Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Century

Thank you for such unconditional support and overwhelming encouragement to my blogs. Expressions are so much more gratifying when they are so well received through agreements, arguments or mere reflections…

Words …

I see and observe
I hurt and feel
And yearn to express, to say
Words are my tool

I live and love
I learn and loose
And struggle to understand life
Words are my support

I try and fail
I accept and fight
And brave despondency at times
Words are my remedy

I step out and embrace
I retreat and hide
And swing with the tides of life
Words are my solace

With so much to know
I evolve and grow
And still hold on to my soul
Words are my identity

Sunday, November 07, 2010

Problematic Problems

The problem with problems is that they continue for ever…

When we look back in our life, good times, bad times or just times, the only consistent piece, is problem. There is always one issue to crease, one gawking need to be fulfilled, one dilemma to resolve, one knot to untangle…

Problems are roadblock that stand in our way. They are the big tree in the backyard of our minds that cast a showdown on everything.

Funny thing is that a problem is a problem only till a bigger problem surfaces. A life-stopping, all absorbing problems simply cease to exist when a bigger problems looms large.

Also they vanish when we solve them. It’s technically correct, they should. But since most of us do not have the luxury to live our lives from an achievement to achievement but resolving a problem to next; they should be made the criteria of success and good life.

The science of problems is as convoluted as happiness. Happiness is the butterfly that we seek and problem is the monster we run from. The hues, size, impact, importance all are nothing but a reflection of us.

Rationalizing them make them smaller and insignificant, but only when they are not ours. :)

Thursday, October 14, 2010

CWG!! So Indian!!

I have always found it difficult to explain India.

When the bridge near the CWG village collapsed and four thousand rupee toilet paper rolls became a talk of the town I controlled myself from blogging. I wanted to know the full story and not just comment on the preface….

India as a corrupt, unorganized and unrespectable nation would have been too simplistic to define the gargantuan and exponentially complex nation…

The epilogue now is very different with the dazzling opening ceremony, the sportsmen and sportswomen making the most of the opportunities provided and a clean closure ….

After nine years of experience in Indian software industry I cannot help but draw parallels with a project where things go wrong because of many reasons but someone decides to pull up their socks and ‘take it to the heart’. It’s a promotion, a glory or a passion …and the sinking ship miraculously sails….

Indians are individualistic. We have many Indians in Forbes list but the large part of society has unending struggle with poverty. We have so many great academicians and philosophers still a part of society is neither open-minded nor evolving. We have so many honest individuals though the leadership rots with the leprosy of brazen corruption and very meager moral values …

So what next? All glory?
Not really, the wrongs are not ignorable … But analysis and accusation will see only more mud slinging and public embarrassment

Will the people who did wrong be brought to justice?
You got to be kidding!! the judicial system in India are one of the worst things about our country. When murderers, rapists and thief’s can go scot free, what justice can be brought to high profile money guzzling, irresponsible politicians who are guilty of being callus about the image of their country ….

Will there is lessons learnt?
May be… oh no!! By no means!! Not by India …but may be learnt by other sports federation who do not like the thrill of last minute gaffes and uncertainty of scrapping an international event …

India should stick to Filmfare Awards, Star Nights, Miss India and Mega Model events where a company pays event organizers to make success out of an evening…. Team spirit, leadership, common mission and vision …..naaa

Like everything in India, CWG was also bittersweet!! How very Indian!!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Suitable Suitors

We do not select our immediate family or our relatives. Friends fulfill that need but lack of any commitment makes their roles in our lives very transitory.
So by the time we reach the “marriageable” age the craving for a voluntary and lasting relationship peaks …

And now starts the complications …

How can we find a perfect match? No one is perfect, remember?? So this means that a perfect match is actually finding someone with the perfect set of imperfections.

So all friends for whom this is a conquered territory but can recall the dilemma and the ones who struggle everyday while swinging between hope and despair will probably agree that the process is extremely excruciating…

It exists both when the suitor search is facilitated or arranged and when it’s a lonely battle

There are two problems here: One being permanency …
When we think of being forever then many practical considerations like education, age, family and salary become important. Small intricacies are observed and projected to stay or aggravate in the future; hence any indications of short temper, possessiveness or any such inconvenience-causing attributes are considered as demerits.

The second one is us….
There are our own expectations. Not what we need, but what we want….

