Monsieur Rodin

Our Team Asha Pic

2011-07-19T11:15:00.001+05:30

The Society

2010-12-13T09:37:00.005+05:30

Two travelers, Father and his son. Left for a journey with their companion, a mule.

For simplicity, lets name them Tom, Dick and Harry respectively. So Tom and Dick, both are sitting on Harry and they are progressing in their path towards the destination. Like any traveler, they encounter multiple villages on their way.

As they passed through the first village, few local villagers commented, " Look at the father and son perched on the poor animal. They have no remorse for the poor fella. Shame on those guys!."

Tom couldn't ignore that comment. So he thought it would be a good idea for him to get down and let Dick stay put.

As they passed through the second village, few more villagers commented, "Look at the son! He is making his father, an older person, walk while he is luxuriously sitting on the mule. Shame, Shame!

Dick couldn't ignore that comment. So he got down and asked his father to sit. And he started walking by their side.

As they passed through the third village, some local villagers commented again, "What a decadence! The father, a more responsible being, is making his son walk.Look at the poor son as he stumbles to walk. The father should take that burden on himself! "

Both Tom and Dick couldn't ignore that comment. So they thought the best way to avoid these tantrums is for them to walk aside Harry.

As they passed the fourth village, some local villagers burst in to laughs, " Has anybody seen idiots lately? Look at the father and son going past. In spite of the mule, these duds are walking!"

Neither Tom nor Dick or Harry could ignore the comment. But they didn't know what more to do. So they said, "Chuck it!" Held their head hight and kept moving ahead.

So what's the moral of the story?

No matter what you do, there's always someone talking. Then all you can do is to keep moving ahead.

A Chai at Starbucks....

2010-09-03T11:30:00.002+05:30

A tall hot Chai. Standing in solitude, like me.

Eyes look here and there. Millions of thoughts cross the mind. Why? How? Where? What? The tussle inside has started.

Memories start swirling the hot cup. Ghosts from the past make their appearance. Trying to help me remember the lesson learnt. The lesson that a tempt moment makes you forget.

Then suddenly the lesson is remembered. Just like the Chai at that moment, something very warm is felt inside.

You are not a slave. Neither to the mind nor to the grind. You are what you choose to be. No one. No one can make you feel whatever unless you choose to getting felt that way.

The questions start to disappear just as the Chai starts too.

In the end, something has precipitated, like the brown sugar that survived the trials in the cup. A Smile, an hope and a memory of Johnnie Walker line that says, " Keep Walking."

-Adwait

Love hath arrived....

2010-08-31T07:09:00.006+05:30

Well if you are looking for an answer to the question, "what is love?", please hit Crtl+ Alt+Del right now. And I suggest you pick up a Eric Segal or an equivalent Mills and Boon. I don't know what love is. Or rather, I don't what love means to you. The thought here is purely personal.

For me love just means happiness of the person you love. Unprejudiced, unbiased. Its easier said than done. Because It's very hard to love someone without judging them for what they are.

Think for a moment that love is like a sunrise. Do you possess the sunrise? No. Do you judge it for what it is? No. What you do is just bask in it and feel the brilliance on you. And then feel gratitude for it being in your life.

Love is more or less like it.

More because it doesn't take place at a certain time of a day. More because it fills your heart with radiance to such a level that you don't want to posses the person you love. More because it shows you twilight before it rises completely on a relationship.

Less because it may not be as bright as the sunrise but it certainly gives you warmth. Less because though it doesn't rise and set, it makes you soar and swerve. Less because even if it doesn't have a sense of direction, the only way it knows is true north.

For me love will always there as long as the heart is beating. And may be even after it stops. I don't expect love in return because love is not a trade. It's gift from the human upstairs to the person I love. I am only a medium. Love is what makes two souls connect even when their bodies are miles apart. It's what eyes say that the words can never explain. It's in the touch that you long for.Love is pointless.

In jealousy, lust, possessiveness love's labor is lost. Those are like the dark clouds on the bright sunrise. Ironically those clouds have a silver lining too. So is the power of love.

Love gives me the power to tide away the darkest clouds to bring back the sunlight. For me , love never wins because it's never in the game. It's a silent cleanser of heart's which knows no games, no wars and no battles.

So , tonight hold your loved one tightly. Look in their eyes, kiss them, tousle their hair. Tonight, let the tears flow from the heart because love has filled it to the brim. Tonight let the hands bring the warmth like the sunrise. And tonight, thou shalt know that love hath arrived.

Thou shalt know that love hath arrived...

-Adwait

Glass Half empty/Half Full

2010-04-19T12:51:00.003+05:30

Some people give me this cliche that I should see life in a positive outlook. Always look at the brighter side of any happening and learn from it. See the glass half full instead of half empty.

Here's my question to them: have you gone beyond and thought what is in the glass? What is it's content? Lets take for eg. that the glass is filled with muddy water. And you are looking at it with all the positivity in the world. Wouldn't you be glad that the glass is half-empty? So is that positive or are you still thinking negatively?

Another way to look at it is defining "empty." Maybe the emptiness is what you are seeking. In that case the glass half-full with water is a negative thing. Is'nt it?

Think about it.

Here, the point I am trying to drive home is that "outlook" is a very relative thing. I can't meet a person for few weeks and be judgmental that he/she has a positive/negative outlook of life. Because I have not been privy to what that person has been through in his/her own life.

Can I go to a war-stricken refugees and tell them to be positive about life? To look at the rising sun and be inspired? Maybe some will and some wont. It doesn't mean that the other people have negative approach. Its just where they are that defines what they think.

So my humble request to all those hopeful optimists out there is to give our thoughts- the pessimist's - a fair chance . Who knows, for a given situation they may be better than yours.

The Broken Needle

2010-04-18T15:33:00.003+05:30

People say I am a funny guy . You guys better be serious about that. :)

Since I am funny, I will never take life seriously. I know I will never come out of it alive.

Then why bother over split milk, pestering bosses, broken hearts and less yearly bonus? Cursing someone who has put you in that zone is preciously worthless.

When will you realize that those people outside are never a problem?They are meant to hate, attract, tempt, gossip and snob. They are people after all. For someone else, you are a part of those "people." The problem is your identification with them. So forget what happened the other night or why she did this and that. If you are not meant to be together you are not meant to be together. Cut your losses and move on. But don't forget to send her the bill. :)

Life is more beautiful than someone who doesn't want to be with you.

So get up, flirt with the next door girl , wipe somebody's tears, donate some money, ride a bike, click some photos, crack bad jokes, write heavy stuff, go facebooking, google that hot chick, mix some drinks, watch a movie, drive in to the night. There is so much of stuff to do in life. Remember to have a memory loss and life will be beautiful again.

Dude, we all know the destination, it's the journey that is all that matters.

Take care!

-Adwait

Lack of Sleep

2010-01-05T13:31:00.003+05:30

Tonight, Again I will burn the midnight oil.

lets see, if I get the warmth of my own toil.

Eyes will request sleep, mind will request rest.

Hail ho! my people, do not let that effort go in to soil.

Tonight, i will reduce my life with less sleep.

for that what is comparatively cheap.

As I know that this is something that will end.

As I know that this is something i will never keep.

Wake up my friend, to the lack of sleep time.

a result of your own nickel and dime....

For once shove the time and schedules

For once snooze the candid alarm chime.

