My Take

2012-01-21T15:38:00.008+05:30

A bit of this...a bit of that- an excerpt

‘He should ‘ve called. Where is he?’ Neena sauntered in.

I watched with amusement. It was fun sharing my life with this differently wired girl. If you looked beneath the surface..she was very mature. A genius at times. But those times were far and between. Generally she was her scatterbrained self ..she had a very different take on ..everything.

She was still fumbling with her cell phone.

I had to change the topic.

‘You know sometimes I feel sad for Jennifer Aniston. You are cute. You are a star. Fame, Glamour , Money. You get Brad Pitt. You even get married to Brad Pitt for seven years and WHAM! Angelina Jolie happens.’

‘I know.Boom Boom Anjie’s baby production and gathering company gets incorporated!’ She was now involved.

'She has good hair'. I added

‘Genetically superior and intelligent. Jenny doesn’t want to be there..she’d rather be cute..all her life..cute like a button..like Meg Rayan.’ Simply Neena. She knew everything and everybody. I got her started and now I had to keep the ball rolling.

‘Our Priety Zinta.’ I said. Sheethansh was obviously busy somewhere.

‘Zinta has brains. She isn’t sexy.’

‘She is sexy. In her own way. ‘

‘She’s not. She is just a levelheaded cute chick . Sexy..Minisha Lamba is sexy..Katrina is sexy..’

Ness will be offended..

‘You know she did copy Lindsay Lohan’s style .Lindsay is on her own trip these days. Hardly dresses well. ..’ She stared back at her watch.

‘He didn’t call me!’

Right. More drama I thought..She looked at me blankly.

‘It is Valentine’s day and he didn’t call me.’

‘Does that tell you something Einstein? He’s not your Valentine.Why are you wasting your time on him?’ I had comfortably positioned myself to grill her.

‘Because there is time. There is him. And there is no other him. Correction. No other -him-like -him.’

‘Sheeth is alive. Sheeth keeps me alive.’ She was insane.

‘So. Where is he? Your oxygen cylinder. With someone more alive I guess.’ I pushed.

‘May be. May be not.’ She continued dramatically, “The brave may not live forever- but the cautious do not live at all !”

‘He said this?’

No, Sir Richard Branson told me this.’ She picked up the newspaper and handed it over to me.

Hmm..the headline was screaming it- But the cautious do not live at all. I looked at Sir Richard’s interview and his picture.

‘Yeah .He’s alive too. Want me to get his number? He has eight billion dollar companies in eight sectors.’ I asked.

‘Suit yourself. You could do with an oxygen cylinder yourself. I have mine.’ She was calm and distant. ‘I need a coffee. You?’

‘Yeah’..

I saw her jumping off the bed and disappearing into the kitchen.. She was cute. Her grey cells were just too weird ..

It all seemed settled. For now.

2011-10-07T11:44:00.015+05:30

Here's to the crazy ones..

RIP Steve Jobs

2011-05-08T06:37:00.003+05:30

Posting an article from March 2003 edition of Atlantic Magazine..ignore the few sharp barbs.. (too sharp for my taste ) but the essence will introduce extroverts to a world they are unable to comprehend..sometimes.

Caring for Your Introvert

The habits and needs of a little-understood group
By Jonathan Rauch

Do you know someone who needs hours alone every day? Who loves quiet conversations about feelings or ideas, and can give a dynamite presentation to a big audience, but seems awkward in groups and maladroit at small talk? Who has to be dragged to parties and then needs the rest of the day to recuperate? Who growls or scowls or grunts or winces when accosted with pleasantries by people who are just trying to be nice?

If so, do you tell this person he is "too serious," or ask if he is okay? Regard him as aloof, arrogant, rude? Redouble your efforts to draw him out?

If you answered yes to these questions, chances are that you have an introvert on your hands—and that you aren't caring for him properly. Science has learned a good deal in recent years about the habits and requirements of introverts. It has even learned, by means of brain scans, that introverts process information differently from other people (I am not making this up). If you are behind the curve on this important matter, be reassured that you are not alone. Introverts may be common, but they are also among the most misunderstood and aggrieved groups in America, possibly the world.

I know. My name is Jonathan, and I am an introvert.

Oh, for years I denied it. After all, I have good social skills. I am not morose or misanthropic. Usually. I am far from shy. I love long conversations that explore intimate thoughts or passionate interests. But at last I have self-identified and come out to my friends and colleagues. In doing so, I have found myself liberated from any number of damaging misconceptions and stereotypes. Now I am here to tell you what you need to know in order to respond sensitively and supportively to your own introverted family members, friends, and colleagues. Remember, someone you know, respect, and interact with every day is an introvert, and you are probably driving this person nuts. It pays to learn the warning signs.

What is introversion? In its modern sense, the concept goes back to the 1920s and the psychologist Carl Jung. Today it is a mainstay of personality tests, including the widely used Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Introverts are not necessarily shy. Shy people are anxious or frightened or self-excoriating in social settings; introverts generally are not. Introverts are also not misanthropic, though some of us do go along with Sartre as far as to say "Hell is other people at breakfast." Rather, introverts are people who find other people tiring.

Extroverts are energized by people, and wilt or fade when alone. They often seem bored by themselves, in both senses of the expression. Leave an extrovert alone for two minutes and he will reach for his cell phone. In contrast, after an hour or two of being socially "on," we introverts need to turn off and recharge. My own formula is roughly two hours alone for every hour of socializing. This isn't antisocial. It isn't a sign of depression. It does not call for medication. For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating. Our motto: "I'm okay, you're okay—in small doses."

How many people are introverts? I performed exhaustive research on this question, in the form of a quick Google search. The answer: About 25 percent. Or: Just under half. Or—my favorite—"a minority in the regular population but a majority in the gifted population."

Are introverts misunderstood? Wildly. That, it appears, is our lot in life. "It is very difficult for an extrovert to understand an introvert," write the education experts Jill D. Burruss and Lisa Kaenzig. (They are also the source of the quotation in the previous paragraph.) Extroverts are easy for introverts to understand, because extroverts spend so much of their time working out who they are in voluble, and frequently inescapable, interaction with other people. They are as inscrutable as puppy dogs. But the street does not run both ways. Extroverts have little or no grasp of introversion. They assume that company, especially their own, is always welcome. They cannot imagine why someone would need to be alone; indeed, they often take umbrage at the suggestion. As often as I have tried to explain the matter to extroverts, I have never sensed that any of them really understood. They listen for a moment and then go back to barking and yipping.

Are introverts oppressed? I would have to say so. For one thing, extroverts are overrepresented in politics, a profession in which only the garrulous are really comfortable. Look at George W. Bush. Look at Bill Clinton. They seem to come fully to life only around other people. To think of the few introverts who did rise to the top in politics—Calvin Coolidge, Richard Nixon—is merely to drive home the point. With the possible exception of Ronald Reagan, whose fabled aloofness and privateness were probably signs of a deep introverted streak (many actors, I've read, are introverts, and many introverts, when socializing, feel like actors), introverts are not considered "naturals" in politics.

Extroverts therefore dominate public life. This is a pity. If we introverts ran the world, it would no doubt be a calmer, saner, more peaceful sort of place. As Coolidge is supposed to have said, "Don't you know that four fifths of all our troubles in this life would disappear if we would just sit down and keep still?" (He is also supposed to have said, "If you don't say anything, you won't be called on to repeat it." The only thing a true introvert dislikes more than talking about himself is repeating himself.)

With their endless appetite for talk and attention, extroverts also dominate social life, so they tend to set expectations. In our extrovertist society, being outgoing is considered normal and therefore desirable, a mark of happiness, confidence, leadership. Extroverts are seen as bighearted, vibrant, warm, empathic. "People person" is a compliment. Introverts are described with words like "guarded," "loner," "reserved," "taciturn," "self-contained," "private"—narrow, ungenerous words, words that suggest emotional parsimony and smallness of personality. Female introverts, I suspect, must suffer especially. In certain circles, particularly in the Midwest, a man can still sometimes get away with being what they used to call a strong and silent type; introverted women, lacking that alternative, are even more likely than men to be perceived as timid, withdrawn, haughty.

Are introverts arrogant? Hardly. I suppose this common misconception has to do with our being more intelligent, more reflective, more independent, more level-headed, more refined, and more sensitive than extroverts. Also, it is probably due to our lack of small talk, a lack that extroverts often mistake for disdain. We tend to think before talking, whereas extroverts tend to think by talking, which is why their meetings never last less than six hours. "Introverts," writes a perceptive fellow named Thomas P. Crouser, in an online review of a recent book called Why Should Extroverts Make All the Money? (I'm not making that up, either), "are driven to distraction by the semi-internal dialogue extroverts tend to conduct. Introverts don't outwardly complain, instead roll their eyes and silently curse the darkness." Just so.

The worst of it is that extroverts have no idea of the torment they put us through. Sometimes, as we gasp for air amid the fog of their 98-percent-content-free talk, we wonder if extroverts even bother to listen to themselves. Still, we endure stoically, because the etiquette books—written, no doubt, by extroverts—regard declining to banter as rude and gaps in conversation as awkward. We can only dream that someday, when our condition is more widely understood, when perhaps an Introverts' Rights movement has blossomed and borne fruit, it will not be impolite to say "I'm an introvert. You are a wonderful person and I like you. But now please shush."

How can I let the introvert in my life know that I support him and respect his choice? First, recognize that it's not a choice. It's not a lifestyle. It's an orientation.

Second, when you see an introvert lost in thought, don't say "What's the matter?" or "Are you all right?"

Third, don't say anything else, either.

Jonathan Rauch is a correspondent for The Atlantic and a senior writer for National Journal.

2011-03-04T22:11:00.001+05:30

LIVE.LAUGH.LOVE

It has been a while.

I still have to buy that book of Napolean Hill.

Strangely I’m addicted to Barrack Obama’s ‘Audacity of hope’ for now. An elegant writer, clear concepts. And Jhumpa Lahiri is so pretty in real life. I like contemporary writing and writers. Somehow Salinger’s and Ayn Rand’s writings never feel jaded. That’s the beauty.

I have been questioning a few things I’ve believed in. It is akin to rearranging your cup-board. Some concepts/beliefs/philosophies seem to have served their purpose. Time for new learnings, un-learnings, re-learnings. There have been fulfilling moments ..no complaints.

I don’t feel that passionately about a few things. Perhaps, that is what growing up is - to be able to look at yourself-from a distance. It is not important anymore - the need to be understood. Important is demanding from life – the universe- the energies; all that I need- to be what I can be. Preparing my wish list- it will now include a lot of new things. Opening the doors to light, fulfillment, peace, love, riches and serendipity, now.

2010-11-18T18:12:00.003+05:30

The philosophy

One step at a time when you can't see the complete staircase. Sometimes you need to be patient, develop your ideas completely before you can launch them. after you launch them, you need ways to make them work if they are not overnight successes. They generally are not. Tweak them, add to them, substract from them, have faith in them.

But have it in you to ditch them for better ones if you don't see them work.Fall in love with your ideas but don't let them break your heart.Life is an experiment, the faster you learn, fail, learn; the better for you.

2010-07-27T18:05:00.009+05:30

Our Twang

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
Kahlil Gibran

He used to take the same local as mine, sometimes. A bundle of energy..always rushed.

He must be 16- 17. What did I name him? I named him Twang.. no, he wasn’t Chinese. He reminded me of the arrows shot by warriors, precise, exact, designed to reach the bull’s eye.

He would spot the long, slithering eleven coaches of morning 9:05 local coming from the mountains from his balcony that faced the lush greenery and then he would sprint all the way from his home, down the stairs across the street towards the station, to catch it. Did he take the elevator? No idea. I just remember the sprinting and the thuds of his keds. There was a method to the madness, he jumped over, under, slid by the obstructions and managed to get the train most of the times. It was fun to see the winding train rushing towards the station and him tearing through the crowd with bashful attitude of youth that is untouched by fear, mortality., remains of experiences; sappers all , that hold us back.

Sometimes he passed me by, sprinting and somehow I always wanted him to be able to get into the train he chased. Whenever he ran and caught the train tearing through the crowd that sometimes I was part of; like a majestic arrow Twang energized everyone around and we the walkers, the peddlers of the day, who didn’t really want to run for our trains because we had been doing so for far too many years, ; we were happy to see him run and catch his trains while being content at shuffling at our pace and waited for the next one to arrive.

At least there was one among us who had the jest for a good chase and he was the symbol of strength and zones of vivaciousness we never would stretch to, unless forced. Twang truly stood up as a symbol of all human possibilities; Majestic and magnificent.

2010-07-08T14:22:00.010+05:30

Reclusive artists : The need for space

Why are people reclusive? Generally the pressures of the world get to the sensitive people like artists, writers, painters easily. By nature, they are curious and have a point of view. The realities at times are too crushing and the sensitivity unless channeled the right way, hurts the soul, the inner vulnerable self. It is then very important to have a proper defense, to build walls so that all that is precious and vulnerable is not affected by the negativity and meanness of the world. And trust me, I come from a country where we call ourselves civilized but we only understand the language of power. We pretend there is no glass ceiling, it is there - as thick as a brick. The power plays are sapping. Insecurity rules. Hence power rules. At least in places where there are no clear guidelines to manage talent and merit. No wonder then creative tribe seeks friendly environs which help them nurture their art. And for the world they come across as snooty recluses.

It is very important to protect one’s sense of self and to nurture one’s art. The pressures of being in a spotlight are always daunting. Being watched like hawk, being pounced upon for every little perceived offence one gets nauseated. The ones who do not know how to say ‘Back off’ the right way, like me suffer the most. A place which is inspiring, nurturing, soothing is a necessity for creative pursuits. You need to shut the world off completely. And then you have to be ready to face the most ridiculous rumors and malicious gossips that will be circulated - as you try to retire into your heaven- by the nasty ones who really can’t get around you anymore because of your defense. You need to be tough. Have strong walls ..Or the negativity of the world will get to you.

J.D.Salinger, the famous author chose to live his life away from the madness. Thomas Pynchon, never made public appearances. Bill Watterson is the artist behind the beloved comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, he retired in 1995 and he truly withdrew from public life. Cormac McCarthy is an author who is widely considered to be one of the greatest living American writers. For many years, no one in the literary community knew what he looked like or where he lived. Emily Dickinson is remembered as one of America’s greatest poets, but during her lifetime she was a notorious recluse, almost never leaving her house or even her bedroom The musician Syd Barrett who started with rock band Pink Floyd was a recluse. At the time of death, many fans of his believed that he had been dead already. The director of 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket, and The Shining, Stanley Kubrick did all of his work from his secluded manor house in England. One famous story about him states that when adoring fans would knock on the door of his house and ask to see him, he would pretend to be the butler and inform them that Mr. Kubrick wasn’t home. While this anonymity allowed Kubrick to work in peace, it also allowed impostors and wild rumors about him to flourish. And that happens. The outrageous reactions when one gets , when one is simply trying to claim his or her life from public domain are very often very hostile. It is all a power game again.I'm watching budding actor Prateik Babbar, who is very private, gets bad press consistently..let's see how it unfolds for him.