It’s this concoction of dreams and fantasies of the heart and practicality of the life in tandem with the absence of windows to someone’s mind and heart…is to say the least perplexing …

In my humble opinion this is a necessary evil. When you commit for life, the reminder of the struggle help us sail through the rough patch later.

To all my friends who requested this post, good luck! Just remember not to loose yourself in the search …

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Happy Merger Day!!

Forth Speech at toastmasters was part of a humorous speech competition..

From ABCDE News headquarters this is world news with Julia Roberts …

Happy Merger Day!! Today we celebrate the first anniversary of India becoming the 51st State of the United States of America!!

What a journey it has been so far…

There have been no talks of super power and world supremacy since the slot was taken for good …a year ago

The cultures of India and US have both changed significantly.. even the number of alphabets in our channel name has noticed growth

In my last visit to US before this merger I used to go for regular morning walks in the neighborhood parks, now this three feet space is all the available for my exercise

Just kidding…actually inclusion of such a large population has been a blessing …

The Economy is flourishing like never before. With so many hands to work and mouths to feed ….markets are soaring….Adoption of Dollar as the merged country’s currency has helped Indian women a lot ... its always easier to tell your husband that you shopped for $50 instead of 2500 rupees.

Not only economy .. life style has changed too …there is a new found the harmonious fusion. like dishes like chicken tikka pizza, sandwiches in naan bread or curried steak are part of American cuisines …In fact kitchens all across America smell of garam masala or the hot curry powder ….clubs play bhangra music and designers create new fusion designs …

Reel is also changing with the real, Hollywood never had so many musicals with such synchronized and spontaneous dancing…

US is now a outsourcing destination and unrivaled hub of call centers for the world. Yesterday the European Union issued a statement sighting their concerns about outsourcing to jobs this more united UNITED STATES…Some sources say that they are planning drastic actions like hiking Visa fees to curb outsourcing..

In US itself the concept of call centers have evolved into knock centers… Now instead of calling you to buy things you do not need call center employees go door to door convincing people to buy …
Prominent Senators who have in past strongly condemned call centers … in a surprise move called the knock centers an essential tool of capitalism

Now moving on to the weather…
Most of you are aware of the concept of summer and winter houses ……new concept monsoon houses have been introduced... Americans, specially from the state of Arizona are buying houses in India to experiences rains first hand …Most insurance companies are now providing attractive discounts on flood insurance for these houses

Indians have also embraced the change ….like the adoption of American names …remember earlier this news telecast was called world news with priti sankhla …..My husband just completed paperwork over the weekend to be now known as Robert Pattison AAAhhhh now his email ID is more attractive them him …
The famous red dot on the fore head has now evolved into a red star and India has adopted right hand driving….

Though our sources across the globe say in practice its still the old “forget left hand , forget right hand…till I donn run over someone I am driving” driving

Defense expenditure for both united states and India has gone down drastically… who wants to attack a country that can retaliate from both sides?

United States is no longer under radar… No one can harm a significant number of people from a total of 1.5 billion population… so they have stopped trying…

The times are so good that a leading US newspaper called this the honeymoon period… sociological Experts are however worried that population of the state of India may further rise due to public use of this term…

As a patriot I hope to have many happy returns of this day…

That is all from the newsroom this special night … once again Happy Merger Day America!!

Thursday, August 05, 2010

Imprudently Intolerant

My third speech at Toastmaster's

Think of a coworker you do not respect and you will not work with him or her, given a choice..

Now I want you to think of how long you have known him or her, why you dislike this person and their one good quality that stands out

I believe that we are becoming increasingly intolerant at work place.

There are some obvious signs of this in our work environment. The teams and workload of the team members are becoming more and more unbalanced. There is a very high stress related to team dynamics, much more then the stress associated with the “actual work”.

The seriousness of people issues dominate conversations, effect productivity and is the one main reason for people to move on

There are no victims or villains here.

In fact there are many valid reasons for it. Most of the time we have fixed timelines and we do not really get to choose the people we work with. Another very stressful feature of our work is that we need to take bottom-line responsibility of the performance for our team members on whom at times we have little or no authority. People with various cultures, skills and aspirations are brought together not always based on talent but many a times by the various compulsive factors like vendor partners associated with a project, availability at a particular location.

The concept of considering people as 100% replaceable and replicable is not perfect. Personalities and attitudes attribute a lot to performance.