Movie Review:Up in the Air

2010-01-03T15:04:00.004+05:30

Recommendation: A must-watch-once movie.

The Base:

George Clooney is a Firing agent who is on the move. Ryan Bingham is the man who virtually lives up in flights. He is tuned to move slickly through the barricades of check-in's and check-out's of almost all the Airports in America. Ergo, he believes in travelling light, both in his professional and personal life also. A man who believes that commitment is a baggage that can keep you grounded.

The Reel:

The movie takes the above plot and starts to finely depict the finer nuances of Ryan. His appearances as a Motivational speaker, his escapade with Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga of "The Departed " fame), his encounter with a fresh Cornell MBA, Natalie Keener, his interviews with the people he is about to fire and his relationship with his 2 sisters are some of the other parts of his life other than adding miles to his flier card.

The Real:

Though the character of Ryan Bingham doesn't seem to come out well etched, Clooney does a bang-up job of complimenting it. His cool, suave mannerism makes him perfect for the role of a guy for him carrying a heavy back-up is sheer waste of time.

Vera Farmiga does a good job to play Alex who is an alter-ego to Ryan. Her character seems a little mysterious for the whole part of the movie. And after the revelation you come to think what was she even doing with Ryan. Look for the last phone coversation they have.

Natalie Keener ostensibly plays a role of a calculating and meticulous professional who is lands in a situation where she needs to work with Ryan very closely. Rather squeaky in nature, the character doesn't give a feel of someone who might top her class at Cornell.

Apart of these three characters nobody pushes the movie forward. They just come along.

The Summary:

I feel the movie is good to watch for once at least. It doesn't have a strong storyline and a rather restrictive base but a combination of actors and characters make it worthwhile to watch. The movie silently carves out the human angles of various aspects of life for eg. travel, firing, marriage etc. In the end it drives home the need of a co-pilot in every aircraft.

My Favorite:

After winning the reward for 10 Million miles, Ryan is asked by the captain, "Where are you from." Ryan says, "I am from here."

911 Call

2009-04-07T06:04:00.002+05:30

A boy calls 911 to ask them to help him with their maths problem.

No wonder he got his numbers wrong!

Miles to go before I weep

2009-04-06T12:49:00.004+05:30

I completely agree with Osho when he says, " Laughter is the only religion. Everything else is just metaphysics."
Ergo, the limerick that follows; It has been spooled off from the great Robert Frost's, famous poem: Stopping By the woods on a snowy evening. You can read his poem side by side on this link.

This is all in good humor! Enjoy!

Whose photos these are I think I know.
Her Parents are in the town though.
Alas! they will see me stop right there.
Not interested in the further process flow.

My friends think its madness sheer,
To not to stop for a partner dear.
Between you and me, I'll tell,
I may agree with them over a beer.

Giving my wedding bells a shake,
I ask if its a mistake,
To ask for a good sunshine sweep,
Before the thunderstorm and snowy flake.

The girls are lovely, fair and upbeat.
But I have some laughs to keep,
And miles to go before I weep.
And miles to go before I weep.

Qatil Aakhon ka zulf pe saje he pehra....

2009-02-09T06:40:00.002+05:30

Anurag Kashyap runs away with another winner- Dev D. An abbreviation or an acronym for Devdas, the movie sets the tone of the drunkard lover for Paro in the modern times. Being fortunate enough not to have watched any of the earlier versions of the swinging hero, this movie came as a fresh surprise for me. Surprise why because the culimination is unconventional than the normal Devdas movies. I will not say what it is, but I think that is one aspect that makes watching the movie worthwhile.
It starts with Paro (Mahi Gill) being desperately waiting for Dev D (Abhay Deol) to come back from London. Couple of scenes that show their longing for each other actually reinforce the next string of scenes shown when they meet. One bystander's ludicrous comments about Paro's libido, puts off Dev and he starts repelling Paro. Here starts the story of Vodka and Coke (both drink and drugs.) As he moves forward, Dev realizes that he will not be able to live without Paro, who in turn silently marries a father of two children and claims to be very happy.
Here Anurag adds the third character Chandramukhi ( Kalki Koechlin.) A victim of an MMS clip scandal, Chanda's inital life goes through a turbulent period. He father shoots himself and monther abandons her. She runs away and eventually meets Chunni who puts her up in a brothel he is running in downtown Delhi. The modern Chunni is shown very cooperative and a faclitator of education. He helps Chanda gradute from college besides being in the business. Needless to say, our man Dev lands up there in bizzare circumstances. Through some scenes here and there, their relationships blossoms into something that Chanda can cherish. Paro and Chanda dont share the screen at all and hence the public has been devoid of another "Dhola re Dhola re." Again Chanda's deignation in the industry and some of her customers begin to appal Dev. Now he is back to square one, but with a bigget crate of booze.
Dev then kills some people (in view of druken driving.) and gets court martialled. As we begin to think what the story of Dev Das wants us to think, it it suddenty takes an U turn.
Abhay's acting is similar to what he has done earlier. The new comers Mahi and Kalki are particularly impressive. The forte of the movie is its screenplay and cinematography. The sound tracks are also awesome with a mix of punjabi folk, rap and semi classical. In a nut shell a paisa vasool movie! Watch it till the end to actually enjoy it
If you are wondering what the title of blog means, these are two lines from one of the songs of the movie titled "Pardesi."

Life's Elliptical

2008-12-16T11:21:00.002+05:30

After a long time an idea worthwhile writing about. Or let me say a revelation.
I am a fitness conscious in the making. I got introduced to the concept of Machine Cardio exercises here in the US. You just can't jog out in the open in winter time. The elliptical Precor machines here beautifully explained me the concept of life-quite unknowingly to them.
There are programs, monitors and goals to set. The goal here is something that you need to achieve. It may be calories to burn, heart rate to achieve or just time to spend. Any which way you want, it works. What is your goal is what you need to decide. I almost invariably pick the Max-Calories-to-Burn-in-least-amount-of-time goal. Groovy, aint it?
Now as I start to work my way towards it, I realize that there are lot of variable factors I need to take care of , to achive my goal/target. For eg. I need to maintain my heart rate below a certain level, or I need to pedal optimally so that the speed is not below the threshold or worst enough, is to see how much time I am taking. The moment I want everything to be perfect, its all jacked.
So amidst the event I realize that my heart rate is too high, so I lower my speed. My time suddenly shoots up and I am in jitters. First it said 27 min to finish and now its saying 32 min to finish. So I start pedalling faster and my heart rate again shoots up. So maintaining a balance is very important. Then I see that I can reduce the time or burn more calories by increasing the resistance on my pedals. So I reduce the speed and subsequently my heart rate drops, then I increase the resistance. So now, my time is evend out, with more calories burning. As soon as I get happy about it, my legs start hurting due to more resistance. Oh ! Oh! Whats going on? So again I reduce the resistance and come to my original self. And pedal and pedal, to reach the goal. At the end of burning 500 calories, it says "Goal Achieved." and gives a one line summary " Avg Heart rate 134. Max heart rate 151. 50:17 min in zone 106-151. " And I am elated, because, thats what I wished for.
So to cut a long story short- what did that ellipitical teach me today? Life's worthwhile setting a goal for. And working your way towards it. In it you' ll have variable factors like your friends, family, work. But when you know what you want to achieve, you'll need to juggle with all these. Sometimes you'll win on some, sometimes you'll loose on some. But the name of the game is to keep moving ahead. And the culmination, the summary should bring smile to your face. Because whatevere you did back there, was against the resistance, overcoming odds and getting hurt a little bit.

