you.
But once you are past the grueling frustrating hour or two long wait of getting in, the rest is shear joy to the eyes for someone who likes grand things. The carvings all over the place are quite exquisite. The exhibition halls are so well planned and designed, that you know some smart people have put a lot of effort behind it. There water ride through the history of India is also beautiful done. The only drawback it has for universal acceptability is the fact that it’s a monument in appreciation of a particular religion and a particular god. All displays and videos are based on that religion and so ‘might’ not give the people from other religion who are visiting the same satisfaction that someone from the same religion would have.
But without being too critical, I will say its one of the best modern day monuments that has been build in world, and definitely the best one built in India since the Taj Mahal.
You know how a Lotus blossoms in the midst of dirt, and how a rose is surrounded by thorns. Well, believe you me, there is something similar to this monument as well.
The city of Delhi is by far the worst big city that I have been to. There is no surety of the time it takes for you to visit from point A to point B even if the two might only be a couple of miles apart. People living in the NCR themselves admit, that they can only complete one errand in a day, and when they go for a meeting to any location, in most cases, they are late at the meeting, or reach after the meeting has finished. Driving in Delhi is a nightmare that I wouldn’t want to wake up to everyday. There is construction going on everywhere, and all that is at such a slow pace compared to the growth of delhi, that by the time the new roads and bridges are made, they will become inadequate for the increase in volume of delhi traffic.
Yes, there are some beautiful areas, but those are only for the MP’s and politicians to enjoy, once you get past those areas, nothing in New Delhi fascinates me.
For the capital of our country, New Delhi leaves you wanting so much more than what it presently offers.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
What a wonderful Sunday!!!
3 hours of golf. A 9 hole score of 42. The best I have ever carded. Compared to the usual frustrating session of golf, today felt a whole lot better.
Back home there was a three course full meal waiting for me for lunch. Considering that I was going to be home for lunch (which is an unusually rare occurrence these days) my mom got carried away and put together a three course meal including dessert.
It was an absolute pleasure to indulge in a lunch like that where you know you have over-eaten but don’t really care much.
The afternoon was a reading and writing delight. First time in 10 days when I had enough time to read, and had no nagging issues bothering me that I could put together a blog on something that had been running in my mind(“the social and moral dilemma” blog).
Caught up on my “Calvin and Hobbes” dose and came across some master-pieces. Also got a call from a friend I had lost touch with, and so that was really nice as well. And through all that, was able to put together a very different theory on managing change and empowering managers for decision-making at the factory.
Aahh, and the evening had two wonderful movies lined up. “Jab We Met”, followed by “Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na”, both simple, fun, and entertaining movies.
Both movies show that even a standard simple love story, if made with a good touch can be quite entertaining to watch. Simple dialogues, decent acting, good music, strong characterization, and a good flow. What a difference a director can make to a movie.
There are only very few movies or TV shows that I can watch any time of the day or night. Two of my recent favorites are “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Boston Legal”. I am so fascinated by both those shows that I am going to buy the DVD’s of all seasons of those two shows.
If you haven’t seen these two serials, make it a point to see the latest season of both the shows. Both shows end up leaving you thinking and still very entertained.
With the next couple of weekends spent in travelling, it’s such a pleasure to cherish a wonderful Sunday like today!!
P.S – for all those wondering why I write a blog with my limited writing skills: well honestly, its for me and not for others. (No offence to anyone) I write because I like to write what comes to my mind. Whether people read it or not or whether anyone finds it interesting or not is something that doesn’t bother me. its my personal diary/notes. :-)
Back home there was a three course full meal waiting for me for lunch. Considering that I was going to be home for lunch (which is an unusually rare occurrence these days) my mom got carried away and put together a three course meal including dessert.
It was an absolute pleasure to indulge in a lunch like that where you know you have over-eaten but don’t really care much.
The afternoon was a reading and writing delight. First time in 10 days when I had enough time to read, and had no nagging issues bothering me that I could put together a blog on something that had been running in my mind(“the social and moral dilemma” blog).
Caught up on my “Calvin and Hobbes” dose and came across some master-pieces. Also got a call from a friend I had lost touch with, and so that was really nice as well. And through all that, was able to put together a very different theory on managing change and empowering managers for decision-making at the factory.
Aahh, and the evening had two wonderful movies lined up. “Jab We Met”, followed by “Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na”, both simple, fun, and entertaining movies.
Both movies show that even a standard simple love story, if made with a good touch can be quite entertaining to watch. Simple dialogues, decent acting, good music, strong characterization, and a good flow. What a difference a director can make to a movie.
There are only very few movies or TV shows that I can watch any time of the day or night. Two of my recent favorites are “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Boston Legal”. I am so fascinated by both those shows that I am going to buy the DVD’s of all seasons of those two shows.
If you haven’t seen these two serials, make it a point to see the latest season of both the shows. Both shows end up leaving you thinking and still very entertained.
With the next couple of weekends spent in travelling, it’s such a pleasure to cherish a wonderful Sunday like today!!
P.S – for all those wondering why I write a blog with my limited writing skills: well honestly, its for me and not for others. (No offence to anyone) I write because I like to write what comes to my mind. Whether people read it or not or whether anyone finds it interesting or not is something that doesn’t bother me. its my personal diary/notes. :-)
dont feel shy to laugh..
i almost cracked my ribs laughing at these two calvin strips. if these two strips dont get even a smirk out of you, then you seem to have serious problems my friend.
the look on both calvin's face and hobbes' face in that last block of the strip is absolutely classic.
ever try that with your mom???? these days after the lodging and boarding comment, followed by the Mr. Jigar Patel reference, i have stopped making such demands with mom. it could get me kicked out pretty soon. :)
the look on both calvin's face and hobbes' face in that last block of the strip is absolutely classic.
ever try that with your mom???? these days after the lodging and boarding comment, followed by the Mr. Jigar Patel reference, i have stopped making such demands with mom. it could get me kicked out pretty soon. :)
A Social and Moral Dilemma
Every day, at every cross road in every major city of India, all of us are faced with a moral question that none of us have answers for.
As your car or two wheeler approaches a signal light and your vehicle comes to a stop, all of a sudden from the road side each column of cars starting with the first car in line is thronged by under-privileged people (most people call them beggars, but that word beggars is so degrading that it doesn’t feel right to use that word for ANYONE): Under-privileged kids, women with babies in their arms, and old helpless women who can hardly walk. The big dilemma and uncomfortable situation that we are faced with is to whether to give them short-change that we have in our car, or to completely ignore them as if we don’t even seem them. Either ways, it’s a very uncomfortable situation because if you give them money, you know they will ask for more, and more of them will come, but if you don’t give them you feel bad/guilty internally for cold shouldering them.