Unlike many people who are driven by (normal, primal) urges of greed, stardom and visible success, some people really want to live their life silently with sanity. It is a pace - an intellectual and personal plain where public opinion doesn’t matter and you are driven for the sake of being driven ..you want to achieve and be good and excel because you truly want to push boundaries. There is this need to get better. It is an internal craving and has nothing to do with the world outside. You listen to yourself, and for that you silence the voices that distract you. You cannot saunter through life, you need to be focused to get to the place where you want to be. And that..won’t be easy. And therein lies the fun. The tussles between the circumstances and your orientation - the challenges and the work required to develop your capacities to overcome them. And the journey is fascinating to say the least.

2010-06-16T21:38:00.009+05:30

The dogs and the tails

Very often we house ourselves comfortably in the security of our thoughts and our ideas that we think are right. And just because we think they are right for us, (somehow implies) we think, they are right for others too. One needs to understand there is no one right for everyone. Following populist culture may give you safety from the pain of thinking for yourself, rationalizing and questioning your beliefs but in the long run if life loves you and it courts you, it will force you to leave those crutches of borrowed thoughts and will lead you to situations where you will need to think on your own where you will question some of your beliefs, will notice the clay feet- but only if life loves you enough to court you.

If not there is a distinct possibility that you will live your whole life on borrowed ideas, borrowed thoughts as a part of the herd that has its economical, social , hierarchical unspoken rules and your existence will then depend on them. Those unspoken rules, beliefs`, prejudices are then handed over to the next generation and if unquestioned, they become the laws for the people who are endoctrined to repose their faith in them. For their safety and to escape from thinking independently, many a men imprison themselves with archaic rules of the tribe for life. How ironic is that!

What ever is not profitable to us, whatever we don’t like, generally, just because it doesn’t conform to the way we have presupposed how all things in this world should be, even if it has its own merit and virtues - is not acceptable to us. We feel threatened by difference, be it of opinions or lifestyle;instead of celebrating the difference and accepting it. In this age of instant gratification we do not have time to observe things, analyze facts and derive our own conclusions. It is too cumbersome for us. Instead we thrive on populist culture, travel on a mainstream highway with signboards and ready clues appearing at regular interval to keep us conformed and informed; where markets and populist culture decide how we should dress, which kind of house we should live in, what car should we buy. Boon for advertisers actually - create hype and the bees will come for the honey. Who is creating the hype? Why? We hardly bother. In this age of paid reviews, viral marketing and comments on discussion forums, do we honestly believe that the posts and comments about a product or service are being posted by genuine users? How naïve!

To be truly alive let's nurture our curiosity, the questioning self of personality, the scientific bend, with which we were born, but managed to silence it somehow. Let us free our intrinsic curiosity; let us dare to think our own thoughts, let us attempt to leave the main highway, sometimes, and let's try to take a walk on unfamiliar roads, to have our own thoughts, questions and conclusive answers derived on the basis of our own personal brand of rationalism and verifiable evidence and let's try to decide things on merit.

My latest read “How we think’ by John Dewey is interesting. I quote a paragraph..

"That which is inconsistent with our principles is so far from passing for probable with us that it will not be allowed possible. The reverence borne to these principles is so great, and their authority so paramount to all other, that the testimony, not only of other men,but the evidence of our own senses are often rejected, when they offer to vouch anything contrary to these established rules.’

Point to ponder. How comfortable are you, with people who are not like you? Are you strong enough to accept the evidence brought forth by your intellect and senses? Or would you rather stay as a category, a predictable mass of people, categorized by the markets as a static sample with predictable behavior pattern, convenient set, driven by populist culture, behavior tamed by markets as per their demographic and target group requirements? Are the markets thinking for you ? Are YOU there in you? Or is it the tail that is wagging the dog?

2010-06-02T14:53:00.016+05:30

A word is a word is a word. Or is it ?

Words are words. How can there be different interpretations of the same word in the same language for different people! Possible ? Yes.

Each feeling, each experience is internalized by us individually. A rainbow means different things to different people. After seeing it, a student may remember the reflection of a prism from his physics lab, for an entrepreneur it may symbolize his unending search for the pot of gold, for the writer in me it is the joyous celebration of elements.

Rains mean different things to different people again. Folks having lush fields of paddy in Ludhiana will view rain very differently than a person who sits across the window on his desk staring at dark clouds and showers in Mumbai at 3 pm. He wonders if by Seven the rains would have divulged the roads..Or the railway tracks.. if he would be able to reach home after office ! As long as our processors, our minds are different, there cannot be one interpretation. There isn’t any one universal meaning. A universal reality. The interpretations will always be separated by degrees.

That is what makes the game of writing tick. Fifty different students in a class will write an essay about a class trip, taken together, in fifty different ways. The ones who do not exert themselves will write about facts..the ones who enjoyed the trip as a part of the group and enjoyed little things - from the heart - the feelings they experienced, they will bring those elements to their essay and truly majestic and dreamers will certainly have their own tangents and stories to tell. Each one will carry the memories of the trip differently in their hearts. Each will interpret it in the way he experienced it. And if he’s courageous will express it in his individual style, if not, you will get conformity, a regular essay that gets you a regular grade- not too flashy, not too dull. Contrived, contorted, conformed expressions -from conformed individuals. We have them in plenty , around us. (Esp. in China, and of course on our fields - players associated with autocratic Sports Boards and associations..sorry , couldn't stop myself )

That is why you may like Gulzaar and Pritish Nandy more than Pablo Naruda, or Amitav Ghosh more than Arvind Adiga or feel Chetan Bhagat's charaters closer to you than Shashi Tharoor's or vice-versa. The difference is in processing, in their skills, in their expressions, in their games and how it all relates to us individually, how it affects us individually. For me, Rushdie has a great net game, he plays well there while Vikram Seth plays the baseline game and wins his points from baselines. And that is the real thing : the way we experience our experiences and the way we share them. We all might like Tagore’s poetries but the way her eyes well up while reading Gitanjali. Or the way a techie sits with it and his thoughts on weekend nights. Or the way he is reminded of someone and misses someone after reading certain paragraphs..it all depends on his conditioning, his internal processing that is the integrated sphere of his individualism which is a sum of his experiences, learnings, un-learnings in moments, days, weeks and years that constituted his life.

When we see movies as a group- the content we absorb is the same but our reactions to it differ according to the way we process that content internally on the sieve of our psyche that is a quagmire of previous experiences, learnings, perceptions, prejudices and out prevalent attitude.. How we react to the movie differs individually. How we express those reactions again depends on people individually. Voicing one’s opinion takes courage. A leader in a group may have one opinion and others in the group who may or may not want to voice what they actually feel may very well go with the opinion of leader. So our hearts and minds, to speak in unison need a lot of courage. In this diplomatic world of couture’d sophistication, when you hear the voice of a heart , applaud the beauty of it, silently in your heart, because things that are from the heart can only be appreciated by the heart.

So the same words can have different meanings for different people , the interpretation of situations can be different for different people, hence let’s appreciate our individuality, our uniqueness and let’s also understand the influences that make some of us express only the opinions that we feel people would accept and be comfortable with. And that’s not bad..letting it all hangout isn't the right approach sometimes, holding back is a way of caring and many a times is the only way to peace - which always is the ultimate goal. (Just as I hate people encroaching on my right to express, by the same measure I need to give space to people who have a right to remain silent, mute spectators to the goingons..)Just ensure you have a zone , your very own personal one, where you can exhale..and where you can be yourself.. where things really mean what you intend them to mean.

2010-05-20T17:54:00.005+05:30

Shaping reality

If it can be helped, I am not very comfortable with ambiguity. I have this need to know where I’m heading in life, in all the matters that concern me. Ambiguity to me is loss of control, a sure fire reason to press all my panic buttons.

At times, one needs to wait patiently for the fog to clear up before the route ahead can be mapped and chartered. Sometimes fog is good. It reduces your pace. It goads you to think of possibilities both positive and negative, and enables you to think of alternative routes, albeit forcibly.

Non-ambiguity is the shaping force of reality, said Joseph Pierce. True. Ambiguity is veiled reality. And reality is the self sustaining truth. And truth, if veiled can never benefit. Its stark nakedness may bruise you initially but strengthens you in the long run. If we like our truth diluted and a bit fogged, we will never have clear strategic vision to pursue future. We will never know where we actually stand in the universal scheme of things and which direction to follow.

Truth shapes the reality. (You just need the right interpretation..now right interpretation of the truth - isn't it subjective?? Yes..it is.But we won't go there now..) And reality can never hurt, it just helps you see better, in an unambiguous way through the densest of fogs. It makes you stronger, if you are made of the right material. You just need to wait awhile till the fog clears up .And when you can’t wait for it to clear up? Walk through it in faith. You will soon be on your way.

2010-05-15T13:58:00.011+05:30

‘The Wealthy Freelancer’ - Secrets from the world of freelancing

When three successful freelancers Steve Slaunwhite, Pete Savage and Ed Gandia come together to share the secrets of freelancing, in their book called ‘The wealthy Freelancer', you sit up and notice. All three of them have successfully set up their businesses from scratch have plenty to share and they do it in very simple and lucid way. The ideas and advices contained in this book come directly from the trenches.

It indeed is a very smart and practical guide to establish your freelancing business. It shortens the duration of your learning curve for sure if you are new in business. They share 12 of their freelancing secrets. From mastering the freelancing game mentally to pricing your services to boosting productivity, they have covered the entire gamut. This book guides you towards the income and lifestyle you deserve as a freelancer.

As an independent professional, when you take the less travelled road you ponder at some cross roads. This book ‘The Wealthy Freelancer’ doesn’t really point out the way but it lights up the roads and provides necessary tools to help you on your onward journey.

My favorite is secret no. 9: Boost your productivity without perspiration. I love the 50 minutes focus technique. Sometimes you are too harried and overwhelmed and you really aren’t able to sit down and structure your thoughts. But if you can sit down and claim those 50 focused minutes, you will do wonders to your productivity. And once in a while when words simply flow and your muse seems in good mood and your creative energy peaks, relish those periods.

‘Take time off from projects to get it done sooner,’ is one of the best advices I found in the book. I agree with the theory of incubation period. There is an incubation period of projects. It is not necessarily of two days. Sometimes all that’s required is a walk around the block. Creativity needs it.

I love the book, it speaks my language and it is going to be my Bible for a long time for sure. Thanks Pete.

So if you want to read the book and know the 12 secrets, do order your copy of ‘The Wealthy Freelancer’. Click here http://amzn.to/cML069

And if you have some more tips to share, I’m listening.

2010-05-14T12:18:00.003+05:30

Live your dreams

Yes. If there is one thing you owe to yourself, it is living your dreams. Think about the things you want to do, the things you dream about, vividly, and trust that those dreams have reached the incubation stage and if you are really serious, will reach the stage of manifestation sooner than you think.

The only people who discourage you when you follow your dreams are the ones who have left their own dreams far behind. They are the people who gave up on their dreams too easily too soon. It is sad, but true, if there is negativity around you, you have people with dead dreams surrounding you. Learn to protect all that is beautiful in you.

Learn to dream. Learn to dream new dreams. Learn to fight for your dreams. Learn to make way for your dreams and their realization. See them with open eyes in broad daylights. Color them with your passion. Love them with your full heart. Enthuse them with all the enthusiasm you have.

Cherish them, nurture them. Live them. For they are your tomorrows.

2010-05-12T09:21:00.013+05:30

Opportunity assassins

“Procrastination is opportunity’s assassin.” Victor Kiam

So, as you watch wistfully as your opportunities get assassinated ..you decide to do something about it. There certainly has to be better way in which they smoothly sail into your door instead of ramming themselves elsewhere and running into ‘procrastination’-he’s mean, and his gang members , ‘Complacency’ and ‘Tisok’, meaner.

'Procrastination' works on you slowly..is super deadly. Relies on his other two partners mostly, works efficiently through his affiliate groups - 'Needrest' , 'Doitomorrow' and 'Chillax' (All meanies trust me !)

'Complacency’ is a little laid back goon, who believes in inaction. 'Most of the problems in this world get sorted out on their own in time but “YOU” ' –points a finger at me – 'decide to intervene', he hollers. I dislike him and try to keep the conversations very short whenever we meet. He calls himself CC..

‘Tisok’ is a complete charmer, he lulls you with sense of smug satisfaction and derails the opportunities coming to you by distracting you...by blocking communication..with no communication and no sense of urgency the opportunities that wait for that one call, one timely intervention from me, go away feeling scorned and insulted. ‘Tisok’ then as a smooth operator notices the twinge of gloom in my heart and tries to distract me further by sharing loony tales of how better times await me and why I shouldn’t really feel upset about those silly little opportunities who sobbed their way out of my life.He heads the group 'Doitomorrow'.

And if you listen to ‘Tisok’ at this juncture, you’ll be doomed.. for small opportunities lead you to big ones. And it’s never ok to ignore opportunities that are at your door.Because as Thomas Carlye says:Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what clearly lies at hand.

So beware of these three - 'Procrastination', the group head, the one with the beanie on, 'Complacency'- CC - the sluggish fat fellow and ‘Tisok’ ,the smart, lean, tall charmer who makes you think he’s on your team, but he’s not. The real secret is - all three of them hate your sweetheart ‘success’ and they are assassins, out to make your life miserable. So, be on guard.

Take care. I will too.

2010-05-01T07:25:00.004+05:30

Pursuing excellence as mediocrity keeps a watch

You huff and you puff. You put your vision together brick by brick. But is there really a point in pursuing excellence?

There is. Unless you are a bit confused and are hell bent on chasing perfection -because chasing perfection is a mirage, that can be daunting and can be a never ending chase. The best, the perfect mousetrap doesn’t exist and we should avoid the temptation of chasing perfection for the sake of your resource planner and work towards excellence because that is achievable. The journey towards excellence is arduous and long. It includes constantly setting goals and resetting them and eyeing new benchmarks...it's exciting!

When it is all easy ..perhaps you are being lulled down by mediocrity. You need to see beyond. Compare notes. You need to search and research. Mediocrity can earn you bread and butter but the true fulfillment comes from playing a part in creating excellence. You can be considered lucky if you find yourself among the people who think like you and believe in creating something that outlasts a lifetime.

Mediocrity believes in leveraging the efforts here and now. In the constantly changing dynamic world, it believes in keeping the status quo unnaturally because left to nature’s devices without adequate protection mediocrity always risks being challenged and possibly dethroned. Hence there are systems in place that protect it and help it thrive. Systems that are best used for self protection and self interest by the group that designs it. At best they repress individuality, for the sake of general mediocrity which always is in majority and works best together in a system.

So is there really a point in chasing excellence? There is as long as you accept that mediocrity is not a defeating factor but it indeed catalyzes the realization process and helps one catapult into the blissful path of pursuing excellence. The way it suffocates all that is bright, new and longings that yearn to be expressed, there are bound to be creative bursts that aim to reach beyond what the mediocre systems allow. Again if you called both mediocrity and excellence mere perceptions, you wouldn’t be wrong but if one finds one of them more attractive than the other then there is no harm in living that perception. Is there ? After all you get to choose if you want to spend your life in a quaint teakwood house or a brick and mortar monstrosity..or if on a particular evening you feel like drinking herbal tea instead of your regular concoction of monsoon coffee beans.

