For long I have considered writing as my catharsis. Since atleast the 6th standard, when I wrote my first short story which Mrs. Dubey, my then English teacher, dismissed so conveniently, I can remember writing as a fond activity. I'd love to write, give vent to my creative urges, which couldn’t somehow be satiated with painting (which, for the records, was one of the subjects were I was graded). The activity that got closest to writing would definitively have been running (athletics kind of running, not the one where you are escaping, you fool:) )
Today's piece is about writing, so I'll let that hog the lime light. Of late, I just couldn’t write. Not that I didn’t want to write, I did. Not that I felt wanting for stuff to write on, I had something. Not that I didn’t have an objective, I did. Yet, I couldn’t.
Then the meeting happened. I met with my big man of the media industry, my editor, yesterday and conveyed to him, in brief, what I had been going through. After all, I hadn’t written anything for him for quite a while too. But he was re-assuring, comforting me that the phase I was going through was normal even for seasoned folks like him.
Then of course there is MB. The only worthy audience I write for who is also, one, if not the most, well read folks around me. Not to forget someone who, I feel, is overly praiseful of my write-ups. To say that she had been looking forward to me writing something would be just as subtly as I can put it. Unfortunately, as life would have it, I couldn’t.
I couldn’t but help notice my situation which was akin to a man/woman's involuntary and melancholic impotence. Something that one wants to overcome yet finds it defeating in however much effort is spent in overcoming it. Much like a fighting effort spent to stay afloat in quicksand which ends up sinking you further. Anyways, enough of melodrama and now I think I am back. (Please note the usage of 'I think':)- I am yet to give a testimonial for my own belief!)
But I am feeling good and looking forward to some writing!!!
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Monday, September 11, 2006
My dream Yesterday
Over the last few days I have been feeling that I am not doing what I am meant to do. And I dont want to shove away these thoughts and have, thus, felt considerable confusion. Last night (night of 10th Sep) I had another dream-which I think wanted to point me in the same direction.
In my dream I was back in school, with my Physics teacher of 6-8th standard, Ms. Divya Seth. (she, btw, was my first crush from the teacher community-and others followed later). Getting back to the dream, Divya mam, as we used to call her, was teaching a packed class. I had Hemant, one of my class mates ,with whom I am in no contact whatsoever, sitting next to me. What Diva mam was teaching seemed kinda peculiar too- she was teaching us an exercise to form sentences where the first alphabhet of ever pair of words is the same (something like ,and this aint an example from the dream, "Is India The Top Nation Naturally")
I asked Hemant who was sitting next to me,"Dont mind this, but why are we studying this?". He replied,"To be honest no one in this class has a clue". I retorted,"Then why are you here?" He replied," Well, I didnt have anything else to do. There are students who've moved on in their lives and are studying further, etc. Most of the class present feels that they need to strengthen their hold on this subject-even though the exam, and therefore the necessity for the subject, for this is already over. And again, since they have nothing else to do-they have come here".
I said,"But thats ridiculous, its a stupid reason. As much as I like Divya mam and like being in her class, I wont come to the class anymore because it doesnt make sense to me" And then I woke up.. What does this mean? I feel the meaning to be pretty straighforward but still dont possess the guts to chuck my job(physics class) because it doesnt make sense to find yourself realising that job you are doing is not what you are meant to do.
God-what am I to do?
In my dream I was back in school, with my Physics teacher of 6-8th standard, Ms. Divya Seth. (she, btw, was my first crush from the teacher community-and others followed later). Getting back to the dream, Divya mam, as we used to call her, was teaching a packed class. I had Hemant, one of my class mates ,with whom I am in no contact whatsoever, sitting next to me. What Diva mam was teaching seemed kinda peculiar too- she was teaching us an exercise to form sentences where the first alphabhet of ever pair of words is the same (something like ,and this aint an example from the dream, "Is India The Top Nation Naturally")
I asked Hemant who was sitting next to me,"Dont mind this, but why are we studying this?". He replied,"To be honest no one in this class has a clue". I retorted,"Then why are you here?" He replied," Well, I didnt have anything else to do. There are students who've moved on in their lives and are studying further, etc. Most of the class present feels that they need to strengthen their hold on this subject-even though the exam, and therefore the necessity for the subject, for this is already over. And again, since they have nothing else to do-they have come here".
I said,"But thats ridiculous, its a stupid reason. As much as I like Divya mam and like being in her class, I wont come to the class anymore because it doesnt make sense to me" And then I woke up.. What does this mean? I feel the meaning to be pretty straighforward but still dont possess the guts to chuck my job(physics class) because it doesnt make sense to find yourself realising that job you are doing is not what you are meant to do.
God-what am I to do?
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Proverb- Optimal Utilization?!!
Hey! I've just come up with a new proverb to best represent optimal utilisation of resources, of course, it can be taken to be sexist and pretty lewd too, but I am ok with that. So here it goes:
Why unbuckle when you can do with unzipping?
Of course there is a pun, and one of the meanings also has a double meaning.. Hope you get it..Ha ha. Nonetheless, doesnt it have a xing to it? I think it is catchy...Lol
I just got may 200th scrap on orkut today..and it seems fun!! Am going to watch Omkara for a 10o'clock show now. This would be my third movie in a month, following, Golmaal and Anthony Kaun Hai.. Lets see...
Why unbuckle when you can do with unzipping?
Of course there is a pun, and one of the meanings also has a double meaning.. Hope you get it..Ha ha. Nonetheless, doesnt it have a xing to it? I think it is catchy...Lol
I just got may 200th scrap on orkut today..and it seems fun!! Am going to watch Omkara for a 10o'clock show now. This would be my third movie in a month, following, Golmaal and Anthony Kaun Hai.. Lets see...
Sunday, August 13, 2006
For Deve Gowda
I just read in the newspaper today that Mr. H.D. Deve Gowda, (one of our politicians) said that its 'DO-OR-DIE time' for him. Of what I know and would like to see happen, I'd say, "Mr. Gowda, the country'd be better off if you dont do anything"...
If you know what I mean...he hee
If you know what I mean...he hee
Friday, July 28, 2006
When not to take a lift?
As a frequent hitch hiker, here is my tip to prospective hitch-hikers. When not to accept a hitch-hike? When to stop the vehicle the person driving the vehicle looks down to find out where the brakes are !! (It happened to me a couple of days back on a busy street in Bangalore and I put down my thumb, turned in the other direction to avoid being hitch-hiked by that fellow!!)
Cheers!!
Cheers!!
Sunday, July 09, 2006
On my flight back home-my experiences of a foreign Culture
Its 1847hrs GMT on 8th July 06 and I am on my way back to India, to work as one might say. But I feel the last 3 weeks have been....breathtaking. I know it might sound a little inappropriate for someone to call 3 weeks as a breathtaking period- one might die in that long a period of one's breath taken away! (Its a poor joke and you are expected to laugh at it..good that you atleast smiled)
But the last 3 weeks have been breathtaking when I think of them and the time I had and how I feel I have personally evolved. And the evolution is what makes it so beautiful when I look back at my time in the UK. I have certainly developed a bias for Scottish people (women, in particular- courtesy Ms.AS- I wish her all the luck and hope to write a Mrs. preceeding her name sometime soon). And its been like this amazing awakening of sorts. For a lot of things. I saw stuff that I have heard people say and brag about and to say that I was hesitant to start with would be an understatement. But as time went by I evolved, didnt feel out of place, and then enjoyed it all.The openess of people is what struck me first. And by that I mean, what we refer to as, 'public display of private emotions'. And dont take me wrongly, I truly believe people can be different and cultures, beliefs, rights, wrongs, all this can differ from place to place and culture to culture . And this was one such place. Too see people kiss in public was so touching (no puns intended:)) by the sheer fact that holding the emotion and conveying it to the one who mattered seemed more important than anything else was so romantic that words fail me. It was beautiful.
Independence that people have and how they promote it is amazing, I used to eat at one Subway almost daily for 3 weeks (the working team there-Agatha, Magda, Sunny, Shepherd and Becky) and I found that one of them was just 17, works there and lives off his money and lives away from his parents. Another one came from India, yes, Ahmedabad to be precise, and although his dad had enough money he still wants to work @ Subway and burn his ass off because he wants to. Without getting into the debate of why independence, the pros and cons, I'd like to limit my commentary to the fact of the belief in independence and self-dependence. And I think I got to learn something for how I'd like my kids to grow up.
People of all age and sizes (yes, and I mean all sizes) have a ball come Friday night. I just found it lovely (after the initial shock, courtesy my 'background' and on discovering contradictions to what we are taught to be 'right' and 'expected out of people of such age') that old people dont just loose the spirit of life. Again, without going in detail of the causes and repurcussions, because thats not what I want to write about, what I found most enchanting was people enjoying their lives, or atleast they seemed to. I think this is something we need to learn as a culture, yes, we need to respect the elderly but shouldnt, as we usually do, rob them off their identities. Being honest, I cant think of my maternal grandma and grandpa of anything more than people responsile for bringing a generation in this world, one of whom brought me in this world. For selfish reasons, we tend to ignore their reasons for existence, assuming they have any. But each one, and I mean each and everyone, should have the right to live in ways them deem fit and by means that deem fit.
My workplace was just wonderful, and when I mention this towards the end it doesnt, by any strech of imagination, mean that I will remember it as the least important. I met competent people, I saw a lot, and I mean 'A LOT' of Asian looking faces and how they had been accepted into the workplace. The openess of the organisation is commendable and I saw what it means to say being an 'equal opportunity employer'.And then there was AS. I wouldnt elaborate on her as a person more than the fact that she is the one of the most competent people I've seen at their work, terribly proud of her work and her pride in standing for what she thinks is right. I felt parts of me in her. That is till I found out that partner shares his date of birth with me. And we got talking about him (rather she talked about him and I talked about how I am) and it came to the verge of it being scary how much we have in common. But it was delightful. I wish to have her as a friend for life and wish her with all my heart all the happiness that is possible in this world.