My first reaction for a long time has been to not give them any money. I keep parle-G packets in my car to give them when someone knocks on my window, but I will never give them any money. My logic says that when you give them money, you never know what they are going to use that money for. Be it kids, women, or older women, the money eventually goes into eating gutka’s or bidi’s. yes, don’t be surprised, even kids in the under-privileged section eat gutka’s and smoke bidi’s. Besides, if we give them money, to me its encouraging them to keep continuing to beg (begging is an act, and so no harm in using it). I’d rather see those kids in schools and the women working to earn a living.
But is this really morally and socially correct??
Until we establish a structure in our society and in our governance system to support these under-privileged people, how can we expect then to become self sufficient? We have to change the way our society looks at them, we need to provide them the support system that will help them find something to do that they are good at, and that will earn them the money.
These kids on the street have amazing skills and talent. Just the other day, I saw just such an under-privileged kid doing summer-saults on the side of the road. She was flipping herself like I have seen very few people do. Now with that talent, we need to channelize it, and if it doesn’t get channelized and goes to waste on the side of the street, we cant blame those poor kids, we need to blame our system and ourselves, because we are as much a part of that system.
We need to establish enough schools which give enough incentives for kids to come. It doesn’t only have to be studies, we need to provide enough support in sports, arts, and handicrafts too. There are singers, painters, makers of cane sofas and accessories, makers of clay models, and what not all over the country, but because what they make doesn’t seen or earn them enough, they end up on the streets.
We as a society need to come up with a model to help these kids out. To make sure they earn what their talents deserve. If you see a well made painting on the street that you like, you would pay a couple of hundred ruppes for it, and even then try to bargain on it, but if you see an abstract painting (which doesn’t even make sense for the most part) by some famous artist you will end up paying in thousands, or even in lakhs. So why the double-standards??? I don’t expect anyone to pay in thousands, but atleast pay the guy on the street enough for him to be encouraged to continue to improve his art. Because if we don’t show that encouragement, he will have no choice but to beg or steel, because at the end of the day hunger is a far more demanding force than ethics. When rich people drop their ethics for getting bigger order, how can we expect poor people on the streets to adhere to them.
Anyways, I am taking the discussion onto a completely different track. Ethics at various levels is an completely different blog that I will write some day.
But yes, please look into yourself and establish small center’s of encouragement for the special talents in these under-privileged street side kids. Its our social and moral responsibility. That’s the only way we can eliminate poverty in our country. It wont happen overnight, but we can atleast start. Every small drop in the ocean adds up.
As your car or two wheeler approaches a signal light and your vehicle comes to a stop, all of a sudden from the road side each column of cars starting with the first car in line is thronged by under-privileged people (most people call them beggars, but that word beggars is so degrading that it doesn’t feel right to use that word for ANYONE): Under-privileged kids, women with babies in their arms, and old helpless women who can hardly walk. The big dilemma and uncomfortable situation that we are faced with is to whether to give them short-change that we have in our car, or to completely ignore them as if we don’t even seem them. Either ways, it’s a very uncomfortable situation because if you give them money, you know they will ask for more, and more of them will come, but if you don’t give them you feel bad/guilty internally for cold shouldering them.
My first reaction for a long time has been to not give them any money. I keep parle-G packets in my car to give them when someone knocks on my window, but I will never give them any money. My logic says that when you give them money, you never know what they are going to use that money for. Be it kids, women, or older women, the money eventually goes into eating gutka’s or bidi’s. yes, don’t be surprised, even kids in the under-privileged section eat gutka’s and smoke bidi’s. Besides, if we give them money, to me its encouraging them to keep continuing to beg (begging is an act, and so no harm in using it). I’d rather see those kids in schools and the women working to earn a living.
But is this really morally and socially correct??
Until we establish a structure in our society and in our governance system to support these under-privileged people, how can we expect then to become self sufficient? We have to change the way our society looks at them, we need to provide them the support system that will help them find something to do that they are good at, and that will earn them the money.
These kids on the street have amazing skills and talent. Just the other day, I saw just such an under-privileged kid doing summer-saults on the side of the road. She was flipping herself like I have seen very few people do. Now with that talent, we need to channelize it, and if it doesn’t get channelized and goes to waste on the side of the street, we cant blame those poor kids, we need to blame our system and ourselves, because we are as much a part of that system.
We need to establish enough schools which give enough incentives for kids to come. It doesn’t only have to be studies, we need to provide enough support in sports, arts, and handicrafts too. There are singers, painters, makers of cane sofas and accessories, makers of clay models, and what not all over the country, but because what they make doesn’t seen or earn them enough, they end up on the streets.
We as a society need to come up with a model to help these kids out. To make sure they earn what their talents deserve. If you see a well made painting on the street that you like, you would pay a couple of hundred ruppes for it, and even then try to bargain on it, but if you see an abstract painting (which doesn’t even make sense for the most part) by some famous artist you will end up paying in thousands, or even in lakhs. So why the double-standards??? I don’t expect anyone to pay in thousands, but atleast pay the guy on the street enough for him to be encouraged to continue to improve his art. Because if we don’t show that encouragement, he will have no choice but to beg or steel, because at the end of the day hunger is a far more demanding force than ethics. When rich people drop their ethics for getting bigger order, how can we expect poor people on the streets to adhere to them.
Anyways, I am taking the discussion onto a completely different track. Ethics at various levels is an completely different blog that I will write some day.
But yes, please look into yourself and establish small center’s of encouragement for the special talents in these under-privileged street side kids. Its our social and moral responsibility. That’s the only way we can eliminate poverty in our country. It wont happen overnight, but we can atleast start. Every small drop in the ocean adds up.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Top Three cutest girls.. try beating this list..
The Top Three cutest girls
First: My Niece Shailja. She is absolutely adorable.
Second: My Imaginary Girlfriend. Have to keep her second on the list or have chances of revolt if and when i do find one. :)
A Joint Third:
Genelia D'souza. MAN!! she is cute
Katrina Kaif. Dayum!!!
First: My Niece Shailja. She is absolutely adorable.
Second: My Imaginary Girlfriend. Have to keep her second on the list or have chances of revolt if and when i do find one. :)
A Joint Third:
Genelia D'souza. MAN!! she is cute
Katrina Kaif. Dayum!!!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
want to know your limits?? Compete against yourself not with others…
A very prominent set of questions that I am asking myself these days: “what is my limit? How far can I stretch myself? How much can I take before I break?
I think it’s a very important question to ask yourself. And what is more important is to find the answer to it. Find the answer not verbally, but practically, physically and emotionally.