2010-04-23T11:05:00.000+05:30

The new season

You hated yogurt earlier, now you love it.

You plucked grey hair immediately, now you let them be for as long as you can.

You hated Rushdie, now you admire the way he weaves the sentences and phrases together.

‘Why don’t they see my point ? Why don’t they understand it ?’ Gives way to ‘They don’t see your point, because they don’t want to.’ ‘They don’t understand because they don’t need to’.

You thought your big picture was the world’s big picture too. Now you know your big picture is a mere detail for almost everyone else..you need to protect your big picture yourself.

You thought Michael Jackson would never die. He did.

You don’t hate Tiger woods. You are ok with the Clintons and Sarkozys too.

You saw media targeting a successful man and you hummed ‘Everybody wants to rule the world,’ and the thought that crossed the mind was – ‘It is all a game. Nobody wants to take a backseat.’ And earlier ..the frame for thoughts was animated -‘How could he do it! Why are they after him ?!’

You loved your messy room. Now you try to keep it clean.

You used to cry buckets over things that didn’t go according to the plan, now you go into damage control mode.

You used to be scared of driving besides large buses and trucks, now they’re just big things on wheels occupying larger space.

It’s all good. The differences..and you.

2010-04-02T10:59:00.000+05:30

The big picture

So how do you go about your life? Do you keep the big picture in your head ? All the time ?

What is the big picture? Well it is all the things YOU want from life. It is the way you want to spend your days. It is the things you want to spend your time and energy on .It is the order of priorities that you have sorted out in your head for the long term.

There are short term goals, and there are long term goals. You need to keep working towards them and let life weave its magic in the available space. Do what is necessary, do what is required and then do what you like. The necessary will help you sustain what you like to do.

So do you have a clear big picture in your head ? If not, the time to get some clarity is now.

2010-03-16T14:25:00.000+05:30

The philosophy of toothache

In the dead of night, you have this bout of existentialism, when you think about what really life means to you, the direction it is taking and if it really was the currant cake that your sweet tooth couldn’t resist is causing your brain cells to go all crazy. Toothache does bring in life's philosophy, its queries and medical fraternity into my domain in a very scary way.

I don’t think I like being in a dentist's chair but then I am probably voicing the thoughts of whole humanity here. I actually expect the toothache to scare me for a couple of days and then go away on its own..but when it continues for three- four days and starts interfering with my sleep, the real horror of the situation sinks in and the drill seems closer and closer.

Of course I ought to have taken better care, and those calcium tablets..why in the name of heaven did I avoid them and yes..milk is supposedly good and I did brush for mandatory 2 minutes everytime..of course cavities shouldn’t hurt..they aren’t supposed to..and the molars that really can’t decide if they want to come out completely in this decade or need another decade to make an appearance in their full glory..something ought to be done about those too.. Thoughts fly thick and fast generating more questions than answers and I wake up the next morning all drained from the effort of brainstorming all night and sleepwalk through the day..dreading the night.

You think of the times when you were tooth-ache-free and those times seem like the happiest times of your life-talk of change in perspective-you try to be positive and repeat the golden adage- ‘this too shall pass’ five times in a day..you look at people and all you can think about is their teeth and cavities and you unconsciously think more and more about the temperature of food you are about to put in your mouth thinking of the time when you could gobble everything and anything with ease..

And then when the ache leaves you, with or without doctor’s intervention, you feel relieved, wide-eyed, wiser and tamed by the experience. That’s the point I’m at in my life right now. Thankful and really glad that I can sleep all night and eat everything. You learn to appreciate ache-free days and nights..you start living in gratitude..I know I sound like a Yoga guru but I’m not kidding. I’m happier and I try not to think of what my dentist said the last time I saw him. Had the dreamboat I saw at the mall the other day with Geeky look said those words I’d have been – t-h-r-i-l-l-e-d- but when your dentist says-‘ We need to meet one more time- with your X-Ray report,’ you kinda feel like flag at half mast with absolutely no hope of any windy gale to perk you up..but then that’s life !

2010-03-14T12:11:00.000+05:30

So ..what is home ?

Home is hours of uninterrupted leisure, innumerable rounds to your fridge, being unreasonably demanding, sulking, gloating, comfortable in the knowledge that your corner in the world is as nurturing and loving as it was , even if the world outside keeps changing..

It is the place that nurtures you, you draw strength from the loving bonds with which you then face the unrelenting world, that constantly demands your best from you. It is the place, the security of which lulls you into deep-deep sleep and you never wake up in the middle of the night wondering why in the name of he** you can’t sleep. If it is the bed, the weather, the air, the food, the traffic, the city..inspite of your bones aching with exhaustion.

So do I miss home when I’m away from it ? Yesss! But then one deals with it like one deals with several other issues of life..I’m entitled to be homesick..once in a while..ain’t I ? I miss the food that mom cooks and the lazy hours I spend- like an alligator on the couch with the TV remote..and the munchies.

Sigh…it is definitely not turning out to be a routine post from my desk..it is more me..missing all that’s mine.

2009-12-23T11:32:00.000+05:30

Twitter ‘N me

For me

Twitter is like life – It is about you. You make your twitter world. The choice is always yours-To follow. To unfollow. To list. To unlist. To block. People who you choose to be with decide if your timeline is boring, exciting, too slow, too fast. Just like life. You get to choose your companions. So , if you are like me who wants tweets in every possible shade you will follow the people who represent all those shades of the colors and your timeline will be life-like.

It taught me that I had the power of choice- Twitter has helped me with its fundas in real life too. Now I rarely put up with any kind of crap. If a person is being a pain ..I simply unfollow him in my mind. Hilarious concept, but works for me..and if the bugging continues I block him or her mentally too. Earlier my firewall didn’t seem strong enough and my blocking feature didn't work that well and I had all kinds of jerks and masochists playing with my thoughts..driving me insane, now I can just disconnect and not have them or their views or their thoughts on my mental timeline – my headspace. I have the power to protect my space. Period.

Losing followers is ok- Just like saying goodbyes to some friends in real life, be ready to say bye to a few of your followers -some may not want you to experiment too much with style or content -or sometimes the frequencies just don’t match Sometimes I have unfollowed absolutely brilliant people, just because they tweeted too much or they promoted stuff and services too much or they asked me to vote for them or at times their DP was too discomforting or the language - too braised. Again, just as you unfollow, other people can unfollow you too and it is all ok.

If your focus is on providing just the right content -whatever be your definition of a right content-for your followers so that you keep your flock intact – long shot, not possible-unless you are a celebrity, then people hang on to every word of yours- if it works for you good; but one needs to remember , you cannot please everybody all the time and it is really ok if some people leave because their sensitivities don’t really match yours at that given point of time but then again you get new flock of people who adore your tweets and RT them with fervor. And it is like a cycle, the people you unfollow today, you might discover a taste for their tweets tomorrow and vice-versa. It is a matter of need, changing tastes and sensibilities and the mood one is in while one is tweeting. So don’t sweat over the loss of followers (and don’t gloat over their swelling numbers too- it can go down all of a sudden for no apparent reason). And slowly everyone finds out their own comfort level about what works for them. Getting followers for free...or slowly building up a follower base or being least bothered about who is following you or..following tons of people in a frenzy so that they follow you back and you have good numbers on your followers list. See what works for you.

Death is death - This was a revelation. One day you see a person tweeting in his unflappable style and then two days later you discover, he is no more. You go to his timeline..read his tweets..the last ones..and you think—he was here two days ago..tweeting and all of a sudden ac is closed - forever. It is different when twitter asks you to mosey along because it blocks some acs because of the reasons it deems just, and deletes accounts, but when a person’s ac is still because he is really- really gone, forever, never to return – it is WHAM! Feelings like ‘It could’ve been me, or my ac will be like this..unmoving- silent-still after I am gone..or worse..I do not know my fellow tweeters..Will they mourn me ? ( I really think on such lines ..in case you are smiling) I still remember an American father’s agony when he tweeted about his son’s martyrdom in Afghanistan, he wanted his son’s name trending for two days. I did my bit for my fellow tweeter. Death hits hard, always. Twitter and tweets bind us all together-like life.

Have a proper-interesting closure for the day - For some people it is ceremonial opening and closing e.g they like to announce their departure and arrival and stick to civilities like Goodmorning world / tweepies and the works, I see it as a continued forum..not as a day-night thing – because if you interact with people from all over the world, a good morning is a goodnight at someplace else.

But yes when I retire for the day, most of the times I make sure that the last thing I say before I pause for the night in my part of the world, is something interesting..something fun, something that would get me all excited if I went crawling for interesting tweets and content. And it helps followers too. They sorta get the idea , the kind of tweets they would be reading if they decide to follow me.-which is almost anything interesting under the sun or me cribbing about my world, depends on the time you catch my tweets. And I absolutely love it if I find something really exquisite or amusing or witty or insightful to post as my last tweet of the day, and then I hold its thought it in my auricles and ventricles and in my grey cells for as long as I can..

There. That sums it for time being. So you love tweeting too ? Good. Do tell me why. (I love the ‘WHYS’)..

2009-12-14T18:49:00.000+05:30

The Lessons

Lesson #1: The walk, the talk and the smile..

So walking , talking and smiling are inherent parts of the job . Nothing personal about it. At the job you talk and smile at your colleagues even if you lock your house keys inside the house ;even if you couldn’t get your morning coffee because there was no milk ;even if you didn't get your morning dose of news because the delivery boy came late or he simply forgot to deliver; even if you are having a bad hair day and your pink shirt actually turned 7 years old that day and the bright lights of the office announce it on the public addressal system (of course it didn't look that bad in the morning..); even if the shoes are wrong.. (you just had half a second to decide on the pair ..but once in office you can rue that decision of yours for full eleven hours, if you so choose) and even if you nearly died in the rush hour to your office..because of that $$##8** maneuvering a****** who thought he was Kimi Raikkonen..

"Every minor annoyance that you quickly & successfully handle will strengthen your confidence."

So basically the walk, the talk and the smiles are the non negotiables. Ok..And learning from seniors-they actually may have a thing a two to teach ..Hmm..

Lesson # 2: One of my favourite lessons was how to anticipate a client’s needs by picking up small clues.
In simple words pay attention. And really listen to your clients and basically search for clues and ..understand the unspoken words in the spoken ..

Lesson # 3: Rules to follow when you come up against an unreasonable client -Patience is one, followed by positive thinking. Always be on the ready to offer an alternative solution when you can’t accommodate a request.
Simple, but good point. But yes providing alternatives to an unreasonable (or a stubborn)client may actually open doors to more opportunities. And one needs to inculcate the alternative providing mindset in one’s team too.

“The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking.” – John Kenneth Galbraith

Lesson # 4: One of our goals should be able to exceed a client’s expectations. We invariably always need to find the right style of service to match a particular need. If we manage to turn a complaint into a compliment, a stranger into a friend, then we can know that we have made a real difference .
Exceeding expectations- providing right solution- taking complaints as challenges and turning them into compliments, making strangers friends.

“Above all, don't fear difficult moments. The best comes from them.” -Rita Levi-Montalcini, Nobel Prize winner

Got it.
I think. :D

2009-12-02T15:32:00.000+05:30

The power of one - the beauty of individuality

There is power in walking alone. There are gains to be made when you attempt life’s big and small adventures alone. There is beauty and power in doing what you- ONLY YOU-can, by bringing your unique understanding and perspective to the tasks in hand. Of course there can be better ways, better people.. but then ..all the birds in the forests sing. If the birds only with the sweetest voice were allowed to sing, the wilderness would have lost its charm. The beauty is in the sweet cacophony they create. And if you listen carefully - unmindful of the others, each one sings its own song.

After a point, most of the experiences that provide us insights are ours and ours alone.We interpret them best, alone. Borrowed insights do serve the purpose, but only upto a point. The essence of the experience shared in a gathering or a crowd adds to the collected consciousness . Something akin to the movie goers experience. We all come out drenched in the point of view of the director - the storyteller. Then once out, we counter and argue.. and take the directors point of view as a reference to take the understanding, gathered meaning – individually to new levels and in new directions.

Sharing experience in a group , along with the enriching interactions that prod us to think and voice our opinion -is the way collective consciousness works. What we gain from collective intelligence, how we process it - differs individually. What we add to ourselves through our musings, our silences, our battles, our learning - that is what makes us unique. That uniqueness , is our essence - the genesis of creativity , originality and ingenuity. That uniqueness, is the sum of our drives, our passions, our beliefs , our hopes, our fears, our tears , our discoveries, our prejudices..which then translates into our work, our writing, our channels of self –expression.

Could Hamlet have been written by a committee, or the Mona Lisa painted by a club? Could the New Testament have been composed as a conference report? Creative ideas do not spring from groups. They spring from individuals. The divine spark leaps from the finger of God to the finger of Adam.
- A. Whitney Griswold

The leaders, innovators , entrepreneurs, pioneer s are social expressions of this power –of this phenomenon. The original thinkers, inventors and creative artists are mental expressions.

We tone down that expression sometimes to go for bigger benefits and enrich the world by conforming and working on causes that need the thought energy of a number of likeminded individuals to accomplish tasks that given the limited capability of an individual , can only be attempted and completed by harnessing and channeling collective input.

When cohesion of work is needed in an organisation, traits of uniqueness and individuality are not encouraged - just because it can be very difficult to manage it all. But the magic survives, against odds. Even in roomful of programming techies- who look , talk, walk the same, one can find an inherent beauty in individual sparks that glide off the monitors shrouded as magnificent codes , which when integrated may go unnoticed, but make their presence felt in the lines punched in the keyboard and in the hearts of fellow techies who chance upon the embedded gems. There in lies the charm of intelligent mind, that works alone and in cohesive group as well , under leaders, in the bracketed phrases ,in the loops it creates and gets out of, in the way it weave the programmes - thread by thread, meandering through the rules, templates-guidelines-methodologies, in the way it sometimes, runs, glides, sings..celebrating the power of one perspective, one voice that somehow escapes and finds its way through the bylanes of tech-routines. There will always be an army of silent admirers of a techie whose keyed acrobatics , sometimes bring smile to other geeks who genuinely appreciate it , the way a 'The Laudamus Te' or an 'Eine Kleine Nachtmusik', Mozart's compositions are appreciated.

People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea,at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circularmotion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering... Now, let us acknowledge the wonder of our physical incarnation— that we are here, in these particular bodies, at this particular time, in these particular circumstances.May we never take for granted the gift of our individuality.
— Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430)

There is something, organic - a restlessness sometimes, that breaths free of all the shackles of collective existence and explores the tangents. That is the power of one's free spirit , of individuality that wants to reach the sky and kiss the beyond -the power that we bring to the things we touch. We give expression to it every day . If aligned with sublime, peace is our companion. If good, it brings collateral benefits. If inconsequential, it lives its life and fades.

The power of one. The power of our uniqueness. The power of free thoughts .The power of our individuality. Let’s celebrate it in us and in others.

2009-11-23T09:03:00.000+05:30

Earn the repose

I can’t sleep. She moaned.

She was tossing and turning. It was around one-thirty, was trying hard to settle down for a good night sleep. And sleep was far away from her eyes that were searching for it. It happens to so many of us sometimes.