Being in the Uk was cool, yet I feel having grown out of the want to have been 'somewhere in the west'. I'd love to come back here or enjoy some place else if life gave me another chance but I dont see myself craving for it now. I felt a lot during this trip ( and I'd skip the list of what all I 'felt' to maintain the sanctity of this writeup:)) and I think I have evolved and see myself better than 3 weeks back-more cosmopolitan, less shy of being metrosexual, more accomodating for other's opinions-still as rigid in mine, though- and more tolerant of people's incompetencies!
Thats quite a list, eh? God bless me!!!
But the last 3 weeks have been breathtaking when I think of them and the time I had and how I feel I have personally evolved. And the evolution is what makes it so beautiful when I look back at my time in the UK. I have certainly developed a bias for Scottish people (women, in particular- courtesy Ms.AS- I wish her all the luck and hope to write a Mrs. preceeding her name sometime soon). And its been like this amazing awakening of sorts. For a lot of things. I saw stuff that I have heard people say and brag about and to say that I was hesitant to start with would be an understatement. But as time went by I evolved, didnt feel out of place, and then enjoyed it all.The openess of people is what struck me first. And by that I mean, what we refer to as, 'public display of private emotions'. And dont take me wrongly, I truly believe people can be different and cultures, beliefs, rights, wrongs, all this can differ from place to place and culture to culture . And this was one such place. Too see people kiss in public was so touching (no puns intended:)) by the sheer fact that holding the emotion and conveying it to the one who mattered seemed more important than anything else was so romantic that words fail me. It was beautiful.
Independence that people have and how they promote it is amazing, I used to eat at one Subway almost daily for 3 weeks (the working team there-Agatha, Magda, Sunny, Shepherd and Becky) and I found that one of them was just 17, works there and lives off his money and lives away from his parents. Another one came from India, yes, Ahmedabad to be precise, and although his dad had enough money he still wants to work @ Subway and burn his ass off because he wants to. Without getting into the debate of why independence, the pros and cons, I'd like to limit my commentary to the fact of the belief in independence and self-dependence. And I think I got to learn something for how I'd like my kids to grow up.
People of all age and sizes (yes, and I mean all sizes) have a ball come Friday night. I just found it lovely (after the initial shock, courtesy my 'background' and on discovering contradictions to what we are taught to be 'right' and 'expected out of people of such age') that old people dont just loose the spirit of life. Again, without going in detail of the causes and repurcussions, because thats not what I want to write about, what I found most enchanting was people enjoying their lives, or atleast they seemed to. I think this is something we need to learn as a culture, yes, we need to respect the elderly but shouldnt, as we usually do, rob them off their identities. Being honest, I cant think of my maternal grandma and grandpa of anything more than people responsile for bringing a generation in this world, one of whom brought me in this world. For selfish reasons, we tend to ignore their reasons for existence, assuming they have any. But each one, and I mean each and everyone, should have the right to live in ways them deem fit and by means that deem fit.
My workplace was just wonderful, and when I mention this towards the end it doesnt, by any strech of imagination, mean that I will remember it as the least important. I met competent people, I saw a lot, and I mean 'A LOT' of Asian looking faces and how they had been accepted into the workplace. The openess of the organisation is commendable and I saw what it means to say being an 'equal opportunity employer'.And then there was AS. I wouldnt elaborate on her as a person more than the fact that she is the one of the most competent people I've seen at their work, terribly proud of her work and her pride in standing for what she thinks is right. I felt parts of me in her. That is till I found out that partner shares his date of birth with me. And we got talking about him (rather she talked about him and I talked about how I am) and it came to the verge of it being scary how much we have in common. But it was delightful. I wish to have her as a friend for life and wish her with all my heart all the happiness that is possible in this world.
Being in the Uk was cool, yet I feel having grown out of the want to have been 'somewhere in the west'. I'd love to come back here or enjoy some place else if life gave me another chance but I dont see myself craving for it now. I felt a lot during this trip ( and I'd skip the list of what all I 'felt' to maintain the sanctity of this writeup:)) and I think I have evolved and see myself better than 3 weeks back-more cosmopolitan, less shy of being metrosexual, more accomodating for other's opinions-still as rigid in mine, though- and more tolerant of people's incompetencies!
Thats quite a list, eh? God bless me!!!
I love you- work of art:)
I am writing this on my flight back from the UK to Bangalore. Here you go..
With the light of the lilies,
With the smell of the dawn,
With the touch of water,
With the taste of air
With the sound of sunrise,
With the smell of wind,
With the sight of rustling leaves,
With the touch of ground
With the warmth of snow,
With the light of the moon,
With all of you,
In all of me
With all my heart,
With all my soul,
With all of me,
I love you
P.S.: This is courtesy the music channel I plugged in to on my flight.. Something about the music made me write and the result is above.. For all the lovers-please feel free to use this -just try and let me know if you do:)
With the light of the lilies,
With the smell of the dawn,
With the touch of water,
With the taste of air
With the sound of sunrise,
With the smell of wind,
With the sight of rustling leaves,
With the touch of ground
With the warmth of snow,
With the light of the moon,
With all of you,
In all of me
With all my heart,
With all my soul,
With all of me,
I love you
P.S.: This is courtesy the music channel I plugged in to on my flight.. Something about the music made me write and the result is above.. For all the lovers-please feel free to use this -just try and let me know if you do:)
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
First write up in UK
Today is the 30th day if June 2006 and I have sat down to write anything since the time I came to the UK. And I can safely say one thing: its been great. It all started when I was in the flight on my way to here. And stupid as it may sound I was glad that someone British served me. I felt I had reached somewhere. The British ruled India for so long and sapped the nation and there I was, feeling gloated for a moment that I had arrived in my life and that I had given it back to them. Yes, thats what I thought.
Then I landed in London and I felt exhilarated at being the first one in my family to have come overseas. I felt I had reached somewhere. I felt I had arrived in the glory of life. Yup, that’s what I thought. RM and AY ( my peers in my office) had come to receive me at the port and it was good to see some familiar faces. We drove to our place of stay and the place where our office was and joined the office the next day.
I had heard about my counterpart who was to help me understand my job and handover her duties to me and I felt that she'd be a as I had heard of a typical Brit to be-snobbish, stiff necked, tight upper lip, condescending, etc, etc. She wasn’t. She is a darling. AS is one of the most competent persons I have seen, she is lovely, outspoken and honest to her people and very supporting. She is Scottish. She's even got a boyfriend who shares his date of birth with me!
People say this about perceptions and stuff that we tend to form our opinions based on our experiences. AS has made me have a very high regard for anyone Scottish- I am even hoping that Andy Murray, the Scottish bloke in Wimbledon, wins:)
Being in the UK during the Soccer World Cup has also been an experience. I have realized that at the core of any human lies something common, whether you talk about the passion for Cricket in India, or Soccer here. The people are more alike than different. All through my stay here so far I have seen people so courteous and gentle and supportive for a newcomer like me that I haven’t felt alien at all. I have mocked myself for thinking the way I did on my flight here. I think we shouldn’t try to justify any wrong or injustice (not that being served in the Business Class is wrong or unjust:)) by quoting an equivalent from the past. A wrong can never justify a wrong. What I mean is that yes, there has been a history of people from different countries who have raided and plundered my nation but that shouldn’t be a reason for me to be rude/callous to them. Not that I am trying to be a coward or anything. Just that people who were cruel would have borne the results of their actions, and in today's time I need to decide for myself how I'd like to be. And accept the karma of the same coming back to me...Life, come to me...
Then I landed in London and I felt exhilarated at being the first one in my family to have come overseas. I felt I had reached somewhere. I felt I had arrived in the glory of life. Yup, that’s what I thought. RM and AY ( my peers in my office) had come to receive me at the port and it was good to see some familiar faces. We drove to our place of stay and the place where our office was and joined the office the next day.
I had heard about my counterpart who was to help me understand my job and handover her duties to me and I felt that she'd be a as I had heard of a typical Brit to be-snobbish, stiff necked, tight upper lip, condescending, etc, etc. She wasn’t. She is a darling. AS is one of the most competent persons I have seen, she is lovely, outspoken and honest to her people and very supporting. She is Scottish. She's even got a boyfriend who shares his date of birth with me!
People say this about perceptions and stuff that we tend to form our opinions based on our experiences. AS has made me have a very high regard for anyone Scottish- I am even hoping that Andy Murray, the Scottish bloke in Wimbledon, wins:)
Being in the UK during the Soccer World Cup has also been an experience. I have realized that at the core of any human lies something common, whether you talk about the passion for Cricket in India, or Soccer here. The people are more alike than different. All through my stay here so far I have seen people so courteous and gentle and supportive for a newcomer like me that I haven’t felt alien at all. I have mocked myself for thinking the way I did on my flight here. I think we shouldn’t try to justify any wrong or injustice (not that being served in the Business Class is wrong or unjust:)) by quoting an equivalent from the past. A wrong can never justify a wrong. What I mean is that yes, there has been a history of people from different countries who have raided and plundered my nation but that shouldn’t be a reason for me to be rude/callous to them. Not that I am trying to be a coward or anything. Just that people who were cruel would have borne the results of their actions, and in today's time I need to decide for myself how I'd like to be. And accept the karma of the same coming back to me...Life, come to me...
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
My First Day @ DP
Well yday was my first day at DP. And saying that was I excited would be an understatement. This piece would probably be worth showcasing for someone who moves out of the BPO life to another Core vertical.Ok, for my job, I will be taking care of Collections and part of Fraud Operations for 2 of DP's Vendors and would be working out of Bangalore and Delhi. First things first, being able to visit Delhi on a company paid trip almost every month was a welcome note in the work profile.
But this wasnt why my first day was so exhilarating. Professionally, I consider myself a product of the BPO industry having spent over 5 yrs in it and what I saw there and the treatment meted out was an absolute delight.
The office space is small, built with about 30 workstation space and about 3 cabins for the big bosses. Having worked in a BPO outfit where I would any time of the day see atleast 200 people working-this was…different. As soon as I entered the office the house keeping guy greeted me and asked me if I’d like to have a Tea or Coffee. Wow! I cant remember having been asked anything to drink in the last five years except when I’d gone for an interview in a couple of places.Lol.. I had a cubicle designated for me- yes a fixed workstation! And it was all decked up with stationery n’ all…Ahan! Then I got my TP and talked to the folks who were in office- about 5 odd of them. My boss here happens to be someone who I worked with when I had just started working… Lets see what beckons ahead!