Very often I feel I live in my comfort zone and have established a very comfortable extreme limit for me which only allows my mind and body to tax itself upto the level where its easy to give up. I know this to be true of many others as well, and that’s why we all are called under-achievers. I would think there are only 2-3% people in the world who really test the limits of their mind and body. Infact, they believe there are no boundaries to strengths and capabilities of their mind and/or body. And those truly are the people who stand out in life. They might not all be successful well known people, but they are the people who have dared to test their mind and body to the extreme limits, and known what the human mind/body is actually capable of achieving.
The difference between us and them is only the fact that we have never tried to check our limits. I think we are afraid of finding out what we are capable of because then it would raise the benchmark that much higher for the rest of your life.
And secondly, most of us set our limits to only a little higher than the highest limit set by the people around us. We benchmark our limits against others, instead of challenging them against our own limits.
Think about it: if you are into jogging/running on a track or treadmill, when you started, you could barely manage 1 full mile of running. But as a month goes by, you tend to build up some good stamina and have started testing 1.5 miles, so now the new benchmark every time u go to the gym or club is 1.5 miles. Within 8 months you are running a good 5 miles everyday, which sets your new limit at that? But is that actually the true and final limit that your body can take?? You would like to make yourself believe that because beyond that you seem to lose the sense of achievement or have already surpassed the limits of all those around you. So there is nothing more to brag about in front of friends and gfs/bfs, and you let your limit float around. If infact you were competing against yourself, at 5 miles, you are then trying to compete and better those 5 miles/day record. This will only push u further to get to 6 miles because u want to beat those 5 miles.
There is a fantastic by-product of competing against yourself which in turns makes you a much better person.
When you are competing against others, and you win, there is a sense of achievement and ARROGANCE that starts setting in when you realize you are much better than your peers. However, when you are constantly competing against yourself, and you keep winning, you are not doing that to show your superiority over the others, you are doing it for yourself, and so you don’t realize when you have started over-performing. You don’t tend to show-off, or show the other guys down. Your natural instinct is not to compare with others, and so you are never arrogant in your approach with others.
The best sportsmen in the world, Michael Phelps, Roger Federer, Tiger Woods (his sporting credentials are absolutely unparalleled and cannot be taken away because of his scandalous character) and many more have been what they have been because they always tried to compete with themselves and improve themselves. If Tiger Woods would have been happy being better than the best of the others, he would have been just another golfer who more often than the rest. But Tiger Woods is Tiger Woods because at his age he didn’t stop testing his limits. All great men, have been great because they set their benchmarks against themselves and not their peers. They all tried to test their limits of enduring physical, mental and emotional onslaught.
That’s what separates the good, from the GREAT.
I know I have made my choice to atleast try.
I think it’s a very important question to ask yourself. And what is more important is to find the answer to it. Find the answer not verbally, but practically, physically and emotionally.
Very often I feel I live in my comfort zone and have established a very comfortable extreme limit for me which only allows my mind and body to tax itself upto the level where its easy to give up. I know this to be true of many others as well, and that’s why we all are called under-achievers. I would think there are only 2-3% people in the world who really test the limits of their mind and body. Infact, they believe there are no boundaries to strengths and capabilities of their mind and/or body. And those truly are the people who stand out in life. They might not all be successful well known people, but they are the people who have dared to test their mind and body to the extreme limits, and known what the human mind/body is actually capable of achieving.
The difference between us and them is only the fact that we have never tried to check our limits. I think we are afraid of finding out what we are capable of because then it would raise the benchmark that much higher for the rest of your life.
And secondly, most of us set our limits to only a little higher than the highest limit set by the people around us. We benchmark our limits against others, instead of challenging them against our own limits.
Think about it: if you are into jogging/running on a track or treadmill, when you started, you could barely manage 1 full mile of running. But as a month goes by, you tend to build up some good stamina and have started testing 1.5 miles, so now the new benchmark every time u go to the gym or club is 1.5 miles. Within 8 months you are running a good 5 miles everyday, which sets your new limit at that? But is that actually the true and final limit that your body can take?? You would like to make yourself believe that because beyond that you seem to lose the sense of achievement or have already surpassed the limits of all those around you. So there is nothing more to brag about in front of friends and gfs/bfs, and you let your limit float around. If infact you were competing against yourself, at 5 miles, you are then trying to compete and better those 5 miles/day record. This will only push u further to get to 6 miles because u want to beat those 5 miles.
There is a fantastic by-product of competing against yourself which in turns makes you a much better person.
When you are competing against others, and you win, there is a sense of achievement and ARROGANCE that starts setting in when you realize you are much better than your peers. However, when you are constantly competing against yourself, and you keep winning, you are not doing that to show your superiority over the others, you are doing it for yourself, and so you don’t realize when you have started over-performing. You don’t tend to show-off, or show the other guys down. Your natural instinct is not to compare with others, and so you are never arrogant in your approach with others.
The best sportsmen in the world, Michael Phelps, Roger Federer, Tiger Woods (his sporting credentials are absolutely unparalleled and cannot be taken away because of his scandalous character) and many more have been what they have been because they always tried to compete with themselves and improve themselves. If Tiger Woods would have been happy being better than the best of the others, he would have been just another golfer who more often than the rest. But Tiger Woods is Tiger Woods because at his age he didn’t stop testing his limits. All great men, have been great because they set their benchmarks against themselves and not their peers. They all tried to test their limits of enduring physical, mental and emotional onslaught.
That’s what separates the good, from the GREAT.
I know I have made my choice to atleast try.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Crash and Burn AGAIN..
the dayum laptop crashed and gave up on me AGAIN..
i didnt realize i was so annoying that i could make even a laptop give up on me so many times in such a short time.
so a simple post which i came across through a friend and found it quite funny. enjoy.
The Monkey Rule
Start with a cage containing five monkeys. Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of stairs under it.
Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the other monkeys withcold water.
After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water.
Pretty soon, when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.
Now, put away the cold water. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one.
The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his surprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attack him.
After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.
Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked.
The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm! Likewise, replace a third original monkey with a new one, then a fourth, then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs, he is attacked.
Most of the monkeys that are beating him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.
After replacing all the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless,
no monkey ever again approaches the stairs to try for the banana. Why not? Because as far as they know that's the way it's always been done around here.
And that, my friends, is how a company policy begins.
i didnt realize i was so annoying that i could make even a laptop give up on me so many times in such a short time.
so a simple post which i came across through a friend and found it quite funny. enjoy.
The Monkey Rule
Start with a cage containing five monkeys. Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of stairs under it.
Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the other monkeys withcold water.
After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water.
Pretty soon, when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.
Now, put away the cold water. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one.
The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his surprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attack him.
After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.
Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked.
The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm! Likewise, replace a third original monkey with a new one, then a fourth, then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs, he is attacked.
Most of the monkeys that are beating him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.
After replacing all the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless,
no monkey ever again approaches the stairs to try for the banana. Why not? Because as far as they know that's the way it's always been done around here.
