My Blog

Management begins at home

2012-01-29T15:10:00.001+05:30

My PGDBAlesson defines Management as “the process of designing and maintainingperformance environment through relations building within and outside anorganization by optimally utilizing all resources including human, available toit, and manage efficient and effective use for attaining selected purpose.”

Managementis more of an art (rather than science) which doesn’t follow strict protocolsor set of rules; it rather is an open ended process consisting of all those(smallest to largest) activities and policies resulting in efficient andeffective use of resources. It may not be limited to corporate organizations,but extends to every entity that can be a termed a “system”. A home, a family, anindividual human life too is a system with a closer boundary.

As a humanbeing, we all live for a purpose; have we identified the resources which we canemploy effectively to achieve it? Here are a few:

Technology: A very important andrather under-utilized, includes mobile phones, internet, machines
Manpower: Members of family,friends, agents, helpers
Facilities offered by our vendors(be it your grocery shop, your bank, mobile company, insurance company, etc.)
Human brain: Most important of all,as this one makes the above 3 work efficiently

Trust your memory, but rely on technology

I believehuman brain is the biggest asset offered to mankind- why not use it for abigger purpose rather than wasting it in remembering mundaneactivities? Leave this job to your mobile phone. The cheapest of mobile phonesavailable in market can be a great resource at hand, and act as your PersonalAssistant. It will take and save your notes, remind you of mundane as well asimportant tasks (like your in-laws’ birthdays :)), wake you up every morning, securely store importantdocuments which might help at the eleventh hour, organize your contacts, act asa calculator and what not.

Get Online

Seems agessince we are using the Internet, but do we really “juice it up”? Major banksprovide the online banking facility- a great relief to the “queue” phobia.Internet as a “resource” can prove a boon when employed for all bankingtransactions (even automating periodic transactions), utility bill payments,travel reservations, and much more.

Google is knownto all as something that fetches what you are looking for, but that’s not all.It offers a range of applications which- if implemented judiciously can makeGoogle a great “resource”. Google documents allows you to create and maintainyour online catalog, where you can manage all your content online, just the wayyou file documents at home. The advantage- you don’t carry your bulky documentseverywhere, since its on Google, it’s everywhere. A friend of mine has a habit ofscanning all his important documents and uploading them on Google docs- I’vealready stolen the idea :).

GoogleCalendar is another amazing application which helps managing your personal eventsand meetings. Load it with all the important dates (birthdays, anniversaries :)), apply an annual repeat, and whoa,Google makes sure it sends you email and messages on your mobile before eachevent. The advantage- reminders in mobiles get lost after purchasing a newerone, but again- Google is everywhere to remind you. Who says good things alwayscome at a price- Google is absolutely free!

Let your wheels move in parallel

Time andmoney being the most expensive resources (they also classify as assets) cannotbe used as liberally as other resources. Better management of other resourcesand time saving processes can leave you with ample time and money to invest forgood. A step towards achieving this could be identifying regular tasks that canrun in parallel, and run on their own. Grocery, vegetable and fruit shoppingcan happen while returning from office (making your wife (another importanthuman resource) happy :)), arrangements to fix plumbingneeds can happen while you are in office, thus saving your Saturday. Acollaboration of resource use (technology, manpower and vendor offered facilities)and bit of planning can help automate tasks and save precious time.

Observe thy neighbours, and train thy resources

Corporates don't mind approving huge investmentsin training resources, as that is aptly the need of the hour. Trainingresources can reap major benefits as resources become self-reliant and can workindependently. E.g.- training and encouraging your spouse and parents ondriving your car can save loads of time and (driving) efforts and make them self-reliant-especially during emergency hours. Management bits and lessons can also comefrom external resources / friends / surroundings- observation and effective implementationcan work wonders.

Stay Organized, stay happy

It’s like investingtime initially and working on your resources to organize your life, and expect compoundingreturns in the form of more available time and less physical and mentalintervention. Collaboration of resources can work wonders, a few steps toachieve this could be:

Organize all important documents inphysical folders, properly tagged
Maintain a copy online (Google Docs),this acts as a part of your Risk mitigation plan (another important Management module)-in case you lose your physical papers
Checklists for mundane activities (monthlygrocery list, travel kit, taxation requirements, festival requirements, etc.)
Monthly expense planning (Googledocs offers some cool templates for this, and Google Calendar can sendreminders :))
Organize mobile contacts, make relevantfolders, make sure emergency numbers (doctor, ambulance, bank & credit cardcall centre) remain on speed dial

Management is a process which calls for frequentreview and continuous improvements. This blog is a very small attempt to identifyand improve some of the very basic activities of daily life. As Henry Fordquoted- “I’m not a hard working person, rather an absolutely lazy one who keepsfinding easier ways of getting his work done”; a thought worth implementation,lets strive to be lazy in this manner :)

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara...

2011-09-12T18:46:00.002+05:30

I happened to watch this movie with my wife lately; nice happy movie, full of life, just like “Jab We Met”. It’s a story of three friends who are off to Spain to celebrate their bachelorhood as of one of them is soon to get married. Three weeks of adventure, fun and (bit of) philosophy that follows keeps your senses glued to the screen.

Each one of the protagonists is sub-consciously combating himself; running away from answering his own questions. Adventures and drives, fun with friends helps each one realize that all answers lie within them, one just needs to listen to his heart.

Movie characters relate closely to today’s youth, and movie situations, to their dilemma. There are Hrithik Roshans around who are running a rat race, forgetting completely that even if they win, they still remain rats. Running after money, envisaging a great future deprives them from enjoying their most valuable “present”. Abhay Deols refrain from speaking their hearts out; guilt ridden souls do not wish to (momentarily) hurt others while compromising on their most valuable asset called “life”. On the other side, there are even Farhan Akhtars who take life very casually; blissfully unknown that feelings coming straight out of heart can heal relations better.

While answering the protagonists, this movie also poses a few questions to the audience- what really matters more in life? What is it that should remain permanent in life- is it a heart delighting hobby or a tiring rat race? A well nourished personal relation or a selfish professional connection?

What is it that adds “life” to mere metabolism supported by breathing?

This movie is a MUST watch, and the message- worth implementing. Maybe watching this movie makes you understand why adding life to every moment, makes “moments in life” better :-)

Itni si zindagi main- kyon daudta hai raat din, kya paa lega itna daudkar?
Yaad hai kab dekha tha Sooraj ko aakhri baar ugate hue,
Kab nihara tha chand ko chandni main chalte hue,
Saanson main kaid kab ki thi foolon ki mahak,
Kab kaano main aakhri baar goonji thi masoom chidiya ki chahak,
Tanhai main baithe hue kab gufta-goo ki thi khud ke saath,
Kab kisi khoobsurat shayari ke liye dil se nikli thi- Irshaad,
Saare lamhe kho diye, sab kuchh paane ki chahat main,
Kabhi socha hai kya kya khoya hai- aisi jindagi bitane main??

Bach gaya re Osama

2011-05-19T20:52:00.001+05:30

It’s been a few days that US forces killed Osama. Series of allegations and butt saving that follow make sure this matter remains hot, hot enough to bake bread for every leading media house on earth.

Rewind to September 11 2001, day when the Jihadis mocked at the security of the most powerful country on earth. Imagine this happening in India- say Mumbai where the Jihadis have targeted the Bombay Stock Exchange.

India too, just like US did, has taken the matter very personally. Our beloved PM has (as usual verbally) challenged the “neighbouring country” of dire consequences while condemning this cowardly act. Amidst meetings and allegations and futile rhetoric, Indian top brass hands over a list of 21 “Most Wanted” terrorists (21st being the latest one- Osama) to Pakistan. From US to UN, and peace talks to cricket match invitations, India finally gathers the courage and invades Abottabad to grab Osama- offcourse- grab him alive.

Osama’s arrest makes a golden entry in Indian history; Indian jurisdiction pulls up the socks and gets back to work. After a week the Home ministry submits a whopping 11000 page document full of evidences against Osama. A specially appointed judicial panel will interrogate Osama in a special court, and make sure an advocate (preferably from the minority community) handles his case. This begins an episode of a courtroom drama, which is to run longer than the longest saas-bahu soap of Indian television. Hundreds of hours of court’s time are being consumed to prove that this person “accused” of killing millions is “actually” Osama; Osama’s lawyer makes sincere efforts in fabricating documents and ID cards to prove this “accused” as a professor in Osmania University- Hyderabad.

Osama’s demand for a lawyer from Taliban is being considered by Indian law; every effort is made to convince Taliban to lend them a lawyer. After a month’s futile efforts (and off course tax payers’ hard earned money), a guilt ridden judge will try and justify Osama his inability in fulfilling Osama’s demand.