Irish novelist Laurence Sterne delightfully describes sleep as, “ Of all the soft, delicious functions of nature this is the chiefest : what a happiness is to man, when the anxieties and passions of the day are over.” True. One indeed longs for the pauses when one is away from life’s push’s and pulls and that sustaining pause is provided by a good night sleep.

'Health is the first muse, and sleep is the condition to produce it' , rightly says Ralph Waldo Emerson. If you do not get proper sleep the day that follows can be a nightmare. Sleep indeed is a medicine. One needs to bide by universal laws of love, brotherhood, honesty, not because our scriptures say so , but because these are the laws nature works through. Many of us suffer from insomnia. Medical researchers have thousands of theories and ten thousand solutions but you can’t help but be amused when famous American author and editor exclaims, “Insomnia never comes to a man who has to get up exactly at six o’clock. Insomnia troubles only those who can sleep any time.” There. He said it.

Sleep needs to be earned. As American educator and poet H.W. Longfellow winds up a meaningful day with, “Something attempted. Something done. Has earned a night's repose.” So, if we can’t sleep properly, there can be only one reason that by thoughts, actions or deeds we somehow were unable to earn its grace, its shelter, its nurturing , its repose.

So, Carpe diem- Let’s seize the day and through our thoughts and deeds earn the nurturing repose of a blissful sleep.

2009-11-22T11:48:00.000+05:30

An ode to silence

You listen and hear the silence
You listen and see the silence
You listen and smell the silence
You listen and taste the silence
You listen and feel the embrace of silence.

-Buddhist seeker Avanika Govinda

Agreed, the kind of rich silence Buddhist monks seek and the kind of silence that can be experienced in Buddhist monasteries is surreal; of completely different hue. And it is unfamiliar, so it can get on our nerves. Still..it is an experience!

Let’s speak only if we can improve the beauty of silence. How many of us can understand British Poet Edith Sitwell ,when he says, “My personal hobbies are reading, listening to music and silence.”

In our busy lives, it is not always necessary to fill the pauses with constant chatter. When a group is accompanied by silence, it certainly shows the beauty of coherence and peace. We can create our own pockets- reserves of rich familiar silence-that nourish and nurture us. Do we use more words than necessary? Do we use words to connect or to fill the silence? Again, filling the awkward silence with right words is an art too. Communication is necessary but too much of it seems like a futile exercise, an effort to somehow reach where your previous efforts with words haven’t succeeded in reaching. Ahh..there’s the catch..the ability to intuit whether your words are being consciously stonewalled or they honestly aren’t reaching the way you want because of the way you phrased them or because of some external stimuli from some previous conditioning is the key.

It is said, if a person doesn’t understand your silence, he will not understand your words.. Basically all human interactions are based on the need for some kind of acceptance. If your silence is accepted, then the acceptance of words comes naturally. When you are physically in vicinity, silence of people you admire, respect and truly love is wonderful to listen to.

The hoi-polloi uses words as a social tool, perhaps more to play games. When the word-play games are not vicious and not used for power play, but are instead used for excellent display of wit, and splendor that improve on the silence, are magical moments to behold, that gladden the heart. All of us remember some evening, some talks that stretched into late nights..that were rich, holistic, that made us thankful for the ability of us humans to converse -a bit of a blessing..and we also remember conversations that had wolfen-words , clothed as sheep, searching for their victims that leave the atmosphere vitiated. Words can do so much. And the silence between them used aptly- can do so much more.

Well, nobody said -the art of conversation is easy to master. We can all be students , and untill we are sure that our words improve on the silence, we can learn to hold our peace.

2009-11-17T19:57:00.000+05:30

Sometimes, it is the coffee

There’s nothing to fear: Just an immense sense of unexplained apprehension.

Every morning I need my coffee. I sit in this neat corner and take in the new day. Sip by sip..
And today it was sad..the tree that symbolized, life, balance, sustenance, strength, up righteousness had succumbed to the cyclonic winds and it was there- uprooted.

The feeling is hard to put in words. Or possibly I don’t want the words to know how I feel .
Emptiness ? Yes. Possibly the suddenness of it all. The view certainly is less rich now. It was one idea of certainty, stability, of being rooted, of magnanimously nurturing feathered friends.

Life goes on .I’m glad it was a natural cause. It must have seen some good years. My view is altered. But it all echoes the way life is. Sudden and too abrupt at times. Magnificently unprepared, and proud to be so, for the long eventful journey called life and its suddenness, (aren’t we all ?) did I hear myself sigh ?

The coffee certainly doesn’t taste the same. It is the coffee. I need to change the brand. Sometimes the answer to some change is some more change. So it is the coffee, definitely.Yeah.

2009-11-13T14:43:00.000+05:30

And your fav color is …

And the conversation gently veers to ‘So, what IS your fav color?

Unfortunately this is not the question that falls in the genre of “How are you doing?” To which you can say ‘I’m good’ or ‘What-do -you-think (hmph!)’ or ‘I feel- like-my head-wants-to-stay-on-mountains-but-my-body-wants-to-go-deep-sea-diving-just-because-the-head thinks-it –can’t-take-under-sea-pressure’.

No, You are expected to reply to the question with a word that is a proper color. And if you answer the question with something like ‘ Umm, Bottle Green. But I think I would not like it to go completely towards moss. It can play with a bit of a Fern green and I am pretty comfortable with delightful mint green but I definitely don’t want it to do anything with British Racing green or Kawasaki Green. It can look up to pine green but should not be canoodling with Veridian, you know. Malachite can give it feelers , Eau-de-Nil can be a distant inspiration but basically it needs to have the essence of Verdigris and the grace of jade and certainly the elegance of emerald Green you know. No not a nod to Kelly green or celadon but a passing hello to avocado, Spinach green and forest green. That..I guess sums it.

And then you give an innocent dovey look at your tormentor. And if he is still standing.. - make him sit down offer him a drink and explain..

That again Bottle Green cannot be in the Board-Room or on your car, or on your shoe or on your bag. So you are pally with different shades of gray and a few other colours to help you out. And then blues were always your Colors-in-waiting. Royal Blue, Cambridge blue and oxford blue strangely were stocked together in your cupboard. Sapphire, Azure and powder- blue always had soft corner in your heart. Ohh and Aah and go on and on about how he once wore a steel blue shirt that night and you were in Cyan, and the magic that both of you created., people still reminiscence about it - on camping trips. Now ask your tormentor to breathe. Help him slowly I-N-H-A-L-E and then E-X-H-A-L-E.

Shock and awe works. Always. Another Bushism, I know.

Seriously, how CAN you choose a color? The grace of pearly white earring, the violets in your potted plants, the yellow spread across fields and in valleys, the sky blue that gives you the sense of freedom and the dark maroons that glamorize the night and suffocate with their sophistication on even keel, the oranges that revive you and the lime that is so fresh; and the brown that nudges you to take life seriously and then again with the spirit of adventure when it laughs through your favorite spiky boots after a hiking trip; and the shades of chocolates that tempt, the rawness of olive green fatigues, and the steely smoothness of a black Satin of a dinner jacket that you trust,that fits him so well..

Well, you definitely cannot ask me to pick a color. It is unfair. Hopefully, the tormentor and his diddly-doo neighbor in South France too will get the message-loud and clear now.

Oh you meant it was just polite talk ? “ So, do you like the weather” genere ? UH-Oh..Now you tell me !

So, What is YOUR favorite color. :D

2009-11-09T09:31:00.000+05:30

Stop. Take a breath. Realign.

It happens.
Everything seems to be going well. All the cogs look well oiled..you cover distance but a feeling of restlessness-of being dragged by the days and the daily grind gnaws at you and slowly wears you down. You feel drained. You look for replenishments, there are a plenty but somehow fail to recharge you. You breath, gasp, take deeper breaths, there’s plenty of air all around you but it does NOT reach your lungs.

Terrifying as it is, you really are not able to put your finger on the hurting nerve. Everything around you looks perfect but you feel like a prop..fitting in too well. Numbed. With the well-managed chaos around you and the deafening silence that you can feel inside you, you wonder if you’d ever feel better again. The heart stops smiling.

And then you are forced to stop. Either by sudden illness, or by a life changing event that requires you to pause and look at things from a new perspective. You realize the need to make minor and major adjustments. You think hard about what you want from life. You rethink, redefine, and recalibrate your goals.

You realign.

Realignment is necessary. Sometimes it is right to pause, stop if necessary. To take the reality check. To know the coordinates from the GPS of your inner wisdom. To rework and replot your map.

And you start breathing deeply again. And the heart smiles again.

2009-09-28T11:45:00.000+05:30

The monk who wanted a Ferrari

That was the moment .
Ever since he had been on his quests, he had been trying to figure out what exactly was the real purpose of this whole journey..existential ennui had been with him .. always..as his shadow..

If you played the game..there were chances of exhilarating wins ..and lurking behind them heart wrenching losses..if you didn’t want to play..the game invariably went on with you as a participant ( not as a willing or active one..but a participant nevertheless..) He went ahead in a non-participating mode..and then as a non-active participant , he realised- he had different challenges.. which he never bargained for...and didn't have the necessary skills to surmount. He was bored. He tried to find out if boredom was the natural state..it was.

He realized playing the game was more fun..when you play..you have goals..when you have goals..you have direction ..and purpose.. and speed ..and challenges and their answers and resulting growth..and ..possibly a Ferrari in the garage..

The best part of playing the game is –you choose your challenges..they are of your choice..the ones that suit your journey..not random.. not heaped on by others..

After analyzing ..after deciphering the rules..he realized -He loved life in all its shades..in all its seasons...heartbreaks and laughter and autumn and winter. He wanted the struggles .Struggles that made him sweat..that made him hungry..which in turn made rest more pleasurable..food tastier.

He wanted the Ferrari.

2009-09-05T22:35:00.000+05:30

Un-tooting the tattoo

Tattoos are one of those things that are beyond me. At par with the fad of body piercing. I cannot understand ..hence I cannot appreciate. I do not find tattoos alluring or beautiful or whatever they are supposed to convey..my senses fail to get it. Why do people go through all that trouble?? A person evolves. He changes. His likes and dislikes change. Once upon a time I was crazy about the world in which Archie-Ronnie-Betty lived. Today it is the Google Gods -Larry Page and Sergey Brin and how Sanjiv Bikhchandani of naukri.com made his first million..

What if you get bored with the design? Aren’t you the prisoner of that tattoo forever then? Heaven’s forbid if Saif and Kareena were to split..I can only guess the myriad emotions his next girlfriend would go through .You’d need to get under laser to remove it I guess. Every celebrity worth his salt and lemon and tequila has tattoos..every fourth person you know in your social circle has one.. or two..or more..who knows!!

Bodies are beautiful just the way they are..why mar it by inking it with painful needles ? Big burly bikers with armful of tattoos even with Harley Davidson under them are so ..not my type. For some..even pain is pleasure..for those who enjoy it..Good for you.. I will check out a few more psychology books to understand your type. Who are these people who need to make statements with their body skin..for whom the whole jingbang of clothes and shoes and hair and bags-is just not enough.. !!

2009-08-27T16:56:00.000+05:30

11 Tips for Bikers
(Courtesy: Zigwheel bikers)

11 simple tips that will help biking enthusiasts leave home on bike without apprehensions to the thrilling frontiers.

1. Service your bike: First things first. Get your bike serviced from company authorized workshop. Pay close attention to parts that are bound to see heavy wear on the ride. Check clutch and brake cables. Change brake pads if necessary and make sure that all the electrical are fully functional. Most importantly- tyres should be in good condition If the route involves off roading-then invest in an on and off tyres.

2. Arrange help beforehand: Have the addresses and phone numbers of authorized service centres in the cities/towns along your route even before you get on the bike. It’s also good to have the contact details of some transport service in the areas you’ll be passing through.

3. Have a good riding gear: Riding gear saves. A good helmet, scratchless helmet visor ( carry a spare visor if possible) armoured riding jacket, armoured gloves, riding pants or knee and shin armour and a sturdy pair of motorcycle boots – musts.If you expect rain, have a set of waterproofs handy to wear over your protective gear.

4. Drink plenty of water: Riding long distances takes a toll on your body, no matter what the weather conditions are. The effects of dehydration can range from a mild headache to serious dizziness and a loss of control because of it. Carry plenty of water. Get a CamelBak for long distances.

5. Doc’s approval: If you are on medication , get it checked if any of your prescription drugs can cause drowsiness. Ask for alternatives if it does.

6. The Booze rule: Only after day’s riding is done. Alcohol dehydrates, reduces concentration, increases reaction time and weakens fine motor skills. If you do,at the end of the day, exercise restraint in consumption. Starting the next day’s ride with a hangover- bad idea.

7. Right amount of food: Too little- weakness. Too much- makes you sleepy. Start off with good breakfast and have light meals all through the day.

8. Plan your ride: Give yourself reasonable time to complete the journey. Don’t try to cover ridiculous number of kilometers each day just because you are in a hurry. Have a good night’s sleep before you start again in the morning.

9. Manage speed : A wide open road can tempt you to go full throttle. Don’t. Don’t put yourself and others at risk. Riding full throttle consumes more fuel-(you will make more fuel stops) leads to more wear and tear. Maintain a good steady speed that is the least stressful on your bike and on your body.

10. Fuel management: Plan the distance for each leg of the journey. Factor in how much distance your bike can cover in a tankful of petrol and the presence of petrol pumps along the route ( GOOGLE them). If pumps are few and far between, carry a jerry can with you. Don’t consider reserve capacity of your fuel tank into your distance calculations. This ensures that the reserve fuel is readily available in case of real emergencies.

11. Fatigue management: Tired riders face higher risk of crashing. Eat light-sleep the nights-drink plenty of water. Take a short break every hour or so. If exhaustion creeps in, pull over ( That’s the beauty!), take a 15-20 minute power nap. Simple mantra is “Stop-Revive-Survive”. Follow it and you’ll be able to enjoy the rides with the real spirit of bikers.

Happy Biking!! :D

2009-08-22T12:29:00.000+05:30

Party-shunned Jaswant!

Party-shunned. Love the phrase. Credit goes to Mumbai Mirror.

It is not about Jinnah- it is not about Patel-it is about Jaswant. Bold Jaswant, fearless Jaswant, a thoughtful thinker Jaswant - who truly wanted to help BJP see where it went wrong.

Thoughts can be dangerous and people who can think on their own, more dangerous. Did you know that ? Majority of politicians know this. Or rather I should say most of the rulers who hanker for power, know all this and more.

And people with moderate ambitions ,who can think on their own – the ones who do not provide the ruthless manipulators a handle – are deadliest of the species. Far better are the ones who have greed and ambition as their driving forces for they are easy to understand . .and handle.. and to fit in the grander scheme of things. They do not make life difficult by thinking and questioning for they do not have the capacity and need to do so. But the deadly species that thinks- is not too greedy-is not completely corruptible- can read –understand and heaven’s forbid - ‘write’ – their support cannot be easily bought – they will not be completely silenced – they are the ones who definitely need to be shunned by the party, (that is left to clutching at wild straws like Varun Gandhi) that is now not ruled by ideologies,but by greed, by the politics of convenience…and fortunately or unfortunately sensationalism doesn’t work all the time.