Kahat Kabira..

2008-11-06T02:20:00.002+05:30

Recently, have been influnced by two dohas of Kabir:
1) Are you looking for me?
I am in the next seat.My shoulder is against yours.
You will not find me in the stupas, not in Indian shrine rooms,
Nor in synagogues, nor in cathedralsNot in Masses, nor Kirtans, not in legs winding around your own neck,nor in eating nothing but vegetables.
When you really look for me, you will see me instantly —You will find me in the tiniest house of
time.
Kabir says: Student, tell me, what is God?
He is the breath inside the breath.

2) What had death and a thick body dances before what has no thick body and no death.
The trumpet says: 'I am you.'
The spiritual master arrives and bows down to the beginning student.
Try to live to see this!"
P.S ( I am searching for orginal lines. If you have please post the link as a comment.)
Nothing anyone writes can be as pure and authentic and true as Kabir.

Moments with God...

2008-09-11T11:59:00.002+05:30

Too many questions now; Take a moment to think and answer them.
1) Have, you have felt someone's with you but couldnt actually make out whose that?
2) Have you caught yourself staring at a distant object with a blank mind?
3) Hve you seen a flower and experienced peace like never before?
4) Have you closed your eyes and felt a different kind of current in the Air?
5) Have your ever hugged someone and cried, not because of sadness or dismay, but because of the sheer vibe between you and the person?
If answer to any one of the above question is Yes, then you are those lucky ones who have had the chance to share the Moments with thy greatness: GOD.
Osho says, God is not a person, God is a vibe.
Have you attuned to that vibe yet?

Stained Shirt

2008-06-27T20:35:00.002+05:30

My shirt got stained one day. And I was wearing it like that only. Someone asked me “Buddy, why don’t you wash that?"
I said, "I don't want to.”
He sneered, shrugged and left. What would he know?
The stains were made while my grandma was feeding lovingly with her hands; trembling hands.

Microsoft Bids for Yahoo!

2008-02-06T23:15:00.000+05:30

Three big names are present, right here, right now. Microsoft, Yahoo! and Google. Where can we experience a greater example of Tom Friedman's "The World is Flat."
The Redmond based Hercules, targets Sunnyvale based Goliath to take head-on the Mountain View based behemoth.
And whats in the offing?$ 44 Billion. Phew!
If this deal goes through, its all set to change the technology landscape as Internet will never be the same again. Google is of the same opinion and has started foot slogging for it. Basically, the biggest motive is to rake moollah out of the estimated $40 billion internet ad industry where Google has the largest market share (37%) which is more than that combined of Microsoft and Yahoo! As for Yahoo!, it's all in the strategy. Though they will prefer partnering with Google, but monetarily Microsoft is the better choice.
Now its a wait and watch time for us as to how Microsoft will integrate and leverage Yahoo!'s acquisition, provided they pull it off. But I sincerely do hope my email id will not look like this :
adwait@hotyahoomail.com.

Tounge in cheek, is'nt it?

"God Bless you Bhaiyya"

2008-01-28T23:22:00.000+05:30

Brigade Road in Bangalore is one of the famous shopping streets in the country. Standalone boutiques of brand factories attract you like anything. They have Adidas, Levis, Gas, Dockers, Puma and loads of other stuff that empty your pockets,your hard earned money and leave you wanting for more.
And over there that day, I found innocence on that street. Innocence. 2.5 feet tall. Holding roses in their hands. Asking for someone to buy them. Pleading may be the right word. Then they found a new customer: me. 3 little, sweet girls, flocked me and started pleading to buy the roses they were carrying.
I didnt know what to do. They wouldnt let me walk. I was caught off guard, and couldnt do anything, but to ask them the price.Here is how our conversation went by:
(For all practical purposes, I will call them Cute1, 2 and 3. )

Cute1: Bhaiyya, please buy the roses na. Please bhaiyya. Please bhaiyya. They are only for 10 bucks.
Me: Ok. Ok. Give me 3 roses. (I take my wallet out)
Cute1: Bhaiyya please buy 10 roses bhaiyya. I will be very happy. Please bhaiyya. Buy 10 roses na.
Me: What will do buying those 10 roses?
Cute1: You can keep it in the church bhaiyya. Please buy 10 roses.
Me: Ok, Ok, give me 10 roses. (I take a 100 Re. note out and give it to her.)
Cute2: Bhaiyya, please buy my 10 roses to bhaiyya. Please buy my 10 roses too.
Me: No, No. Please let me go, I dont have time.
Cute2 & Cute 3: No Bahiyya, you have to buy the roses. 10 her and 10 mine. Please bhaiyya.

I could see the twinkle in their eye with a shade of fear. Questions came and went. Like a gusto wind. What will happen if they wont sell all the roses today? Will they get a bashing from someone living of them? Or will they sleep empty stomach as they usually do? Will they be hurt by someone more powerful yet immature?

Me: Ok. Ok. One by one. Please wrap all the roses in one cardboard and give it to me. And make sure you dont crush them. ( I take out my wallet again and hand over 200 bucks to them.)
Cute 1 & Cute 2 & Cute 3: Thank you bhaiyya. Thank you bhaiyya. God bless you bhaiyya.

That was one of the purest form of blessings i have ever got.

I saw the happiness in their eyes and suddenly i felt at peace. A different kind of contenment ran through the body.
You know the cost of making a difference? Well for me, it was just 300 Rs. What is it for you?

Dhumrapan Neeshedh

2007-12-17T15:36:00.000+05:30

Thats hindi. In english its called "No Smoking." Its hillarious to see to what limits people will go to articulate "smoking is injurious to health." If see on cigarette packets from Singapore, they will have all thes cancerous photos sticking on. It gives an horrendous outlook to the whole packet. But most enjoying is the in-flight annoucement.
I am not a frequent flier. Though most of the weekends I remember shuttling between Pune and other cities, 90% by flights. So I am more than a frequent flier. :)
There is always a candid annoucement made that " Smoking is prohibited in-flight. There are smoke detectors in the cabin and in the toilets. " What was that again? In the toilets too? If its your lucky day and you are travelling in the domestic shuttles, you cannot help but observe that there is an ashtray behind the toilet door.
What is the deal with that? If you are saying smoking is prohibited, why are you providing an ashtray at the back of the door? Isnt it to encourage smoking?
Can any body answer that?

Band-Aids

2007-11-15T20:01:00.000+05:30

This is hillarious. A recent news article tells about how people in China are using used condoms as hair bands. It has been found in the local markets of Dongguan and Guangzhou. And a possible hazard is spreading aids that it was supposed to protect.

So it goes from "Banned-Aids" to "Band-Aids" :-)

Read the article for further reference.

No Pain.....