Meanwhile the home department is busy building a “fortress” that will guard Osama from the worst of the natural or nuclear attacks. Crores are spent making sure Osama remains comfortable and enjoys Indian hospitality, relishing his favourite Biryanis every day.

One fine day with a heavy heart, the special court declares him guilty of all the charges and sentences him to death. The compassionate and benevolent Indian law automatically forwards his papers to the high court, and allows him 60 days to “think over” challenging the verdict in high court. Same episode starts again, with new protagonists and the same antagonist, witnesses are called again, documents and IDs are being re-fabricated, ultimately posing a question on the decision making abilities of the Tahilianis of the junior court.

Meanwhile the Indian politicians make sure they leave no stone unturned to bank on this. The Digvijays and Amar Singhs are busy shedding crocodile tears for Osama”ji”, an attempt to grab the greener vote bank. High Court’s capital judgment is now being questioned in the Supreme Court and ultimately the whole Indian judiciary once again becomes hapless and handicapped.

Osama finally joins the elite club of “sympathy seekers”, enjoying Indian hospitality, waiting for his turn to get hanged. He is lucky, our president is too busy in inaugurations and spending crores in passive-flying the Sukhois.

It’s been more than 5 years that Osama was grabbed in Abbotabad, Indians have almost forgotten Osama now. One fine day a breaking news flashes on the television- Al Qaeda has hijacked an Air India plane and have demanded the release of Osama. Media bulls get on their toes to bake their breads again, TRPs are on an all time high.

Osama is being released today, proving the whole Indian judiciary to be a fool. Manmohan, Sonia and Chidu (or the likes after 5 years) are busy condemning the cowardly act, and challenging (again verbally) the “neighbouring country” of dire consequences. The “Most Wanted” list is updated with the names of the 2 hijakers, count now reaches 23 :-)

Al-Qaeda is happy, mocking again- “Saari Duniya ke saamne, Osama hua faraar…fir ek bar lut gaya..Bharat bhare bazaar…”

A tryst with Himalayas...

2011-01-26T15:09:00.002+05:30

It didn’t take too much of thinking for us to finalize Sikkim as our honeymoon destination. “Don’t go there, it would be too cold in December”, “Why not Kerala instead?” everyone opined to no vain.

An early morning check in from Pune airport landed us at 1:30 pm at Bagdogra after a 2 hour halt and flight change in Delhi. Bagdogra serves as the nearest airport for Gangtok and Darjeeling. We followed the itinerary to reach Gangtok first; It was dark (although 5:15 pm :-)) when we entered Sikkim , must be a small border town where we halted for tea. Small Mongolian style multistoried homes like empty match boxes appeared glued to each other. “Doesn’t seem we are in India, all Red Dragon architecture around…” I said to my wife.

120 kms is a tiring 4 hour journey from Bagdogra to Gangtok. Gangtok seems a beautiful city with neat and clean roads and lot of hotels, interestingly, a lot of wine shops too ;). Next morning we were set on a drive to Tsomgo lake- a beautiful natural miracle formed at 12000 ft above sea level! It takes 2 hours to cover 40 kms to reach the lake (hard to believe for the Deccan Plateau’ers :-)), however the natural wealth one finds there makes it worth the efforts. Also the serene water and surroundings offer a lot of fodder to satisfy your photographic hunger! A must visit to anyone travelling to Sikkim. The day also covered a visit to the Harbhajan Baba Mandir- a temple built in memory of a 1962 war martyr named Harbhajan Singh, who supposedly invaded a fellow soldier’s dreams and pleaded for a temple to be built for him.

Third day was a visit to North Sikkim- covering Lachung and Yumthang. Drive to the north drops the mercury further down, the natural beauty, however, increases in inverse proportion. The 130 km drive from Gangtok to Lachung takes about 5 hours, as you wait to enjoy the celestial waters of Seven Sisters’ waterfall, and stop at places to click a few snaps of the great Himalayas. We checked-in at Comfort-Inn- a mediocre hotel at Lachung.

Lachung acts as a stop-over for Yumthang excursion. You need to get up early next morning to travel to Yumthang. The valley welcomes you with a harsh wind chill, but it fails to wane (in fact adds to the excitement) of being there- right in the lap of the Himalayas, you thank yourself you didn’t miss it :-)

Returning back to Gangtok by late afternoon, we spent our evening on MG Road- Gangtok. MG Road (just like in Pune :-)) is a beautiful walking plaza with lot of shops; a perfect place for the window shoppers to hang around.

Our itinerary included travel to Pelling, a town in West Sikkim. We travelled all the way from Gangtok (East Sikkim) via South Sikkim to reach Pelling. Sikkim being a very small state, a 150 km drive can take you from one end to another. This is however, a very time consuming drive as the spiral roads cutting the mountains are in very bad shape and condition.

Pelling is a mediocre town with not much to offer to the tourists, just a couple of waterfalls and the grand Himalayas, which you love anyway :-)

We drove to Darjeeling the next day, bidding farewell to Sikkim, continued following the Himalayas though. Enter Bengal and the roads get worse, small downtrodden villages seem neglected. It was around 3:30 pm when we reached Darjeeling, cutting through the dense traffic and congested lanes, we reached our Hotel- Anand Palace; first sight of this “Queen of Hill Stations” didn’t impress us. We had about a day and a half to spend there, visiting places and shopping for the kin. To our surprise though, the congested streets at 4 pm got absolutely deserted by 6 pm- it was dark when we started shopping- teas and sweaters were too good to resist.

Our lazy bones were not to allow us to wake up at 3:30 am to witness the sunrise from Tiger Hill, we decided to visit it at brighter hours during our city tour the following day. Tiger Hill is supposedly known after a group of Army Police- called “Tiger cubs” which the British had deployed to check army indiscipline. The current state of the viewing balcony remains neglected owing to a non-cooperation movement to support an ongoing agitation in Darjeeling- Darjeeling wants a separate state- Gorkhaland for the Nepali speaking population of North Bengal.

City tour also covers a visit to Japanese temple, Mountaineering Institute and the local zoo. Visit to the rock garden was the best of all the places we visited in Darjeeling so far. En-route the tea estate we stopped at St. Joseph’s- a school with a magnificent structure and campus. “Film Star Danny Dengzongpa, all crown princes of Nepal, current King of Bhutan, all are St. Joseph's pass outs, it’s an institute meant for the elite”- our 73 year old guide was well informed. We had an out of itinerary visit to a rehabilitation centre meant for the Tibetans. Chinese invasion in Tibet has left thousands of Tibetans homeless, this is one of the places they can rebuild their lives.

Our great day so far was to end at a beautiful tea estate- “Maybe it was here somewhere that Pehla Nasha was shot”- my Aamir fan wife commented.

Our tour was to end the next day, we checked out of our hotel the next morning- on our way back to the Bagdogra airport, cherishing the great hospitality we experienced, and gathering all the good moments we had shared with each other over the past 7 days. Sikkim and Darjeeling had offered us enough to start a great new life ahead.

पुन्हा गारवा, गारवा रीलोडेड

2010-10-15T20:56:00.000+05:30

आपल्या आवडत्या गारवा ऍल्बम च्या एका क्लासिक गाण्याच्या कवितेपासुन प्रवृत्त होउन माहिती तंत्रद्न्यानातल्या कामगारांची ही गाथा:

मूळ कविता:
कवी: सौमित्र

ऊन जरा जास्त आहे, दर वर्षी वाटतं
भर उन्हात पाऊस घेउन, आभाळ मनात दाटतं
तरी पावलं चालत राहतात, मन चालत नाही
घामा शिवाय शरीरा मध्ये कोणीच बोलत नाही

तितक्यात कुठुन एक ढग सूर्या समोर येतो,
तितक्यात कुठुन एक ढग सूर्या समोर येतो,
उन्हा मधला काही भाग, पंखांखाली घेतो
वारा उनाड मुला सारखा, सैरा वैरा पळत राहतो
पाना फुला झाडांवरती, छपरावरती चढून पाहतो

दुपार टळून संध्याकाळचा सुरु होतो पुन्हा खेळ,
उन्हा मागून चालत येते, गार गार कातरवेल
चक्क डोळ्यांसमोर ऋतु कूस बदलून घेतो,
पावसा आधी ढगांमध्ये कुठुन गारवा येतो ?