For pete’s sake Jaswant, you have been making all the wrong noises..and you know you cannot bring to the table the kind of moolah from corporates as someone like Mr. Modi can. How many have you benefitted Jass? And try as hard as you can, to remember- the number will be remarkably less because..the good will that Mr. Modi enjoys ..by enabling hundreds to make crores so that they fill his kitty too..solidifies his position in this party – so much so that he can oust thought leaders like you, Arun Shorie and Yashwant Sinha. Manager Jaitley is smart. He is the King’s man..who ever is the king, earns his loyalty -which is first to himself..always.

I can’t help but notice the similarities- it is the same story- very similar to the politics of an ad agency..where the wily marketing men and women who bring the moolah care two hoots about the copywriters who think and hence are sometimes – plain inconvenient. Copywriters do not bring money (at least not directly) – star copywriters do; and there again, they are powerful only because of their proximity to real or perceived money-through their ties-official and unofficial- with corporate honchos- five or six awards under their belt –ah, well concretizes their position.

So Jass, you and your comrades Arun Shorie and Yashwant Sinha- the seemingly sensible voices that have been questioning leadership, have been creating a bit of a din and of course, everyone knows what went wrong..do you really need to point out the elephant in the room? And this loud ?(Sorry Behenji,I swear I wasn't referring to one of yours).. Know who you are swimming with. Google 'Hiren Pandya'.

Pre Poll Modi coverage and Post Poll Modi coverage can be likened to recently acquired Nuclear powered submarine ‘INS Arihant’ and a small fisherman’s tiny boat bobbing up and down on the Vashi creek tied to a small pole respectively…again lying low is a strategy ..as any master of the game can tell you.. ‘Budhiya and Gudiya’ and his vitriolic self..he gave a chance to the world to see who he is- and thankfully has been chained to his section- ruling –being the grandest back seat driver ever! He had been losing the shine among Patels and by banning your book Jass, ‘Jinnah: India. Partition, Independence’ he is trying to score some brownies. Ek teer do shikar - he assuages Patels and eases himself into stronger position, strengthening his political grip, conveniently by getting inconvenience out of his way. Only people like Raje survive. Power survives- not ideologies, not thought – because the thinking in the party is still for the short term..the idea now is to groom youngsters , (who should not be too threatening and should be convenient and should hand over their strings to the master puppeteers..) so that the power remains where it is..

Chintan Baithak was a condolence meeting Jass..and to think up strategies on how to rile the opposition..so is the next thing – war through media ? Aligning with the hoarders so that the prices rise sky high and the repercussions shake the foundations of ruling coalitions? Getting the journos on your side, plant stories and try to build a wave slowly but steadily against the ruling coalition and hope that the cookie crumbles in their favor, the next time it does..

It certainly wasn’t about thought, idelologies and processes. BJP is opportunist. It wins from accidents, riots and vandalism. It still thinks Indians are dumb; unfortunately there are many who are able to see through their game now . But if I were a Tata or Adani - and if you helped me make 500 crores..I wouldn’t mind donating a 100 crores to you, and you could belong to any party for all I care ! See Jass, it is not that simple. BJP has been helping people create fortunes too.

It is a golden opportunity for you and comrades Arun Shorie and Yashwant Sinha and whoever wants to join you to launch a separate faction that you rule..BJP is taken. Say goodbye and separate from the party that is led by Modi and Rajnath Singh and old-frail-disinterested Advani on his "Oh..I’m never gonna be a Prime Minister evah –my race is over- so whatevvaah"-leg of his journey !! RSS is miffed too.The idea primarily was to seat Advani as PM and rule the country singlehandedly – but it went kaput! So, someone's gotta pay . Got it Jass ?? :D

2009-08-17T10:36:00.000+05:30

Woke up to..

‘The petroleum Ministry says the government ‘navratna’ NTPC must pay an 80% higher gas price to Reliance Industries compared to what Reliance Industries had itself voluntarily offered to NTPC. As a result, NTPC will suffer a loss of up to Rs. 30,000 crore, while Reliance Industries makes a super- normal profit of nearly Rs. 50,000 crore, with the government getting only Rs 500 crore. Is this in public or national interest?

No. It definitely is not. Hope people continue making the right noise..Hmm..Ambani saga ..it is getting interesting by the day..

In 2006-07, of the Rs 733 crore spent in Orissa, more than Rs 500 crore was siphoned off under rulral employment schemes, says one of the studies conducted on the schemes. With no proper framework the government was expecting schemes and policies to work..?! Did they really think the money would generate employment? NREGA, National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, needs proper implementation. We are the country that allowed a handful of British to rule over us for moolah..Employed by British , we chose to crush our own brethrens as long as our interests were taken care of.. we are a nation of insecure people ..and that insecurity makes us selfish..so it isn’t a surprise that Rs. 500 crores were siphoned off.. and that’s just one scheme in one state called Orissa..

UPA government has committed Rs 39,100 crore to NREGA in this year’s budget..hundreds of bureaucrats and the piranhas in Bureaucracy and politicians will get richer..and a couple of crores may actually trickle down to the purpose and people it was intended for..

***

Dear Rahul Dravid..
You saved my day..Your recall in ODI’s team is the only positive story of the morning..but I feel you hamper your prospects on your own.. there is too much that goes on in your head when you play on the field..perhaps being an upright ..intelligent thinker ..is hampering your game..Why is cricket a war for you..why can’t you have fun..smile..laugh..enjoy the game. Wish you could loosen up..(do you dance? 0r sing in shower perhaps? )

Wish you just had cricketing grey cells in your head..from what I gather there are too many grey cells that are non cricketing. I think we love our cricketers and we wouldn’t mind them being generally dumb as long as they had their cricketing brain ticking correctly. Look at our Yogi Berra .. I meant Yuvi.. He enjoys the frills of being a cricketer and that’s why he tries to be a star on the field..fails in his attempt many times, invariably. You are so much more talented ..you just don’t enjoy the frills I guess..( choose your frills..every man is different..buy a yacht..enjoy being a celebrity. You seem to be in the mould of a perpetual school captain who has been a class monitor and a top ranker all the way in school.. and is afraid to get out of it after school just because he has defined himself as such..and has concretized himself in those coordinates forever..)

Probably there is plenty more to you besides being a cricketer, and that part of you will unfold slowly after you are through with this game of yours. It would certainly be interesting to see your innings on the non cricketing field – in your post cricket life ..I feel the silent aggression and frustration will goad you to do better things off the cricketing field where there are less constraints and more opportunities -provided you let yourself succeed. You seem to be marring your own prospects sometimes..

WAKE UP RAHUL !!

2009-08-16T14:22:00.000+05:30

To Grow-Cross the bridge of forgiveness

Yet another one on forgiveness ? Yes. Yet another one - because forgiveness plays a very important part in the process of our healing and nurturing that leads to our ultimate goal - growth. Its virtues need to be reiterated. Lest we forget.

So is it really easy to forgive and forget all those injuries and criticism - justified and unjustified -you encounter on your path to your goals. No. It is not.Not if you are as passionate about life as I am. It takes time, space, right attitude, positive pushes and tons of love for self and for life.

See them as battle scars. See them as collateral damage of having travelled, having grown. Just like you gather kilometers on your new shiny bike- those kilometers sometimes come with dent, scratches and a few bruises. You certainly don’t hate the journeys or the kilometers or the bliss you felt while speeding the tracks.

Life is simple. You will squirm, fight, resent, argue, keep floundering at the same level until you have learnt to deal with all that this current level you are in, has to offer. And once you find the inner strength to cope , to move on – by taking high road or by understanding the conflicts and your way through them all- you automatically will find yourself ready for the next level.

Forgetting and forgiving the injuries sustained at a level is a necessary requisite to progress onto the next level – where new injuries await- where it again depends on your learnt life navigating skills that will ensure how skirmish-less and friction-less your existence in the new level will be.

‘Why did he do that?’

‘Why did she say that?’

Thoughts keep on arising. These bubbles need to be observed. Shed a few tears over how sad or awful that experience was..but then you certainly don’t want the memories of those times or of those insensitive people who caused you hurt to be in your system for long. Toxic memories are not really helpful- why carry them along- unless you can use them to prod you, and motivate you –like I do.. I take a toxic memory, (sometimes they just pop in uninvited)..and I think ‘O-Oh.. this is going to hurt again..but I have to see myself through this- for my sake- for my growth’.. and ‘I am more aware because of it’ ..and I lead myself through the standard toxic thought processing system which starts with :

Feeling tons of self pity for the ‘me’ which was hurt.
Allowing myself to wallow in it – till I get bored of the whole instance and the people connected and responsible for the hurt..

Toxic people are never attractive and the people and experiences that are not good..my system discards them as collateral damage sustained during my journey. They are so easy to forget . Aware , rational, enlightened beings are careful about every action of theirs, every word spoken..they ensure that they exude positivity from their being-and those are the people you want your thoughts to be with.. No really.. (unfortunately they are in minority)..in real life there are many who are just not worth wasting your thought energy on.

Forgiving ‘them’ follows. (‘Them’ here is all the toxic people and memories) . As I said -it is not easy. Give yourself time to check if you are ready to forgive them just yet..or you need more time..( forgiving them is easy by making them irrelevant- this is the easiest way for me , It works for me. But forgiving those who are relevant to your life may be tricky..may take more effort..)

And believe me if you are committed to your growth and when you realize that there is this toxic power of the injuries and hurt that keeps you tied to the same level of awareness and draining hopelessness - limiting your potential to move forward to newer experiences and better future – you will make all the effort you need to untie yourself from the unhealthy association.. You will long to breathe free..to be whole again - to have all your energy supporting you on your path to the growth. And you would be eager to forgive- to move ahead.

Trust your inner wisdom to guide you through it all. And it will. Believe me. Forgiveness is the bridge that connects past and future..And soon you will see yourself on the other side of the bridge- that leads you to the next level of growth and its challenges.

Crossed it ? Good. Do look back with love at the bridge and the level connected to it on the other side, you just said goodbye to. Stand a while. Adjust your rucksack. Take deep breaths. Enjoy the view. Take sips of cool fresh water. Be nice to yourself. Start walking again. A new level replete with its awards, achievements and challenges on the journey waits for you on this new side of the bridge, at a richer level. But don’t forget, even this level comes with its share of challenges and collateral damage that you will invariable be exposed to ..and then there is another bridge that connects this level to the next one ..and so it goes . It is a process. The sooner you learn it..the better. This is life.

So, are you ready to appreciate this bridge of forgiveness that takes you from your current level to the next one yet? Think about it. It is there, will be there , to take you to the next level of awareness. Don’t rush it. Cross it when you are ready.

How will you know you are ready to take the bridge of forgiveness? Trust your inner voice. It will tell you. All of us have a magnificent timer and a GPS system pointing towards bridges to bliss built in us.

Of course you always knew it all . I’m simply reiterating. :D

2009-08-11T15:31:00.000+05:30

So, How is Mr. Ramsay Holding Up?

(From mint)

Loved, for his food, his style - nightmarish for apprentices..he demands excellence..42 year old celebrity-chef, Mr. Ramsay Gordon, how is he handling his fine-dining empire?

According to mint, as well heeled diners went into hibernation four of Mr. Ramsay’s high profile restaurants- in Los Angeles, New York, Paris and Prague started hemorrhaging. An auditor recommended his company, Gordon Ramsay Holdings Ltd.,to file for bankruptcy.

Mr Ramsay sold his Ferrari and considered unloading his multimillion-dollar London home. Mr. Ramsay is restructuring. He exited Prague and handed back ownership of the kitchens in Los Angeles and Paris to the hotels they are housed in, though he supplies the chefs and the menus. He has fired about 15% of his roughly 1,200 person staff. Mr. Ramsay and his father-in –law have plowed 5 million pounds of their own money into the business.

Mr. Ramsay runs one of the biggest global networks of expensive restaurants. The super-chef’s current troubles illustrate the intense pressure facing high-end restaurateurs these days. Diners are eating out less often and spending less on wine and spirits, where the fattest profit margins are. Corporate entertaining which can account for as much as a third of a luxury restaurant’s business has fallen sharply.

There have been some casualities. British celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson recently closed three of his six restaurants and in New York Michelin starred SoHo restaurant Fiamma, - upscale chain Ruth’s Chris Steak House is struggling.

Ramsay’s empire of expensive restaurants, with 20 outposts from New York to Tokyo leaves him exposed. Unlike many of his peers, he owned many of his restaurants outright, rather than relying on the licensing agreements where he earned fees for the use of his name.

A marathon runner known for his competitive streak, Mr. Ramsay is more used to dishing out trouble than taking it. Born in Renfrewshire, Scotland went to culinary school and trained with several distinguished chefs, including Mr. Robuchon in France. He opened his first fully owned establishment in 1998. Success of reality television shows such as ‘Kitchen Nightmares,’ ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ and ‘The F- word’ boosted his media career. He generates about 1o million pounds in annual revenue from television, publishing and endorsement contracts.

To fix the problem among other measures Mr Ramsay says he encouraged his chefs to use more economical ingredients, banning out-of-season asparagus and using shank or brisket rather than more expensive cuts of meat like rib-eye, strip loin or fillet. Lower-cost ingredients would be reflected in the menu prices.

‘I don’t want to see any menus laced with caviar. I want all that formal glam gone ’ he told a gathering of about 40 of his chefs. Mr. Ramsay says his goal is to make menus more accessible to diners.

In New York, he runs a two star Michelin dining room and a less formal restaurant, both housed in The London hotel. He shut 45- seat upmarket dining room at lunch to halve staff costs, removed flowers from the tables to save $ 4,000 a month and introduced a $65 pre-theatre menu to get more traffic through the door. The menu builds on humble ingredients such as mackerel, fluke and chicken, where as the regular $110 dinner menu also offers langoustines, diver scallops and veal sweetbreads. As a result of the changes the New York operations for the month of May were $ 5,000 short of breaking even.

Yet in spite of his bankruptcy scare, the celebrity chef is back in expansion mode. He has plans for Australia and Quatar. He has just opened a restaurant in Italy, has plans for the second one there. He was in India too a few weeks ago, hosting a select gathering.

He says new places entail less risk because he doesn’t own them. He’s providing his name, key staff and menu advice in exchange for fees.

‘Business is improving,’ he says. Amen to that Mr.Ramsay.

2009-08-07T12:03:00.000+05:30

Pune to Mumbai

Do not let anyone scare you. It IS a wonderful route for bikers.
I did start out with my heart throbbing too..it was drizzling. I was sure I could cover the distance without too much stress..but I had all the prayers I knew right from my school days on my lips..I just couldn’t afford a skid..(it was raining very heavily-July end- and I haven’t ever been on a highway on my own..) or a punctured tyre..

To armour myself, I prayed silently every time there was a church, a tomb ,a temple in sight. Of course I needed all the Gods and Goddesses because folks back home had called in with facts, how there were really sharp bends at Khandala (There are..Boy! The biker in me celebrated the sharpest one with an involuntary and loudest whistle I ever heard from my lips packed inside the helmet !)..there are dark tunnels ( there is one..I mean I think I was in one because I was on the expressway..I wasn’t supposed to be on..but honestly it didn’t have lights!!) .. and the roads for two wheelers and four wheelers are different..what if you get confused ( I did ..before the tunnel..after the tunnel the highway patrol caught up..and they guided me nicely on to the right way..was I glad to see them then!!) and that under any circumstances I was not to try out any adventure on highway. They obviously were concerned about me because they have seen me driving on city roads in the city and I never miss stones , pigs, vegetables baskets, or puddles; which the majority of humanity with manageable skills in driving stays away from and navigates through easily,without engaging intimately, unlike me.