2007-11-03T21:59:00.000+05:30

Somewhere I remember reading, " Pain is weakness leaving the body." The statement implies something very deep.
Recently, I am reading a string of books written by Osho. The philosophy he narrates is very powerful. He quotes Buddha, Lao and all the masters who have preached awareness as the way to ultimate bliss (nirvana). Simply put awareness is "Self -rememberance." The quality to remember oneself every moment. This bolts you to the present, without the clouds of past hovering over. Pain is one quality I found that makes us aware. How? read further....
Try to analyze when you are pain. Its very hard because you are trying to run away from the pain. Pain killers are your best bet. But what is the reason that pain is there? Ever tried think about that. Its to make you aware. One teeth starts paining excruciatingly and you are suddenly aware of its exsistence. For many years that teeth was there you were oblivious to it. And now, suddenly, its has your attention. The attention it deserved.
Then you try to do quick-fixes over it. Take pain killers, do root-canal et al. Everything you do but to give it attention. To be aware of its existence. The very purpose of pain is to gain awareness.
Try this sometime. When you are in pain, just look it into the eye. Just be aware of the part that is paining. Dont shove your mind-off. As we start attending that pain, its purpose is solved. It has got no reason to exist. Relief is nothing without pain remember that.
Its true that " Pain is weakness leaving the body" for it kills the weakness of oblivion to move in to awareness.

Maruti Omni

2007-08-19T23:55:00.000+05:30

I am not sure why I was in oblivion to the exsistence of this engineering marvel. This awesome piece of creation. Maruti 'Omni'. Its all starts with the beauty of its structure and trickles down to engineering performance.
Where most of the R & D labs in the world are making the car structure more aerodynamic, Omni stands tall with its box-like structure. No No, please dont think its thoughtless. It must have been thought through. It is we people, or rather me who dont know the reason.
Then comes the seating. Whilst the driver comes with a plush independant seat in front, we have only 1 companion seat with the gear lever in between. Since the engine hails directly below the drivers seat, his 'feeling of warmth' has been taken care of. There are normally one or two (opposite) seats in the back. It accomodates people more efficiently if they are packed in the boxes. But if we are free, we might face some problem with each others legs as we seat opposite. But nonetheless, its a best bet to transport cargo from one place to another.
Thirdly comes dicky. Though it less of a storage space and more of a space to keep the spare tyre. But I think thats a wise decision. When there so much space in the vehicle, why keep a separate dicky space?
I have yet not had the luxury to hear the music system out of it. But I am damn sure it will be as endearing as the whole set-up. Oh did I mention that I have the good fortune of travelling by Omni's distant cousin 'Versa' before I actually got the red carpet in Omni.
Last but not the least, I want to thank to the creators of 'Omni' and wish them all the sucesses in life. It because of the creations like these that our journeys and safer, enjoyable and stress-free.
Kudos!

Its time to write...

2007-07-17T22:19:00.000+05:30

Its time to write
about fallen dreams,
about sleepless nights.
And then how the sun rose
torching disdain and forlorn
torching hope and lights.

Its time to write
about you and me
about us and them
How we fight for
in these sacred ventures
in this bloodless mayhem.

Its time to write
about this moment
about living a life
To smile through
in health and disease
in hope and fright.

Its time to write
about the red line
about love and hate
teaching, its us sometimes
sometimes its fate.

- Adwait Joshi

Blackle

2007-06-08T22:39:00.000+05:30

What would happen if Google turns it site into completely black? We will save approximately 750 Megawatts-hours an year!
According to a recent blogpost by Mark Ontkush, black google will save 750 Megawatts-hours an year taking into consideration the popularity of the same. Subsequently, someone went ahead and custom made a google serach engine on a completely black page. Evidently, the page is called as Blackle.
Now there is a new angle to usability engineers while designing a web page and that is energy preservation. Kudos to those people who came up with the concept. I have already started preserving energy.
Have you?

A very Bad Person.

2007-05-22T22:26:00.000+05:30

They say people will remember for what you were, what you did and what you talked. I am a good guy, in totality. But sometimes I ask myself, why I am what I am?
Why go out of the way to help people? Why catch someone's eye and make him/her smile? Why crack jokes and lighten someone's tension? Why thrive for the betterment of some people? Why do I do it? Then suddenly in the mid of the day the answer dawns upon me.
I am not a good person at all. I am a very bad person. I want to make people cry when I die. Cry this much that they might have a hard time forgetting me. I want to touch their hearts deep enough. I want to spread love and tell them that nothing in this world is eternal. We all will pass on someday and make our appreeance as contemproraries.
I want to shout and tell the world that no one on this earth is good or bad. Its just the situations that make them. I want to tell that never form opinions about someone because when they will change you dont know. I want to tell them that every human being is beautiful in his or her own terms.
Really when I think of it, I am a very bad person. Would anyone like to spend their life with me? :)

Chala Dostoho Auyshavar Bolu Kahi

2007-04-26T22:29:00.000+05:30

"Ugach valse shabdanche he det raha tu,
Bhidle nahit dole tovar bolu kahi,
Chala dostoho ayushawar bolu kahi."

--- Sandeep Khare

Loose Transalation:

"Go on, take unnecessary twists and turns in you words, till the eyes meet, we will talk about something. "

Aapke Dil Mein....

2007-04-22T00:46:00.000+05:30

Aapke dil mein thodi si jagah chahiyeMere ...?
Aapke dil mein thodi si jagah chahiye----

Jaaiye jaaiye jaaiye

Pass aane bhi deegiye na itraiyee
Ha haaPass aane bhi deegiye na itraiyee

Jaaiye jaaiye jaaiye

Apnaa dil lekar abb kahan jayegnehaahaan
Tut ke katra katra bekhar jayenge
Wah !
Aapke bin sanam hum to mar jayenge
Hamari halat pe aakhir tarsh khaahiye

Jaaiye jaaiye jaaiye j j j Jaaiye jaaiye jaaiye

Phele to adab se app pesh aaiye
Kaun hai yeh mujhko app batlaiye
Phir bolenge appko hum aaiye aaiye aaiye
janaab aaiye aaiye aaiye

Appne dil app zara kabul rakhe
Acchayuh na khule aam aanhe bharehai
zamana bura thodi parwaah kare
jaake dil kahin aur behlaiye

Jaaiye jaaiye jaaiye Jaaiye jaaiye jaaiye jaaiye na

Can you guess whom I have written this for?

Inner Demons

2007-03-27T19:20:00.000+05:30

Have you ever had a nightmare? A kind of a dream where you are running and running and nobody is there to help you. You dont know what you are running from. Then suddenly you hear screams. Shrills, cries of agony with pain. Cries for help and you are bewildered. Who is asking for help to someone who is running himself.
Then you run towards the sounds. Its darkness. Nothing of it makes sense. Then there is silence. Only sobs are heard. Then again silence. An errie silence. You open your eyes. The fan above is revolving with a humming sound. Its was unreal. But so real.
You sit up and pray for your near and dear ones. You thank god it was a dream. Thank him because he has brought that out. That inside which kills you. You inner demons. Who might come silently in the night and grip you.
The next night you will sleep beleiving more in God, Love, Prayers and People more than you did the earlier night.

The Lake House

2007-02-07T19:52:00.000+05:30

They say love knows no limitations. However romantic that may sound, we always know there is something that limits us. How I wish a love story would be so like the movie “The Lake House”
Here it starts, the literal timeless love. It revolves around a house by side of lake with a mailbox. Kate (Sandra Bullock) is a doctor in an uptown Chicago hospital in 2006. Alex (Keanu Reeves) is an architect in 2004. Did I get the years right? Sure I did. The movie tells us a story of two (prospective) lovers separated by 2 years. One dwells in other’s past. One dwells in other’s future. Awesome screenplay slowly takes you through the ups and downs in their relationship. And what is their communication medium? The mailbox by the side of the lake house where they post letters so that each could read.
And a day comes when she finds him dead in her own hands on Valentine’s Day. No the movie doesn’t stop here. She knowing the future, tells him to stop on that road where he was supposed to meet with an accident. And tells him to wait there for 2 years and return back to the lake house. Where they meet in 2008 for the 2nd time.
Nothing I write about it will do justice to the concept so unnatural and heart-warming. Do watch it or ask me for that DVD- pro bono. And yes, don’t forget to watch the first time they meet.