(मूळ कवीची माफी मागुन) विडंबन:

काम जरा जास्त आहे, रोज ऑफिस मध्ये वाटतं
चाल ढकल करत करत, काम वाढत राहतं
जरी डेडलाईन फिक्स असते, तरी काळजी वाटत नाही
कारण आळसा शिवाय शरीरा मध्ये कोणीच बोलत नाही

तितक्यात कुठुन एक ईमेल इन्बॉक्स मध्ये येतो,
तितक्यात कुठुन एक ईमेल इन्बॉक्स मध्ये येतो,
प्रोडक्टिव टाइम चा काही भाग, ईमेल वाचण्यात जातो
जिथून तिथून फॉर्वर्ड होउन, ईमेल नुसता फिरत राहतो
फायरवॉल स्पॅम ची बंधनं मोडत, इतरांचा वेळ खात राहतो

ईमेल नंतर सुरु होतो वेळ घालवण्याचा दुसरा खेळ,
चाहा कॉफी चा आस्वाद घेत, वाया जातो आपला वेळ
चक्कं डोळ्यांसमोर डेडलाईन मिस होताना पाहतो,
तरी चांगल्या अपरेझल ची आपण, कशी अपेक्शा ठेवतो ?

Rendezvous with Rajnikanth

2010-10-11T19:58:00.000+05:30

OK, I’ve been away for a while from blogging and watching movies, respecting other priorities. I watched Dabangg recently, but that didn’t really impress me enough to write a blog on. Yesterday I watched Robot, and this definitely set my cells racing to pen down how I felt it.

I was hitherto never too inclined towards watching a Rajnikant movie, not that its anathema to me, but watching his action on youtube was enough to be entertained. I recently saw “Shivaji, the Boss”- another cult Tamil movie with Rajni’s patented action sequences, never had action been so hilarious to me before :).

Yesterday was the first time I saw a Rajni movie in a theatre- hoping a hilarious Sunday morning after a busy Saturday. To my surprise though, I found this movie to be truly interesting. It is hilarious, where it should be; at the same time it keeps the interest aroused throughout.

This movie directed by Shankar portrays Vasi (Superstar Rajnikant) as the protagonist- who creates Chitti after 10 years of rigorous efforts. Chitti is an obedient Robot, has knowledge of everything under the sun, yet smart enough not to reveal whatever’s meant to be top secret; is physically as powerful as 100 men, yet a feeling / emotion less machine. Danny plays the antagonist- getting into loggerheads with Vasi out of jealousy. Danny misuses his authority to reject Chitti’s use in helping armed forces. Danny refers Chitti as an emotion less piece of iron who cannot take decisions based on emotions, hence could prove more dangerous than being helpful. Vasi infuses emotions in Chitti, gets him closest to being a human being, but this backfires as Chitti falls in love with Sana (Aishwarya Rai)- Vasi’s girlfriend. Danny plays his cards to influence Chitti against Vasi, and makes him an absolute destroyer. Chitti multiplies himself to form an army of Robots, and finally Vasi works all his ways to save the city and get Chitti back to being a “Good Robot”.

Movie maintains a decent pace and interest till the intermission, brevity in action at a few instances is a welcome change (I believe Rajnikant’s ageing bones are revolting these days :)). Post intermission the movie does lose its pace for a while, but the “Bad” Chitti makes sure you stay seated. Movie runs for 3 complete hours, but could have been more interesting had the director cut a few songs and script writer trim a few unwanted sequences (the mosquito chase for example.) Apart from all these, I believe Shankar has pretty well managed to make his virgin attempt in sci-fi genre, a success (much better than how Rakesh Roshan would have managed). This movie has some amazing sets, (finally laboratories in Indian movies are getting modern and no more show boiling chemicals and flickering LEDs :)); Songs are mediocre, lyrics are senseless off-course :) but are picturised at some beautiful locations, and movie can definitely boast of some good graphics.

All in all, this movie carries all the elements that truly have worked together over years to help Shivajirao Gaikwad take a leap above mediocrity and dwell among the stars as Rajnikant. Mind it- its not surprising that “Superstar” apltly forms an Esquire for Rajnikant, naturally :).

Note: (read: Warning for Microsoft) While typing this blog I realized that MS Word doesn’t recognize “Rajnikant” and suggests it as a possible mis- spell. High time Microsoft realizes and corrects it, before the wrath of Rajni harms them ;).

A lovely affair

2010-09-08T23:39:00.000+05:30

“To the light in your eyes and sun in your smile!”- Karan raised his wine, admiring the dimple formed on a blushing cheek. He was happy; a beautiful day spent with his fiancée didn’t tire him. Alisha was happy too; nothing more could she ask from this day which would conclude on a beautiful evening, spent on a candle light dinner with the one she loved.

Alisha and Karan had recently been engaged. It was just a couple of months back that they first met each other, that one too was a similar evening. Cool breeze swept the lawns while the two families introduced each other. Alisha and Karan were two absolutely different souls- racing on different professional tracks, with different paths and different tastes. Soon they discovered a few common traits; Both were candid in their communication, thought well to decide, maintained a huge friend circle, and had consciously managed to believe that were to go for an arranged marriage. These traits, however, didn’t make their personalities parallel; but then- parallels never intersect, do they? Three meetings were enough to get them betrothed for life, they got engaged the traditional way, and now they had some quality time to spend before both said- “I do.”

Their courtship had just begun; and monsoon being round the corner, boasted of the right atmosphere for the right moments. Today was the first time they were to spend the whole day together. It was a busy Saturday early morning while Karan had his car all geared up. Alisha was ready when Karan picked her up at her residence, an orange T shirt over black jeans, and an aroma that instantly spread around, he found her mesmerizing. Driving and chatting with music played around, they never realized when they crossed the city limits. They were now on a lonely road, driving patiently and enjoying the countryside, the track on the audio CD read a marathi track- "Gaarwa..varyavar bhir bhir bhir paarwa....". The mood was just getting right, the lush greenery around would bet- how green can your green get??

They chatted a lot- from books to movies, Dev Anand to Aamir Khan, from India to America :)- all facts and pep talk, what was romantic- was only the music coming from the car audio- it now read - “Bol na halke halke…”. They soon discovered that the mist in the air and greenery around deserved more attention than they were offering. A few halts on the way, a few photo clicks and the breeze- all they enjoyed before halting for a cup of tea; a brew in the mist with “Pyaar hua ikraar hua hai…” on the track, things couldn’t get better. They moved on, halting occasionally at a few waterfalls to get wet, just as the Yuva track suggested- “Ho ne do, dil ko…Fanaaa….udd ne do, har ek who tamannaa……”.

A decent resort on the way seemed to offer a great lunch. After all the fun, they needed some good food, he enjoyed chicken and she didn’t mind. Resort offered a soothing ambience, to make things better was the instrumental music in background, coincidently and rightly it played the tune for- “Dil kya kare jab kisise…kisiko pyaar ho jaye..”. Both felt comfortable, chatting along and discovering each other was interesting- “Who was the first person you had a crush on?”, “Did you ever feel infatuated?”, “What made you choose me?” and so on…

Returning back was equally enjoyable, monsoon showers were heavier than before, and music better. “Chupke se..lag ja gale..” on the track didn’t wary Alisha…she wasn’t as filmy as Karan was :). It was a long drive they had covered, which got them back in the city by dinner time. A shot of wine was what Karan demanded; Alisha had no objections, as she believed he deserved it, after having made her day.

“What are you thinking about?”- Karan interrupted Alisha. “About the good times”- Alisha replied. “You mean Kingfisher Strong?” Karan winked.

It had been a fruitful day, and definitely one they both would cherish. Promising each other of more such weekends and making a commitment for a better courtship and even better life together, Karan smiled while Alisha bid a farewell for the day…the dark silence around reverberated the mood, while the car audio played the Kismat Connection track which read- “Is this love…maine na jaana….”.

Benevolent India

2010-08-31T16:39:00.001+05:30

A few khadi figures in New Delhi get way too benevolent when any natural calamity strikes South East Asia. They are the first ones to feel the quakes, the first ones to bleed and cry blood whenever something pinches our neighbours, esp. Pakistan.

Pakistan these days is hit by the worst floods in 80 years. Indians had announced an aid of USD 5 million to help rehabilitate (themselves and) those hit by the flood. Our honourable external affairs minister Mr. S M Krishna (after being recently humiliated in Pakistan) has shamelessly forgotten all bygone, and says- "As a more concrete assessment of the damage inflicted by this natural disaster and the urgent needs of the people of Pakistan emerges, government has decided to increase its assistance to Pakistan from USD 5 million, announced earlier, to USD 25 million". I wonder how in 60 years they haven’t been able to concretize their assessment of poverty within India.

Helping our neighbours will only hold good when we ourselves are self-sufficient. When we aren’t responsible for the natural calamity, and aren’t self sufficient ourselves, why on earth do we need to spend so much money in helping a neighbour like Pakistan?

I feel India is plagued with nurturing ostentatious mannerisms at the cost of tax-payers’ hard earned money. Rearing one the poorest populace on earth, we take pride in housing the largest Presidential residence in the world, spending (wasting?) crores in its monthly maintenance. We get to gather lot of (money and) pride by boasting the abilities to host the Commonwealth games. We spend crores in directing the drama of Ajmal Kasab, when the whole country knows that he will never be hanged, and will lead a secure life in India, while his petition will remain dust ridden with our honourable President for decades to come. All in all- a great show depicting the greatness of Indian democracy gets presented in front of the whole world, while Mahatma Gandhi’s (who open heartedly contributed Rs. 56 crores to “rebuild” Jinnah’s Pakistan) soul remains happy. The fact that half the population of India is half naked and sleeps hungry every night, stays comfortably ignored.