But this wasnt why my first day was so exhilarating. Professionally, I consider myself a product of the BPO industry having spent over 5 yrs in it and what I saw there and the treatment meted out was an absolute delight.
The office space is small, built with about 30 workstation space and about 3 cabins for the big bosses. Having worked in a BPO outfit where I would any time of the day see atleast 200 people working-this was…different. As soon as I entered the office the house keeping guy greeted me and asked me if I’d like to have a Tea or Coffee. Wow! I cant remember having been asked anything to drink in the last five years except when I’d gone for an interview in a couple of places.Lol.. I had a cubicle designated for me- yes a fixed workstation! And it was all decked up with stationery n’ all…Ahan! Then I got my TP and talked to the folks who were in office- about 5 odd of them. My boss here happens to be someone who I worked with when I had just started working… Lets see what beckons ahead!
Saturday, June 03, 2006
My last day@work - memory of last 6 months
I, Kinny Kohli, worked in ABC (am giving it a fictitious name to safe guard their privacy..he hee) for 9 months and left their services effective 31st May. The last day was quite eventful, as one may guess. The office seemed more fun than ever before and I was also given a parting address by my boss and his boss's boss, and some wishes- no gifts:( Thereafter, they gave me bumps-dont ask me why. Havent quite still completely figured out if they meant to wish me luck-as in Birthday bumps- or went about kicking my ass for being rude, or callous with them.Dont know:)
The most emotional moment of the day happened outside office and with no one realted to ABC being there. There is an Andhra Mess near my office and I have had most my daily lunches and dinners there since coming to Bangalore. Almost always I've had their regular offering of a meal which cost 30 bucks and I tip 5bucks,and 10 at times. There is one guy,out of a staff of 7-8 guys, who always serves me the food there. I find the food there absolutely lovely and he used to take care of me like royalty, always keeping a vigilant, yet unobtrusive eye on my dishes and serving me before I was through with the serving and making me eat more than I wanted to on more ocassions than one. Yes, I almost felt like royalty:) The most amazing thing is that he has served me food for such a long time without us knowing a common language. Yes, he doesnt know Hindi, English or Punjabi and I dont know what he speaks-am guessing it'd probably be Kannada.
But the moment I was at the desk paying for my last meal there for quite some time to come, I asked the owner to tell my man that I am leaving that place and wont be a regular at the Mess anymore. Then I gave him my biggest tip to date (dont ask me what:)) and left with moist eyes and I think I saw something in his eyes too.. That is the lasting memory of my last day at ABC
and the 9 months spent there... God Bless him!
The most emotional moment of the day happened outside office and with no one realted to ABC being there. There is an Andhra Mess near my office and I have had most my daily lunches and dinners there since coming to Bangalore. Almost always I've had their regular offering of a meal which cost 30 bucks and I tip 5bucks,and 10 at times. There is one guy,out of a staff of 7-8 guys, who always serves me the food there. I find the food there absolutely lovely and he used to take care of me like royalty, always keeping a vigilant, yet unobtrusive eye on my dishes and serving me before I was through with the serving and making me eat more than I wanted to on more ocassions than one. Yes, I almost felt like royalty:) The most amazing thing is that he has served me food for such a long time without us knowing a common language. Yes, he doesnt know Hindi, English or Punjabi and I dont know what he speaks-am guessing it'd probably be Kannada.
But the moment I was at the desk paying for my last meal there for quite some time to come, I asked the owner to tell my man that I am leaving that place and wont be a regular at the Mess anymore. Then I gave him my biggest tip to date (dont ask me what:)) and left with moist eyes and I think I saw something in his eyes too.. That is the lasting memory of my last day at ABC
and the 9 months spent there... God Bless him!
Monday, May 29, 2006
What I've read in the last year
Hey! Its been so long that I wrote anything. Blame it on not being able access from home or anything else. It almost makes me feel as guilty as not having worked out over the last few days. Guess they run a common thread somewhere...
Anyways, life has been keping me busy of late. I've got an offer and am joining a Fortune 200 firm as a vendor Manager some time in June'06. It has been a sound and focussed effort from their end from the word go. The whole interview process was also a good experience. Plus the money is good:) Lets see what happens...
What else?....Ya Sunny and I moved to a new place last month and that was a tiring experience, it also was quite taxing on our pockets. Man is moving expensive! But we scaped thru, got the basics done. Also got a 29" Philips TV ;) I think we shud have gotten a bigger one-but I am the only one who thinks like that at my place:(
What else? Ya I am thinking of making a log of all the books I have read in the last year or so. I think I was a dreadful reader with a pathetic speed and hopeless consistency in writing. But I think I have come some distance off that now and wud want to chronicle my journey so far..Lol. Sounds too filmy na? Bah I dont care..ha ha. But would like to thank one person who has been after my life to start reading-thank u Ms. Bhasin:)
Let me start, I think the first one I read was Fountainhead-Ayn Rand(*****), thereafter: Atlas Shrugged-Ayn Rand(***), Doctors-Eric Segal(***), Answered Prayers-Daniele Steel(*), Love story-Eric Segal(**), Man, woman and child-Eric Segal(**), Made in Japan-Akoi Morita(****), Its not about the bike-Lance Armstrong (***), Ignited Minds- APJ Abdul Kalam(****), Rich dad, poor Dad(some kiyosaki guy), One night at the call center-Chetan Bhagat(**), Five point someone- Chetan bhagat(***), Mediocre But Arrogant-Abhijit Bhaduri(****), Da Vinci Code-Dan Brown(****), Digital Fortress-Dan Brown(****),Deception Point(***), Angels and Demons-Dan Brown(****), The Inscrutable Americans-Anurag Mathur(***), Making the Minister Smile-Anurag Mathur(**), The Fifth Mountain-Paulo Coelho(**), Surely you are joking Mr.Feynman-Richard Feynman(****). Thats about the names I can recall.
Plus there is a small list of books I started and couldnt complete for lack of interest or something better that life afforded me then:) - Joys of Reiki; The art of Living; Encounter the enightened, Zen and the art of motorbike maintainance, Fury, Papillon, Wheels, The money changers, The other 90%, Blink, The fountain of light, First break all the rules, Autobiography of a yogi, Autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi, The empty raincoat, and some others that I can see in my book shelf or I have hated so much that I didnt bother to even keep.
So much so for now. With the new place I shud get a TP for my disposal and shud hopefully write more frequently..Amen to that !!
P.S.: This is the piece written on around 26th May
Anyways, life has been keping me busy of late. I've got an offer and am joining a Fortune 200 firm as a vendor Manager some time in June'06. It has been a sound and focussed effort from their end from the word go. The whole interview process was also a good experience. Plus the money is good:) Lets see what happens...
What else?....Ya Sunny and I moved to a new place last month and that was a tiring experience, it also was quite taxing on our pockets. Man is moving expensive! But we scaped thru, got the basics done. Also got a 29" Philips TV ;) I think we shud have gotten a bigger one-but I am the only one who thinks like that at my place:(
What else? Ya I am thinking of making a log of all the books I have read in the last year or so. I think I was a dreadful reader with a pathetic speed and hopeless consistency in writing. But I think I have come some distance off that now and wud want to chronicle my journey so far..Lol. Sounds too filmy na? Bah I dont care..ha ha. But would like to thank one person who has been after my life to start reading-thank u Ms. Bhasin:)
Let me start, I think the first one I read was Fountainhead-Ayn Rand(*****), thereafter: Atlas Shrugged-Ayn Rand(***), Doctors-Eric Segal(***), Answered Prayers-Daniele Steel(*), Love story-Eric Segal(**), Man, woman and child-Eric Segal(**), Made in Japan-Akoi Morita(****), Its not about the bike-Lance Armstrong (***), Ignited Minds- APJ Abdul Kalam(****), Rich dad, poor Dad(some kiyosaki guy), One night at the call center-Chetan Bhagat(**), Five point someone- Chetan bhagat(***), Mediocre But Arrogant-Abhijit Bhaduri(****), Da Vinci Code-Dan Brown(****), Digital Fortress-Dan Brown(****),Deception Point(***), Angels and Demons-Dan Brown(****), The Inscrutable Americans-Anurag Mathur(***), Making the Minister Smile-Anurag Mathur(**), The Fifth Mountain-Paulo Coelho(**), Surely you are joking Mr.Feynman-Richard Feynman(****). Thats about the names I can recall.
Plus there is a small list of books I started and couldnt complete for lack of interest or something better that life afforded me then:) - Joys of Reiki; The art of Living; Encounter the enightened, Zen and the art of motorbike maintainance, Fury, Papillon, Wheels, The money changers, The other 90%, Blink, The fountain of light, First break all the rules, Autobiography of a yogi, Autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi, The empty raincoat, and some others that I can see in my book shelf or I have hated so much that I didnt bother to even keep.
So much so for now. With the new place I shud get a TP for my disposal and shud hopefully write more frequently..Amen to that !!
P.S.: This is the piece written on around 26th May
The Institution of Marriage- and the Overheads
I just came back from a wedding. Its about 0630hrs and I have slept for 2 hrs in the last 24hrs those who know me close enough will understand that such depravity of sleep in my life comes under exceptional circumstances only- VERY SELDOM). Anyways, coming back to the marriage, the last 24 hours have hardly been the kind of climax I would have expected after the hullabo over the last week when I have been here in Delhi. And the whole event seemed to lack substance at so many levels that I had to write about it.
At the first level, we are assumed to be a part of a group with hardly any consideration for an individual's opinions or choices. One is expected to be in the house where the marriage is on most, to all, times. Why, I ask? No answer. Agreed that this is the forum where you meet relatives after a long time ( a lot of times considering the norm of nuclear families and busy schedules that people supposedly possess through the year). But what if one doesnt want to share the dias with one's relatives for whatever reasons? No choice boss, you either attend it if u really want to, or be there as a prop, or run the risk of being a social outcast. Well, I was on the verge of the last and I have NO regrets. Reason being my experience when I was in the house, there seemed to be hardly any talk without any cross reference to what someone had said or done, with references running on the thin line between sharing information and gossip and sarcasm and bitching. Yes, thats a line. And if you find that un interesting, depending on how you handle the situation, you are tagged as a Intellectual or a social outcast. In my case I think I have cared enough to distance myself and not cared enough to work on my PR, and hence you read the text of a social outcast. Not that I mind it. For me defining objectives is very important, it can even be something like relaxing by jogging or meditating or anything, but for your own sake please try to define what you are doing. What I realised later is that its a bad question to ask. The objective and the reason is because thats the way it has been done. Thats the definition of being social.