And that, my friends, is how a company policy begins.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
women and drive dont always mix.. ;)
Note: Folks, please read this in the lightest possible sense, and please don’t start judging me. Its all in good fun. Lol
What is it with women and multi-tasking when it comes to driving?
With all due respect to Danica Patrick, we have to accept that universally, men are better drivers then women. I know it’s a very very sexist thing to say, and I can already see a black Honda Jazz, a green Honda CRV, and a possible Laura running at hi-speed towards me to run me over for what I am about to say.
Let me start by saying that I have the highest respect for women and what they accomplish in the professional as well as domestic life. But along the same lines, lets be realistic in accepting that women are lousy at driving just like men are lousy about anything to do with cleanliness (Yes, like everything else there are exceptions in this case as well).
The important aspect here is that logic says, when you know your limitations or handicap, then you try to be extra careful while doing that activity, right?? WRONG. Wrong for two major assumptions in that statement.
One, the biggest assumption is about “Logic”. When it comes to women/girls, most guys will agree that normal regular logic doesn’t work at all. The definition of logic as defined by men and women is very different. And since women make up atleast or close to half the population, the definition of “logic” can be challenged or debated. We all know who would come out on top when there is a debate between a guy and a girl. So that’s an open n shut case.
Two, that we are assuming that women consider their driving as their limitation/handicap. They still believe that they are much better drivers than men are. So when you do not realize or are willing to accept your limitations, how can you work at improving at it??? Don’t try telling your wife or girlfriend that her driving is bad, she’d beat you up with a baseball bat like no one ever did.
So imagine my amusement when I see a woman driver in front of me at Nehrunagar circle (one of the busiest round-abouts in ahmedabad) having a phone in one hand, her car signal showing she wants to turn left, but her car is drifting right at the slowest speed possible, and then puts down her phone, uses the same hand to run her fingers through her hair to adjust her hair, but still confused/misguided and eventually going straight, with her car signal still showing left.
There were people honking at her from all directions, but it made no difference to her, and I was absolutely enjoying every bit of the short amusement I was getting out of the whole scene as it unfolded.
The fun doesn’t stop at that, as she goes ahead, I end up having to follow her car because she is driving in such a way that I cant go past her. Just as we approach the Hanuman temple, as the traffic slows down because of the speed-breakers, our protagonist of this small incident suddenly gets self-conscious about her looks. She realizes that she needs to check on her make-up or whatever it is that she wanted to check and so while moving along at her own pace, she twists the rear view mirror in her direction and is now peeking across at the mirror to make sure her make-up is ok. With all this happening, she somehow jams her foot onto the brake and a bike that is in front of me and following closely behind her bumps into her rear bumper. What would have followed after that is for anybody to guess. With a woman in distress because of a guy on a bike bumping into the car brings out the brotherly love for the lady among all the men surrounding the scene. The poor bike fellow must have got the preaching of his life and our lady protagonist must have got the sympathies of all involved at the scene. (I don’t know for sure, because I didn’t stick around to enjoy the hoopla)
So men, please keep this in mind when driving: when driving, do not expect a woman driver anywhere in your vicinity to do the most logical thing. Expect the most unexpected move from her. That golden rule “might” keep you safe.
I know I am wicked. I am evil. But in my defense, this wouldn’t happen if for once women start accepting that while they are good at multi-tasking, that ability needs to be put aside when they are driving.
That would be their biggest and greatest contribution to world peace.
P.S – the incident happened earlier, but got down to writing about it last nite.
What is it with women and multi-tasking when it comes to driving?
With all due respect to Danica Patrick, we have to accept that universally, men are better drivers then women. I know it’s a very very sexist thing to say, and I can already see a black Honda Jazz, a green Honda CRV, and a possible Laura running at hi-speed towards me to run me over for what I am about to say.
Let me start by saying that I have the highest respect for women and what they accomplish in the professional as well as domestic life. But along the same lines, lets be realistic in accepting that women are lousy at driving just like men are lousy about anything to do with cleanliness (Yes, like everything else there are exceptions in this case as well).
The important aspect here is that logic says, when you know your limitations or handicap, then you try to be extra careful while doing that activity, right?? WRONG. Wrong for two major assumptions in that statement.
One, the biggest assumption is about “Logic”. When it comes to women/girls, most guys will agree that normal regular logic doesn’t work at all. The definition of logic as defined by men and women is very different. And since women make up atleast or close to half the population, the definition of “logic” can be challenged or debated. We all know who would come out on top when there is a debate between a guy and a girl. So that’s an open n shut case.
Two, that we are assuming that women consider their driving as their limitation/handicap. They still believe that they are much better drivers than men are. So when you do not realize or are willing to accept your limitations, how can you work at improving at it??? Don’t try telling your wife or girlfriend that her driving is bad, she’d beat you up with a baseball bat like no one ever did.
So imagine my amusement when I see a woman driver in front of me at Nehrunagar circle (one of the busiest round-abouts in ahmedabad) having a phone in one hand, her car signal showing she wants to turn left, but her car is drifting right at the slowest speed possible, and then puts down her phone, uses the same hand to run her fingers through her hair to adjust her hair, but still confused/misguided and eventually going straight, with her car signal still showing left.
There were people honking at her from all directions, but it made no difference to her, and I was absolutely enjoying every bit of the short amusement I was getting out of the whole scene as it unfolded.
The fun doesn’t stop at that, as she goes ahead, I end up having to follow her car because she is driving in such a way that I cant go past her. Just as we approach the Hanuman temple, as the traffic slows down because of the speed-breakers, our protagonist of this small incident suddenly gets self-conscious about her looks. She realizes that she needs to check on her make-up or whatever it is that she wanted to check and so while moving along at her own pace, she twists the rear view mirror in her direction and is now peeking across at the mirror to make sure her make-up is ok. With all this happening, she somehow jams her foot onto the brake and a bike that is in front of me and following closely behind her bumps into her rear bumper. What would have followed after that is for anybody to guess. With a woman in distress because of a guy on a bike bumping into the car brings out the brotherly love for the lady among all the men surrounding the scene. The poor bike fellow must have got the preaching of his life and our lady protagonist must have got the sympathies of all involved at the scene. (I don’t know for sure, because I didn’t stick around to enjoy the hoopla)
So men, please keep this in mind when driving: when driving, do not expect a woman driver anywhere in your vicinity to do the most logical thing. Expect the most unexpected move from her. That golden rule “might” keep you safe.
I know I am wicked. I am evil. But in my defense, this wouldn’t happen if for once women start accepting that while they are good at multi-tasking, that ability needs to be put aside when they are driving.
That would be their biggest and greatest contribution to world peace.