I believe the next line of action of our Pak-hearted politicians should be to make every attempt to get the Pakistani cricketers clean out of the match fixing allegations slapped on them. Every small help extended to our neighbours shall add on the credit side of their balance sheet meant for the “ultimate justice” (in hell).

Helping Pakistan is like feeding milk to a snake, Indian politicians don’t mind it, as long as it (as they assume) helps them gather the minority votes. Chanakya- one of the greatest philosophers and politicians of all times- suggests that- “It’s a snake’s trait to bite, so even if you feed it with milk, it will leave no chance to bite you”.

“Love thy neighbour” is what every religion teaches, but “Charity begins at home”, is what should matter more. It’s high time we follow Chanakya in Politics, rather than Gandhi.

When fate saves...

2010-08-10T20:28:00.001+05:30

Have you ever experienced this? Sometimes a thought strikes from nowhere, and your mind unconsciously follows it, without asking- why? You act instantly, least bothered to think deeper and being absolutely unaware that you are actually being taken away from a nemesis.

It happened with me this weekend. With nothing major to do and an official tour coming up for my brother, my family decided to spend the weekend with my uncle in Thane. Saturday passed faster than I anticipated and spending half of our day in Nirmal Lifestyle- Mulund, we (my parents and I) started back to Pune, leaving my brother behind to finish his official work and return the next day.

It was when we hit the Mumbai-Pune expressway that my father suggested we take the older highway. I was excited, I’d never been through it and was told its at its best in monsoon. I took the Khopoli exit and started on the older highway. With lush greenery all around, we enjoyed the smooth climb on Khandala ghat.

A wrong turn led us back on the expressway. I thought to continue the rest of my journey on the expressway, as the exciting ghat was over and we could reach home faster. I paid no heed to the Khandala exit and continued on the expressway, driving my Santro at around 100 kms an hour. It was now that a thought came to my mind- driving on the extreme right lane, I saw a board which said- “Lonavala Exit- 500 m ahead”, I told my father- “Let’s take the exit and continue on the older one, why pay another toll?” About 150 – 200 meters prior to the exit, I cut my speed and started cutting the lanes to get to the left exit lane.

While Lonavala exit was at a stone’s throw, I suddenly saw a Honda City- skidding across the highway it made a complete 360 degree horizontal turn, cutting lanes from left to right and finally hitting hard on the back on the road divider. All this happened barely 60 - 80 metres from where I was, and no vehicle between my Santro and the battered Honda City. Thankfully, there was no other vehicle in vicinity in the 2 right lanes, and accident wasn’t fatal. The driver was the lone traveler in that car, and he seemed safe- absolutely bewildered though.

What could have possibly happened is (out of what I observed there)- the driver of Honda City was about to take the Lonavala exit, but changed his mind at the eleventh hour to remain on the expressway. A Tempo Trax (or something similar) that was driving in the extreme left lane could have unintentionally pushed the Honda City, being unaware that it may continue on the expressway. A slight push on the back at around 80 – 90 kmph matters a lot. Thankfully Honda City wasn’t fast enough to get itself tumbled on the road.

Made me think- what would have happened had I not thought of getting off the expressway to hit the older highway? Being in the extreme right lane, and driving at approximately 100 kms an hour, I could have either rammed the skidding car at 90 degrees, or maybe the car skid could have rammed my car into the road divider- losses not to be estimated. At the end of all this- I was happy my parents and I (also my car :-)) were safe.

Whatever made me get off the expressway, definitely saved me from losses. But what is it? Call it my fate or my good luck? I believe there are certain things which cannot be proven, why they happen- cannot be explained. But at times it definitely makes you appreciate what the situation presently is, as it is much better than what it could’ve been.

Working from home..

2010-07-07T18:44:00.001+05:30

Its rare that I work from home, coz. working from home is not well penetrated in Indian way of working yet, and I find it a burden to carry my laptop home everyday. Today I did, and this was a planned one. The planned palkhi (a religious procession once a year) route was right next to where my office is, road block notice released by Pune traffic control was to affect my way directly, thus- I had a reason to convince my manager. He allowed me to work from home today.

Although I sincerely worked for 8 hours, I happened to discover a few advantages I can derive by occasionally working from home:

Avoid the traffic chaos (this obviously is the major one...)
Avoid going through that pathetic Nagar Road and the depressing Kharadi- Mundhwa bypass (yuck...that area sucks. :(... )
I can be at ease, wearing my bermuda shorts at work
Spend more time playing with my baby niece
Have a complete meal at lunch (which only happens n weekends...)
Ocassionally watch television, work with music turned on and loud
Chat on Gtalk, without worrying if my manager watches out..
Spend more "official" time on Facebook
Maybe even have a short nap after lunch (although I've not tried yet, but seems a good option :)..)
Speak on my phone without rushing to search an empty meeting room
Be flexible with my time and actions, as no one is watching :)

This list can keep on updating, maybe my readers suggest a few more which I can implement next time I work from home. I only pray my manager doesn't read this post, I may have a tough time convincing him next time. :)

A tryst with monsoon...

2010-06-29T18:49:00.000+05:30

"उद्या राजगड ला कार ने जाणार आहेस का?" (Will you be driving down to Rajgad tomorrow?) Aai asked me while I was busy packing things for my trek next day. "नाही, बाईक ने". "आणि पाउस पडला तर?" (What if it rains??) - a concerned mom. "भिजायलाच तर चाललो आहे :)"- I chuckled- we had planned to get wet in the rains.

So much I love roaming on weekends in monsoon, thanking my parents for having raised me in this beautiful city- whose surroundings only get better with every shower. I've always loved Pune for this- whichever way you go- pass 25 kms and you enter what could well qualify a countryside. The magnificent Sahyadris welcome you with open arms, lonely plain roads cutting through the hills, hosting a few tiny villages on the way...fresh air and lush greenery all around, and occasional showers only add to the fun. All you need is a free Saturday / Sunday, a bunch of pals, bikes / car and loads of exuberance. No planned destinations needed, as the drive itself is worthwhile. Not to miss a cup of steaming hot tea and a plate of "pohe" in some makeshift restaurant on the way.

2009 was a rather lean year for my monsoon trails- courtesy- my neck deep pile of work in Zensar Technologies- that had me spend (read- waste) most of my weekends in office. This year is much better for many reasons, and I plan not to waste any weekend and leave behind more monsoon memoirs, while covering up the time wasted last year. I only wish it starts raining again....sooner than later..:)

Mahabharat and Bollywood

2010-06-25T21:38:00.000+05:30

Mahabharat finds a place among the best of classics and the most respected mythological epics of India. Hardly anyone can remain out of the charismatic sphere it builds- be it the Bhagvad Gita, the larger than life characters, the situations, the principles, the ethics, the morals and the politics. Mahabharat has inspired a few Bollywood directors- who could base a modern day story on it. Apart from the recent Rajneeti, Kalyug is a rather forgotten classic that inherits from Mahabharat. This 1981 classic directed by Shyam Benegal is a modern day adaptation of Mahabharat. Although a different script entirely, the characters and situations pose a striking similarity with it.

A race to grab government contracts emerges an age old feud between two rival business families- owned by first cousins Dhanraj and BharatRaj. Karan Singh (Shashi Kapoor) plays the protagonist, his role being parallel to that of Karna- the most chivalrous and respected, yet fate deprived character of Mahabharat.

Bhishmachand (Bhishma pitamah) is a life-long bachelor and rears the sons of Ramchand- Khubchand (a physically disabled “Dhritrashtra”) and Puranchand (the impotent “Pandu”). Khubchand begets two sons- Dhanraj (“Duryodhan” played by Victor Banerjee) and SandeepRaj (“Dushasan” played by Akash Khurana).
Dharamraj (“Yudhishtir” played by Raj Babbar), Balraj (a Pandav played by Kulbhushan Kharbanda ) and BharatRaj (“Arjun” played by Anant Nag) are sons of Puranchand (although later discovered to be biologically fathered by “Swamiji”). Karan is an orphan raised by Bhishmachand. Kishan uncle (“Krishna” played by Amrish Puri) is BharatRaj’s proposed father in law and business advisor.

Story begins with Dhanraj (with the help of his trusted and business smart lieutenant Karan) gaining a lucrative government contract defeating his cousins. BharatRaj, unlike his brothers, takes the matter very seriously and smartly grabs the contract through a legal way out. Situation unfurls for worse and this triggers a series of events. Bhishmachand’s futile attempts to mediate make the matters out of control and lead to a tragic turn.