Laxmi-Keshav

2007-01-21T19:05:00.000+05:30

The lay-off program has worked positively for me a number of ways. Apart from getting time to read some ground-breaking books like “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” and “Psychology of Selling”, I personally got time to do what I love the most: traveling.
Since childhood, when I last visited it, I wanted to know the history of my kuldevat (God or Goddess of a race)-Laxmi Keshav (Lord Vishnu). So this time around, I thought I will do some nosing around and get a little knowledge about it. Here is where and what I found out.

1)The serene temple of Laxmi-Keshav is located in Kolisare. Barely a village, it is 45 km from the town of Ratnagiri in South Konkan. An ST bus for Jaygad drops you at a cross-road which connects you to Kolisare. You have to take a rickshaw from there.

2)As you walk down the red-soil, you come across steps which take you to the backside of the temple. The temple is about 700 years old. Though it was been rejuvenated lately, it still has the archaic look-and-feel.

3) Last registered, about 800 years ago, the statue of laxmi-keshav goddess was hidden in the “Rankala Talav” in Kollhapur. The reason being anti-hindu attacks. After being there for 200 years, she gave a spiritual message through a dream to 3 individuals-Joshi, Vichare and Kane. Living in a village of Varavde, these people got a message to move her out and establish her elsewhere.

4) The place decided was a village of Reel in Konkan. So the campaign started. After moving her close to Reel, they camped overnight in Kolisare. Second day, the statue was unmovable to any human force. After trying for a day, the again slept overnight. In a second spiritual message, the goddess told them to establish her here itself and not else where. The day sthapana (establishment) happened, a miraculous water-fall started near to her feet.

5) The water still runs pure and clean. The “Panchsukt Pavman” abhishek is done by that water only. The temple brings in its wake the calmness and new degree of spirituality. It was a heaven-like experience for me.

This information was provided to me by Mr. Sudhir Phadke. He and his family have been with the temple for generations. I thank him a lot in appreciation. Hope all the “Shandilya Gotra” Joshi’s find this informative. And yes just so you know, don’t forget to visit your kul-devat at least once a year.

Employee Retrenchment

2006-12-29T12:22:00.000+05:30

Forgive me, but my experience in human resources compels me to use the vernacular. In straight words, that means "Laid-off." I dont know ifyou have experienced it or not, but I have.
A call from the MD comes on sweet sunday morning, telling that your position is scrapped. There is no job for you! The phrase that encapsulates all your feelings might be "High and Dry!"
What does this mean? Is it bad management or wrong strategy or just plain bad luck? Frankly, I dont have an answer to this.
But how does it affect the employees? Imagine putting yourself in a situation where you are suddenly rendered jobless. All those securities, liabilities, financial ventures go for a toss. And moreover, its unplanned! Then they will try to give you a repositioning in the organization. That means a lower position with a lesser pay.
Anyone is bound to get stirred. But the trick is to minimize it and start moving forward. Shit happens, sometimes. But it is how fast you clear it that matters. All you need is to believe in yourself and not stop trying. Hope is not of use, as until you get somewhere, you will not be at peace.
Just do it!

The Alchemist

2006-12-13T10:43:00.000+05:30

The art of Alchemy is ancient. Simply defined, it’s the process of turning lead in Gold. There is a solution/stone that when touched with, the thing turns in gold. Pioneering the same is a person called as an Alchemist.
Though Coelho’s book teaches us the moral of following our dreams, there is something else that we should understand from it. Reading between the lines, we observe that every human being in his/her life meets an Alchemist- A person who turns that lead of a person, into gold. But that comes after his destiny as a “lead” is fulfilled. Everyone/Everything has to fulfill his destiny. Before that, no matter what you do, you will not be able to transform yourself.
But the law of nature is very rewarding. It lets you meet your alchemist at that very time when your destiny as lead has been fulfilled. Then he comes, with a philosopher’s stone and touches you. The transformation is not easy. Shedding old characteristics and donning new one, is not a cakewalk. It takes tremendous persistence, patience and belief in the alchemist to help you transform into gold.
Every one has that luxury, but not the wisdom.
It takes an open mind to know who your alchemist is. It teaches your one lesson: never underestimate anyone. Who knows, he might be your “Alchemist.”

Lingo!

2006-12-06T12:51:00.000+05:30

1. Shakespear once said " What's in the name?"
I repeat" Whats in the name, as long as i get your number right."

2. Never say the phrase, " Its a different ball-game" when you are with a woman.

3. If we most of the time we are finding solutions to organize things, why is a company called an "Organization" ?

4. Why is it called a "Beauty Parlor", when most of the people going over there are not beautiful?

Do you have anything to add?

Ram

2006-11-27T17:57:00.000+05:30

There is short track from film "Swades" that I just love.

"Ram hi toh karuna mein hai, shaanti mein raam hai
Ram hi hai ekta mein, pragati mein raam hai
Ram bas bhakton nahin shatru ke beech chintan hai
Dekh taj ke paap raavan, ram tere mann mein hai
Ram tere mann mein hai, ram mere mann mein hai
Ram toh ghar ghar mein har, ram har aangan mein hai
Mannse raavan jo nikaale, ram uske mann mein hai."

It means
" Ram (lord), is in compassion and silence.
Ram is also in unity and progress.
He is not only in his disciples, but also in his enemy's penance.
Oh, Raavan, introspect and you will find Ram is in your mind.
He is in your soul, He is my soul, He is every house, every yard.
He is in the soul of those who kill ravaan from their mind."

Purify thyself!

Phone calls

2006-11-24T11:00:00.000+05:30

" Ignoring phone calls is a gambit reserved for dolts and egomaniacs. "

- Paul Hawkinson , Publisher, Fordyce Letter- in an article on ERE.

Which one are you?

Aerobics

2006-11-17T13:55:00.000+05:30

Aerobics. I didnt know squat about it before I joined it. Morning batch 7:15 to 8:15. Sole guy. What would you do?
First day, I couldnt understand what was going on. They were jumping from one side to one side on what I can call as a high-beat music. But as they say "In rome, do as the romans do." I followed the lead. But the rhythm was too hard to get. And I wasnt even aware of the terminology!
Then there was solace with the mat's. Oh! Wait a minute, it was hard too! With 30 crunches ,at the end you wont feel your muscles. I felt like "mere pet pe kisne laat maari hai." But all said and done, when I walked out after a cool-down "Shavasan", I never felt so fresh and energetic.
Aerobics is all about toning your body bringing flexibilty in and increasing your stamina. If you got to do it, do it right.
Its very important that you concentrate on what your instructor is telling and not on the cute girl besides you. :-)
Come on guys, get on the tracks and move "side-to-side right."