P.S – the incident happened earlier, but got down to writing about it last nite.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
my personal revolt... against "ME"
Have you ever had a feeling that life is rushing you by???
That you don’t get enough time to reflect on your own needs and passions, but are only running around finishing regular day-to-day chores??
The weekdays are so hectic that you never know when the weekend has come around, and then there is so much to do on the weekends (social and domestic) that before you realize it, you are staring at the sun come up on a Monday morning and you are back to the start of the week.
Peace-of-mind is a precious commodity these days. Solitude is an even harder thing to find (especially in India, where you are always surrounded by people).
With all the travelling, fire-fighting, partying, drinking, eating-out and what-nots, it’s a never ending race from one place to the other, one thing to the other, I think I need a week’s break from all that. I want to enjoy a good long weekend doing “nothing”. “Doing Nothing” - the thought itself is orgasmic.
I could sit all day Sunday, do nothing expect play golf for 3 hours. That would be a fantastic day. Read a book, sift through the new HBR, write something, listen to music, play with Angel, and enjoy the evening breeze from the luxury of my garden at home. Just fantasizing about it feels so wonderful.
I love what I do. I am as passionate or maybe more passionate than most people when it comes to the work that I do. So I don’t regret having to get up on Monday morning to get back to office. Infact I look forward to that on a Sunday. But that doesn’t mean I feel fulfilled with the rest of my life.
There cannot be a single dimension to anybody’s life, definitely not mine. My passion to achieve something in my professional life satisfies one aspect of my urge, but there are others that I urge for to be satisfied, and somehow I get too obsessed with the first urge that I do not find myself the time to satisfy the others. I would think this would be the case with a whole lot of more people than just me. And please do not interpret the word ‘urge’ in a sexual way, an urge can be for something as simple as an ice-cream, to something as complicated as wanting to change a capitalist society to a socialist society.
Writing a blog or writing anything at all is my way of revolting against myself. For me to say, I am going to pull time out to write something, even if it doesn’t make sense, even if its just an image of calvin and hobbes that I put up on the blog. But its about telling myself to spend that half hour on a regular basis on something other than my first passion.
I somehow have found me a different passion lately that takes up a good portion of my time. If I follow that passion through of not, only time will tell.
I think each one of us needs to revolt against ourselves and pull that time out for the other secondary passion in each one’s life. It can be travelling, reading, writing, playing a sport, playing a musical instrument, or something as simple as listening to music. The human mind cannot be fulfilled by just one passion, it needs to be fed with a lot more to be able to take all the up and downs that life throws at you.
Go out there and distract yourself from the daily chores, and give your passion a chance to blossom.
Life is too freaking short. Don’t let it rush past you.
I know I wont.
That you don’t get enough time to reflect on your own needs and passions, but are only running around finishing regular day-to-day chores??
The weekdays are so hectic that you never know when the weekend has come around, and then there is so much to do on the weekends (social and domestic) that before you realize it, you are staring at the sun come up on a Monday morning and you are back to the start of the week.
Peace-of-mind is a precious commodity these days. Solitude is an even harder thing to find (especially in India, where you are always surrounded by people).
With all the travelling, fire-fighting, partying, drinking, eating-out and what-nots, it’s a never ending race from one place to the other, one thing to the other, I think I need a week’s break from all that. I want to enjoy a good long weekend doing “nothing”. “Doing Nothing” - the thought itself is orgasmic.
I could sit all day Sunday, do nothing expect play golf for 3 hours. That would be a fantastic day. Read a book, sift through the new HBR, write something, listen to music, play with Angel, and enjoy the evening breeze from the luxury of my garden at home. Just fantasizing about it feels so wonderful.
I love what I do. I am as passionate or maybe more passionate than most people when it comes to the work that I do. So I don’t regret having to get up on Monday morning to get back to office. Infact I look forward to that on a Sunday. But that doesn’t mean I feel fulfilled with the rest of my life.
There cannot be a single dimension to anybody’s life, definitely not mine. My passion to achieve something in my professional life satisfies one aspect of my urge, but there are others that I urge for to be satisfied, and somehow I get too obsessed with the first urge that I do not find myself the time to satisfy the others. I would think this would be the case with a whole lot of more people than just me. And please do not interpret the word ‘urge’ in a sexual way, an urge can be for something as simple as an ice-cream, to something as complicated as wanting to change a capitalist society to a socialist society.
Writing a blog or writing anything at all is my way of revolting against myself. For me to say, I am going to pull time out to write something, even if it doesn’t make sense, even if its just an image of calvin and hobbes that I put up on the blog. But its about telling myself to spend that half hour on a regular basis on something other than my first passion.
I somehow have found me a different passion lately that takes up a good portion of my time. If I follow that passion through of not, only time will tell.
I think each one of us needs to revolt against ourselves and pull that time out for the other secondary passion in each one’s life. It can be travelling, reading, writing, playing a sport, playing a musical instrument, or something as simple as listening to music. The human mind cannot be fulfilled by just one passion, it needs to be fed with a lot more to be able to take all the up and downs that life throws at you.
Go out there and distract yourself from the daily chores, and give your passion a chance to blossom.
Life is too freaking short. Don’t let it rush past you.
I know I wont.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
2010 Resolution Updates
Resolution 1: Stop drinking alcohol for 4-5 months from 1st January 2010.
Update: Had 4 pegs of Black Dog on 3rd January 2010. New date for start of resolution moved to 1st April 2010.
Resolution 2: Wake up at 7:30 every morning from 1st January 2010.
Update: 1st January: 11:30 am
2nd January: 10:00 am
3rd January: 9:30 am
4th January: 9:30 am
Resolution 3: Reduce eating outside food to once a week starting 1st January 2010 except when travelling.
Update: Have been in Ahmedabad since 1st January, and still have not had a home cooked meal.
Resolution 4: Work-out at the gym atleast 2-3 times a week
Update: Unless I set up a gym at the Baroda works, that one has as much a chance of happening as an elephant has of flying.
Resolution 5: Find me a girlfriend ;-)
Update: God called up last night to tell me He has His limitations with miracles of the extreme kind.
More, when I have some more updates.. and if these resolutions get replaced by new ones.
Update: Had 4 pegs of Black Dog on 3rd January 2010. New date for start of resolution moved to 1st April 2010.
Resolution 2: Wake up at 7:30 every morning from 1st January 2010.
Update: 1st January: 11:30 am
2nd January: 10:00 am
3rd January: 9:30 am
4th January: 9:30 am
Resolution 3: Reduce eating outside food to once a week starting 1st January 2010 except when travelling.
Update: Have been in Ahmedabad since 1st January, and still have not had a home cooked meal.
Resolution 4: Work-out at the gym atleast 2-3 times a week
Update: Unless I set up a gym at the Baroda works, that one has as much a chance of happening as an elephant has of flying.