Karan Singh out smarts BharatRaj almost all the time, getting him on BharatRaj’s hit list. Dhanraj, despite Karan Singh’s opposition on moral terms, plots to kill BharatRaj, but his men accidently kill the young son of Balraj. BharatRaj’s hate and prejudice makes him believe it as an act of Karan Singh, and finally BharatRaj’s men kill Karan when he is busy fixing his car tyre (again- Karna was killed by Arjun when the wheel of his chariot got stuck in the mud). Meanwhile a tensed Dhanraj ends himself, and BharatRaj breaks emotionally when he discovers that he had killed his own kin, Karan being the child bore by BharatRaj’s mother out of wedlock. Story finally ends with the destruction of the two families, posing a question over the brittleness of our moral fabric.

Haven't seen a better adaptation of an age old epic in "Kalyug".

Prisoner of Stars

2010-04-25T12:52:00.000+05:30

These days, most of the Indians planning to get married (the traditional way) seem to be "Prisoners of Stars". I call them so for their sheer over dependence on stars / astrology for taking life’s most important decision- marriage.

A typical Indian arranged marriage begins with the horoscope match, which is the first and possibly the hardest criteria to filter “good” prospective partners. Stars decide the compatibility, what the intellect suggests, comes later. Loads of dependencies follow suit- you cannot marry a partner who descends from your “Gothra”, if you are a “Dev” gan, you cannot marry a “Rakshas” gan, if you are a non-Manglik, you cannot marry a Manglik, etc. Being Manglik is a taboo, it’s like being HIV +ve, everyone runs away from marrying you :). Although perfectly normal in regular life, Mangliks risk the partner's life by transferring misfortune (if not sexually transmitted virus ;)), at times to the extent of causing an untimely death.

It would be incorrect for me to comment negative about Astrology as a science, unless I know everything about it (little knowledge is a dangerous thing, isn’t it?), but then, if it is a science, it should have a standard result. E.g. A certain set of astrological (star) positions should result in a common outcome, whoever on earth reads it, so how is it that each astrologer (guruji) reads it and comes up with his own set of results? Is there any measure to validate the exactness of an astrologer’s predictions? To me, it’s nothing more than a few blind men observing an elephant by their sense of touch- one who touches the legs, calls it a pillar, and another touching the tail, calls it a rope :).

They say the most important decisions in life should be taken by placing your head above your heart. Only your own sane intellect, and not an emotional heart can decide what is best for you. Even nature has placed our head above our heart. (But nature has also placed the stars way above our mortal heads, maybe that gives it an upper hand.)

I truly wonder how people base the most important decisions of their lives, not on what their eyes see, brain thinks and intellect suggests, but on matters they don’t even understand completely. More practical we get in this, more successful marriages we may produce.

There’s a hippie on the highway

2010-03-28T23:15:00.002+05:30

James Hadley Chase found one in one of his classics, but I see them regularly near the Pune-Nagar highway. Every day I travel to office via Viman Nagar, which along with neighbouring Kalyani Nagar and Koregaon Park, forms a superlatively urbanized and elite area of Pune. While crossing Symbiosis, I come across a newer breed of students (I call them the modern day “Hippies”). These Hippies appear to hail from the creamy layer of society, however their appearance makes an irony to (or possibly “symbolizes”) their social status (I may be lagging in following Page 3 these days…:-)).

This breed is easy to identify- they wear a funky T Shirt over bruised denim, carry a bunch of copper wire like hair that remains long and uncombed, seemingly un / semi- bathed bodies and sort of get-up-from-bed-and-pick-up-your-sack type appearance.

“Hippie”, as defined by Dictionary.com is a person, esp. of the late 1960s, who rejected established institutions and values and sought spontaneity, direct personal relations expressing love, and expanded consciousness, often expressed externally in the wearing of casual, folksy clothing and of beads, headbands, used garments, etc. (remember Zeenat Aman and gang in “Hare Rama Hare Krishna”? :-))

Hmm…the ones I see daily maybe the revolutionaries who reject and deny to follow the established institution (Symbiosis- in this case maybe?). I only fail to understand what long uncombed hair has to do with a revolution? Reliable sources suggest that most of these Hippies are no participants but mere imitators, unaware of their social motive to “revolutionize” institutions.

Just to note- This breed is harmless, so the next time you come across them, don’t confuse and charge them of marijuana, we just might waste a revolutionary Management Guru.

Just in case I aroused your interest in this (supposedly) extinct race of humans, you can explore more over here.

Maa Kasam, Filmi hai… :)

2010-03-18T00:24:00.001+05:30

Each one of us loves Bollywood for various reasons, be it the movies, songs, dances or the sheer glamour attached to it. Some people are absolute Bollywood maniacs. Remembering situational filmi dialogues gets into their reflexes and living the movie characters and enacting dialogues sometimes becomes an unconscious and effortless action.

One such maniac named Amit and I would often get into situations where our regular conversation would unconsciously become a collage of filmi dialogues from different movies. We had mastered the art of comfortably chipping in these dialogues in apt situations :). Such was the influence that even Farooq (who was our room mate and hitherto wasn’t “filmi” enough) got inspired and one day delivered a situational dialogue that had us ROTFLOL. It was the fabricated version of "क्रोध को पालना सीख, बेटा काशी" from the movie- “Ghatak” (the actual words Farooq said and the situation is censored :)).

Bollywood mania runs to the bone in some extraordinary human beings- they can form a filmi stance even in serious practical situations. I’ve heard out raged people saying “अगर तुमने माँ का दूध पिया है तो...”, or an overly romantic one saying – “We share a very good Chemistry among us…”. Some arrogant ones say- “अपना इस्तीफा मैं जेब में लिए घूमता हूँ”, while some overly hurt ones use- “मैं तुम्हे मरते दम तक माफ़ नहीं करूँगा / करुँगी” :D. That is simply hillarious.

A normal Software engineer comes across various situations in his professional day when he can comfortably chip in some really cool movie dialogues.
Imagine Mr. X is a software engineer with Cabbage Software Pvt. Ltd, Pest Avenue- Nathaninagar. A slightly arrogant (and absolutely “Filmi”) Mr. X’s typical day would begin by checking his corporate email. He finds a list of bugs from the tester along with a filmi comment: “तुम एक fix दोगे, तो हम 4 bugs देंगे..” (source: Sholay).

Slightly annoyed over the comment, X rushes to the conference room to attend the SCRUM stand up meeting. When the tester starts boasting of and highlighting the high bug count, the filmy Mr. X reacts- "तू सिर्फ अपनी गिनती (bug count) बढ़ा रहा है". (Source: Ab Tak Chhappan). Out of excitement, he accepts the challenge to fix all bugs in a day, and makes a filmi statement- “एक बार जो मैंने commitment कर दी, फिर तो मैं खुद की भी नहीं सुनता...” (source: Wanted).

X dons his thinking cap and starts working. A colleague approaches Mr. X for a smoke, and compels him to join- “सुट्टा मारा करो मियां, coding तो चलता रहता है...” (source: Maqbool).

By lunch time, X has fixed all the bugs. This is his time to serve against the tester, and he makes sure he scores an ace through- “यह लो- तुम्हारा एक एक bug, मेरे दो दो fix, bug 1, fix 2” (source: Andaz Apna Apna).

Since X has taken the matter personally, tester runs a smoke test and rejects the build. DM calls Mr. X in his cabin and demands an explanation, X replies- “मुझे जो सही लगता है मैं करता हूँ, फिर वो चाहे test case के खिलाफ हो, project plan के खिलाफ हो, या फिर original requirements के ही खिलाफ हो...” (source: Sarkar). DM is in no mood of entertaining this “नौटंकी”, and Mr. X gets the music. Frustrated he comes out saying- “कभी tester तो कभी manager, हम कोई मंदिर का घंटा हैं के कोई भी आता है और बजा जाता है...” (source: Hungama)

He starts working again and gets irritated when the watch strikes 9. It’s again a longer day for him, he gets irritated and complains- “Deadline पे deadline, deadline पे deadline मिलती है, बस appraisal कभी नहीं मिलता...” (source: Damini). Finally he starts to wind up the day.

After a tough day it’s his last time to face the music- this time from his wife. She gets him black and blue (verbal only), but that too compels him to end his day in a filmi way- “हे भगवान…यह पत्नी है के पनौती है ? ” (source: Hungama).

After all this do I realize- how much Bollywood has penetrated in our life. Bollywood truly has a say, or should I say- a “literal say” in our everyday life, don’t you feel so? :).

Terrorists, Welcome to Pune!