The Departed

2006-11-13T18:29:00.000+05:30

I am phonetic for english movies. And especially action movies with a plot. If you love this, then " The Departed " is your heaven. Not only the film has Martin Scoresce as the director, but a punching starcast with Jack Nicholson (Costello), Leornado Di Caprio (Billy), Matt Damon (Colin), Mark Whalberg (Dignam) and Martin Sheen (Queenan)
The broad plot, is that Costello is a mafiosi, in downtown Boston. He adopts Colin, trains him as a policeman, and helps him get in the Detecive unit of state police. So Colin is the rat. Wait thats not it.
Billy, who backround is criminal, is also aspiring to be a detective. But as test, he sent undercover as rat in Costello's unit. As the plots unfolds, there are other shocks that come through.
Through foul language,and awesome screenplay, Scorese justifies the film to the fullest. Dont forget to watch till the end. Its one "fucking" movie!
And also, analyze this " Cops or Criminals. When you are facing a loaded gun, what's the difference."

Quote-Unquote

2006-11-10T19:56:00.000+05:30

" It doesnt matter who does it for the first time. What matters is who does it right."
-Steve Ballmer (CEO, Microsoft),
Answered, when asked why Microsoft is the one to follow the footsteps of competitors.

Blue Brain

2006-11-07T14:54:00.000+05:30

There is a area in your brain (not mine!), that is called as a neocortex. This region helps to adapt yourself so effectively to the changing world. In this area, you will find a structure called as a Neocortical Column. It marks the quantum leap from reptiles to mammals and therefore constitutes the birth of mammalian intelligence and the emergence of human cognitive capabilities. The NCC seems to have been such a highly successful microcircuit design, that it was repeatedly copied to become almost 80% of the human brain (millions of columns were added).
Wonder why I am writin all this? Well there is a project which is bein carried out by IBM and Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Laussane (EPFL) which is called the "Blue Brain"
The project aims at building a human brain replica. But the next 2-3 years is devoted only to build replica of the NCC mentioned above.
Read here about it and wonder!

Happy Employees

2006-11-01T18:04:00.000+05:30

" It is believed that happy employees are productive employees. Research shows that productive employees are happy employees."

- Dr. Debashish Chatterji (Prof: IIM Lucknow)

Konkan Photo-Log

2006-10-30T12:11:00.000+05:30

Here in graphic detail, I explain how our konkan trip was.

1)6:30 AM: We started through chandani chowk to head for Paud. Its a hamlet about 20 kms from pune. The sun is just about to rise......

2) 7:30 AM: As you move ahead of Paud, there is a place called Tamahni. About 40 kms ahead of Paud, the much awaited Tamahani ghat starts......

3) 8: 30 AM: Through twists and turns and hopless roads we reach a scenic place. Relization dawns tha we are nothing in front of mother nature.......

4) 9:30 AM: Its breakfast time. We stop at a place called Surabhi about 84 kms from Pune. The Mumbai district border begins....

5) 10:30 AM: We reach the cross road which marks the start of the Konkan's archtypal "red sand." Srivardhan is just 75 kms now....

6) 11:30 AM: Connecting from Mandgaon, we miss the Lonere turn towards Srivardhan. 20 kms up, we realize we need to trak backwards and turn left for Srivardhan. Srivardhan still is 50 kms....

7) 12:30 P:M: Taking right from a village called Mhalsa, we finally reach Diweagar. The road was better, but the sun was not. After visiting the "Golden Ganapati" temple, we head off to the beach....

8) 1:30 PM: We have heartful lunch and start for Srivardhan which is about 17 kms from Diweagar. We encounter another beach mid-way....

9) 2:30 PM: We hit Srivardhan and go directly to the beach. The water @ knee-deep was very cool......

10) 3:30 PM: We moved out of Srivardhan around 3:00 PM. The aim was to reach Mandgaon before 4:30. Admist, my bike encountered a fuel supply problem.....

11) 4:30 PM: Reached Mandgaon. At a local service station, the guy said that fuel-supply pipe was clogged due to dust/carbon particles. My bike couldnt idle, so we decided to go idle for a while...

12) 5:30 PM: The problem is not that grave. With a little skill we could manage to drive safely. Pune is still 100 kms. We pray and kickstart....

13) 6:30 PM: We reach the cross road which connects us to tamhini. The roads are worst and driving is a pain. The sun starts to set.....

14) 7:30 PM: The tamhini ghat is crossed half-way through.Kudos to my bike for bearing the kind of roads we just traveled. Pune stands about 50 kms still.....

15) 8:30 PM: A stop over at mulshi. Little relief from the pain as it was moving up to the neck. A call home to tell we are reaching in 45 minutes....

16) 9:30 PM: After dropping Umesh at his home, I finally reach my alma mater. The water is boiling hot. I am off for a soothing bath..

nah... No pictures there :-)

So this is how the day ended. You can find the statistics in the post before this.

Konkan Road-Way Statistics

2006-10-29T10:12:00.001+05:30

Here's what I did on Saturday.

Objective--> Travel to Konkan on my bike.
Riders--> Moi and Umesh
Vehicle--> Bajaj Pulsar DTSI 150 CC (Definately Male!)
Proposed Distance--> 320 Kms
Travelled Distance--> 416 Kms
Take 0ff--> 6:00 AM
Touch Down--> 9:30 PM
Places Visted:- Diweagar, Srivardhan.
Travel Route:- Pune--> Paud--> Tamhini--> Mandgaon--> Lonere Phata--> Mhalsa--> Diweagar--> Srivardhan--> Mhalsa-->Mandgaon--> Tamhini--> Paud--> Pune.
Petrol Required--> About 8 liters.
Biking Hours--> 13
Comment--> A ride of a life, experience of a lifetime.

Want to see more about the story of grit and determination? Stay tuned....

Phoolon ke rang se.......

2006-10-26T13:49:00.000+05:30

Phoolon Ke Rang Se Dil Ki Kalam Se Tujhko Likhi Roz Paati
Kaise Bataaoon Kis Kis Tarah Se Pal Pal Mujhe Tu Sataati
Tere Hi Sapne Lekar Ke Soya Teri Hi Yaadon Mein Jaaga
Tere Khayaalon Mein Uljha Raha Yoon Jaise Ki Maala Mein Dhaaga

Haan Badal Bijli Chandan Pani Jaisa Apna Pyar
Lena Hoga Janam Humein Kayi Kayi Baar
Haan Itna Madir Itna Madhur Tera Mera Pyar
Lena Hoga Janam Hameh Kayi Kayi Baar

Sanson Ki Sargam Dhadkan Ki Beena Sapnon Ki Geetanjali Tu
Man Ki Gali Mein Mehke Jo Hardum Aisi Juhi Ki Kali Tu
Chhota Safar Ho Lamba Safar Ho Sooni Dagar Ho Ya Mela
Yaad Tu Aaye Man Ho Jaaye Bheed Ke Beech Akela

Haan Badal Bijli Chandan Pani Jaisa Apna Pyar
Lena Hoga Janam Humein Kayi Kayi Baar
Haan Itna Madir Itna Madhur Tera Mera Pyar
Lena Hoga Janam Hameh Kayi Kayi Baar

Purab Ho Paschim Uttar Ho Dakshin Tu Har Jagah Muskuraye
Jitna Hi Jaoon Main Door Tujhse Utni Hi Tu Paas Aaye
Aandhi Ne Roka Pani Ne Toka Duniya Ne Hanskar Pukara
Tasveer Teri Lekin Liye Main Kar Aaya Sab Se Kinara

Haan Badal Bijli Chandan Pani Jaisa Apna Pyar
Lena Hoga Janam Hume Kayi Kayi Baar
Haan Itna Madir Itna Madhur Tera Mera Pyar
Lena Hoga Janam Hameh Kayi Kayi Baar
Kayi Kayi Baar
Kayi Kayi Baar

Wonder when I will get to sing this song......