Resolution 5: Find me a girlfriend ;-)
Update: God called up last night to tell me He has His limitations with miracles of the extreme kind.
More, when I have some more updates.. and if these resolutions get replaced by new ones.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Missed Assignments...
I was at the (golf) driving range late today evening trying to brush up on my drive and iron shots on the first day of the year. However, a very unfortunate incident took place at the driving range that disturbed all of us who were practicing at the driving range.
A golf ball hit some worker who was working more than 200 meters away from the hitting area. The golf ball hit the worker in the eye and the poor guy might end up losing his left eye. Each of us were hitting our shots, and we don’t know whose shot hit the poor fellow. I hope to god he doesn’t lose his eye, and we are hoping he will be fine.
The driving range is covered by a netting on all sides upto a height of about 30 meters. The length of the ground is around 200 meters and the width would be around 50-70 meters. So you can hit straight upto 200 meters and the ball would still remain within the ground. The worker was working at the furthest left corner beyond the nets (that is a good 200+ meters away).
While everyone felt sorry for the kid, there was a much deeper thought that ran through my mind which I still couldn’t get out of my head and so I am writing to share it with you. Please help me make sense out of this.
We were told that there must have been a gap left in the joints of the netting through which the ball precisely sneaked out of the netting and hit the worker straight on. You can call it a freakish incident. Something that is possible only in the rarest or rare cases. But the fact is, it did happen.
Whose mistake was it that the worker might lose his eyes?
Do you blame the worker for not being careful?
Do you blame the player whose ball hit the worker?
Why would you blame the worker or the player? Those two were doing what they were supposed to be doing presuming that others had done their job properly.
Both the player and the worker presumed that the people who had tightened the nettings and put it up had done their job the way they were supposed to set it up, so both the players and workers went about doing what they were supposed to be doing.
It was the people who put the netting up and who are supposed to check on the fitting who didn’t do their job and a poor young guy might lose his eye. Not directly related to the events of today evening, those fitting guys + inspection persons lack of commitment to their job is what has led to someone fighting for their vision. Some guy’s laziness and laid back “Chalta hai” attitude in doing his job will cause a young guy to lose vision for no fault of his.
What was the workers fault?
Life isn’t freaking fair. This guy is sitting in a hospital wondering what he did to deserve this, while the guys who put up the netting have no freaking idea what their chalta hai attitude has done to this fellow. Just because some fellow must have got tired or wanted to leave early he must have let a seam open in the netting and taken off. He never considered the implications. He missed his assignment.
We all need to come to the realization that our actions or lack of actions have implications that go beyond financial gains or losses. We in India, have very little value of life or human beings and so we are never too serious about safety issues. We allow school rickshaws to be filled with 8-10 kids when they can take only 4-5. We allow our trucks and trailors to be overloaded because we want to save money on transportation cost. But we don’t consider what if that same trailor overturns or rams into a vehicle killing human beings.
Till our country starts taking human life seriously, such incidents and a lot worse will keep happening because we are selfishly and financially driven.
I can list a lot of incidents where the selfishness or financial considerations of individuals have cost many a lives, but this blog isn’t about listing such events, its about missed assignments.
Lets not miss our assignments. We need to concentrate on the things that we do each day. We all have a lot of people’s responsibility on each of our shoulders, how can we let them down.
A golf ball hit some worker who was working more than 200 meters away from the hitting area. The golf ball hit the worker in the eye and the poor guy might end up losing his left eye. Each of us were hitting our shots, and we don’t know whose shot hit the poor fellow. I hope to god he doesn’t lose his eye, and we are hoping he will be fine.
The driving range is covered by a netting on all sides upto a height of about 30 meters. The length of the ground is around 200 meters and the width would be around 50-70 meters. So you can hit straight upto 200 meters and the ball would still remain within the ground. The worker was working at the furthest left corner beyond the nets (that is a good 200+ meters away).
While everyone felt sorry for the kid, there was a much deeper thought that ran through my mind which I still couldn’t get out of my head and so I am writing to share it with you. Please help me make sense out of this.
We were told that there must have been a gap left in the joints of the netting through which the ball precisely sneaked out of the netting and hit the worker straight on. You can call it a freakish incident. Something that is possible only in the rarest or rare cases. But the fact is, it did happen.
Whose mistake was it that the worker might lose his eyes?
Do you blame the worker for not being careful?
Do you blame the player whose ball hit the worker?
Why would you blame the worker or the player? Those two were doing what they were supposed to be doing presuming that others had done their job properly.
Both the player and the worker presumed that the people who had tightened the nettings and put it up had done their job the way they were supposed to set it up, so both the players and workers went about doing what they were supposed to be doing.
It was the people who put the netting up and who are supposed to check on the fitting who didn’t do their job and a poor young guy might lose his eye. Not directly related to the events of today evening, those fitting guys + inspection persons lack of commitment to their job is what has led to someone fighting for their vision. Some guy’s laziness and laid back “Chalta hai” attitude in doing his job will cause a young guy to lose vision for no fault of his.
What was the workers fault?
Life isn’t freaking fair. This guy is sitting in a hospital wondering what he did to deserve this, while the guys who put up the netting have no freaking idea what their chalta hai attitude has done to this fellow. Just because some fellow must have got tired or wanted to leave early he must have let a seam open in the netting and taken off. He never considered the implications. He missed his assignment.
We all need to come to the realization that our actions or lack of actions have implications that go beyond financial gains or losses. We in India, have very little value of life or human beings and so we are never too serious about safety issues. We allow school rickshaws to be filled with 8-10 kids when they can take only 4-5. We allow our trucks and trailors to be overloaded because we want to save money on transportation cost. But we don’t consider what if that same trailor overturns or rams into a vehicle killing human beings.
Till our country starts taking human life seriously, such incidents and a lot worse will keep happening because we are selfishly and financially driven.
I can list a lot of incidents where the selfishness or financial considerations of individuals have cost many a lives, but this blog isn’t about listing such events, its about missed assignments.
Lets not miss our assignments. We need to concentrate on the things that we do each day. We all have a lot of people’s responsibility on each of our shoulders, how can we let them down.
Ratan Tata, a man ahead of his time
Nicely written, about a man who in his own non-flamboyant manner is an icon in himself. He is a role model. What a man!!!
Ratan Tata, a man ahead of his time
T Surendar/ Forbes India
'To underwrite your loans, we want a say in your company.' That was the gist of what the British government told Ratan Tata when he knocked on their doors early this year in a desperate bid to bail his companies out. Tata had bought two ailing British firms, steel-maker Corus and automobile company Jaguar Land Rover, borrowing a lot of money and was caught in the financial blizzard that hit the world economy late last year.