2010-02-13T22:22:00.001+05:30

These days Aamir Khan promotes the "Atithi Devo Bhava" campaign for the Incredible India initiative. I believe Indian Law (esp. Justice Tahiliani) hears it louder than others. Thats the reason they treat Kasab and other terrorists (who happen to be guests in India) so lavishly.

As always, history repeats itself in India, more often than anticipated. After Mumbai, Delhi, Ajmer, Bangalore, Hyderabad, its Pune's turn to sacrifice. Same old story- intelligence had warned, home ministry didn't take action, security forces were busy releasing MNIK, bla bla bla....
These terrorists have made Indian security an unpaid and helpless whore who they can abuse (I believe the shameless home ministry may not consider it an abuse, but i am just avoiding the more apt "F" word) anytime and as much times as they feel, totally aware that Indian law can never strike terror in their butts.

Prime minister and president will stick to the regular rhetoric- "We condemn this cowardly act", "Those responsible will be punished (maybe 20 years from now...)".

Terrorists have always been hitting India under the belt, when will India hit them 2 inches below? And hit them REAL HARD??? That remains a "Yakshaprashna".

What is Shiv Sena upto?

2010-02-10T18:35:00.001+05:30

Apart from vandalising civic property and the image of Maharashtra, what are they really upto? Shiv Sena is taking every remark very personal these days. Just an attempt to resurface issueless politics to make its presence felt.
MNS is the latest sheen over Maharashtra that is overshadowing SS, and that makes the later behave like an old tiger who wants to go on a hunting spree but is not accepting the bitter reality of its waning virility.

SS v/s MNS

Both SS and MNS are forerunners in being the saviours of marathi manoos.

MNS's advocacy for Marathi in Maharashtra, job preference for localites seem absolutely valid, thinking in the broader sense (infrastructure burden over Mumbai, Pune; concentrated development in India cannot be ignored.), but their actions seem to be inherited from SS.

SS, on the other hand, is short of topics, thanks to the Raj mania. SRK is the flavour of the season for SS, and thankfully, thats untouched by MNS. SS makes sure it grabs all attention through it, but it clearly ignores the question- will it make any positive difference to the life of a common marathi manoos? Why waste time and energy over futile matters? Well, I feel they won't be politicians if they start thinking this way.

These acts only malign the image of Maharashtra. What Maharashtra really needs is a solution to student suicide problem, water supply to over 25000 thirsty villages, more foreign investments generate employment, and much more that is "productive".

Its high time these parties shun issueless politics and be more productive in making life better for Maharashtrians. Its only the civilised and developed Maharashtra that will develop a sense of pride in every marathi manoos.

Raat ke dhai baje...

2010-02-02T02:14:00.003+05:30

Raat ke dhai baje, koi shehnai baje, dil ka bazaar laga......remember this song from Kaminey?? The happy Priyanka Chopra prepares to get married with Shahid (woh Shahid jo "Fa" ko "Fa" nahi bolta, par haklata hai).

Zoom back to real life. Its almost 2:30 at night, and the nocturnal me is not in bed yet. Neither a shehnai, nor anything to display in "Dil ka bazaar", rather blogging this with stray dogs howling and barking around...

I've been in this schedule since about 15 days or so. Late nights are causing acidity and dark circles around my eyes, but my work needs me online till about 3 am. I've always hated this, "neend se samjhauta" / compromise with sleep is not my cup of tea.

So, what is it that I'm trying to say? I know this is a senseless post, but then, I hope you understand. My grey cells need to charge, I need a break from this.

I hope today's the last day in this graveyard shift.

Radhe Krushna naam...

2010-01-17T23:40:00.000+05:30

Just trying to end my weekend, browsing leisurely through some wikipedia pages while listening to my favourite songs. Out of all my favourite ones, this particular song always catches my attention and entices my senses....beautifully crafted to a melodious tune and music, decorated with a sweet voice and laced with mesmerizing lyrics.

To all you lovers of Marathi music, this song by Swapnil Bandodkar is a real treat for your senses :)

वृन्दावनी सा रंग हा, का लावी घोर जिवाला...
झाली अशी वेडी पिशी, कोणी जाउन सांगा त्याला.. (२)

हा मंद गंध भवताली, राधेला वाट गवसली (२)
कधी झर झर पाण्यातुन सुर सुर येती,
कानी स स स प प प म म प ध प म ग रे म प,

राधे कृष्ण राधे कृष्ण नाम, घे गौळण राधा..
राधे कृष्ण राधे कृष्ण नाम, घे गौळण राधा..
राधे कृष्ण राधे कृष्ण नाम.............

१
डोई वरती घागर घेउनी, जाई राधा नदी किनारी..
हळुच कुठुनसा येई मुरारी, बावरलेली होई बिचारी..

शब्द शब्द अवघडले, परी नजरेतूनच कळले (२)
आज ऐकण्यादी कान होई अधीर अधीर,
मन स स स प प प म म प ध प म ग रे म प,

राधे कृष्ण राधे कृष्ण नाम, घे गौळण राधा..
राधे कृष्ण राधे कृष्ण नाम, घे गौळण राधा..
राधे कृष्ण राधे कृष्ण नाम.............

२
गोड गोजिरी, मूर्त सावळी, प्रिती ची तव रीत आगळी..
म्हणती सारे आज गोकुळी, राधा माधव नाही वेगळे

मनी चांदणे फुलती, पाहुनिया फुले नाते (२)
कधी येणार येणार श्याम रोखुनिया डोळे,
प्राण स स स प प प म म प ध प म ग रे म प,

राधे कृष्ण राधे कृष्ण नाम, घे गौळण राधा...
राधे कृष्ण राधे कृष्ण नाम, घे गौळण राधा...
राधे कृष्ण राधे कृष्ण नाम.............

वृन्दावनी सा रंग हा, का लावी घोर जिवाला
झाली अशी वेडी पिशी, कोणी जाउन सांगा त्याला

हा मंद गंध भवताली, राधेला वाट गवसली (२)
कधी झर झर पाण्यातुन सुर सुर येती,
कानी स स स प प प म म प ध प म ग रे म प,

राधे कृष्ण राधे कृष्ण नाम, घे गौळण राधा..
राधे कृष्ण राधे कृष्ण नाम, घे गौळण राधा..
राधे कृष्ण राधे कृष्ण नाम.............
राधे कृष्ण राधे कृष्ण नाम.............

A series of incidents...

2010-01-14T15:18:00.000+05:30

Not sure if this is some sort of a nature's rule, but from what I have observed in past few days, the frequency of certain incidents happening around, suddenly increases. Sadly though, most of these incidents are negative.

These days almost daily we read about Indians being attacked in Australia and students commiting suicides across Maharashtra. Is it that such incidents didn't happen as much in the past? Or is the media more active in covering such reports these days??
Few days back we would also read reports of suicide bomb blasts in various Pakistani cities, almost everyday. Another negative incident on the fire.

The only positive series that I've observed is the series of good marathi movie being released these days :-) I sincerely envisage to see more such positive incidents happening in series, like:

A series where more govt babus are being punished against corruption
A series of more terrorists executed by Indian law
Sensex constantly on the rise (easier dreamt though :-))
A series of new scientific inventions

I believe one incident encourages the next one, next one further to a third one, and that begins a series.But in the brighter sense, if one negative incident fosters the next one, same should also be true with positive incidents.

Its a major responsibility with our media in such cases to cover and highlight more positive stories and spread more positiveness around.

Typical civic / traffic habits of Indians

2010-01-11T22:47:00.000+05:30

Indian civic habits may very well suffice for a lengthy paperback. Although a small blog like this one will not cover the topic in its entirety, this is an attempt to highlight the major concerns faced by Indians, and most importantly- BECAUSE OF INDIANS.

These habits may more or less be similar in all major relatively uncivilized populace of undeveloped countries like India. My comments here come purely out of my experience in India and the US (and with contributions from television documentaries) and may not be a good read for pseudo-patriots.

Some strikingly noticeable civic rules formed by Indians (as these cannot officially form a part of any government rule book) at a high level:

Lack of civic sense
No responsibility towards the society one lives in
Self favour, no concerns for fellow beings

Now for the things better explained:

Unnecessary use of horns

Use of polluting / honking horns- no control over its frequency, decibels, etc.

Minimal / no use of indicators- I wonder why they use less necessary accessories more than the necessary ones, and vice-versa.

Parking 2 wheelers on side stand- this way 1 vehicle consumes the space equivalent to two, and utmost care is taken that the next one who tries to park his 2 wheeler faces trouble in doing so.

A horn when red signal turns green- assuming that all others are blind, or colour blind at least.

Vehicles over Zebra crossing- an attempt to save the smallest moment lost when signal turns green.

Spitting on roads- India is my country and I have every right to f**k it.

Stopping vehicle wherever one feels like- what is the road tax paid for??

No concern if it causes problem to others- who cares? We are in India…

No concern over clearing roads for ambulance, fire brigade, etc.- Again, who cares??