How could I not marvel at the picturesque hills and driving through passing clouds..foggy weather..it was cold. I did put on the headlight..(it was raining heavily on the top..well July was ending and it is the perfect time for Monsoon to show some spunk and it did..) near Khandala. The best parts were- the hills, silvery waterfalls (viewed from a distance) , noisy gushing waterfalls (up,close and personal view from the road) the picturesque but dangerous valleys and the incessant rains..saner me would have waited out the heavy showers to change into drizzle before taking the downward spiraling road..but I was in my elements and I just felt- invincible- on 7 to 8 prayers (Oh I am truly secular..I prayed to all the Gods I knew, had read about and met on the way to keep me safe!).

And high on adrenalin- a very risky state to be in when you are on two wheels ( and a perfect state to be in when surrounded by gorgeous but bitchy dames I invariantly find myself surrounded with , in official and social settings sometimes; the right rush of adrenalin to defend oneself and play verbal ping-pong,but for the life of me I can’t find one sharp or witty repartee to say to hit back - so I play dumb - encouraging them.. high school days all over again .Btw why do pretty girls need approval, all the time, why are they so unsure. If you are looking one from me- you will not get it unless ..you have an entrepreurial spirit ..(be somebody like @janineshepherd, great gal, life-coach, I met her on twitter.)..or have mastered any skill besides exercising your boneless tongues,painting and fluttering your eyelashes in the most majestic way possible to get the maximum mileage. No, getting hitched to the best /most eligible bachelor doesn’t count. Okaay ? Would love to meet you all in your mid forties .. And again I am not groupie kind of person so... Oh ! Here we go off on a tangent again.. ) .

What did I take from the trip:

• I am an outdoor adventure junkie. It is official now.

• I thought I was a sea beach person, now I am a mountain person too..so am I an underwater person too..can’t wait to find out.

• I discovered- I love to speed. I thought I was responsible. I never thought I had it in me. ;)

• Being out of my comfort zone for some time is acceptable and rejuvenating.

• Carry a GPS next time.

• Dressing in all men’s thick biking gear and thick windcheater suits - complete with a helmet diminishes but doesn’t hide the fact on the road somehow..that I was not a man. I thought ..forget what I thought.

• Tell all your loved ones that you love them before undertaking adventures. I did. :) Just in case..

• Rain hurts..like needles and then like very thick needles esp it hurts your lips, if you love to drive with your helmet visor open, like me..

• Wind shakes your vehicle at high speed. It was threatening to unbalance me so many times..I had to reduce speed to be safer.

• There are so many trips I’m dying to undertake. The only hitch..I want proper loos even in wilderness ..if I am to take a biking trip that lasts for more than 12 hours in the wild and on unchartered roads.

• Highway patrol rocks! Thank you officers..

• Expect fever, body aches. After the adventure. Rx -Two Paracetamols a day should set you back on your way. Ideally you should be ok after a day’s rest..and if the aches continue ..do tell your medic how exactly you skidded after landing in the big pothole right in the middle of a nice road, you weren’t expecting it..of course, and you didn’t exactly fall down ,and the bruises were just ..very minor..and then step back to let him do his work.

Here’s to more roads and more riders. Happy Biking. :D

2009-08-02T10:48:00.000+05:30

My Nanaji , My Grandfather

He was a lion hearted,gentle,handsome giant. He loved all his siblings, children and grandchildren. He was a hard working man, had acumen and great deal of intellect and common sense. With seven children and little education -he wasn’t a graduate- he imparted great values to all of them ..and provided them a platform from where, my Uncles and Mom and Aunts were in IIT campuses before the world realized the value of premier institutes like IITs. Today, they are all leaders in their chosen domains.

He was my Nanaji and he was truly entrepreneurial. He would read the market and sometimes he would be managing a stationary shop, the next time it was groceries and the next it was the cement bags in license Raj. He was a contractor at heart - the person who hires masons –and other workers who then build the houses and bridges and roads. And there was always something being built or something being remodeled in his bungalow every time we went to visit him along with scores of other cousins of mine from different parts of India during summer holidays.

He had his share of struggles since the times of British. Naniji, my grandmother tells me, Nanaji’s father (He died early,when my grandfather was in early teens) was a Jamindaar (Landlord) and Nanaji used to wear jodhpurs and ride horses to work in his hey days. An avid reader , he read the books on philosophy and all the religious scriptures of all the religions with keen interest.I learnt early about vedas and upanishads from the posters in his library on a summer vacation. He was a very active member of his social group and remained one till he breathed his last. He was deeply influenced by Vivekanand , his philosophy and Arya Samaj. He was a wonderful companion and worked at his marriage. My grandmother was his best friend and he always managed to make her laugh even when she sometimes was in her foulest moods. She loved cooking for him. Sometimes for hours..preparing the dishes that required slow cooking just as he prefered. And he loved bringing home different kinds of fruits and vegetable that he would earnestly bargain from as far as he could go even in his nineties. I wasn’t there when he left for his heavenly abode but they say he said a small prayer, looked around at everything and everyone surrounding him and peacefully closed his eyes. I loved him, I never told him.

He taught me:

#To be self reliant. To be your best friend. Always. Forever. Be your number one fan.

#To be hardworking. To be honest. It pays. Sooner or later.

#To Love.He had the biggest heart of all. He genuinely loved and cared for people. He helped people again and again even when they were ungrateful. I try.

# To forgive. Again and again and again.

# To be thankful .For everything one has in life.. People. Family. Things. Show gratitude.

# To be well behaved To have a control over temper and being responsible for the positivity in the house. Every one needed to pitch in with cheer when he was around. ‘It is not one man’s job to bring cheer to the family’, he believed.

# To have a Plan A, Plan B And Plan C. And not to get attached to a particular style of working or to a particular plan. Our strategy should always be to adapt ourselves to the reality, to the demands of the dynamic situations. Accept change. Embrace it.

# To take Life’s blows on chin. And build again and again and again. (Nanaji’s father once owned five to six clothes shops during pre Independence days. And one night they were all torched. Insurance companies weren’t there then I guess. They took it all. Built life again.)

# To be organized. Even with no electricity in the bungalow sometimes if you followed his instructions you could find the scissors or a hammer in the dead of night .’There is a place for everything and then everything is in place’, he would say. I know, he would be aghast if he saw my room today .. I will get there. One day.

# To Learn. Learn. Learn. Cultivate the habit of reading and writing. All through his sixties till nineties he read and wrote small articles and books for his social group.

#To take care of one’s body. He got up early and exercised. Every single day. I hated getting up at 5:30 am during summer vacations just when it was the best time to snooze in hot Indian summers ,but he would insist on us waking up and taking an early morning walk with him. I still remember muttering all the time and trying to somehow get some sleep again after coming from the walks..but he was smarter. He made us fold the beds and put the pillows and covers in store room after that. We kids used to sleep on terrace. He was healthy till the end. By 9:30 pm he would retire for the day.

# To Play. He used to play indoor games. I still remember seeing them playing something like a Ludo on a cloth board, spread over a table. He loved carrom and card games session with my granny were his favourite when they would fight and argue for hours over things. And the spontaneous picnics..where we would pack everything in half an hour and go to the river banks with our picnic basket , water bags and mattresses.

# To run when you can run, to walk when you can walk , to crawl when you can crawl, but never-never -never give up and keep moving towards your goals. All the time. This was his mantra. Now it is mine too.

He was, is my hero. He is with me. Even now. I know it.

2009-07-11T22:18:00.002+05:30

Why I love Mumbai’s locals..

I was raised to believe that having (even traces of) killer instincts is an undesirable trait: While boarding and alighting I give vent to this primal instinct (The heart throbs..the mind races..just like that of a warrior who gets ready to face a battle..I hold my bag tight in front of me like a shield and a practiced heave sees me inside, most of the times.) or I’d never be able to board any train or alight from it at the right station.
I am surprised the locals have made me so agile..sometimes it is 9 coaches..sometimes 12..you just have to be at the right spot.
The trauma of getting up early for work gets diminished as I see hundreds and hundreds of men, women children rushing to their destinations. Others get up early..drag themselves out of bed and reach office too..misery is shared..the pain lessens.
I get to check out loads of outfits, shoes, bags and earrings..hairstyles too..
I can buy snacks, handkerchiefs, veggies, fruits too in there..if I want that is..
My favourite spot is near the door (Pssst..don’t tell my mother !), the left corner..nothing beats feeling the wind on your face and in your hair..in a nearly empty coach..
I overhear office trouble, boyfriend trouble, in-law troubles..of all kinds..somehow it all makes me forget my worries in the huge sea of troubled humanity that faces more or less similar challenges such as mine.
My legs have become stronger what with climbing..crossing platforms..my heart muscles must have improved too..I’m sure..
I’m happier to reach home. My corner. My heaven. The long distance, the trouble makes it all the more enticing..I appreciate it more..it is harder to drag me away from home on weekends for outings..
I have become responsible. At any given time I know where my railway monthly pass and my house keys are..that’s absolutely credible. My cell phone comes third in the list now.
Now you know.. :P

2009-07-09T12:39:00.000+05:30

And There’s More ..

Am a little worried about fake currency notes floating around after I read about the person who got fake 500 denomination notes from the ATM of a reputed Bank in Navi Mumbai. He did have the receipts and necessary stamp on currency notes of the concerned bank, so he did get them exchanged but ..I take out money from any ATM of any Bank after RBI stated that Banks wouldn’t charge any fee for withdrawing money when you use other Bank’s ATMs. I am a sitting duck for such a fraud..I don’t keep receipts, use four different ATMs in a month..I don’t count notes after withdrawing money and can’t tell a fake 500 rupee note from a real one..

2009-06-09T10:58:00.000+05:30

Freedom in sight for Indian Bureaucrats

Centre is readying a legislation that will end the whimsical transfer raj of Indian Bureaucrats.

This new bill will ensure fixed tenure posting and will shield them from their political masters. Now the IAS and IPS officers can really work.

Who says good did not come from the whimsical Maya-Raj..

All appointments, transfers and posting will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny. The officers will now be brought into a new public service code and their performance will be evaluated. The new bill will put in places a different kind of performance evaluation system. Unlike the current practice of annual confidential reports (ACR’s) which take a panoramic view of a civil servant’s work, the new performance management system will evaluate babus on their job specific achievements.

This is big. It can bring a lot of accountability everywhere in one stroke.

2009-06-06T21:21:00.000+05:30

I realised I was from a different planet when..

# When asked to name a few of my fav . movies I named ‘Scent of a woman’ as one..and got dirty looks for saying so. What !! It is a lovely movie. Go see it if you haven’t ..yet.

# When working on our client Adlabs once, in studio No.5 (I think it was No.5) at Goregaon we were surrounded by lot of Bahus, Ma-in laws, Ma-out-laws, Husbands and tons of other TV stars,( they were shooting for ‘Independence Day special’) and I sleepwalked through the gathering until was elbowed by fascinated colleagues who did know them and then they pointed them out to me.( I didn’t recognize them..I paid attention to the gaudy clothes though, I know - and this is not for snob value- I just don’t watch family dramas anymore. The last one that had my attention was ages ago ‘The Bold & the Beautiful’ and the way it dragged on smothered me...it must still be on, on some channel.) But for the record I like ‘Smita Bansal’ from ‘Balika Vadhu’..I don’t follow the series but this lady lights up my screen even if she’s there for a fraction of a second when I surf the channels.

# The open mouthed gaped look I got for my answer when asked if I had any awards to my name I said no..but I had a clipping of Economic Times that told me that one of the the ac’s I was working on and esp. the campaign that we pushed forward resulted, in profits worth crores..in that particular financial year for the company, and that I considered my award.

# My silence is seen as weakness and withdrawal from goofy adolescent antics and my inability to laugh at Not-so-funny -jokes in studio is seen as a non participating trait in the team .(If it is not funny-it is not funny !!) I speak when there is a need to. I am comfortable with pauses and silences..and I do not rush to fill them in. There is a beauty in pauses and fewe words and silence that the noisy bunch straight from college cafeterias, suffering from verbal diarrhea cannot see.. and hence cannot appreciate. I understand.

# When the so-called-trendy- girls in town all wear similar hairstyle and similar T shirts as the one worn by the leading lady in the latest flick..looking like members of a tribe with a dress code..and they have the nerve to glare at my clothes and style that certainly doesn’t change every fortnight.

# I stared in disbelief at the city newspaper which had carried out a survey about people’s reaction to Jay Leno’s departure from his show..out of 6-8 people interviewed..none of them knew who he was! They couldn’t find one person who knew Jay Leno in the whole city? Why publish the survey then?

# When women of my tribe wear killer footwear that looks fabulous but really kills with uncomfortable heels or straps or angles..and they continue wearing them again and again.. I cannot fathom the reason for this kind of self-mortification and self-inflicted stress..and they do not belong to any clan ..no not 'Opus Dei' either..I'm sure!

# I realised I do not start or end the sentences with ‘Awesome’ or ‘ Dude’ or a friendly ‘How r u b****es doin’ today ?' or ‘WTF’ or ‘totally’. I was taught to speak complete sentences and have proper meaningful conversations and I stick to it. Old school I know. But do push me to the limit if you want to see me go all French..

# When I get severe migraine by being in the interaction zone of alpha males absolutely drenched in deos and perfumes , the experience that is intended to be *dishy* by the wearer..proves all *nauseous* for me. Subtlety works for me.I think my timing is all wrong..I belong to the Black and White era.. (I hate to do this but..there is no such phenomenon as the Axe effect in real life guys..they are feeding you a lie..sniff..I know...and while I am at it, there is no such thing called 'Being happy at work on daily basis.Most of the days in a month it sucks'. Do grow up and deal with it.)

# When I refuse to be impressed by Page 3 and glitterati. For me likes of Zig Ziglar and Guy Kawasaki are the real McCoys .

# When I saw the look on my well wisher’s face when I told her that I went for sturdiness over good looks while choosing my new cell phone.

# The sympathetic glances I get after telling them that I was never going to be on Orkut and Facebook. Not my style.I would rather Blog.. and collect links to resources and other blogs than collect people as my 'collection'.

# I still think the footwear that doesn’t make noise when you walk is the best, unlike so many of my tribe members who want the whole room to look at them when they go clikatty –clak.

..and which planet did you say you were from ? :)

2009-06-04T12:39:00.000+05:30

A Quest of 12

The movie ‘12 Angry Men’ certainly was a revelation. I did expect it to be great ..having heard so much about it..( My Henry Fonda being in it !! :) ) but I just thought shooting the whole movie in a room barring a few scenes outside..could be confining and claustrophobic..but it isn’t .You enjoy being with these 12 men of stature. You take a chair and sit with them at their table as they go on with the proceedings. It is certainly hard to find people like them who have their hearts and brains in the right place..and are willing to make an effort to see beyond their myopic views as and when some of them realise their myopia, and are able to concede with a little prodding. In real life, in this age we cannot afford that kind of honesty of convictions openly in our daily affairs anymore *methinks.