The second level starts with the question, 'What will happen if you are getting married and people behave like this?', I am asked. My answer is,'Why would I want something like this when I dont buy it at all?' We seem to have a short temper when we lack knowledge, knowledge of purpose, of the reason of any activity one undertakes. And its that kind of helplessness and short temper I encounter. We are asked to recite hyms that are supposed to do something good, ignoring the inconvinience that staying awake causes to so many people. We also seem to not pay attention to why we are there or what we'll gain out of it. The bride and the groom are so tired by the time the ceremonies end that thinking is the last thing on their mind, forget implementing with all heart and zeal the vows they undertake, which by the way seems to be one of the critical objectives of the whole exercise. Does anyone care?
Thirdly, and lastly-for this article, when all functions are over, the 'bidai' is done. People come back and just CRIB. Its still early days for this marriage but I am sure with time I'll also get to hear stories of who didnt get what, which dish was 'too spicy' or something was 'too bland', 'kuch maza nahin aaya'. GoSH!!! Its unbearable, both the families end up spending a bomb on the marriage pay the tent wallas, the caterers, the band wallas, the rishtedaars, their sagans, and plan it for months, and no one gives a hoot. Not that I would term any event being hailed as 'fundu ceremony' or anything likewise as qualifying as desired, reason being we again look at people to tell us that we have done a good job and that they enjoyed the food ,etcetra etcetra... The whole definition of being successful comes from outside oneself when it should come from within. And thus, all this jazz on the exterior, per me, hardly helps.
Anyways,guess even I have been bitching a long time about this now! May God Bless NS-or UN after marriage-the cousin whose marriage I came to attend.. One more reason I could come to Delhi!!!
P.S.: I wrote this when I came back from Delhi around the first week of June
At the first level, we are assumed to be a part of a group with hardly any consideration for an individual's opinions or choices. One is expected to be in the house where the marriage is on most, to all, times. Why, I ask? No answer. Agreed that this is the forum where you meet relatives after a long time ( a lot of times considering the norm of nuclear families and busy schedules that people supposedly possess through the year). But what if one doesnt want to share the dias with one's relatives for whatever reasons? No choice boss, you either attend it if u really want to, or be there as a prop, or run the risk of being a social outcast. Well, I was on the verge of the last and I have NO regrets. Reason being my experience when I was in the house, there seemed to be hardly any talk without any cross reference to what someone had said or done, with references running on the thin line between sharing information and gossip and sarcasm and bitching. Yes, thats a line. And if you find that un interesting, depending on how you handle the situation, you are tagged as a Intellectual or a social outcast. In my case I think I have cared enough to distance myself and not cared enough to work on my PR, and hence you read the text of a social outcast. Not that I mind it. For me defining objectives is very important, it can even be something like relaxing by jogging or meditating or anything, but for your own sake please try to define what you are doing. What I realised later is that its a bad question to ask. The objective and the reason is because thats the way it has been done. Thats the definition of being social.
The second level starts with the question, 'What will happen if you are getting married and people behave like this?', I am asked. My answer is,'Why would I want something like this when I dont buy it at all?' We seem to have a short temper when we lack knowledge, knowledge of purpose, of the reason of any activity one undertakes. And its that kind of helplessness and short temper I encounter. We are asked to recite hyms that are supposed to do something good, ignoring the inconvinience that staying awake causes to so many people. We also seem to not pay attention to why we are there or what we'll gain out of it. The bride and the groom are so tired by the time the ceremonies end that thinking is the last thing on their mind, forget implementing with all heart and zeal the vows they undertake, which by the way seems to be one of the critical objectives of the whole exercise. Does anyone care?
Thirdly, and lastly-for this article, when all functions are over, the 'bidai' is done. People come back and just CRIB. Its still early days for this marriage but I am sure with time I'll also get to hear stories of who didnt get what, which dish was 'too spicy' or something was 'too bland', 'kuch maza nahin aaya'. GoSH!!! Its unbearable, both the families end up spending a bomb on the marriage pay the tent wallas, the caterers, the band wallas, the rishtedaars, their sagans, and plan it for months, and no one gives a hoot. Not that I would term any event being hailed as 'fundu ceremony' or anything likewise as qualifying as desired, reason being we again look at people to tell us that we have done a good job and that they enjoyed the food ,etcetra etcetra... The whole definition of being successful comes from outside oneself when it should come from within. And thus, all this jazz on the exterior, per me, hardly helps.
Anyways,guess even I have been bitching a long time about this now! May God Bless NS-or UN after marriage-the cousin whose marriage I came to attend.. One more reason I could come to Delhi!!!
P.S.: I wrote this when I came back from Delhi around the first week of June
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Dr. Rajkumar and Bangalore's Woes
All of us read/heard about the recent demise of Dr.Rajkumar, the screen icon, demi god of the Kannadigas. I won’t comment on the image some of folks have created for the IT Capital of our country but I would like to focus on something that has been missed by most of the mass media totally.
It was reported in one of the channels that 95% of the population with the IT firms didn’t work. What they didn’t say is how the 5% population worked. What was conveniently overlooked, or cautiously ignored, or unknowingly not reported, was the 5%. With the IT work force in hundreds of thousand it was by no means a small and ignorable population. Yet, they were.
What wasn’t reported was the panic that parents expressed, especially for their daughters and took them away as soon as the news of the legend’s death broke; not reported was, besides other things, also that some people stayed back in office for close to 3 days to help the business continue running, to assure the clients that, yes, we have a problem, but we can still deliver almost close to BAU (Business As Usual).
These champions across the industry were ignored, but I want us all to acknowledge their efforts-not by doing anything- but simply acknowledging that we are still a population that has conscience, take our duties seriously and will do anything possible to continue running ‘the motor of the world’ as Ayn Rand calls it in ‘Atlas Shrugged’
It was reported in one of the channels that 95% of the population with the IT firms didn’t work. What they didn’t say is how the 5% population worked. What was conveniently overlooked, or cautiously ignored, or unknowingly not reported, was the 5%. With the IT work force in hundreds of thousand it was by no means a small and ignorable population. Yet, they were.
What wasn’t reported was the panic that parents expressed, especially for their daughters and took them away as soon as the news of the legend’s death broke; not reported was, besides other things, also that some people stayed back in office for close to 3 days to help the business continue running, to assure the clients that, yes, we have a problem, but we can still deliver almost close to BAU (Business As Usual).
These champions across the industry were ignored, but I want us all to acknowledge their efforts-not by doing anything- but simply acknowledging that we are still a population that has conscience, take our duties seriously and will do anything possible to continue running ‘the motor of the world’ as Ayn Rand calls it in ‘Atlas Shrugged’
Saturday, March 11, 2006
I-The Worker
As I write,
I feel my fingers tire,
Under pressure to express myself,
For I am the all-pervading working man of this Nation
I have been a part of, and will continue,
In helping (re)build this nation,
My forefathers, and I, have seen, and felt proud of what we did,
What if many feel the effort went un-noticed?
How else do u think have we got these produce of grandest propotion?
We have toiled, and we have smiled,
At the work we put in, and the outcome it bore, and the pride it brought,
And the world thought we believed otherwise
We were a great nation,
Recognized for our grandeur and opulence,
Then came the invaders and looted our physical wealth, and sowed the seeds of contempt,
Contempt against liberal thoughts, against beliefs that we were so open to-including religious ones-much like the evils, although, different in origin, elsewhere in world
We build the greatest of structures,
Yet they dont form our abode,
We toil in the background,
Where the accolades are shared by the visionaries and other luminaries
But we take honour in our part,
For no night has seen the light of the day without each ray of light contributing,
For each atom in the world holds a place that the place that only 'it' holds,
Each atom is irreplacable- in either of the senses:physical, emotional or spiritual
For all of us have had a history, and will have a future too,
And we, the people, in all our little ways,
Hold the key,
To any amount of greatness, big or small, mainstream or offbeat..Lets do it.
I feel my fingers tire,
Under pressure to express myself,
For I am the all-pervading working man of this Nation
I have been a part of, and will continue,
In helping (re)build this nation,
My forefathers, and I, have seen, and felt proud of what we did,
What if many feel the effort went un-noticed?
How else do u think have we got these produce of grandest propotion?
We have toiled, and we have smiled,
At the work we put in, and the outcome it bore, and the pride it brought,
And the world thought we believed otherwise
We were a great nation,
Recognized for our grandeur and opulence,
Then came the invaders and looted our physical wealth, and sowed the seeds of contempt,
Contempt against liberal thoughts, against beliefs that we were so open to-including religious ones-much like the evils, although, different in origin, elsewhere in world
We build the greatest of structures,
Yet they dont form our abode,
We toil in the background,
Where the accolades are shared by the visionaries and other luminaries
But we take honour in our part,
For no night has seen the light of the day without each ray of light contributing,
For each atom in the world holds a place that the place that only 'it' holds,
Each atom is irreplacable- in either of the senses:physical, emotional or spiritual
For all of us have had a history, and will have a future too,
And we, the people, in all our little ways,
Hold the key,
To any amount of greatness, big or small, mainstream or offbeat..Lets do it.
The Run- Dont give up
As I sit to write about the event that happened about 10 days back-I still smile and can feel the glint in my eyes.
It was the ITPL Sports Meet's first event for the last day. The meet had started 10 days back and had games like Football, Volleyball and all.. I was, of course, out of it all owing to my visit up North for a cousin's wedding. I had a hectic time from 12th-17th Feb. In a span of 5 days we
had been in 4 cities! And as soon as I came back I caught cold, and a bad one at that. A flowing nose and all that.. Now even as I was in Delhi I told mum that there is a Minimarathon in the Sports meet at office and I'd like to see if I could complete one. I had upped my interest in my fitness after gaining weight owing to the one month of bed rest after my accident in Nov. And I was really curious to see if I could run on road for more than 10mins-and better still complete a long distance run...