Very Happy Diwali

2006-10-19T16:25:00.000+05:30

To My.....
Readers, Fellow bloggers, Critics and Community Friends:
"Let there be more light
and prosperity this year.
Let there be more sweets
and hugs that endear.
Let this Diwali, in its wake,
Bring you moments, surreal."

Hitch

2006-10-19T10:28:00.000+05:30

Want to impress you loved one? Want to make your crush take a notice of you? Want to understand how women think? Grab a DVD of " Hitch".
Its tagged as a romantic comdey, starring Will Smith, Eva Mendes (Oomph!), Kevin James et the party! The central theme is a take-off from a "date doctor" or a "romance consultant" concept played by Will Smith. Eva plays a coumn gossipist for a mid-day daily , while Kevin James (King of Queens fame) plays one of his client.
See the movie, because there is nothing I can tell that will do justice to the same. I loved one of the lines and I have to mention it here;
Eva- " So,what do we toast for."
Will- " Ok, Lets see. Dont ever Lie, Steal, Cheat or Drink. If you must lie, lie in the arms of the one you love. If you must steal, steal away from bad company. If you must cheat, cheat death. And if you must drink, drink to the moments that take your breath away."
Let me know how you find it....

Unreasonable

2006-10-16T17:56:00.000+05:30

I have heard this term umpteen number of times. Unreasonable.Dont be unreasonable. Dont demand unreasonably. That's an unreasonable deal. Blah, Blah, Blah.....
What exactly is being unreasonable? Let's try and find out. Shall we?
G.B Shaw says that ""The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man." Thats Shaw. Its true, that if we behave in a reasonable manner we accept things as they are and loose the power to change them. But I wish to touch the aspect of relationships over here.
Unreasonablity is always there a pure love relationship. This is because Love itself is unreasonbale. But that on the positive side is enjoyed by everybody. If a husband buys astronomically expensive gift for his wife, he is being unreasonble. But the wife sure enjoys that.
But when that unreasonablity strikes on the negative side, its not acceptable. What is wrong if the same husband behaves in a manner that is not logically acceptable?
It exists in each and every relationship. If people learn to accept, there will be no divorces and fights over petty issues. As they say, you tend to hate them the most whom you have loved most in the first place.
Try being unreasonable and accept the unreasonablity too....

Traffic Jam-2

2006-10-13T22:33:00.000+05:30

After my first post on Traffic Jam, here is an addition to the philosophy:

	Traffic	Life
Baggage	Ever seen a vehicle with truckload of baggage moving fast on the road? No. The more the load, the less the efficiency, more the fuel consumption. Then they are stereotyped as the “heavy vehicles.” Plus, more toll on the highways :-)	Ever seen a successful human being bogged down by past-tense or surroundings? No. The more you dwell in your past failures (read as baggage), less the concentration, more unproductive work. Then they are stereotyped as the “lay man.” Plus, more toll on the mind due to excessive baggage.

The language of Love

2006-10-10T22:18:00.000+05:30

How many languages have you mastered? English, Hindi, German or perhaps French. You know there are two more languages that don’t have an official course. Body Language and Love Language.
Lets talk about the sweetest language, the Language of Love. I am not talking about the endearing talk between newly married couples. Incidentally the language manifests where all the other languages fail to convey something. This is the language helps us to understand the, subconsciously, what are loved ones are trying to convey.
Did you hear that? Someone is thinking about you right now. Someone is praying for you. It’s the language in which a new born baby talks to his mother. It’s the language in which a paraplegic husband talks to his wife. It’s the language in which two people in love miles apart talk.
No messenger. No broadband. No email. Simple wireless connectivity. Go ahead, connect!

Optimism

2006-10-04T17:53:00.000+05:30

What do you think is the height of optimism? I will tell you what it is for me....

I believe that this is not my last visit on earth.
I believe that I will meet all my loved ones once again even after I die.
I believe that I will talk to my near and dear one's even after they die.
I believe that life is not a one-stop phenomenon. We will keep meeting in different forms in different era's.
I believe that if I medidate with utter purity, I will talk to god himself.

Please god, render me pure. So that there will be no fear, no doubt, no disbelief.....

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

2006-09-29T09:50:00.000+05:30

The last episodes of F.R.I.E.N.D.S were aired in the recent past on TV. 10 years. The cast and crew have been entertaining us for 10 years. No matter how many times I watch it, its always seems fresh. Why does it make us laugh the way it does?
I think because it weeds out the perfection aspect . Show blatantly, how everyone is a looser in their own aspect and create subtle comedy out of it. We for all our lives, tried to make it perfect, but lost ourselves in the same. The serial touches that aspect. The love between them still resides even after facing their whims and fancies. I vividly remember the "sterotyped" punch lines of every character:
1) Monica--> I Know!
2) Rachel--> Oh! I am gonna cry.
3) Phoebe--> Smelly Cat, Smelly Cat, What are they feeding you?
4) Chandler--> Could I be more sorry?
5) Joey--> How u doin?
6) Ross--> We were on a break!
Eyes moisten when you see the last eposide. But why? Its not the last eposide. F.R.I.E.N.D.S will always last. In the hearts of the people who have laughed admist their sorrows at the demeanor
of 6 different people.
Probably they can also form a verb out of it. I "friendsed" you i.e. I made you laugh.

Traffic Jam

2006-09-28T14:03:00.000+05:30

I live in a city called Pune (Maharashatra, India). The city roads (a.k.a potholes) are crude and traffic is huge. The result: a traffic jam almost at every crossroad or signal.
Yesterday, victimized by this, i put my thinking cap on. An interesting analogy started evolving by what I am or probably everyone is going through; in traffic and in life.

	Traffic	Life
Type	Vehicles forming a bottleneck at a crossroad or signal blocking smooth commuting of the vehicles.	Thoughts forming a bottleneck at a decisions point blocking smooth functioning of the task.
Vehicle	Maximum idle time which draws more fuel and cuts overall efficiency.	Maximum non-productive thoughts draw more stress and cut the overall thinking power of the brain.
Rush	Everyone trying to get a slice of the road and move forward. The result again result in a mini-traffic jam which further delay.	Everybodyâ��s ambitious and wants to move ahead without knowing where they are standing. The result is fierce competition everywhere.
Rat-Race	As and when the traffic opens, look how the vehicles will try to overtake each other. Honking horns and polluted surroundings.	The jealousy creeps in and we size each other on the possessions we have. Stressed hearts and polluted minds.
Multi-Lane	Every size and type of the vehicle has a lane. The big task is to stick to the same regardless of who is driving besides you.	God has made everyone unique. The big task is to identify what you are made of and remain loyal to it without trying to change yourself. Stick to your lane!

P.S - This is the intial draft. It will be refined in due course of time as and when I hit the nail. Do leave your comments or suggessions behind. It will help better me.