The Gist: the movie is about 12 men who constitute the jury, who are confined in one room to decide the fate of one eighteen year old. It succeeds in showing how our self-interests, pet peeves, prejudices, fears, ignorance, inattention, biases work on our rational reasoning and affect our decisions..unless forced to see otherwise. Man’s love for self, the desperate need for one important moment in the sun of an old, crippled, non-descript life even if it is to unjustifiably condemn an innocent- is a reality that surrounds us even today- a metaphor for the cries of non-entities to be noticed..the means be damned ! And the way , the 12 men work towards reaching a decision...It can help us immensely if we take the movie as a guide to How-to-work- towards-a consensus-in-meetings.

See it to find out how you think. It can certainly help one on the path of growth.

It is beautifully paced, interesting interactions, painstakingly and passionately characterized..has magical moments..(so many of them). For movie buffs, who have not seen it yet, I strongly recommend it. And oh, it is a black n white movie..it adds to its charm..Believe me.

2009-05-29T07:22:00.000+05:30

Robert and Motorcycle maintenance

My current read ‘Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance’ is pretty interesting..it is too philosophical at times and I’m sure in my first reading I’m missing out on quite a number of things that I will grasp by a third one..hope there is one..Comparatively ‘ Motorcycle Diaries’ by Che Guevara was a WYSIWYG.. it was nice too..world through the eyes of young Che..he was so grown up in his early twenties too..

In ‘Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance’ the author Robert M.Pirsig takes you on ride..puts a lot on platter ..and it depends on your capability to take as much as you can..he sort of builds this helix of thoughts and assumptions and again contradictory thoughts ..takes you into it..enables you to rise through the upward moving strands..you can be there for as long as you want or take up the next thing he puts on platter again..he plays hide and seek with his readers..if you get it, the perspectives are amazingly funny and sardonic in turns..and provide a rich study on our interactions and even if you don’t get it..completely..I think one never would ..he holds back aplenty too..for his own amusement it seems..you will be richer by the experience nevertheless.He gives plenty to think about..to question..you start participating in his quests. Must find out more about him now..I like his game..the way he plays with words..with complete arrogance sometimes..and with nonchalance of a master in total control at times..

I should have read it earlier but I think just as we pick up books from stores..books pick their own time and mood ..to enable us to thoroughly enjoy ..to reveal their magic and the riches..to come to us. That certainly explains the ‘Haven’t-read-it- yet’ status of quite a few books on my shelf.. will get around..soon. :)

2009-04-25T12:35:00.000+05:30

Learn to live.Enjoy the view

This was a speech made by Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Anna Quindlen at the graduation ceremony of an American university where she was awarded an Honorary PhD.

"I'm a novelist. My work is human nature. Real life is all I know.. Don't ever confuse the two, your life and your work. You will walk out of here this afternoon with only one thing that no one else has. There will be hundreds of people out there with your same degree: there will be thousands of people doing what you want to do for a living. But you will be the only person alive who has sole custody of your life. Your particular life. Your entire life. Not just your life at a desk or your life on a bus or in a car or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank accounts but also your soul.

People don't talk about the soul very much anymore. It's so much easier to write a resume than to craft a spirit. But a resume is cold comfort on a winter's night, or when you're sad, or broke, or lonely, or when you've received your test results and they're not so good.

Here is my resume: I am a good mother to three children. I have tried never to let my work stand in the way of being a good parent. I no longer consider myself the centre of the universe. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh. I am a good friend to my husband. I have tried to make marriage vows mean what they say. I am a good friend to my friends and them to me. Without them, there would be nothing to say to you today, because I would be a cardboard cut out. But I call them on the phone and I meet them for lunch. I would be rotten, at best mediocre, at my job if those other things were not true.

You cannot be really first rate at your work if your work is all you are. So here's what I wanted to tell you today: Get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger pay cheque, the larger house. Do you think you'd care so very much about those things if you blew an aneurysm one afternoon or found a lump in your breast?

Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze at the seaside, a life in which you stop and watch how a red-tailed hawk circles over the water, or the way a baby scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a sweet with her thumb and first finger.
Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work. Pick up the phone. Send an email. Write a letter. Get a life in which you are generous. And realize that life is the best thing ever, and that you have no business taking it for granted. Care so deeply about its goodness that you want to spread it around. Take money you would have spent on beer and give it to charity. Work in a soup kitchen. Be a big brother or sister. All of you want to do well. But if you do not do good too, then doing well will never be enough.

It is so easy to waste our lives, our days, our hours, and our minutes. It is so easy to take for granted the colour of our kids' eyes, the way the melody in a symphony rises and falls and disappears and rises again. It is so easy to exist instead of to live.

I learned to live many years ago. I learned to love the journey, not the destination. I learned that it is not a dress rehearsal, and that today is the only guarantee you get. I learned to look at all the good in the world and try to give some of it back because I believed in it, completely and utterly. And I tried to do that, in part, by telling others what I had learned. By telling them this: Consider the lilies of the field. Look at the fuzz on a baby's ear. Read in the back yard with the sun on your face.

Learn to be happy. And think of life as a terminal illness, because if you do, you will live it with joy and passion as it ought to be lived".

I say, we are all faced with series of great and enlightening opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations! Lets make the best of it!

WOW !

2009-04-25T11:20:00.000+05:30

In conversation with Narendrabhai Modi

A converation that might have preceded Mr.Narendra Modi's canvassing meet in Naroda Patia,Ahmedabad,one of the worst affected areas in Gujarat riots.

Modi: I want to know how hot is it there now?

Supporter 1: It is all ok Narenbhai..nothing to worry..

Modi: hmm..(smiles) I'm strong.(read frozen to rigidity). But haven't played a dodging game in years..(read I just collide head on..)..I can't take a chance.

supporter 2: They are all in the forgive and forget mood Narenbhai.

Modi: What other choice..ahem ..haan so forgive and forget..If this Mallika and Teesta..these women..everyone would have forgiven and forgotten the next day..but I still want it.Something similar to the one used on Tennis courts.

supporter 1: Narenbhai, how would it look ? Let's put bullet proof glass..

Modi: then they'll think I am afraid of terrorists in my own city. I will come across as a 'weak' minister..and we all know who the real 'weak' minister is..(chuckles). Tell me what happened to the one with Bush..

Supporter 2: He was arrested Narenbhai..then I'm not sure..

Modi : The one with Chiddu ? Chidambaram ?

Supporter 2: They let him go with a warning I think..

Modi : That is the problem. Had it been some other place and time..things could have been settled in my style..(Read taught a lesson for life)..quietly..but here the national-international press would be watching..have to be smart..net..put the net..

Supporter 2: and a net will add the sporty quotient..youthful.

Supporter 1: ok Narenbhai. Net it will beee..

and Narenbhai happily held a meeting at Naroda Patia safe from SHOEING ..thanks to a safety Net.

2009-04-21T08:53:00.000+05:30

And..

Mr. Adi Godrej initiated ‘The Chairman’s Tea’ where young talent gathers to discuss issues before the company. He is reaping dividends by getting excellent bottom-up feedback from across the group, he says.

Mr. Anil Ambani’s penchant for fitness was triggered off a few years ago when he overheard an insensitive remark about his weight, which was 115 kgs at a Board meeting.

Mr. Mukesh Ambani loves to serve his guests himself. He is an avid movie buff and tries to watch a movie every night after work. Hmm..my kind of guy!

Ms. Priyanka Gandhi has a degree in Psychology. Modi, she knows you.

Mr. Ratan Tata is an architect. He has a degree of architecture from Cornell University,Ithaca, New York, USA... He must have supervised the renovation work at Taj with a hawk-eye.
Interesting..

2009-04-04T10:24:00.000+05:30

A Love story

(...) She and her then boyfriend had vials containing each other’s blood around their necks.

Then Mrs. Smith got Mr. Smith. They went on world tours,covered continents, collecting children on the way, a few their own. After it was reported that they would be coming to India, children from orphanages locked themselves in the loos..to let the storm pass over. Concerned authorities are still counseling them..from the other side of the door.

Some days back Mrs. Smith whacked Mr. Smith for being nice to their Nanny..er ..their kids' Nanny. Mr. Smith mend his ways, he bought DVDS, some beer and was being a good bloke…and Mrs. Smith whacked him again for not being there with their Nanny..er.. to look after the collection..the brood. Now Mr. Smith has decided..has put his blonde foot down..that before they go on to their next children collecting-producing spree ..he wants Mrs. Smith to marry him. Hmm.. I love this movie..

2009-03-16T12:00:00.000+05:30

The drives and the journeys

The first time I saw the Keshavrao Jedhe Chowk, near Swargate ST stand, I was aghast, wonderstruck and breathless. There was no oxygen. It is the busiest traffic junction in the city. Five major roads- Shivaji Road, Shankarsheth Road, Satara Road, Tilak Road and the Balaji Vishwanath Peshwe Road converge at the junction. There are scurrying pedestrians from - everywhere - to - everywhere, no footpaths, crawling auto rickshaws, gleefully racing auto rickshaws, haphazardly parked auto rickshaws, skillfully navigating I-love-it- bikers, I-can-top-it-all-bikers, I’m-choking-bikers (my category), heavy vehicles like private buses, PMPML buses and State transport buses, ST bus terminus, PMPML bus terminus and depot , BRTS bus stops and the poor-hassled what - the - hell - I’m - doing - here - in - this - free - for - all team of traffic cops dodging all these weapons of mass destruction wheezing past them from all sides. Yet, no one dies. Touch wood. Accidents do happen but they are rare. At a traffic that moves at the speed of 5 kms per hour here, everyone in high state of awareness, all their senses working at their peaks having perceived the magnitude of the chaos, survival instincts automatically kick in and everything goes hunky-dory .Everyone survives.

Let us compare it with Killerway- the 94 kms long Mumbai - Pune Expressway. It has registered a shocking 240% increase in accidental deaths in 2008 over the previous year. The cause? According to DNA, rash driving. ‘With the road in excellent condition and wide, people tend to drive vehicles at break-neck speed’ says DNA. According to me, ‘BOREDOM’. Smooth roads, easily cruising mean machines: driving seems exciting for some kilometers but then our brain gets accustomed to it , it all becomes mechanical and even though we seem awake our brain cells start sleeping due to boredom. With no cows to dodge, gawky teenagers to scream at, indecisive pedestrians to cuss at..all you can do is accelerate and that proves deadly for some.I'm not against superhighways here..I'm just trying to propagate a theory that the obstacles on our path do keep us alert and awake...and the state of being too secure and comfy..probably lulls us to cocky sleep.

I’m not against traffic signals but there is a school of thought developing that advocates that traffic signals increase congestion, imperil road safety and pollute the environment. There is a junction in Paris, De la Concorde where traffic pouring in from six directions glides past easily without hiccup without traffic lights, markers or signs. To quote from TOI, ‘from Norrkoping in Sweden, Drachten in The Netherlands and Bohmte in Germany, To Bendigo in Australia and Kensington and Chelsea in the UK, cities are now experimenting with the idea of removing traffic lights to facilitate smoother traffic. Fewer mishaps have been reported from places this has been done.’ (Now I know why Keshavrao Jedhe Chowk works. We see the traffic lights but we kinda believe that they are just not there!)

The TOI continues, ‘It would appear that while the certainty of traffic lights makes us put on blinkers and behave mechanically, the perception of a risk makes us more cautious and alert.’ So, the certainty of no traffic, smooth roads blinks expressway drivers...
Ok..

2009-03-11T11:24:00.000+05:30

Aman. Peace

Aman Kachroo, a 19 year old, first semester student in a Medical college was beaten to death by his seniors. Thrashings in the name of ragging had been going for months. A very tragic end. He looked very promising.

Things will get analysed and over analysed. The people closest to him, will die a little. The kind of scenario our parents grew in was different. The kind of scenario we grew in was different. The kind of scenario our children will grow in will be different. That is a given. But are we doing enough to adapt to it? Are we teaching our kids the right skills to survive and thrive?

The genteel and refined cocooned upbringing doesn’t always bring out the survival skills. Many a times even the parents are caught off guard like Aman’s. They believed in the rules .They trusted the college authorities to take care of their ward. They were not wrong. But our kids need to be told that the world is like a wild forest. The savagery they see on the Discovery Channel is in the real world too. Our parents need to be more aware .Parents need to understand the world that is changing at a rapid pace. The quantity of concern, love, respect, compassion, support the world had for the parents' generation when they were growing up , the world just doesn’t seem to have it, all the time anymore for the kids generation.

The parents certainly need to be more evolved and aware and need to make sure they pass their understanding of the world-good, bad, ugly; in paced nuggets so that the fledglings have their parent’s understanding of the world backing them at every step .The ingenuity, intelligence, talent of kids will see them through but today’s world somehow demands more of everything :more involvement, more communication in families, more understanding of the world that is outside the four walls of safe secure home - sweet - homes and parents should actually talk about it all at dinner tables to prepare the kids for the times they would not be around. And do LISTEN to your children. It might save a lot of heart ache later on.

R.I.P Aman.

2009-03-09T13:00:00.000+05:30

QUE SERA SERA..

A seventeenth century Sufi mosque named after Sufi , Pushto poet, Rahman Baba built in the years after Emperor Babar’s reign in a predominantly Muslim area Peshawar is blown up in Pakistan. It was a shrine visited daily, not situated in some desolate desert. Babri Masjid was destroyed. Bamiyan Buddhas were blown up by the then existing Taliban state machinery using artillery in Afghanistan. When history is tempered with, not respected , doesn’t augur well for the present.

Sharia is imposed in Swat. Sharia does not tolerate Sufi Islam which has the best philosophies for enlightenment, I feel. Sri Lankans attacked, because Cricket is not an Islamic pursuit? Btw the theory that they came to kidnap the busload of cricketers doesn’t hold water because their exit strategy wasn’t in line with it. Did they plan to hijack the bus and drive it all the way to Taliban? They didn’t bring their bus. Or, probably they would have chosen stars –three to four- as hostages but then I’m not sure ..did they bring a jeep to carry them? They came to slaughter or at best to terrorize. That brings me to the next point. Should we wait for terrorists to hold prominent people hostage so that they can then seek release of their friends lodged in our jails? Shouldn’t we have some kind of fast track legal system where in terrorists are liquidated. Or somehow mentally incapacitated for life by neurosurgeries, so that terror outfits are not able to leverage hostage situations. I liked ‘A Wednesday’.

Democracy or Islamic rule? Bad times for Sufism, Mosques Buddha, poets , sportsmen..worst part is Taliban is motivated. Pakistan has talent. Listen to their native music or the contemporary one, the craftsmanship of the shawls and carpets they produce, their cuisine, their humour (is ..well of various degrees ..from fine to the slapsticks..take your pick).. their culture..their build, their beauties..it is all in danger. It was somehow waiting to happen because of big parity between the rich and poor there. Rich are very rich and poor, very poor. The stunted growth of the middleclass..civil restlessness paves way for movements.. time for a renaissance I guess. Unfortunately theirs is not homegrown. Their neighbours have broken their fence. When Taliban gets what it wants there, it will search for new places to assert its identity with vigor. How strong is our fence?