After coming back to Bangalore on 18th Feb early morning and joining office I immediately saw the mail that reminded me that I had absolutely no practise whatsoever for the run-if I choose to run. It was like a lot of times in the past where there was something I wanted to do but would opt out at the last minute for reasons I'd like not to remember. But since this is my online confession I think I was afraid- afraid to loose, afraid of my capability of seeing the event through to completion. And after my recent admission, to myself, of being a nut I thought to act like one!
So here I was, willing to run a minimarathon-not knowing how long it'll be, having close to no experience and definately no practice behind me. But I decided I wont let myself go on this one. So I called the event organisers to check when the Minimarathon would happen, and where it'll
happen. The race, they told me, would last for 4 Kms and was slated for the start of the day on the last day of the meet. I was initially amused at myself, the kind of mock I would give to a newface-trying to climb a mountain.
So I started to practice, I would run around the campus of the society where I live for 10mins each day and then head off to the gym. This went on from 19th to 23rd. Each day as soon as I would get up I'd drink a couple of glasses of water and head off to practice. I ignored the fact
that my shifts were such that I'd wake up around 1 or 2 in the afternoon. For me participating and completing the race had become more important than the Sun. As I was leaving office on the night of 23rd I told everyone that I'll be participating in the marathon the next morning and am competing to complete it.
When I came back home there was a show on VH1 on Mike Tyson and how he went on from a boy in a poor and notoroius neighbourhood to becoming one of the Best boxers of his time, about his coach, Cuss, I think, and the tough times he had. One thing that stuck with me was when Tyson is heard in the background saying something like," I have no quitting in me.." I went to
bed and could had hardly slept for 2 hours when I got up. I felt like I was going for the most important thing that had happened in the last 6 months (or more) after having got a job at the Big Blue. I streched and did my warmups. I ensured not to go for a run. I reached office in a cab
and went straight to where I thougt the race would start. I saw a couple of guys jogging in the field , in shorts and vests, obviously preparing for the day ahead. I smiled.
The guys were kinda sweet, one was Mani and the other Saikat, both working with ACS. It was 8:30 in the morning and the Sun had started coming up. They told me where I could register for the race-the registrations were due in an hour and the race to start at 10.
I went to my office and kept my stuff in my locker- change of clothes for after the run and all.. Now when I was leaving for office I thought what I should run in. I had practiced in shorts and wore them at the gym as well. But I thought it may appear too striking, the track suit pants were winning the race. But I decided to keep them-just in case. Now I was in office wearing a T-shirt, with a pair of shorts and trackpants on top of them.
I wasnt still sure of how many people would run and what I would run in and most importantly-would I be able to complete ?
I came out of my office to the field again and got to the area where entries were being taken for the run. I got my name in and got badge# 24. Cool, I thought, not many people are gonna run-less embarssing if I dont complete.
It was about 9:15am now and dunno wherefrom but people just surged in.. One registration after the other. People from different companies, ACS, Misys, and others I dont remember. I remember seeing someone with badge#61. Then I thought to myself that the most important thing would be to finsh the race and that relaxed me a bit. The next challenge was
to decide what to run in-tracks or shorts. And as soon as the thought came to me with so many people the choice was clear- it had to be shorts. And so we gathered a bunch of people(I later got to know that the race had 70 participants). We were given a brief of what to do and not(like push around-they didnt ask us not to kick anyone-guess I could have tried to do that) Anyways, the race was flagged off and we started.
We were to start from the ITPL complex follow the main road upto the Dell building (2.1 Kms from the start line) and then take a U-turn and run all the way back. We would get a white wrist band, we were told, at the U-turn which will be a proof that we didnt take any short cuts.
I clearly remember starting slowly, I was in the bunch of last 5- I just wanted to go slow so I could finish. I met Mani from ACS and we struck a good rythm. Together we crossed about 10 guys and then he gave in to the heat and exhaustion. He decided to take a break and I felt I could go on. So I did. A little ahead I saw a gentleman running barefoot-dunno how he managed that but I followed his footsteps. The rythm seemed to lessen the stress as I could focus on him and not me getting tired. Well together, me behind him, we crossed another 10-15 guys and then he caved in too. By this time we were about 400mts short of the U-turn from Dell and I saw participants coming back. I was initially shocked at being so slow. But I didnt loose heart- I wanted to complete-so I kept going. I ran upto the U-turn and begged, running, for a band. I wanted the band for myself as a souvenior-that I atelast completed half of it. And then I got it!
It felt great! I had completed 2.1 kms! But I wasnt too tired so I thought of carrying on and following someone's footsteps again. And I found my temp-mentor again. Together we crossed another 10-15 participants and many had quit by now too. But I could see some people ahead of me and I felt the want to win. suddenly I ran out of breath and felt I couldt go on anymore. Just then I heard myself say,"I got no quitting in me". I had no choice I had to keep running slow or fast I couldnt stop. By now I was overtaking breathless souls, people with hands on their hips, people bent over, people sitting on the sidewalks, but I had to go on. And then just outside the ITPL complex (about 400mts from the finish line ) I decide to run like hell. Life, I recalled was
to be lived and God had given me legs and I had to use them. I upped the ante and started sprinting. I now saw about 5 guys ahead of me in the next 100mts. I over ran them all and entered the ITPL complex. Now, the last 250-odd mtrs to go and I saw another 6-7 guys between me and the finish line. The sprinting over the last couple of minutes started to show up in my muscles and I just wanted to stop. But I couldnt. I had to go on. And I kept running one after the other I overtook everyone till I could see only 2 guys between the finish line and me. I could also see the organisers at the finsh line holding a ribbon. A comforting thought came to me-maybe no one has finshed the race so far, even if I carry on from here I would be third. I was wrong. But I didnt know it then and I quickly lost that thought.
For me, if I had to finish I had to give my best. And so the two guys ahead of me were also over ran by me. I remember people yelling and all but it didnt matter I couldnt rest. And then came the moment when I crossed the line and fell on the grass on the pedestrian's way. I gasped
for air, water, glucose, anything that could help. Now I started feeling my nose again and its inner wall was very dry. I didnt know for how long had I run and what, if any, position I got. But I did know that I gave it my best-and that is what mattered-although a prize wont have hurt
either. And so I lay there gasping like someone who was kept under water without any intimation for an inordinately long time and has been rudely pushed out of water after some time to enjoy the gift of air again. After about 5-10 minutes I got up and started to chat with another guy who I met near the Dell U-turn and who had just finished. His name was Pankaj and he was with Misys's HR. We got hold of a lady who was from the organiser's team,evident from her T-shirt. Out of curiosity we asked what position we finshed and she told me I that #24 came third with 18mins 28 secs.
I had ran my run and I didnt give up...
It was the ITPL Sports Meet's first event for the last day. The meet had started 10 days back and had games like Football, Volleyball and all.. I was, of course, out of it all owing to my visit up North for a cousin's wedding. I had a hectic time from 12th-17th Feb. In a span of 5 days we
had been in 4 cities! And as soon as I came back I caught cold, and a bad one at that. A flowing nose and all that.. Now even as I was in Delhi I told mum that there is a Minimarathon in the Sports meet at office and I'd like to see if I could complete one. I had upped my interest in my fitness after gaining weight owing to the one month of bed rest after my accident in Nov. And I was really curious to see if I could run on road for more than 10mins-and better still complete a long distance run...
After coming back to Bangalore on 18th Feb early morning and joining office I immediately saw the mail that reminded me that I had absolutely no practise whatsoever for the run-if I choose to run. It was like a lot of times in the past where there was something I wanted to do but would opt out at the last minute for reasons I'd like not to remember. But since this is my online confession I think I was afraid- afraid to loose, afraid of my capability of seeing the event through to completion. And after my recent admission, to myself, of being a nut I thought to act like one!
So here I was, willing to run a minimarathon-not knowing how long it'll be, having close to no experience and definately no practice behind me. But I decided I wont let myself go on this one. So I called the event organisers to check when the Minimarathon would happen, and where it'll
happen. The race, they told me, would last for 4 Kms and was slated for the start of the day on the last day of the meet. I was initially amused at myself, the kind of mock I would give to a newface-trying to climb a mountain.
So I started to practice, I would run around the campus of the society where I live for 10mins each day and then head off to the gym. This went on from 19th to 23rd. Each day as soon as I would get up I'd drink a couple of glasses of water and head off to practice. I ignored the fact
that my shifts were such that I'd wake up around 1 or 2 in the afternoon. For me participating and completing the race had become more important than the Sun. As I was leaving office on the night of 23rd I told everyone that I'll be participating in the marathon the next morning and am competing to complete it.
When I came back home there was a show on VH1 on Mike Tyson and how he went on from a boy in a poor and notoroius neighbourhood to becoming one of the Best boxers of his time, about his coach, Cuss, I think, and the tough times he had. One thing that stuck with me was when Tyson is heard in the background saying something like," I have no quitting in me.." I went to
bed and could had hardly slept for 2 hours when I got up. I felt like I was going for the most important thing that had happened in the last 6 months (or more) after having got a job at the Big Blue. I streched and did my warmups. I ensured not to go for a run. I reached office in a cab
and went straight to where I thougt the race would start. I saw a couple of guys jogging in the field , in shorts and vests, obviously preparing for the day ahead. I smiled.
The guys were kinda sweet, one was Mani and the other Saikat, both working with ACS. It was 8:30 in the morning and the Sun had started coming up. They told me where I could register for the race-the registrations were due in an hour and the race to start at 10.
I went to my office and kept my stuff in my locker- change of clothes for after the run and all.. Now when I was leaving for office I thought what I should run in. I had practiced in shorts and wore them at the gym as well. But I thought it may appear too striking, the track suit pants were winning the race. But I decided to keep them-just in case. Now I was in office wearing a T-shirt, with a pair of shorts and trackpants on top of them.
I wasnt still sure of how many people would run and what I would run in and most importantly-would I be able to complete ?
I came out of my office to the field again and got to the area where entries were being taken for the run. I got my name in and got badge# 24. Cool, I thought, not many people are gonna run-less embarssing if I dont complete.