Cross a busy road wherever one likes to- we follow the "pedestrian first" rule anywhere and anytime.

Night driving on high beam (dipper)- Everyone curses the opposite driver, no one cares to switch to dimmer himself.

Can’t blame the politicians for anything and everything that goes wrong in society, but who does the introspection? It’s really hard for Indians to grow up to the likes of their laterals in developed nations, in civic / traffic sense, coz that would call for a compromise, and more importantly- a CHANGE IN SELF, which is not something “Indian”.

2009, the year it was…

2010-01-09T23:37:00.000+05:30

It’s been 10 whole days that 2010 has commenced, another year becoming a yesteryear. Each 31st December we realize- we put behind an entire year, a bunch of moments that affected us somehow, some made us happy, and some penetrated deeper to change our lives entirely.

2009 was a very fruitful year for me. It began with me working on the year-end eve in office till 11 pm, and spending a half day alone in office on Jan 1, cursing my company (Cybage) as much as I could :-). Cybage HR policies were at its worst, market conditions were far from the hope of a quick revival, and to follow suit were my project deadlines. I was desperate to quit Cybage and it was in March, when I received a hard earned offer from Zensar Technologies; I didn’t think twice to switch my job.

My 5 month stint with Zensar began in April 2009, not knowing it was a sprint track that I was put on, and only thing expected from me was- to RUN, and keep running without getting tired. I had overcome the financial loss I would have otherwise encountered in Cybage, but that came with a price- I was to sacrifice my personal life to Zensar- NG ODC in particular. There was hardly a weekend I didn’t attend office, and not a day I reached home before 9 pm, things would SUCK.

Finally, just as vCustomer, Zensar proved to be a stepping stone, and finally I got into a company that I admired not only for its posh office and impressive growth, also for its typical “Marathi” culture- Persistent Systems Ltd. I didn’t think twice before accepting the offer. Life so far, is very good here and I have no regrets for the nights spent working hard in Zensar.

2009 was a year to make hay in the stocks as the sun was shining bright. One couldn’t expect a better time when succulent stocks were available in mouth watering prices. I was “investment literate” at the right time, and had great opportunities to put my theory into practice. Sometimes I feel- global recession started at the right time- it all began with Lehman Brothers getting bankrupt, and that happened just 4 days after I returned from 4 months’ stay in the US :-). I wasn’t short of my savings from US trip, thankfully, that made me an aggressive investor in stock markets.

This year also came with a lot of ups and downs in my personal life, from a few strained family matters to some of the most joyous moments. Many good friends got added, some of my best friends got married, some relations got stronger, some got weaker, a bit of “Emotional Atyachaar” towards the end of 2009, but all in all- more credit than debit :-) And, just like every year, I grew a year older in December, and this year I stepped into my late 20s (that means I came a year closer to 30 :-(.)

But finally, as it is said that all’s well that ends well, nothing better could happen than our family being blessed with a baby girl, my niece, on 6th December. After all these great gains and teachings, I have nothing but to thank God and 2009 for making my life better :-).

Childhood longings

2009-11-08T12:03:00.000+05:30

Thinking of the yesteryears of childhood makes one nostalgic. It is said that childhood days are the best part of one’s life. The innocence, the carefree, responsibility free life, gully cricket, Dabba aais-pais, lingorcha..the occasional fights, maybe tense then, bring a smile now :).

Remember your childhood longings, the things you wished would make you the happiest person on earth? Those like me who grew up in the 80s and 90s in middle class families would agree that having a telephone, a colour TV or a refrigerator then would take you financially ahead of most of your collaterals. We had a colour television, but I had a particular fascination towards a “remote control” :) I would be very excited whenever my elder cousin would allow me to operate the remote control of his television. There was a similar attraction towards remote controlled cars, I remember thanking my dad for many days when he bought me a remote controlled car (it was a Porsche :)) when I was about 8 or 9.

Speaking on telephone was another “great” thing to do. We had our first telephone in 1995 (which my dad had booked in 1991 :)) and I would run to receive the call every time the phone rang. Having spoken on telephone was an experience I would share with friends in school.

We lived in a chawl and I dreamt of living in a flat, that too a flat in a building that had an elevator :) When I was in school, everyday I would be the first to get down and run to call my Rickshaw buddy, as I would use an elevator to reach his house on 4th floor.

Having a bicycle was a wish I would do anything for. For me, even a bicycle then was something I would “possess” rather than just “own” ;) The BSA-SLRs and Hero Rangers mattered more to me than what the i10s and Swifts matter now. Car was an elite thing, and the surroundings made me realize that car was not our cup of tea. A childish mind would still long for a ride in a car, and there would be no limits to excitement when we would ride in my maternal uncle’s Maruti 800. The engine power, CC, small car, sedan were jargons, all that mattered was a “CAR”.

I belonged to a family where my parents would not unnecessarily spend money (and even teach their children to do so) on unhealthy manners. That made the smallest wish, when fulfilled, the greatest pleasure of life. Having a “Malai Kulfi” was one such pleasure I would cherish on a rare day when my mom would be kind enough to offer me a rupee to spend it the way I would like to :).
Smoking a cigarette was a MAN thing (thanks to Bollywood) and it had me wait whole of my childhood, even my teenage to try one. I was 23 when I inhaled burning tobacco the first time, reaching my lungs and smoking out… it was my first experience of something I considered masculine all these years :).

One thing worth noting and which we eventually realize is- wishes never end. One fulfilled wish gives birth to another, “longings” become “possible realities” and we start working towards fulfilling them. As the age grows, so do the wishes- in the same proportion, although much more matured than before, they still remain our “longings”.

Kattyavarchya Gappa (Leisure Chit-Chat)

2009-10-31T22:42:00.000+05:30

The other day I was having a nice time with a handful of good friends at Bal Gandharv (our regular katta). We had met after a while, and as usual SS was late (I believe she always follows the right time, but misses the right time zone..). HK, OK and I were having the regular boyish talk when BA joined. The regular “Kasa Ahes”, “Kuthe Ahes”, “Persistent kadhi join kelis??” , “Me job sodla, kantalle” etc. followed suit.

It was BA who actually started the topic, unknowingly when she mentioned she had cleared her second paper of “Jyotish Shastra”. Then began the discussion, we now had a fodder to feed us at least for a couple of hours. We had BA, who is into Astrology, and we had HK, who is into Astronomy. OK and I were pretty excited to get our kundalis read by BA; thanks to HK’s mobile astronomy software, we immediately had the positions of stars, planets, zodiac and what not on a small piece of paper.

“Shani chi dasha vakra aahe”, “Mangal varchya gharat aahe”..BA began…”Aga samjel asha bhashet bol…paisa kiti aahe???”- OK said, making his interests clear :-). “Ahe bharpur, pan baki pan aik na..sarkha kay paise..” BA was quick to reply.
While OK was having fun knowing his future, HK was getting the celestial positions during my birth time on a rough chit of paper. “Are tuzi patrika mast aahe…Shani ani Mangal doghehi varchya gharat aahet…Shanichi krupa aahe..” I felt excited :), still wanted our astrologer to comment. It was then that my right hand started itching when she said- “Near future madhe bharpur paise milnaar ahet..” ;). “Aga pan Rashit Mangal aahe...mhantat na changla nasto” I said getting things clearer about these matters which may be of help in near future for obvious reasons :). “Aahe pan varchya gharat, so don’t worry- Kalyankari asto”- BA’s reply.

Meanwhile SS arrived, although my watch said 8 pm, she was at the right time- 6:30 pm (No matter if it was 6:30 in Dubai then..who cares??). SS has something to discuss on everything, and that means- everything. Do you really believe in astrology, how far can it be true, is it reliable, what is the basis? OK had begun “discussing” the matter. HK, as always, was playing safe- “Whatever I say is based on astronomy- I only speak of the celestial positions at the birth time…its interpretation may differ from astrologer to astrologer, and astronomy has a scientific base.”, I agreed. “Whatever normal astrologers say is based on ‘Statistical data’”, and then we had to hear HK say “Statistical data” at least 10 times in the next 30 minutes :-). “But science itself to an extent is based on hypothesis”- aamchya SS was quick in posting a comment that required no moderation.

This discussion was getting juicier with additions from everyone. From regular hear-say to genuine experience, from Nostradamus to Narendra Dabholkar (Andhashradhha Nirmulan Samiti)- we had a comment on everything. OK went on- “There’s nothing called Luck- the harder we work, the luckier we get”..this time it was me to reply “Agreed, but why were you and I not born to some Bachhans or Kapoors, what hard work did Abhishek Bachchan do to be born with a silver spoon?” unlike the trend, we had a question for every answer :).

“Abhishek was born under the influence of certain heavenly bodies who had some silver spoons ready, this is as per ‘Statistical Data’”- SS cha Puneri chimta.