Probably because of this we try to categorize the attributes based on our experiences. we brand people to reduce the uncertainty of their behavior which impact our day to day work life… simplifying people and expectation from them by saying women are more sincere hen men, Indians are more aggressive, Americans are more appreciative, contractors are more flexible … helps us predict the unpredictable.

But this categorization is definitely not accurate. We classify at a very early stage of interaction. Plus we do not always recalibrate people. Once we make an opinion of a co-worker, specially a bad one, we rarely give them a second chance.

For management team member are like their children …when it comes to comparing them with each other

So when an extraordinary performer in team met some unrealistic expectations like taking no time for ramping-up to new responsibilities or putting aside our priorities outside work not only when there are issues, but for regular activities like production releases re met…

They become the new benchmark…expectations hit the roof and fault tolerance drops

This is something we do and are subjected to…

So what can we do to improve work environment?

When we interact with family members and friends we accept them with their strengths with deficiencies. We need to exercise the same patience and discretion, only because intolerance is a double edged sword and in an intolerance environment there are no villains or victims but just negativity and stress

We can start by recalibrating people. When we think strongly against them , we need to repeat the exercise we did at the start of this speech ....that is to think of how long we have known them and why we dislike but along with some of their good qualities ...this is to ensure that we judge people as they are ....without the glasses of intolerance

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Free!! Free!! Free!!

Being an Indian it’s my right to provide free advice. Follow them in all walks of life for best results.

Don’t wait by the door of your life for someone to walk in. Go and sit on the sofa. If someone has to come in through that door they will anyway, if they Don’t you will at least be well rested.

Don’t try to improve your image. It’s like changing someone’s invisible glasses from which they see you. If they Don’t want to change these glasses, you can’t either.

Don’t argue unless you are saving lives. There are many means to get education. If you shove that down someone’s throat when they don’t want it what is the difference between you and schools :D.

Don’t find faults with yourself. Seriously do a task which no one else is doing. Why do something that the whole world is already working on.

Don’t make excuses. It takes the fun out of sitting on a couch if you have to think of reasons why you are not getting up of from it or from spending that money if you have to think of why you are not saving for uncertain tomorrow.

Don’t follow rules. The problem with rules is that if you follow them no one notices, but if you break even one people start questioning, preaching and teaching. Better set expectations upfront.

Don’t take life seriously. Being mature, somber and serious is good, if you are selling insurance.

Don’t just work. Imagine what will your epitaph read “He worked long hours” or “She never took sick days off”. Na. Do something crazy to stay interesting, dead or alive.

Don’t talk sense. Seriously, why you want to think before you speak. You think people are listening to you, they will think after you finish speaking your mind and follow you… huh!! You optimist :P

Friday, July 09, 2010

Use the Abuse

Parents are good... uhhh actually great but they don’t preach and teach perfectly all the time … They were dead wrong when they told you not to abuse.

Abuse is the best way to relieve stress. You don’t even have to say it out loud and be foul-mouth, you can just think it in your head and be a foul-head :) or write it down and be a foul-finger :D … But there is no better feeling then calling an A**H***, an A**H*** even if it’s in your head.

Plus you can come up with your own adjectives and spellings. When I meet a real jerk, I call them a “Jerk with a G“, makes no sense but I express perfectly to my self :)

Don’t feel guilty, people deserve it like a team member who takes your personal number because he is also a friend and then call you for work issues when you are at home. Tell me the best way to express this without “the therapeutic words” yes these are not bad words but help words …

Key words like hate, murder and phrases like “chop and fry” in reference to people and “land mine” in reference to work can be added to the vocabulary to help express the bitter realities of life.

Life is F***ed up and you are s****ed…Its easier to live through the same by admitting :D

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Where is the Honor?

“Love is life. And if you miss love, you miss life.”- Leo Buscaglia

Those who read the newspapers regularly would differ, Love is the new death. The surge in the number of cases of family members performing “honor killing” is disturbing, inhumane and reprehensible, very much contrary to the name.

Prejudices and intolerance are expected to blur in the light of education. Family and parents are expected to be the source of unconditional love. Caste and communities are expected to strengthen the society.

Nothing happens as expected. A father kills his daughter for eloping with a lover and not staying married to mismatched man 15 years elder to her. A young journalist smothered by mother for falling in love. A whole community affirms murder of men and women who seek relationships with individuals outside their Gotra. A maternal uncle on TV supports his niece’s murder. Khap, the modern day tyrants exist as groups of incompetent, ill-informed, inconsiderate and intolerant individuals who advocate murders.