Not a stranger to tough situations, when 2009 dawned, it was like the morning after a disaster for Tata, 71, who heads the philanthropic trust that controls India's biggest business empire, the Tata Group.
In November 2008, terrorists had ravaged the Tata group's iconic Taj Mahal Hotel across the Gateway of India killing people and damaging the century old building severely. Tata, who studied structural engineering and had immersed himself in renovating the hotel a few years earlier, was distraught.
Around the same time, the global crisis caused financial markets to rapidly tumble. Tata, who was until then hailed as hero for putting India on the global map, seemed to have committed big blunders.
"Ratan was so busy those days that there wasn't even time to ask if he was stressed," says a close business associate who did not wish to be named for this article. "He had taken it upon himself to prove that he had made the right move."
For people working in his office, he was simply not reachable. For weeks on end, Tata would fly to the UK and US to personally negotiate financial matters.
After months of sparring with the British government and its business secretary Peter Mandelson, Tata managed the impossible. He quietly paid off the $3 billion expensive loan Tata Motors had raised for the Jaguar acquisition and replaced them with cheaper loans from banks, some guaranteed by the British government. This, without giving away anything the British government wanted.
"He pulled off the Indica. He pulled off the Nano. Yet we were surprised when he raised $3 billion in such a bad market," says a Mumbai-based merchant banking executive who has worked closely with the Tata group companies. "He has shown that he won't be pushed over if his deal is fair."
But Tata is making it to the Forbes People of the Year list not for solving a $3 billion problem. He is here because, in a very difficult year, he has had the courage and conviction to lead from the front to not just put the house in order but also push the pedal on newer areas of growth for the group.
Tata launched the Nano this year, jointly launched new telecom services with Japanese firm DoCoMO and even launched a low-priced water filter to address the drinking water problem of the under privileged.
"We were surprised when he accepted to cut the ribbon to launch a water purifier," says the close associate. Tata is shy about public functions and prefers to stay away from them.
A couple of things about the water filter attracted Tata. Here was a product that came close to his definition of an innovation for the bottom-of-the-pyramid audience. In recent years, Tata has been looking for ways to make low cost cars to air conditioners to make his products more affordable. He is said to have told his ebullient managers: "Even this price (Rs. 999) must be bought down. It's too much for most Indians."
What are the lessons that stand out for business from the way Tata handled what seemed a crisis for the group? "Since he has already fixed his destination and doesn't waver, Tata never considers anything a crisis. Instead, he chooses to think of them of a situation and starts solving it," the associate says.
To people who know Tata, it is no surprise. When he took over the group in the early 1990s, the Tatas were still one of the most respected business groups in the country. But they used to think local. Now the group has become synonymous with global large scale operations.
One of the documents that still plays heavily on the way Tata thinks is a strategy document he wrote in 1983. Sitting by the side of his ailing mother in the hospital, Tata is said to have penned his first document detailing the areas in which the group should venture. Apart from passenger cars and information technology, Tata, even at that time had envisioned that companies that harness the power of the youth of the country will be the ones that will eventually make the cut.
Even as Tata was strategising with managers of Tata Steel that bought UK-based Corus to cut costs without paring jobs, he was pushing his trusts to invest more in training youth. He was ensuring the group's future leaders were younger than his generation, to allow them room to grow big. Now, several of his companies sport CEOs in their early 40s. He is doing this as he is vetting candidates from across the world to succeed him in the next couple of years.
Tata has shown that if taking risky decisions need spunk, carrying them through requires more. More often than not, being a visionary, his ideas and decisions see far ahead in time and there are few who understand them when they are first thought of. R Gopalakrishnan, executive director, Tata Sons, says "We have thinking about water for several years but when you fit in the bottom-of-the-pyramid matrix, we had an innovation."
The effects of Tata's labour will not be visible soon. It took nearly a decade to prove that the country's truck maker can also make cars. It took more than five years before his company could produce the $2000 car. When the current storm blows over and time passes by, this year's effort by Tata is sure to leave an indelible mark on the group and its fortunes. A positive one at that.
Ratan Tata, a man ahead of his time
T Surendar/ Forbes India
'To underwrite your loans, we want a say in your company.' That was the gist of what the British government told Ratan Tata when he knocked on their doors early this year in a desperate bid to bail his companies out. Tata had bought two ailing British firms, steel-maker Corus and automobile company Jaguar Land Rover, borrowing a lot of money and was caught in the financial blizzard that hit the world economy late last year.
Not a stranger to tough situations, when 2009 dawned, it was like the morning after a disaster for Tata, 71, who heads the philanthropic trust that controls India's biggest business empire, the Tata Group.
In November 2008, terrorists had ravaged the Tata group's iconic Taj Mahal Hotel across the Gateway of India killing people and damaging the century old building severely. Tata, who studied structural engineering and had immersed himself in renovating the hotel a few years earlier, was distraught.
Around the same time, the global crisis caused financial markets to rapidly tumble. Tata, who was until then hailed as hero for putting India on the global map, seemed to have committed big blunders.
"Ratan was so busy those days that there wasn't even time to ask if he was stressed," says a close business associate who did not wish to be named for this article. "He had taken it upon himself to prove that he had made the right move."
For people working in his office, he was simply not reachable. For weeks on end, Tata would fly to the UK and US to personally negotiate financial matters.
After months of sparring with the British government and its business secretary Peter Mandelson, Tata managed the impossible. He quietly paid off the $3 billion expensive loan Tata Motors had raised for the Jaguar acquisition and replaced them with cheaper loans from banks, some guaranteed by the British government. This, without giving away anything the British government wanted.
"He pulled off the Indica. He pulled off the Nano. Yet we were surprised when he raised $3 billion in such a bad market," says a Mumbai-based merchant banking executive who has worked closely with the Tata group companies. "He has shown that he won't be pushed over if his deal is fair."
But Tata is making it to the Forbes People of the Year list not for solving a $3 billion problem. He is here because, in a very difficult year, he has had the courage and conviction to lead from the front to not just put the house in order but also push the pedal on newer areas of growth for the group.
Tata launched the Nano this year, jointly launched new telecom services with Japanese firm DoCoMO and even launched a low-priced water filter to address the drinking water problem of the under privileged.
"We were surprised when he accepted to cut the ribbon to launch a water purifier," says the close associate. Tata is shy about public functions and prefers to stay away from them.
A couple of things about the water filter attracted Tata. Here was a product that came close to his definition of an innovation for the bottom-of-the-pyramid audience. In recent years, Tata has been looking for ways to make low cost cars to air conditioners to make his products more affordable. He is said to have told his ebullient managers: "Even this price (Rs. 999) must be bought down. It's too much for most Indians."
What are the lessons that stand out for business from the way Tata handled what seemed a crisis for the group? "Since he has already fixed his destination and doesn't waver, Tata never considers anything a crisis. Instead, he chooses to think of them of a situation and starts solving it," the associate says.