It was sheer fun and some info as well. But on a serious note- do you believe in Astrology? Do you think positions of heavenly bodies can influence our lives? Do you think good deeds of present life act as good investments to reap benefits in the next life?

For me personally, it is a thing I do not believe, maybe I never will, but a recent experience was shocking (whatever experience I had was not something one can ignore or deny). More so now- I want to believe on the correct interpretation of these celestial positions (if at all astrology is purely based on it) but I don’t want to make it a base to my future decisions in the farthest way. I do believe in reincarnation, and maybe my good deeds in past life have resulted in a good life for me this time…where I have such great friends ;).

Patriotism – What is it?

2009-09-19T19:59:00.001+05:30

Patriotism is commonly defined as love for / devotion towards one’s country. Being specific makes me think- what exactly is a person supposed to love or be devoted to to be called a patriot? Is it the love for landscapes, rivers, natural beauty found in the country, which may very much be similar to what is found in other nations?
Or should a person love his country for the mere fact that s/he was born here (appreciate a coincidence?). Is it loving the fellow countrymen and supporting administrative / cultural decisions taken by the country governors?

I believe patriotism is a broad term which covers everything a person does (consciously or unconsciously) to preserve his / her nation’s integrity, and carries his / her share of responsibilities towards building a better society. Patriotism doesn’t require futile rhetoric or criticizing other nations, but should be more constructive and reflect through everyday activities.

PATRIOTISM IN INDIA

Patriotism in India is a relative term, and the notion differs with differing social groups, politicial entities and social sectors. While a politician may display a surge in (mostly pseudo) patriotism during an election rally, youngsters tend to get patriotic with every other win in cricket.
We start speaking of patriotism only when there is something to instigate it, a win in a sport, a gold medal at the Olympics, an award at the Oscars, or release of a patriotic movie.

Indian Hypocrisy:

We Indians stand up for our National Anthem, but fail to respect our national heritages that are a witness to great national sacrifices. We feel proud of one of the fastest growing economies, but also contribute to the growing filth in the cities. We represent the oldest and the best civilisation, but fail to remain civilised in public.

India lives in history:

Come 15th August, and emails start pouring in our inboxes. Email from people who feel proud of a prosperous nation India was, a wealth of culture and heritage that our ancestors enjoyed, and off course of the scientific and mathematic contributions Indians made in the past. But how long are we going to live in a properous history when present facts speak loud and clear- More than 30% of Indian populace lives below poverty, India represents one of the worst literacy rates in the world, one of the most corrupt countries on earth.

Lets be proud of yesteryears, but instead of wasting time boasting it, lets work today to build a better tomorrow, so that generations to come shall feel proud of their present, as much as we feel for our past.

Object Oriented Life

2009-07-26T19:44:00.000+05:30

Being in the software industry for more than 4 years, software professionals like me can’t help applying computer programming principles in everyday life. The otherwise routine activities and stages in life start getting “Object Oriented”. “Object oriented” here won’t mean leading a life for an objective (no spiritual stuff intented), rather a few examples where life follows the computer programming principles.

The social structure of human beings itself seems to follow Object Oriented Programming (OOP) approach; consider various roles that a person plays throughout his life, be it a son, a brother, a husband or a father. These roles are the classes (“Son”, “Brother”, “Friend”, “Husband”, “Father” etc.) which all are derived from a common base class called “Human”. While “Human” class declares the common properties (Name, family name, sex, age, etc.) and implements a few methods, every derived class has its own set of properties and methods which are called at diferent stages of life. We also can consider “Human” class itself being derived from “Life” interface which defines methods that are common in all living beings, like walking, eating, running, breathing, etc. In this way, life does seem to justify “Inheritence” which is an inherrent part of OOP.

Another important aspect of OOP is Polymorphism, or implementing the same method with different arguments. Daily activities like driving, reading, writing, shopping follow polymorphism. Driving a car seems an overloaded method of driving a bike, similarly reading an online article, email seem to be overloaded methods of reading a physical newspaper.
Encapsulation and use of private variables is as important in human life, as in a computer program. ATM Pin(s) are always (and should alwasys be) private.

A typical human working day personifies a well coded computer program, where different services run in the background, different classes are initialised and flushed at different times and different methods are invoked as per need. Day begin when an alarm clock (background windows service or scheduler? :-)) gets us up. Different methods like Bathing(), HaveBreakfast() are invoked, while activities like WashingClothes(), PreparingBreakfast() are managed by other helper classes like washing machine and microwave owen. We use an overloaded method of Travel() which internally invokes and overload of Driving() as per the argument we pass (bike or car :-)). Reach office and we are into a multitasking mode. Office senior wants us to work, while our multi-task ready processor wants us to parallely trade on an online share trading portal, without hampering the office output.
A small share of our time is also spent in debugging, i.e reviewing the code on which our life runs. Reviewing self and financial health, reviewing the health in our relationships seem to happen in the debug mode. After office hours, we again implement the Travel() overload to reach home, flushing all the unwanted objects (office, share trading etc.) and calling other methods as per need. Not to forget, the day has also encountered a few bugs like unwanted personal loan calls :-)
Handling Events is an important part of a computer program, and equally important is safely handling unwanted events, whom in programming terms, we call “Exceptions”. As in computer, so in personal life, these exceptions should safely be handled. Loss of job, loss of life, health emergency are all examples of real life exceptions which normally are (and should be) planned smartly by way of appropriate insurance and investments. After all, a well built code leads to a well run program :-).

Object orientation improves the quality of code, rendering reliable results. Similarly, a life that follows some simple object oriented principles can definitely improve the quality of our life, after all, life personifies a computer program :-).

Its not just about dollars...

2008-11-27T22:08:00.000+05:30

My latest US trip was much better than the first one, a couple of years ago. There are many reasons to support this- I was there in a better season this time (Unlike India, Summers are merrier than winter); I was there with elevated professional responsibilities (A Business Analyst as against a Support Engineer previously); I could drive a car this time, and most importantly, it was the enthusiastic crowd and loads of fun we had in the apartment.

It’s been more than 3 months now that I have returned back, but can’t help recalling the fun times. Living in India, I would often imagine, what makes people settle in the US? If I was to visit / settle there, what’s in it for me? Actually, there’s something in US for everyone, be it an Indian, a Pakistani, Chinese, Mexican, Canadian, European- a Hindu, Muslim- everyone can grab their share of joy from what America offers.

Away from India, what an Indian misses the most is Indian food. But for me, an occasional drop in at Spice Route (an Indian restaurant) and Kabab Palace (a Pakistani restaurant offering mouth watering Biryanis) was heavenly. Also this offered an opportunity to try various cuisines; every ethnic has a shop there.
Shopping was recreational, and there was a typical scene at every Checkout counter in every store. “Hi, How are you doing today”, “Howz been the day”- smiling faces asked with utmost politeness. One should be ready to accept, at the same time offer a compliment, or a simple “Hi” with a smiling face from strangers. Haughty and shrewd Americans of my imagination actually turned out to be the most polite race of human beings I had seen in my life. Some questions though remained unanswered for me-

How could one resist blowing (rather honking) a horn when s/he has been waiting in traffic for quite a while?

How could one not cut the lanes rashly while driving to occupy the huge wide roads?

How could traffic be so sensible, so civilized- do the drivers actually belong to the Human race?

Why do people stop for you to finish while you are clicking a picture?

The best part of Americans is that they respect every other person’s rights, and take utmost care that their actions do not cause trouble for others, even in the slightest way.

I would often visit Gregg (the Microsoft Manager I was working with) for meetings at Microsoft campus. Meetings, as typically would happen in an Indian office- a few long sleepy faces, some serious talk, etc. Here meetings would mean business, at the same time fun- loads of laughs would fill the meeting hall, not compromising on the productivity though.
Americans maintain a perfect balance between work and personal life, Weekends are meant to be enjoyed. For a draft Report sent on a sunny Saturday morning, an instant reply from my client popped up in my Inbox - “You should be enjoying the sun outside :)”.

A trip to US makes one realize, there are loads of things Indians can and SHOULD learn from Americans- these are apart from the ones for which pseudo- patriots of India keep maligning Americans. Whatever the political echelon across the globe says, whatever the Iraqis and Bin-Ladens say, America may at times be politically arrogant, but it definitely offers a Good Quality life to all her residents, be it Americans or non-Americans.

Returning back was a mixed bag of feelings in my heart, I was to miss a great way of life. While approaching Mumbai, my friend and co-traveler-Amit, while adjusting his watch to Indian Standards, said- “Yeh waqt is ghadi main fir ayega- hum layenge”; I felt these to be my own feelings, rephrased by Amit; because it’s not just about the dollars that I would like to be there again, but it’s because I’ve fallen in love with USA :).