For heaven sake, we are civil society where even capital punishment is not given without deliberation in court of law.

It’s irrefutable that our society is full of uneducated literates. Paradox reign supreme. We can converse with stranger in a train with obnoxious familiarity; we can advice strangers in hospital with idiotic authority; we can bond with anyone standing with us to watch cricket match in front to a TV shop; we can compete in class without qualms; we can work and coexist in a society of individuals from different caste and religion; we can admire a movie star or cricketer paying no heed to his/her religion or caste; we can even worship a cow … but we kill our own offspring. This has to be the rock-bottom of rationality.

If we as a nation are moving towards development and growth, I am sure we are taking a long detour because we are not even close.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Are you married?

I don’t know if I am the only one, but I find this question offending.

How can an acquaintance, a friend or a colleague be impacted by someone’s marital status? And how does something as personal as relationship become an acceptable introductory or lets-catch-up question?

Marriages or relationships are not an achievement or symbol of progression in life….Also if you are involved with someone’s life you will be aware of such status, if the individual finds it important for you to know you will be informed of the same… but why ask…

By the way questions do not stop at marriage....there is a sinister series… if you confirm you are married you are asked if you have kids; if you confirm you have a kid, you are asked when you will complete the family … and then people wonder why India has a population problem.

There seems to be masked intolerance to anomalies of the established norm of matrimony and procreation. And more then that, a right to provide unsolicited advice on the matter.

I know I sound weird. But in my humble opinion individuality and privacy needs to be respected. Regular probing is irritating. The offensive part comes from the recognition that its not only idle relatives and nosy neighbors but contemporaries; people who have a life to live, world to discover, truth to find and answers to seek … answers to questions bigger then “Are you married?”.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Self Help Books are Effective

My second speech at Toastmaster's, Another best speaker ribbon :)


How many of you believe in the effectiveness of self help books???
So do i.

I was exposed to the world of self help books by my brother in law when I was in college. He handed me one on anger management because of my then infamous temper. Before I started reading the book I assumed it will right away tell me the solution for my problem
A well researched, effective but elusive solution like counting 1 to 100 backwards including the decimals or breath in and out six hundred and thirty seven times. But it was nothing as per my expectation.
It generally described the general demerits of short temper. It did not assume that the seeker of anger management book was already aware of them.
For any one who knows a short tempered person you would know they are short of patience too. By the end of the first page I was disappointment, end of second page agitated and furious by the end of third page.
I never went beyond the third page but I experienced my lack of patience first hand and realized what it meant. Yes the book helped me.

Probably because book helped me in a subtle and unexpected way, it took me many years and a rather desperate situation to seek help again from books

My first job was not going very well. The fact that I lived away from family added to the stress. I bought the best selling motivational and self help book of those times "you can win"
I read the book this time with the determination to finish it.
I was so determined not to miss the point, that I read with a pencil, ready to mark and underline the solution as soon as I found it.
I completed the book though without a single pencil mark. When I looked at the unmarked book, my first reaction was ‘wow!! I can reuse it by gifting it to someone’.
But then it dawned upon me that when I can come from work and read a self help book, which did not even seems to help me… I should rather show similar dedication to prepare for interview to get a new job.It worked.

In my humble opinion this is how the self help books help.
When someone identifies a need for them and decides to read them. This proves that there is an awareness with the problems
And solutions are easy … difficult to implement but in themselves very easy. To reduce weight “eat right and exercise”, for time management “prioritize” even the mantra for something as big as world peace is extremely straightforward “to live and let live” ….
So these books tease the readers by staying at the brim of the solution while again and again referencing the problem, so that the reader can find their shade of solution
May be that is why they call them self help. whichever way, but Self help books do help

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Fundamentally against Fundamentalism

Intolerance breeds in many ways….literally …

The uniqueness of my country is in its diversity. Regions, religions, languages, traditions, customs and many such features create enormous beauty, obvious complexities, evident friction and immense pain.

I feel blessed to be born to a Christian mother and Hindu father as secularism comes naturally to me. Caste has no significance once the omnipresence and omnipotence of one single abstract god is established. Regular visits in temple and church reveal that rituals are there only to create a divine atmosphere in an attempt to define the undefined power.