It was about 9:15am now and dunno wherefrom but people just surged in.. One registration after the other. People from different companies, ACS, Misys, and others I dont remember. I remember seeing someone with badge#61. Then I thought to myself that the most important thing would be to finsh the race and that relaxed me a bit. The next challenge was
to decide what to run in-tracks or shorts. And as soon as the thought came to me with so many people the choice was clear- it had to be shorts. And so we gathered a bunch of people(I later got to know that the race had 70 participants). We were given a brief of what to do and not(like push around-they didnt ask us not to kick anyone-guess I could have tried to do that) Anyways, the race was flagged off and we started.
We were to start from the ITPL complex follow the main road upto the Dell building (2.1 Kms from the start line) and then take a U-turn and run all the way back. We would get a white wrist band, we were told, at the U-turn which will be a proof that we didnt take any short cuts.
I clearly remember starting slowly, I was in the bunch of last 5- I just wanted to go slow so I could finish. I met Mani from ACS and we struck a good rythm. Together we crossed about 10 guys and then he gave in to the heat and exhaustion. He decided to take a break and I felt I could go on. So I did. A little ahead I saw a gentleman running barefoot-dunno how he managed that but I followed his footsteps. The rythm seemed to lessen the stress as I could focus on him and not me getting tired. Well together, me behind him, we crossed another 10-15 guys and then he caved in too. By this time we were about 400mts short of the U-turn from Dell and I saw participants coming back. I was initially shocked at being so slow. But I didnt loose heart- I wanted to complete-so I kept going. I ran upto the U-turn and begged, running, for a band. I wanted the band for myself as a souvenior-that I atelast completed half of it. And then I got it!
It felt great! I had completed 2.1 kms! But I wasnt too tired so I thought of carrying on and following someone's footsteps again. And I found my temp-mentor again. Together we crossed another 10-15 participants and many had quit by now too. But I could see some people ahead of me and I felt the want to win. suddenly I ran out of breath and felt I couldt go on anymore. Just then I heard myself say,"I got no quitting in me". I had no choice I had to keep running slow or fast I couldnt stop. By now I was overtaking breathless souls, people with hands on their hips, people bent over, people sitting on the sidewalks, but I had to go on. And then just outside the ITPL complex (about 400mts from the finish line ) I decide to run like hell. Life, I recalled was
to be lived and God had given me legs and I had to use them. I upped the ante and started sprinting. I now saw about 5 guys ahead of me in the next 100mts. I over ran them all and entered the ITPL complex. Now, the last 250-odd mtrs to go and I saw another 6-7 guys between me and the finish line. The sprinting over the last couple of minutes started to show up in my muscles and I just wanted to stop. But I couldnt. I had to go on. And I kept running one after the other I overtook everyone till I could see only 2 guys between the finish line and me. I could also see the organisers at the finsh line holding a ribbon. A comforting thought came to me-maybe no one has finshed the race so far, even if I carry on from here I would be third. I was wrong. But I didnt know it then and I quickly lost that thought.
For me, if I had to finish I had to give my best. And so the two guys ahead of me were also over ran by me. I remember people yelling and all but it didnt matter I couldnt rest. And then came the moment when I crossed the line and fell on the grass on the pedestrian's way. I gasped
for air, water, glucose, anything that could help. Now I started feeling my nose again and its inner wall was very dry. I didnt know for how long had I run and what, if any, position I got. But I did know that I gave it my best-and that is what mattered-although a prize wont have hurt
either. And so I lay there gasping like someone who was kept under water without any intimation for an inordinately long time and has been rudely pushed out of water after some time to enjoy the gift of air again. After about 5-10 minutes I got up and started to chat with another guy who I met near the Dell U-turn and who had just finished. His name was Pankaj and he was with Misys's HR. We got hold of a lady who was from the organiser's team,evident from her T-shirt. Out of curiosity we asked what position we finshed and she told me I that #24 came third with 18mins 28 secs.
I had ran my run and I didnt give up...
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Handsfree Liberate the Insane!!!
I think one set of people has benefitted from mobile phone handsfree than others... Its crazy people...Remember the times when u'd see anyone going on the road talking to him/herself and you'd call them crazy? (Well, I know because I got that kinda look quite a few times. My reply to those people today is-"See, I win afterall". I'll tell u how)
Well nowadays, you'll have people going on bikes, driving cars, moving hands, shouting ( I dont get it-why do most people calling long distance start yelling? Do they think yelling will propogate their sound waves thru the phone better or do they think that the voice received at the other end will be the cumulative of the Output from the phone and the thryst from shouting???) Anyways, it has in a way liberated people who were afraid to talk to themselves (for whatever reasons). And now I can put on a handsfree and go out and talk all the cr** in the world..And people think I am a really busy man(not to say that I am not).. Ha ha..The world is liberated!!!
Well nowadays, you'll have people going on bikes, driving cars, moving hands, shouting ( I dont get it-why do most people calling long distance start yelling? Do they think yelling will propogate their sound waves thru the phone better or do they think that the voice received at the other end will be the cumulative of the Output from the phone and the thryst from shouting???) Anyways, it has in a way liberated people who were afraid to talk to themselves (for whatever reasons). And now I can put on a handsfree and go out and talk all the cr** in the world..And people think I am a really busy man(not to say that I am not).. Ha ha..The world is liberated!!!
Winners To Continue-Why?
Again, one of those things I dont get...Why do we have this prevalent concept of 'Winners To Continue' while playing games like Table Tennis, etc? Is it that:
- You dont want the looser to know how bad he/she is?
- You want to blow up the self image of the winner making him believe that longer he plays, better he is?
- No reason...???
The only thing I can say is that it doesnt make sense becoz with each win, the winner will be lead to believe that he is getting better (if the number of wins is directly propotional to ability as a player). The problem with the above is that the players would have keep competing in ascending order of competence with each round.. So for that to happen the best player would be reserved for the last..implying the worst (or new comers) to play the first rounds.. But if true player potential was displayed in every match(no upset wwins) - there would be player who would win more than one match...
Anyways, as I said...stupid business...I think a random order is better, like Brownian Motion..If there is a winner, kick him out for winning. This'll ensure that people try to loose to continue playing.. That'll be fun..People playing to be the worst they can..What say !?!?! Lol
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Vass-whole
You know, I just dont get the hidden truth of the abuse asshole. I mean why 'asshole'?
Shape?
Are you trying to say ass-whole? Are you mean that u are shaped like an ass as a whole? If that, what kind of ass are we talking about here-is it like a well shaped ass or a fat one? Or is it like a regional slur,"Hey u look like a South American Ass!".
A donkey's ass?
As an abuse is one being called a donkey's hole and its thereabouts? If yes, what would a monkey's ass be? I think it'll be a compliment, especially, in the North Indian way of life where pink(or shades of red) is taken as a sign of good health. So if u see anyone in good health you'd say,"Hey u monkeyass!". But I doubt if it'll go too well with the masses as a compliment...You decide for yourself.
Output?
Is it a reference to the output that an asshole generates? So is it saying that what you give out is same in Quality as an asshole? If that be why not replace ass hole with "Bush's mouth"? I think THAT is a bigger insult...
Cheers!!
Shape?
Are you trying to say ass-whole? Are you mean that u are shaped like an ass as a whole? If that, what kind of ass are we talking about here-is it like a well shaped ass or a fat one? Or is it like a regional slur,"Hey u look like a South American Ass!".
A donkey's ass?
As an abuse is one being called a donkey's hole and its thereabouts? If yes, what would a monkey's ass be? I think it'll be a compliment, especially, in the North Indian way of life where pink(or shades of red) is taken as a sign of good health. So if u see anyone in good health you'd say,"Hey u monkeyass!". But I doubt if it'll go too well with the masses as a compliment...You decide for yourself.
Output?
Is it a reference to the output that an asshole generates? So is it saying that what you give out is same in Quality as an asshole? If that be why not replace ass hole with "Bush's mouth"? I think THAT is a bigger insult...
Cheers!!
Disapppointing Building Structure/ Capability of Endurance
Do u know what the most disappointing building structure is? Its a public urinal. Why?
Let me tell you why.
I was going to Goa from Bangalore in my office caravan of about 40 folks. Somewhere after about 13 hours of travelling I got nature's call-the one asking for solid state devices and not a liquid state one-if you know what I mean...
Now thats a call you dont wanna miss,right? And coincidentally we couldnt find a stopover for the next 30mins-now thats a tribute to my willpower. See. And then we found one! A restaurant and a couple of clustered shops and we pulled over. I got down and asked a shop owner,"Is there a Toilet here?" "Yes", he replies and directed me to a place to the rear of the shops. And I went there ready to download all the shit in the world and find a urinal. WOW. Now thats a waste of land!!
How can humanity allow this? And the sad part is I couldnt even go back to the shop owner and complain about being misdirected. Because technically, it was a toilet.(Although, useless in its very existence to me:)) And that was the day I discovered latent capability of endurance I had never seen in me before!! He hee
Let me tell you why.
I was going to Goa from Bangalore in my office caravan of about 40 folks. Somewhere after about 13 hours of travelling I got nature's call-the one asking for solid state devices and not a liquid state one-if you know what I mean...
Now thats a call you dont wanna miss,right? And coincidentally we couldnt find a stopover for the next 30mins-now thats a tribute to my willpower. See. And then we found one! A restaurant and a couple of clustered shops and we pulled over. I got down and asked a shop owner,"Is there a Toilet here?" "Yes", he replies and directed me to a place to the rear of the shops. And I went there ready to download all the shit in the world and find a urinal. WOW. Now thats a waste of land!!
How can humanity allow this? And the sad part is I couldnt even go back to the shop owner and complain about being misdirected. Because technically, it was a toilet.(Although, useless in its very existence to me:)) And that was the day I discovered latent capability of endurance I had never seen in me before!! He hee
Sunday, January 01, 2006
"The Path I Take" A Poem
Cometh the time,
I will sink in it,
And let it sink in me,
For the two can sink in each other
I think to take the road,
My heart asks me to,
One that I see no one tread,
Yet I seems to bear my signature in advance
For, it seems like none,
I have seen,
Or have people tell me they have,
And I really dont know what lay ahead
To let go and fall free,
Is a fear,a challenge,
That most would duck,
And me? Want to go for it
For, what lies in chores?