2009-02-23T13:00:00.000+05:30

The merchants of Provence

I don’t know if Peter Mayle himself thought his words would be so beautifully translated as they were in the movie ‘A good year’ when he authored ‘A year in Provence’. Ridley Scott truly is a genius and the way he has captured the beauty of vineyards, the chateau, the small French town is mesmerizing. His detailing, his nonchalant way of enabling the beauty to walk straight into our hearts on its own, says a lot –where in some others would have certainly made an effort to showcase something so obviously breathtakingly serene as “picture postcard beautiful”.

The characterization is nearly perfect..personally I didn’t connect with the French beauty Marion Cotillard. I would have liked Russell Crowe - ‘Max’ in the movie who has this interesting philosophy that every person worth his salt should have “F*** Y** Million” grands in his bank ac; a successful smart stock trader, (don't miss his London office-It is SWANKY!!) a shark in his own way, who celebrates ‘Greedy Bugger Days’ in office when they intend on playing games and make a killing.. to fall in love with someone like Anne Hathaway or sprightly Keira Knightley. Gemma is another character who complements Max , fills the screen beautifully. Albert Finney as Uncle Henry is simply amazing. Listening to him say his lines haltingly, as an Englishman and as a thinker, and then as an indulgent Uncle, is a grand treat. And the cute war between all things British and French..lovely.
I can watch this movie again and again for the chateau, the greenery, the vinyards and Russell! It is always wonderful to see rich books getting translated into richer movies that add so much to our lives in just two hours!

2009-02-14T13:54:00.000+05:30

For better n for verse

The world adores him and I cannot get beyond 4 pages of any book by Salman Rushdie. I fall asleep. May be someday I will have the patience, skills and congenial grey cells that can appreciate his kind of writing. Give me Roald Dahl anyday.

I really want to see my favourite book ‘The fountainhead’ as a Hindi movie. Who would be my Howard Roark? Farhan Akhtar of course.

Love you Glasbergen. You totally perk up the mornings with ‘The better half’.
N surprisingly Salman Rushdie and Glasbergen look similar. What is the firang equivalent of ‘Kumbh Mela’ I wonder..!

2009-02-11T19:44:00.000+05:30

Musing..

The greatest vice of our times?
Social Intolerance
Social Intolerance comes in various shapes and sizes. Comes branded ( read fanatically polarised political parties and sects-based on religion, casts , subcasts) and unbranded. Comes in various versions (Read To Let: unmarried people not welcome, glass ceiling for women, latest fatwas against Manglorean women in pubs and with male friends in buses..I thought Taliban was far away somewhere..).

If looked closely such instances of social intolerance smack of complete power play. It is one more device to propagate the self serving intentions of dissatisfied elements that come together to propagate the theory of might is right, by attacking people minding their own business and certainly having better prospects than the vandals, to give vent to the primal killer instinct of animal kingdom of killing competition, which though dormant is constantly on simmer, and on check due to the civil laws that do exist in civilized societies; at least in cities.

It sometimes is basically a ruthless attack by those who ‘have not’ on those who ‘have’ and vice versa. Sometimes it is the psychological need of the group to have more space by weeding out, pushing out the one-“, who is a non conformist- who is not like us” . Be it opportunities or means to it, or inherent talent or ingenuity. Social Intolerance breeds on insecurity, thrives on mob mentality where a couple of heads think for the mob and the mob blindly follows ; majority of the times the followers lack courage and follow insane fanatics who tip the points .Thinking independently takes effort and usage of grey cells which are normally long dead in frenzied heads , irrepairably doctrined into insensitivity towards another’s pain or worse – entertain sadism .Their files of common sense in wetware are permanently quarantined by their self serving genes. Sometimes upright individuals join fanatics for self preservation.

Cases of Taslima Nasreen and M.F.Hussein are debatable. I do believe creativity, if hurts, can be avoided. I don’t want anyone messing around with Hindu Goddesses or my religious scriptures. But where a film like “Perzania” is unofficially banned all over the state by state sponsored armed peacenicks (ready to vandalize multiplexes at a very short notice) just because it shows some uncomfortable truths..or an actor’s film is banned just because he supported a cause which was not appreciated by the badshahs of the land..or the Pakistani girl who was attacked by a group in a mall in Mumbai for sporting a tattoo..such things bite. And such is life..

The way tourists and foreigners are treated in our markets and our streets , shreds our proclamations of treating the guest as God into bits.

It is time that intolerant sharks that roam in groups wearing moralistic garbs with imagined grievances , feeding on non groupies, minorities, females, tourists and weak are reigned in and seen for what they are basically – insensitive power mongers with selfish interests. Let us all try to live and let live harmoniously.

Well, for now I'm all for sending pinkies to Shri Ram Sene.

..................Got an interesting piece...

THE TIMES OF INDIA
Editorial

Clouded By Confusion

14 Feb 2009, 0000 hrs IST, Ravinder Kaur

Mangalore incident is both a gender and class issue.

A straight line can be drawn backwards from the Mangalore type of incidents to the Delhi murders of Nitish Katara and Jessica Lal. The canvas can be

broadened to include the recent resurgence of honour crimes in northern India, instances of acid being thrown at women, and the backlash against women who dare to voice an opinion or choose a lifestyle of their choice. Young people are being punished for what is being perceived as immoral and detrimental to so-called Indian culture and tradition. Yet, physical assaults and assaults unto death cannot simply be comprehended as protests against what is objectionable to the sensibilities of some.

And it is the young who are victimising other young people, particularly women, drawing supportive responses from those responsible for law and order, whether it is a Ashok Gehlot supporting 'Indian culture' or a confused Sheila Dikshit asking women to stay indoors. The particularly virulent form the actions are taking and their vigilante nature propel us towards a more nuanced reading.

Emile Durkheim, the French sociologist, had a term and a theory to explain such (anti) social behaviour. Although his theory applied primarily to understanding suicide, it can, and has, been extended to other areas of human behaviour. Durkheim classified all periods of rapid change as leading to a state of 'anomie' or 'normlessness' in society. In such circumstances, individuals and groups are often in a 'state of confusion', uncertain of the appropriate norms to follow and uncertain of their place in society. Their response may be either in the form of extreme steps such as suicide, or violence against those perceived to be causing grievous harm to the moral foundations of society.

That India is undergoing a period of rapid transition is not in doubt; the anomie induced may be held responsible for many of the responses and incidents listed above. Indian society has had few social revolutions, such as students' revolts or strong feminist protests, or movements for greater individual freedoms, which could explain the changes we are experiencing. The transformation in Indian society has primarily been brought about by changes in the economy and technology. Yet, the social implications of far-reaching economic and technological change have been little studied or commented upon, apart from the railing we hear against globalisation and its presumed role in the destruction of 'traditional' culture and values.

For Indian women, globalisation has generally done good. It has brought them into the workforce, and done so in large numbers. Earlier, working women in India were either the elite or the poor. This picture has now changed with women of many classes choosing to work both before and after marriage. But there is a downside to this. Despite obvious class differences between women working in factories or call centres and in managerial jobs, tensions are perceptible and palpable in most families and in society at large.

Men (and in-laws) are happy that daughters, sisters and wives are bringing home incomes but are not fully reconciled to them venturing out of the house. Work and independent incomes enable women to try out new freedoms. On offer are choices and an escape from the stifling confines of parental or marital homes.

Society is uncertain about how to respond to these new demands, and the new mores espoused by the young. Which are the constituencies most affected by change? If the old are protecting so-called tradition and their own hegemony, what are the young involved in incidents such as those in Mangalore or the Nitish Katara and Jessica Lal murders protecting or fighting against? Here class combines with a more general gendered targeting young men desirous of economic and social upward mobility, who are looking from the outside at others who have already got where they secretly wish to be.

In such cases a genuine confusion over 'morals' combines with a destructive class envy, resulting in targeting of youth, especially women, who themselves are exploring the boundaries of their new freedoms. The targets are individuals who appear to have a glamorous lifestyle or putatively stand for a 'modernity' that has not yet embraced all. In all such cases, the freedoms sought to be curtailed are those of women, especially those seen as espousing a 'western modernity'. Additionally, the rise of the Hindutva parties gives a platform to these uncertain young men as defenders of 'traditional, Hindu culture,' providing them with respect from certain quarters.

That there is genuine confusion among our youth, especially among those associated with the socially conservative right, is often obvious in our classrooms. In an IIT classroom, peopled mostly with young men from small towns or cities, discussions of gender or homosexuality generally evoke embarrassed titters and reiterations of the importance of not losing 'Indian culture' to the juggernaut of globalisation.

Yet, at least some of those with politically conservative affiliations are assailed by self-doubt are they right in hating Muslims, in agreeing with excessive parental control or in looking at women wearing jeans and T-shirts as 'loose'? Conservative ideologies often become a protective shield against the flux of rapid change, especially if one nurses the feeling of being left out. It is here that a liberal arts education has a lot of work to do in our universities and educational institutes.

The writer is a professor of social anthropology, IIT Delhi.

Hmm..ok.

Thank you professor.

2009-01-31T18:12:00.000+05:30

Rambling…

Okay! Who should really be in politics..my vote goes to a very unlikely person. I think Rahul Dravid should join politics. We do need ‘The wall’ in politics too and being the kind of a man he is, he would certainly bring a change, resolve a few issues, before raising some. It would be a pleasure to have him. But being the nice guy barring the governance part, the side effects of politics can give him life threatening heart aches. Nice guys who don’t have supporting networks sometimes have it tough.
Remember Robin Singh? The lion hearted guy who always left the field bleeding and our hearts soaring during the days of Azharuddin and Manoj Prabhakar.. loved him. My hero.

I saw ‘ O’Brother, Where art Thou ?’ the second time. And the movie is lovely. It was nominated for 3 academy awards. Each frame a painting..flows like a bubbling brook..set in 1930s, mellow, understated effervescent charm of a world which was simple and cozy, long shots..plenty of space ..and loving pace to breathe and mull and absorb the old world comfort. George Cloony, John Turturro & Tim Blake Nelson are the bumbling blokes who go through the winding road of life together. Perfect for a lazy afternoon.

2009-01-21T23:04:00.000+05:30

Quiz time -2

1. Joanna Ferrone and Sue Rose created him. Rose first developed

the character in 1985 on a napkin in a resaurant. Identify the brand mascot.

2. The motto of which organization is “Dictum meum pactum” meaning “My

word is my bond” ?

3. What ticks on NYSE as DPZ ?

4. Which company gets its name from Kwanon- the god of mercy?

5. It is a Hebrew word meaning “teaching,” “instruction,” or “law”. It refers

primarily to the Five Books of Moses, also known as the Law of Moses or

the Pentateuch, Greek for “five containers,” which refers to the scroll cases

in which books were being kept. What word ?

6 What is the Indian name for the Soviet aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov

that is slated to join the Indian navy ?

7 Who named Mt. Everest ?

Answers

1. Fido Dido
2. London Stock Exchange
3. Dominos Pizza
4. Canon
5. Torah
6. INS Vikramaditya
7. Andrew Waugh, Surveyor General of India.

2009-01-17T12:09:00.000+05:30

Ad rem

Decoding doctor's handwritten prescriptions has always been fascinating. Found something interesting- Latin abbreviations used by doctors in prescriptions:

Od/Omni die : once daily

Bd/tid bis in die : twice daily

Tds/tid ter die sumendum : three times in a day

Qds/ qid quarter die sumendum: four times a day

Ac/ante cibum : Before meals

Pc/post cibum: after meals

Qd/quake die : everyday.

2009-01-17T11:54:00.000+05:30

Quiz time

These are the taglines.Name the brands ...

1.Ideas for life
2.Delighting you always
3. Solutions that bring back smiles..real fast.
4. Welcome To The Human Network
5. Like no other
6. Better sound through research
7. Life’s Good
8. Sense and Simplicity
9.Don’t leave home without it.
10. YOURS IS HERE

Answers..
1.Panasonic
2.Canon
3. United India Insurance Company ltd.
4. Cisco Systems
5.Sony
6. Bose corporation
7. LG
8. Philips
9. American Express
10.DELL

Btw: FIAT LINEA, You have my admiration. Guaranteed.

2009-01-14T22:49:00.000+05:30

Honey, it's the money

The number of taxpayers earning more than Rs 1 crore has doubled in just two years.
According to data compiled by income tax, the number of salaried taxpayers earning more than Rs. 1 crore crossed 5,000 in fiscal 2008 from 2,200 in fiscal 2006.The number of people earning between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore per annum has also more than doubled. It has increased from 4,400 persons in fiscal 2006 to 10,500 in fiscal 2008.
Ouch!

2009-01-11T23:41:00.000+05:30

Let's hang in there..

BJP president Rajnath Singh claims NDA would win comfortable win in the next Lok Sabha elections and L.K.Advani will become country’s next PM..HELLP!! Mayavati is in queue too..HELP! HELP!!
Manmohan , hang in there, hope you win again.

And speaking of keeping one’s spirits up..Kerala is there again. When the going gets tough, kerala goes drinking. On new year eve Rs. 40 crore worth Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) was downed in Kerala. Bachhus devotee base certainly isn’t affected by the economic downturn in God’s own country. Figures.

Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries is withdrawing from the MotoGP racing circuit to cut costs. For next two years, motor racing circuit should take a break I say, or may be switch to horses, camels or..people. Will be cost-effective for sure..and highly paid drivers could actually do something with their lives and go somewhere instead of circling around and burning rubber. Did I just say what I said ? Is this the return of medieval age ?

2009-01-11T09:47:00.000+05:30

The chill - Maxima

The chilly winds did gather some momentum and it was lovely. Just like one wants to get wet in the first monsoon showers I like to get chilled in the sharp cold winds without adequate gear.(I do face the repercussions, my red reindeer nose is a sullen reminder.)
I do like the brazen cold winds, that awe you and demand respect. But to experience it fully, choose a day when it is particularly breezy, choose a time when the roads are deserted..(6:30 on a Saturday morning for example) wear a normal cotton T shirt, don’t wear the helmet, no windcheaters..be as bare as you can be…no shoes..strappy sandals.. kick start your bike ..choose a particular stretch of the road..race her..accelerate her…to the maximum..feel the chill to your bones..N Gooo….And then come home and treat yourself to a good hot coffee, warm cozy blankets.. give yourself time to recuperate..the resulting fever, cold etc. normally subsides in a day ( That is why you have a Sunday, remember?) . And the thrill of the chill remains..

2009-01-11T09:29:00.000+05:30

Why Mr. Laloo

Why are things so weird sometimes Mr. Laloo?
My trip home in Garib Navaaz Express started from Bandra and the attendant charged us all 25/- for pillow, the sheets and the blankets. Me being me, had to confirm it with the TC if that was the new rule, and he did tell me that in that particular train they hadn’t included the charges for pillow etc. in the fare.
Why?? Stop taking the name of the train so seriously people, Garib Navaaz is the revered peer -saint of Ajmer..and when I came back in Ahimsa Express I had the pillow, sheets and the blanket waiting for me on my berth..included in the fare this time I guess.