What perplex me is how beliefs which are personal by definition, are used to build strong enough prejudices to take lives and hurt people

I also believe the boundaries of my country are sacred and are already under attacked from all sides, in this climate fighting over region, new states and languages is a foolish proposition.

In fact any viewpoint which does not go by the principal of “live and let live” is sacrilege for my diverse country.

So I detest when some of my countryman say “I hate Hindi”, “Biharies should not study in Dehli and work in Mumbai”, “Homosexuals have polluted blood”, “Valentine day celebration pollutes the culture”, “Unmarried girls a liability for their parents”, “AIDS is a social stigma”, “Same Gotra marriages are not accepted” …

I am cringe when the leadership of my country use Lord Ram, castes, sympathy with Hindu and Tamil extremists, indecision on border disputes, inaction on naxalites … to get and then stay in power

I get depressed when I see the future generation not questioning the irrationalism … and I can never understand that though incredibly populated, how can human life be so cheap in my country?…

By the way I am also guilty of intolerance … at times I question my own fiercely radical thoughts, my idealism, my own inflexibility, my inability to fake the acceptance of reality, my oversimplification of problems and their solutions, my arrogance at my good intent, my lack of circuitous approach and my obsession with harmony …

I guess I am nothing but a fundamentalist against fundamentalism …

Friday, May 21, 2010

Beginner’s Luck

I recently joined Optima Toastmasters. The first prepared speech of a new member is called an Icebreaker speech. We are expected to introduce ourselves through this speech. I did mine on May,20 2010 and won the best speaker ribbon.



Madam President, members and guests…

Today is my icebreaker speech and i am confident i will do very well ...why? because i believe I have got beginner’s luck.

When someone new or naive achieves better than expected results it is referred to as beginner's luck. The belief that i have been blessed with this came rather early in my life.

My first play happened when I was in forth grade for a school annual function. Our class was divided into two groups. One group was of the students who were perceived academically oriented were handpicked to create charts and models for exhibition , and the other group to which i belonged were enrolled for a play. At such young age almost every one is shy; no body wanted to speak their dramatic dialogues....but i found them very intriguing. After each rehearsal and ended up with more and more of them .... by the time we performed on the D day my part was the biggest.
So even though I was not hand-picked to start with …I ended up with most of the recognition …

This good luck continued over years

My friend who is wannabe movie director enrolled in a short film competition. He had some male actor waiting to act in the movie, but as luck would have it …his draw of category sought him to create a movie on the female oriented subject.
I was at the right place at the right time to offer my friend to work in his movie ...My first short film came easy.

Another friend who is a musician had nine songs of his debut music album ready and needed someone to write a soulful English song...before he met me.
No kidding but people wait for years to get their song sung and released but it took me twenty minutes to write my first song that became part of an album. Hearing my song play on the speaker of music stores... is one of my fondest memories

I feel blessed.

Very honestly, the beginner’s luck does not work each and every time. There were many times when my experiences were not very good. But each time I had ended up learning a lot from such experiences …

when I came to US for the first time. I lost my connecting flight , this was first time i missed my connecting flight... being in a foreign land... i had no idea ..how will i get my next flight and how much it will cost ...and if my only contact in phoenix will wait for me at the airport
from this experience I learned to approach people for help when I needed one

Another time when my beginners luck went wrong was …After college i wanted to live independently, against the advice of my protective parents ...and got robbed by the landlady.
this bad experience was also great teacher.. it taught me to listen to my parents ...

when I look back at these good and not so good experiences I realize that how the leap of faith taught me so much. My life would have been without so many interesting learning’s ... if I had not tried .....

I also think that the beginners luck is not just a perception. When we go ahead to do things for the first time we do not have over bearing expectations. Our mind does not play tricks and scare of the worse, because we really don’t know. For example if you will walk for the ramp for the first time you will not fear falling down as you will be mesmerized by the cameras

Beginner’s luck is not the genie that grants only one wish; but a key that opens a door and allow us to pursue a whole new avenue in life

Armed with my conviction I draw courage to do new things and make most of the life .... and i can proudly say I life has been enriched by my faith in beginners luck

Sunday, May 02, 2010

The Ripening…

A friend asked me my views on old age; to be honest this is a subject that stays in the back of our minds but seldom crosses it …here it is ...