To people who know Tata, it is no surprise. When he took over the group in the early 1990s, the Tatas were still one of the most respected business groups in the country. But they used to think local. Now the group has become synonymous with global large scale operations.
One of the documents that still plays heavily on the way Tata thinks is a strategy document he wrote in 1983. Sitting by the side of his ailing mother in the hospital, Tata is said to have penned his first document detailing the areas in which the group should venture. Apart from passenger cars and information technology, Tata, even at that time had envisioned that companies that harness the power of the youth of the country will be the ones that will eventually make the cut.
Even as Tata was strategising with managers of Tata Steel that bought UK-based Corus to cut costs without paring jobs, he was pushing his trusts to invest more in training youth. He was ensuring the group's future leaders were younger than his generation, to allow them room to grow big. Now, several of his companies sport CEOs in their early 40s. He is doing this as he is vetting candidates from across the world to succeed him in the next couple of years.
Tata has shown that if taking risky decisions need spunk, carrying them through requires more. More often than not, being a visionary, his ideas and decisions see far ahead in time and there are few who understand them when they are first thought of. R Gopalakrishnan, executive director, Tata Sons, says "We have thinking about water for several years but when you fit in the bottom-of-the-pyramid matrix, we had an innovation."
The effects of Tata's labour will not be visible soon. It took nearly a decade to prove that the country's truck maker can also make cars. It took more than five years before his company could produce the $2000 car. When the current storm blows over and time passes by, this year's effort by Tata is sure to leave an indelible mark on the group and its fortunes. A positive one at that.
A song and its meaning..
A couple of months back, me and a (girl)friend (not a girlfriend)were listening to the song “agar tum mil jao, zamana chhod denge hum” while on a drive someplace and when out of the blues she came up with a question. She was reflecting on the lyrics of the song and asked a very generic question: “Can such a thing happen in real life? Can you love someone so much that you let go of everything else?”
At the time, in my blunt very rational style I said “NO. absolutely not.”
But, since then I seem to have doubts about the answer I gave her then. Incidents and events in day to day life have made me start wondering that maybe, just maybe, such things or such love does exist out there.
Its not that I used to look for such incidents before and couldnt find them and so I said No at the time. Its just that before she asked me that question I had never thought about the possibilities of such an occurrence.
Every week there is some or the other story about couples committing suicides because their parents or communities did not allow their marriage. These people gave up their lives because they believed they would be willing to let go of the world and this life for each other. There are stories and incidents all over the place where unconditional love makes people take extreme steps in their life. And these incidents are not just with youngsters, they happen with grown-ups as well.
But I don’t think she was talking about such high level of fanaticism/obsession when she asked me the question. I think it was more a question in normal relationships where you are so much in love, that not much matters expect that person. Where your mind and your heart are prisoners to the thoughts of that one person.
Is it unreal to expect that kind of love from someone? Or is it abnormal to love someone that much?
Ask me that question 10 different times and 9 times out of 10 my answer would come in a split second. YES its unreal, and YES its abnormal. But that one time when I might have a different answer is what is the difference between “impossible” and “remotely probable”. It defines that despite all the rationality, analytical and erratic people like me still try to expect that kind of an involved relationship. Its that 10% chance (am being analytical again) that drives people like me crazy to think that there is such a possibility.
I would love to love someone like that. Maybe I already do. But I have no idea about it. Or I don’t even know how to express it because I think too darn much. Because I am too darn analytical.
Is it really worth being so analytical and rationale?
Isnt life more beautiful and interesting when you are a little insane to be falling for someone like that? Doing crazy things because you feel like doing them. Not worried about what the world would say or who would judge them, because eventually what matters is YOUR happiness.
Or are there too many pains associated with being so close to someone?
I don’t know. I don’t claim to know the answer. But what I do know is that, there is definitely a possibility of enjoying a relationship where either or both of you is singing “agar tum mil jao, zamana chhod denge him. Tumhe pakar zamane bhar se rishta tod denge hum”
Take it from me. Its no fun to be too critical, analytical and rational. Just let yourself flow and fight it out for that kind of love.
And all those already involved in a relationship but are going through difficult times in that relationship, in-fact, even if you arnt going through difficult times, please remember:
You don’t leave alone the people you love. You fight for them.
So if you have someone you love, go out there and fight for them.
At the time, in my blunt very rational style I said “NO. absolutely not.”
But, since then I seem to have doubts about the answer I gave her then. Incidents and events in day to day life have made me start wondering that maybe, just maybe, such things or such love does exist out there.
Its not that I used to look for such incidents before and couldnt find them and so I said No at the time. Its just that before she asked me that question I had never thought about the possibilities of such an occurrence.
Every week there is some or the other story about couples committing suicides because their parents or communities did not allow their marriage. These people gave up their lives because they believed they would be willing to let go of the world and this life for each other. There are stories and incidents all over the place where unconditional love makes people take extreme steps in their life. And these incidents are not just with youngsters, they happen with grown-ups as well.
But I don’t think she was talking about such high level of fanaticism/obsession when she asked me the question. I think it was more a question in normal relationships where you are so much in love, that not much matters expect that person. Where your mind and your heart are prisoners to the thoughts of that one person.
Is it unreal to expect that kind of love from someone? Or is it abnormal to love someone that much?
Ask me that question 10 different times and 9 times out of 10 my answer would come in a split second. YES its unreal, and YES its abnormal. But that one time when I might have a different answer is what is the difference between “impossible” and “remotely probable”. It defines that despite all the rationality, analytical and erratic people like me still try to expect that kind of an involved relationship. Its that 10% chance (am being analytical again) that drives people like me crazy to think that there is such a possibility.
I would love to love someone like that. Maybe I already do. But I have no idea about it. Or I don’t even know how to express it because I think too darn much. Because I am too darn analytical.
Is it really worth being so analytical and rationale?
Isnt life more beautiful and interesting when you are a little insane to be falling for someone like that? Doing crazy things because you feel like doing them. Not worried about what the world would say or who would judge them, because eventually what matters is YOUR happiness.
Or are there too many pains associated with being so close to someone?
I don’t know. I don’t claim to know the answer. But what I do know is that, there is definitely a possibility of enjoying a relationship where either or both of you is singing “agar tum mil jao, zamana chhod denge him. Tumhe pakar zamane bhar se rishta tod denge hum”
Take it from me. Its no fun to be too critical, analytical and rational. Just let yourself flow and fight it out for that kind of love.
And all those already involved in a relationship but are going through difficult times in that relationship, in-fact, even if you arnt going through difficult times, please remember:
You don’t leave alone the people you love. You fight for them.
So if you have someone you love, go out there and fight for them.
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