Some say, peace, some-duty, others- no choice,
What do I know,
Neither do I have peace, nor do I feel the duty or lack of choice to not do the chores
Maybe I will,
Maybe I wont,
I want to tread the path, walk the talk,
Feel what I want to say, not say before I feel
For in feeling and not choosing to comprehend,
Lies the biggest forsaking- and accepting to be not logical,
Not illogical, but lack of grappling for logic,
For something u dont see doesnot necessarily not exist
So I open my arms,
Take a deep breath,
Close my eyes,
And walk the untreaded path
For I know not what lies ahead,
Which is the biggest fear, the biggest challenge one can take,
And I take it,
So I can be my own man...
I will sink in it,
And let it sink in me,
For the two can sink in each other
I think to take the road,
My heart asks me to,
One that I see no one tread,
Yet I seems to bear my signature in advance
For, it seems like none,
I have seen,
Or have people tell me they have,
And I really dont know what lay ahead
To let go and fall free,
Is a fear,a challenge,
That most would duck,
And me? Want to go for it
For, what lies in chores?
Some say, peace, some-duty, others- no choice,
What do I know,
Neither do I have peace, nor do I feel the duty or lack of choice to not do the chores
Maybe I will,
Maybe I wont,
I want to tread the path, walk the talk,
Feel what I want to say, not say before I feel
For in feeling and not choosing to comprehend,
Lies the biggest forsaking- and accepting to be not logical,
Not illogical, but lack of grappling for logic,
For something u dont see doesnot necessarily not exist
So I open my arms,
Take a deep breath,
Close my eyes,
And walk the untreaded path
For I know not what lies ahead,
Which is the biggest fear, the biggest challenge one can take,
And I take it,
So I can be my own man...
Growing Up Vs Growing Out
A recent altercation with a dear friend got me thinking and this is what I came up with…
After the altercation I felt really bad (forcing myself not to use colloquial language:)) and I discussed my reactions with a friend who is equally close to me. Part of his response was maybe it is because of my age and that I will come to terms with such things with time. The answer seemed least logical. Forget satisfying my intent to ask him if the reason of the fight seemed genuine or not, it made me think on what he said.
When I thought about what he said, he was partially correct. If you think I am talking about the part where he said I was young and that’s why took it differently, I beg to disagree. Because growing up isn’t half as important as growing out. It makes for an interesting comparison.
Look at yourself today and recall your childhood. All of us, at some point of time or the other in our childhood have cried crazy over not being bought a certain dress or a toy or something else. Now if you look back at the event you laugh it off. Why? Not because it was 15 years back but because now it seems so trivial, so petty in the overall scheme of things that-it just doesn’t matter till the time the overall picture was ok.
Similarly, I believe, when we talk about someone being really mature and respect their opinions and comments; we actually respect them not for their age but for their ability to have grown out of the daily chores and look at the bigger scheme of things.
Carrying this thought I have resolved to try and grow out of certain nuances I have and carried unintentionally. I think I am succeeding so far. For the rest, time will tell.
I, thus, conclude by saying that we should try and grow out of as many idiosyncrasies as we are aware of. For those that we aren’t aware of-Surf Excel Hai Na!J But I think I would call myself fortunate to have people around me who have opinions and like to share them. I want to work on them to be the best I can be- are you listening to your circle of trust? (Don’t mistake ‘The Circle of Trust’ as what Robert Deneiro calls Ben Stiller’s wedding ring- I mean your group of people who you trust and value- the real assets of your life)
“Till then keep smiling-You never know when you will loose your teeth!”
After the altercation I felt really bad (forcing myself not to use colloquial language:)) and I discussed my reactions with a friend who is equally close to me. Part of his response was maybe it is because of my age and that I will come to terms with such things with time. The answer seemed least logical. Forget satisfying my intent to ask him if the reason of the fight seemed genuine or not, it made me think on what he said.
When I thought about what he said, he was partially correct. If you think I am talking about the part where he said I was young and that’s why took it differently, I beg to disagree. Because growing up isn’t half as important as growing out. It makes for an interesting comparison.
Look at yourself today and recall your childhood. All of us, at some point of time or the other in our childhood have cried crazy over not being bought a certain dress or a toy or something else. Now if you look back at the event you laugh it off. Why? Not because it was 15 years back but because now it seems so trivial, so petty in the overall scheme of things that-it just doesn’t matter till the time the overall picture was ok.
Similarly, I believe, when we talk about someone being really mature and respect their opinions and comments; we actually respect them not for their age but for their ability to have grown out of the daily chores and look at the bigger scheme of things.
Carrying this thought I have resolved to try and grow out of certain nuances I have and carried unintentionally. I think I am succeeding so far. For the rest, time will tell.
I, thus, conclude by saying that we should try and grow out of as many idiosyncrasies as we are aware of. For those that we aren’t aware of-Surf Excel Hai Na!J But I think I would call myself fortunate to have people around me who have opinions and like to share them. I want to work on them to be the best I can be- are you listening to your circle of trust? (Don’t mistake ‘The Circle of Trust’ as what Robert Deneiro calls Ben Stiller’s wedding ring- I mean your group of people who you trust and value- the real assets of your life)
“Till then keep smiling-You never know when you will loose your teeth!”
Destiny is predefined yet controllable!
It does sound contradictory, doesn't it? Something that is predefined, yet controllable and prone to change-all the time! I am talking of destiny here. The thought sprang from the teaching that we all have our destinies, decided by, who else, but God!
I am coming to believe that God, or whoever the superpower is, that created us, that is if we didn't create ourselves, played a multi-layered game with us. He, or she, gave us more than we are made to believe. And the example of destiny, its variability and rigidity, an apparent paradox, is a beautiful example in this case. It can be life altering if you understand the underlying grandeur.
We have all heard of us having the power to shape our destiny,etc.. But a scientific explanation eluded me. I think I have found it. Read on to find out what I thought.
What we have been taught-The Traditional Wisdom
When we have been taught that each one, living or non-living, has a destiny of its own and we have no option but to live it through. We are made to believe in the all-pervading power that has taken the decisions for us-and for our own good. To me it brought a feeling of futility of all that happens around me, and more so my contribution to it. Well, if God, lets call the superpower by that name for the discussion, has decided me to be a super rich man-so be it. I will be something someday, and if he has taken the decision to make me that rich, he might as well do the work to get me there. Let me retire and enjoy my life.
What I think-Thoughts of a mind
Only when I thought it over did I find out the greater truth, whether it is a better truth or not, time will tell:) And this is how things come across to me- destiny is predefined, yes. But God has decided it only indirectly. More importantly, it is we who decide it directly. I will tell you how God has played the game and reserved the right to change one's destiny.
My scientific explanation
We all know of the awesome power our subconscious mind holds. Actually, our destiny is nothing but a future our subconscious mind sees for us. Don't you, the inner YOU, know THE truth? How many times have you lied or how many times have you escaped the wrath of your conscious? Deep down we also know the universal truth-what goes around comes around.
Our thought patterns, our beliefs, and our decisions form our conscious and our subconscious feeds on this conscious. The subconscious mind then decides where we would be lead according to our current action pattern. Eg, it would 'decide' how our kids would treat us by understanding how we treat our folks. How often have you seen an ill-treating child grow old to be treated badly by his own children or someone really important to him? Our subconscious mind, thus, guides our conscious mind to our 'destiny' that we ourselves have created with our thoughts and actions.
The colours in the picture called our life are for you and me to chose-lets not give it away.
How do you chose the colours?
What gains critical importance then is what are we choosing for ourselves. It was truly an eye opening moment when I realized that my actions, my thoughts, and the decisions I take in my mind- some visible to the world and most them not-will shape my life. It felt like being in the proverbial position of sitting on a pot of gold and begging for alms.
Understand this-and trust me it is the truth- anything that crosses your mind is half the reality. Remember that everything happens in the world twice over. It happens in reality, the world, as we call it. Then it happens in our minds. For example, if a glass breaks at your home- you may have witnessed the event or be absent from the place when the event occurred. If you were there then, the glass broke in the world and it broke in your mind-both at the same time. Since your eyes give you approx 80% of your sensory inputs-it becomes very easy for you to accept it as being true. If, however, you were not present at the site when it happened- it wont be a reality till it is recreated in your mind. The recreation may be initiated when you find it missing and ask for it and you are told that it broke. Immediately your mind creates a picture of the event and how it might have happened. Now, depending on the value-material or emotional- you decide to accept the thought or deny it. People suffering depressions at the loss of closed ones are unable to accept that thought. And for them, the lost ones still exist. We may call them crazy, but if you were to ask any one of them they will tell you with all heart and truth that nothing wrong has happened. Such is the power of belief and thoughts.
It is, thus, imperative that we paint the picture of our lives ahead with nothing but the choicest. Really, do you want anything but the best for yourself? I don't. Accept the fact that you have the power to focus on the positive thoughts and take decisions for your life. When you will start taking conscientious decisions- you will start feeling disciplined and feel proud of your existence- and motivated to excel the purpose of your existence. Each one of us is built for greatness-true greatness-how and where it will end is our choice.
My Current State
For the moment I am not thinking where life will lead me, nor am I focusing on the result. I think it will suffice if I just get my thoughts straight (no puns intendedJ) and be as conscientious as I can-and I will get nothing but the best. Because that's what I will give to the world. If you feel it right you can do the same... Never harms to get nothing but the best, does it?
I am coming to believe that God, or whoever the superpower is, that created us, that is if we didn't create ourselves, played a multi-layered game with us. He, or she, gave us more than we are made to believe. And the example of destiny, its variability and rigidity, an apparent paradox, is a beautiful example in this case. It can be life altering if you understand the underlying grandeur.
We have all heard of us having the power to shape our destiny,etc.. But a scientific explanation eluded me. I think I have found it. Read on to find out what I thought.