The act of getting old is not a voluntary one. Old age neither holds the celebrated charm of childhood nor the enigma of youth. Between the busy mornings and cluttered evenings, appointments and deadlines, work and family, springs and autumns, happy times and prayers…we grow old.

Like the end of a unfinished novel or movie, it’s widely speculated and dreaded.

In reality, old age is marred by the time that erodes the body; convoluted relationships and experiences breed opinions and complications of adjusting in evolving societies. But I believe that the most excruciating thing about old age can be regrets. Life by definition cannot be perfect and most are left with doubts about the decisions on the years lived.

We can speculate and extrapolate but like life old age and its passage, in fact its encounter itself is uncertain; one more reason to live each moment of life to the fullest. In my humble opinion, besides planning for financial stability there is nothing more we can do in preparation of the dawn of senility.

There is a quote that “We Never Really Grow Up; We Only Learn How to act in Public”. I also believe “We never really grow old; we just loose our youth to our experiences.”

Monday, March 29, 2010

Heartfelt Future Obituaries …

Behen Mayawati: The esteemed leader of the poor and backward who on seeing no progress on the economic front for the downtrodden, swung into action and accumulated wealth in her name on their behalf. We will miss you, oh!! Humble leader!! Every landscape in UP reminds of you, as we see one or the other, of your thousands of statues in the backdrop. Only if we would have not made such a heavy garland this time and only if you would have not insisted on wearing it with out help… you would have still been with us…

Shashi Tharoor: Twitter will never be the same without you dear sir. You were not only a great writer, a respected spokes person on international affairs, a politician who believed in austerity but also a path breaking brand endorser. As a mark of respect, hence forth all policies and decisions by Indian parliament will have to be tweeted before they are implemented as laws.

Amitabh Bachchan: Sir!! You achieved immortality as an actor during your lifetime. But who knew you will be remembered more dearly for your contribution in altering the social fabric of India. You rewrote the role of Patriarch. Now all fathers must not only provide for their family but should also start a blog defending themselves and each member of their family. In your fond memory we will always remember that Aishwarya rai bachchan is a virtuous lady with no health problems; Abhishek bachchan is a good actor and Delhi-6 should have been a hit; Jaya Bachchan is a charismatic leader who should be taken seriously and Amar Singh is a saint.

Mulayam Singh Yadav: We will miss a visionary and an activist for social reforms. You were a champion in cause of women empowerment and their standing in the society. Sadly, you were also misunderstood. Many people are not even aware that you gave ticket to your daughter-in-law when your son won from both seats he represented in the assembly election. People though you were against family dynasty and giving tickets to undeserving women, but those ignorant masses did not knew you were only against these issues outside your own family. As you worthy wife take over as the leader of Samajwadi party we hope your ideologies will live on…

Rahul Mahajan: At such young age you revolutionized the society. Earlier most women were expected to marry under social pressure. But since you appeared on TV as most eligible bachelor, most parents had a change of heart. They encourage their daughters to stay single lest they end up marrying a man like you. Your death also provided a valuable lesson that mind altering substances, like all things in life should be used in moderation.

Bal Thackeray: Our news papers would have been empty and “fundamentalism” a difficult word to define, if you would have not graced the earth. You enlightened us about Mumbaikars and Mumbai lest we thought of the former as Indians and later as an Indian city. Though most mumbaikars still think they are just Indians and feel very proud of the fact, but you knew better. You also brought unexpected reactions from people. My conservative dad became an advocate of rights for people to express themselves on Valentine day seeing your workers condemn the same so harshly. By the grace of God you gave us visionary leaders like Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray to carry on your legacy.

Swamy Nityananda: We always knew only a man with such high morals connected to the higher powers will be able to solve the biggest problem of the country. You showed us the way Godman!! It was so simple, it was right there in front of us, but it took a Godman like you to show us… you taught us the lesson if we deliberate , debate , hold discussion, go to Haridwar to reflect after every…ahmmm … it will definitely apply breaks to the growing population. Swamy ji ki jai ho!!

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Why So Serious? ...

As a kid I always believed that job was the perfect redemption for studies...

People with jobs like my parents, were not confined to uniforms, had flexible timings, were not bound by home work or exams, relaxed during evenings & weekends and enjoyed the ultimate perk of getting salary at the end of the month

But by the time I grew up someone changed the rules of the game…

Today earning money has become a stressful, nerve-racking, overwhelming and uncomfortable exercise. There are teams like “Work Life balance” aboard. When work is the application of ones education and experiences assisted by his/her aptitude and attitude, then how can it be any different from life? But it is…

Recruitment is a bond of slavery and Pink slip is the end of the world. Between them you find Work hours which refer to the maximum duration you can work without breaking down and Deadlines which are the unrealistic expectation set by others that must be treated as indisputable laws.

Competency is how much you can make yourself uneasy while easing lives of people around you. Sincerity is your ability to take calls from the hospital where your ailing father is admitted. Promotions refer to an overrated change in your title which gives you a false sense of progress. Pay hikes are the only way to keep you enticed. Caffeine is now a necessity and retirement is the age, most of us may not reach. Job satisfaction is definitely a myth.

What happened to creativity, expression, signature, individuality, empathy, sensitivity and sensibility at work? Why is a wrong sense of competition inculcated to extract more then plausible performance from an individual? Why accept a term called “Human Resources” and dwarf a persona to a profit generation aide? Why your boss can look you in the eye and say “Don’t think about quitting, it’s same everywhere.”? Why this mad rush to burn ourselves from both end for the proverbial “successful career”?

… And why I relive the same feeling of relief as I walk out of my office, that I used to feel at the end of my classes at school…

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

India’s Changed Sur

Well I am one of those who grew up watching “Mile sur mera tumhara” on the Indian television since the year 1988…It was a new concept for the then, monocular television and captured the imagination of the audience.



Which has been now rehashed to…




Two cents of my imperfect observation:
• IST: Time has never been of essence in Indian culture. Also Population has increased in the last 22 years, enough to evolve an almost 6 min feature to 16 min 30 second song
• Family Values: You only add value to the society (and such features) if you belong to the right family :)
• Real and Reel: In India what shines is Bollywood then who wants to showcase the makers of India: the brains behind aerospace, agriculture and medical research, metro creators, the politician, human right activist, NGO managers, IT CEOs who placed India on global map, armed force personal, martyrs, policeman, educators, engineers, doctors, business person, sportsperson and the common man
• Skills: Bollywood actors can’t act when provided with two soulful lines. Give them three and a half hours of masala movie and they bring it to life.
• Transition: Clothing, music instruments, music (... nothing else was showcased) seems to show transition( read confusion, why else will someone wear a short designer dress to a local water body or a vest to school)

Why can’t we have following scenes in an “Indian” song?
• A gynecologist delivering a baby.. Figurative of our enriched human resources .. :)
• Metros, malls, luxury apartments, hotels and flyovers
• Map of Complete India :(
• Traffic
• Kid picking up his bag for school
• Students checking admission list
• Old parents showing on map the city in US where there kids stay
• A common man handing out 500 Rupee note to the vendor for a bag full of vegetable
• Taps without water and jungles without wildlife
• Widespread mobile usage
• Car dealers and laptop salesmen working over time
• Wedding celebrations
• Cutting chai and barista
• Roadside hawkers
• Sea of Commuters
• Interiors of the branch office of Global brands
• Street cricket

And say what we mean …

Saturday, January 23, 2010

The Flaw called Humility …

In life at any given point of time there is something you treasure, something you loathe, the one thing you really long for, something you wish would never change, something you feel is unfair, something you fell blessed about, something you know you have and something you don’t, something you dream for, something you accept and something for which the denial prevails forever…

The ability to sieve the encouraging from the ugly is what is called the positive attitude...

In more cynical words it is also the ability to dodge reality and see what you want to see…

In school, a girl with fizzy hair, in my class got a new haircut and proudly stated how her mom thought she looked like Madhuri Dixit.(Madhuri never had fizzy hair…). I remember the day very well as the same morning my mom refused to add sugar to my milk as she thought I was gaining weight. The two extreme reactions from the two moms left me confused…

Later I met some not so pretty, not so bright and not so accepted people who believed the contrary; these people are laughed at or ignored but the fact is they are actually blissful. We on other hand also demonstrate the same deficit and willingly accept in the hope of sounding smart, but are we?

The hue of life changes with the lens we see it. Then what harm can possibly dawn upon us for not calling a spade, a spade. Any way all of us are loved/hated, appreciated/criticized, detested/celebrated, so there is little difference in both state of mind except that one promises euphoria

If the fool’s paradise, is by definition a paradise then why not try it over the bed of thorns called reality

--From the World’s Best Blogger ;)