What we have been taught-The Traditional Wisdom
When we have been taught that each one, living or non-living, has a destiny of its own and we have no option but to live it through. We are made to believe in the all-pervading power that has taken the decisions for us-and for our own good. To me it brought a feeling of futility of all that happens around me, and more so my contribution to it. Well, if God, lets call the superpower by that name for the discussion, has decided me to be a super rich man-so be it. I will be something someday, and if he has taken the decision to make me that rich, he might as well do the work to get me there. Let me retire and enjoy my life.
What I think-Thoughts of a mind
Only when I thought it over did I find out the greater truth, whether it is a better truth or not, time will tell:) And this is how things come across to me- destiny is predefined, yes. But God has decided it only indirectly. More importantly, it is we who decide it directly. I will tell you how God has played the game and reserved the right to change one's destiny.
My scientific explanation
We all know of the awesome power our subconscious mind holds. Actually, our destiny is nothing but a future our subconscious mind sees for us. Don't you, the inner YOU, know THE truth? How many times have you lied or how many times have you escaped the wrath of your conscious? Deep down we also know the universal truth-what goes around comes around.
Our thought patterns, our beliefs, and our decisions form our conscious and our subconscious feeds on this conscious. The subconscious mind then decides where we would be lead according to our current action pattern. Eg, it would 'decide' how our kids would treat us by understanding how we treat our folks. How often have you seen an ill-treating child grow old to be treated badly by his own children or someone really important to him? Our subconscious mind, thus, guides our conscious mind to our 'destiny' that we ourselves have created with our thoughts and actions.
The colours in the picture called our life are for you and me to chose-lets not give it away.
How do you chose the colours?
What gains critical importance then is what are we choosing for ourselves. It was truly an eye opening moment when I realized that my actions, my thoughts, and the decisions I take in my mind- some visible to the world and most them not-will shape my life. It felt like being in the proverbial position of sitting on a pot of gold and begging for alms.
Understand this-and trust me it is the truth- anything that crosses your mind is half the reality. Remember that everything happens in the world twice over. It happens in reality, the world, as we call it. Then it happens in our minds. For example, if a glass breaks at your home- you may have witnessed the event or be absent from the place when the event occurred. If you were there then, the glass broke in the world and it broke in your mind-both at the same time. Since your eyes give you approx 80% of your sensory inputs-it becomes very easy for you to accept it as being true. If, however, you were not present at the site when it happened- it wont be a reality till it is recreated in your mind. The recreation may be initiated when you find it missing and ask for it and you are told that it broke. Immediately your mind creates a picture of the event and how it might have happened. Now, depending on the value-material or emotional- you decide to accept the thought or deny it. People suffering depressions at the loss of closed ones are unable to accept that thought. And for them, the lost ones still exist. We may call them crazy, but if you were to ask any one of them they will tell you with all heart and truth that nothing wrong has happened. Such is the power of belief and thoughts.
It is, thus, imperative that we paint the picture of our lives ahead with nothing but the choicest. Really, do you want anything but the best for yourself? I don't. Accept the fact that you have the power to focus on the positive thoughts and take decisions for your life. When you will start taking conscientious decisions- you will start feeling disciplined and feel proud of your existence- and motivated to excel the purpose of your existence. Each one of us is built for greatness-true greatness-how and where it will end is our choice.
My Current State
For the moment I am not thinking where life will lead me, nor am I focusing on the result. I think it will suffice if I just get my thoughts straight (no puns intendedJ) and be as conscientious as I can-and I will get nothing but the best. Because that's what I will give to the world. If you feel it right you can do the same... Never harms to get nothing but the best, does it?
The Theory Of Life/ Goal in Life !
was thinking today about the purpose of our lives and what it would feel like when we are at our deathbeds and if someone was to ask us, "How did you do?" Can we say that we did 'good' with our lives? Actually, this thought came to me when I watched the Million Dollar Baby and when I sat down and thought about it, this is how the 'theory of life' unfolded...
As humans, our scriptures say, our ultimate goal is to achieve 'moksha' and be 'enlightened'. What we are also told is that we should not 'want' anything- purely because it is 'too materialistic' and shows lack of total surrender. But I don't agree with that. Because if you want the feeling of not wanting- you are actually 'wanting' the feeling of 'not wanting'! And hence, the predicament- should you want the 'not wanted' and hence violate the law or not want anything at all-which seems implausible because you are again wanting to 'not want'.
Here is my take on life and I will present it with the help of an example. Assume that you are running a race and have a finish line to run for. The problem is that being human we can't control whether we will cross the line or not. Hence, whilst chasing the finishing line if our life comes to an abrupt end we will leave this world thinking we could and should have crossed the line. If, on the other hand, we cross the line we might say, "Now that I have crossed the aim of my life- I will sit and lax". This is again not desirable because there are things you can achieve and make the world a better place and one should constantly rediscover and challenge one's boundaries and achieve more...
We can, instead, not run with the concept of a predefined finishing line. Instead of focusing on the finishing line and wanting to reach/cross it- why not focus on the running itself? Not to say that don't have goals in your life. Have them and instead of running for the "pot of gold" at the end enjoy the run, as Robin Sharma says in 'The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari'.
"Live in the Now", says Eckhart Tolle in The Power of Now. If you look at it Now is the ONLY truth in one's life. Come to think of it have you ever lived in any frame of time except Now? No, because history is the 'gone' Now and future is the coming 'Now'. Just as yesterday was Now for yesterday and tomorrow will be Now for tomorrow. And if you can learn to live 100% in the Now- you are guaranteed a 100% life fulfillment for the rest of your life. Doesn't it feel amazing to be able to live 100%!
We aren't talking about 6-sigma here- we can cross it many times over!
As for execution, sit down and write what you really want in your life and segment it according to the time you want it in-5 years or till you die. Simple, make 2 columns and write what you want in 5 years hence and till end of your life. This will give way to a clear understanding of what you should focus on and what not. Please make sure you give a thought to yourself as a human, a family man, a professional, and a citizen of this country and other roles you and I take through our lives. Write what you think you want-don't stop wanting because it is the only thing that drives our existence. For instance, we don't love anyone- we love the feeling of loving someone or we love some because we want the person was to love us back. The only exception to this I could think of (and I am guessing) would be the love of a mother for a new born. Also, we love because we seek completion as humans and feel that the person or object we love will have what we don't and lead to our completion. And most of all, don't feel shy to say that you want something. If you don't ask for it how will you get it? You need to knock the door before you should expect it to open...Don't feel bad about yourself. Be proud of who you are, give your 100% to whatever you do and let life take some decisions for you. The most gracious moments of our lives come when we stop thinking and 'bucketizing' things and just 'feel' them.
Remember, books can teach, people can suggest but it is you who needs to take charge of your life. And understand that you can do anything and everything. Believe that it is in you to dream, realize those dreams and help others achieve their dreams, too.God will bring you the dreams and the strength to fulfill them once you are ready to give yourself up to the task and the taskmaster. Allow only positive thoughts to come in your mind and replace negative ones as soon as possible with positive ones- I say OM whenever anything negative comes to my mind...So far it seems to be working :-) May it work for you too...
Things can be positive if you start taking them that way... God Bless!
As humans, our scriptures say, our ultimate goal is to achieve 'moksha' and be 'enlightened'. What we are also told is that we should not 'want' anything- purely because it is 'too materialistic' and shows lack of total surrender. But I don't agree with that. Because if you want the feeling of not wanting- you are actually 'wanting' the feeling of 'not wanting'! And hence, the predicament- should you want the 'not wanted' and hence violate the law or not want anything at all-which seems implausible because you are again wanting to 'not want'.
Here is my take on life and I will present it with the help of an example. Assume that you are running a race and have a finish line to run for. The problem is that being human we can't control whether we will cross the line or not. Hence, whilst chasing the finishing line if our life comes to an abrupt end we will leave this world thinking we could and should have crossed the line. If, on the other hand, we cross the line we might say, "Now that I have crossed the aim of my life- I will sit and lax". This is again not desirable because there are things you can achieve and make the world a better place and one should constantly rediscover and challenge one's boundaries and achieve more...
We can, instead, not run with the concept of a predefined finishing line. Instead of focusing on the finishing line and wanting to reach/cross it- why not focus on the running itself? Not to say that don't have goals in your life. Have them and instead of running for the "pot of gold" at the end enjoy the run, as Robin Sharma says in 'The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari'.
"Live in the Now", says Eckhart Tolle in The Power of Now. If you look at it Now is the ONLY truth in one's life. Come to think of it have you ever lived in any frame of time except Now? No, because history is the 'gone' Now and future is the coming 'Now'. Just as yesterday was Now for yesterday and tomorrow will be Now for tomorrow. And if you can learn to live 100% in the Now- you are guaranteed a 100% life fulfillment for the rest of your life. Doesn't it feel amazing to be able to live 100%!
We aren't talking about 6-sigma here- we can cross it many times over!
As for execution, sit down and write what you really want in your life and segment it according to the time you want it in-5 years or till you die. Simple, make 2 columns and write what you want in 5 years hence and till end of your life. This will give way to a clear understanding of what you should focus on and what not. Please make sure you give a thought to yourself as a human, a family man, a professional, and a citizen of this country and other roles you and I take through our lives. Write what you think you want-don't stop wanting because it is the only thing that drives our existence. For instance, we don't love anyone- we love the feeling of loving someone or we love some because we want the person was to love us back. The only exception to this I could think of (and I am guessing) would be the love of a mother for a new born. Also, we love because we seek completion as humans and feel that the person or object we love will have what we don't and lead to our completion. And most of all, don't feel shy to say that you want something. If you don't ask for it how will you get it? You need to knock the door before you should expect it to open...Don't feel bad about yourself. Be proud of who you are, give your 100% to whatever you do and let life take some decisions for you. The most gracious moments of our lives come when we stop thinking and 'bucketizing' things and just 'feel' them.
Remember, books can teach, people can suggest but it is you who needs to take charge of your life. And understand that you can do anything and everything. Believe that it is in you to dream, realize those dreams and help others achieve their dreams, too.God will bring you the dreams and the strength to fulfill them once you are ready to give yourself up to the task and the taskmaster. Allow only positive thoughts to come in your mind and replace negative ones as soon as possible with positive ones- I say OM whenever anything negative comes to my mind...So far it seems to be working :-) May it work for you too...
Things can be positive if you start taking them that way... God Bless!
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