Love

2006-09-26T14:06:00.000+05:30

I always wondered why people add the word "True" when they speak of Love. Its a little confusing to think that an emotion/verb like Love can hve multiple forms. Something that is "True", is something that is "Not False." So if there is "Not False" Love, there has to be a "False Love."
Now my question here is: Can Love ever be false? If yes, then why is it called Love? If No, then it's implicitly True. Why overhead it with that word.
So probably, we are misinterpreting the concept of Love? Is it an emotion? Then can you describe what causes that emotion or what is the reaction? I can tell when I feel angered or when I am down. But I cant tell when I am in Love. Most of the people cant, believe me. Otherwise there wouldnt be a word called "infatuation" or "attraction."
So then what differentiates love from other emotions? Its the fact that its not an emotion. Stephen Covey in his ground-breaking book "7 Habits of highly effective people", tells us that love infact is not an emotion but an action.
So did you do anything against your wishes for someone? Then my friend, you love that person. How much you do, will quantify how much you love him/her. Its perfectly alright to love someone more than someone.
But remember, love is always true. If it's not, its not Love.

French Kiss

2006-09-25T18:23:00.000+05:30

Dont worry, I am not going go into the details. But, there is twist here. The English think that this type of kissing ( is there any other type?) was invented by the French. But though the french came up with it, they call it the Engish Kiss.
So both here are kissing and telling!

Sher-O-Shayari

2006-09-21T14:43:00.000+05:30

"Piya ki judai mein,
Pyaar ka gubbara hai.
Raat ko chadhya tha,
din mein utara hai."

Now I,frankly, dont know what these lines mean. But I liked them a lot. I do know why I liked them. Just check the analogy between "Chaand" (Moon) and "Gubbara" (balloon). How it is linked to the "Pyaar" (love).

I too came up with my "toothi poothi shaayari" in my online diary.....
"Teri aankhon mein doob jaane ko jee karta hai.
Par kya karun utne size ka SCUBA nahi milta hai."
You certainly dont want to know what this means...

Oh! by the way, the line above the above lines are from the film "Jaan-E-Mann." They manifest as lyrics of a song called " Jaane ke Jaane na."

O My Blog!

2006-09-18T16:10:00.000+05:30

I missed writing you,
O My Blog!
As the thoughts inside
had began to clog.

I dreamt of them,
the archive posts
and how to the words
my language courts

To tell you dear,
I was little busy
sorting out things
rendered clumsy.

Now I am back,
O My Blog!
to restart my,
Thought Log.

Stay Tuned!

One Night @ a Call Centre

2006-08-29T10:54:00.000+05:30

This is the second book written by Chetan Baghat (read IIT--> IIM (A). It starts with a train journey from Kanpur to Delhi. Here he meets a pretty lady. She agrees to tell him a story about 6 call center agents. Her only condition is that Chetan should convert that in his second book. With reluctance he says yes.
The story, told in first person through the character of Shyam lists the happenings of that eventful night. With others, Priyanka, Esha, Radhika, Vroom and Military Uncle, Shyam faces enlightment in that night. Apart from dealing with commonplace problems like Break-Up's, Extra Marital affairs, Casting Couch and Employee lay-offs, the story deftly touches the borderlines of issues related with Outsourcing, Indian Youth and Globalization. Though the key of the book remains their "conversation with god." The ending is also very good.
I dont know whether to call this book as Spiritual, Real or Unusal.The books leaves you with a question mark:What is the book about? Is it about the agents or Indian youth all together?Is it about god or the lady in the train? As good as the book is, I still feel that Chetan has not aptly conveyed the it's mission apart from the promise to write one.
And yes, I finished it in one day(paradoxically!)

The Turkish Red Carpet

2006-08-28T10:38:00.000+05:30

The Instanbul park was mesmerized. Not only because Phillppe Massa registered his first ever Grand Prix victory, but for the sheer tussle between Fernando Alonso and Micheal Shumacher. It was Massa's Ferrari on the front grid with Alonso's Renault 3rd after Schumi.
The race started with a bang, as Fischichella and Raikkonnen got banged in the side by couple of cars. The safety car was in in the 4th lap as Luitzi struck the car at the side of the road blocking the passage.
The teams took a pit-stop. But it was strategy that failed Micheal to put before Alonso as after the first pit-stop Alonso took the lead and extended it till the second pit-stop. After the second pit-stop, Schumi was on Alonso's tail. The battle went for the last 15 laps. In the end, Alonso won with 2nd podium finish and Micheal coming 3rd.
It was a very emotional moment for Massa. Not Alonso extends his leads to 108 points over Micheal's 96. The Italian GP is going to decide whether Shcumi is still in contention for driver's championship or has lost it to Alonso.
Best Of Luck Schumi!

Sequoia Consulting

2006-08-27T15:17:00.000+05:30

19th August 2006. The day when my tryst with Sequoia Consulting ended. Well, for now at least. I remember the day I joined Sequoia about a year ago. The year has been tumultous. I have gained a lot and learnt a lot. By far, this was the best company that I worked for. I would always wish to replicate that culture wherever I go to work.
Many people are still wondering as to why did I quit. I always believe that every company has its "personality." There are some base-level values that are carried within. They run through the hierarchies and processes. For an individual to be successful in that organization, he needs to adapt to that personality. He needs to put his thinking pattern a little aside unless he gets a foothold. In a nutshell, he needs to be agile.
May be I am at this moment not ready to work for Sequoia. I am still a little rigid on my thoughts. The agility, being there, is a little less. But I know that I will gain that in due course of time. For career hunters, I would say that Sequoia is the firm you want to work for.
For me now the thought rests. I would always remember what Sequoia has given me. And as I am a little weak to make a promise, I would say, I believe that I will be back to work with them. At a different position, in a different geography, with a different attitude.

Street-Dog-Play

2006-08-22T19:50:00.000+05:30

The Ganapati's are arriving. Precisely on the 26th August. A week before the same, the street- plays start taking prevalence on the streets of Pune. These are basically ideological realities that are potrayed in coherence to our day-to-day life.
Recently a street dog, strayed in our lane. He actually was limped when someone fed him. Thenceforth, he has made our lane as his alma-mater and us as his folks. Folks with whom he can bark his way through. Observers say that he only barks and doesnt pounce or bite. The truth is, no one has been with him that long to ascertain that.
Now you might be wondering what is the connection, right? Day before yesterday, a street play happened in our lane. And it was quite musical because the song was on the tunes of the bark that came from our august guest. The play was about individuals making misuse of their advanced degrees and how we should find confidenece in all that. Or the least that, I think was the theme. Half of the play was defeaned in the sweet barks and growls.
So what do we learn? Either have a street-play or a street-dog in your street. Never both of them.

Did you get "Lost"?

2006-08-19T11:18:00.000+05:30

Lost. A primitime television series, whose 2nd season is recently being aired in India. I cant believe I intially missed half of the 1st season. But Star World was generous to air the redux on Sunday nights.
There are some things about the series that leaves me spellbound everytime I watch it. First are the characters. Right from Dr.Jack Sheperd to Sayid to John Locke the artists deliver a powerpacked performance.
Second is the storyline. 44 survivors of the crashed flight Oceanic 815 have all got a history. All of them stranded on an island which is not normal. And how the story unfolds as they all start to habituate themselves to each other's whims and fancies.
Third is the screenplay. Apart from being screened in the exotic Hawaiian island Oahu, it deftly reveals the history of characters in a manner that connects well to the running storyline. It also irks curiosity and keeps you pinned to your recliner.
Lastly, it is the spirituality and its tussle with the reality. How faith or John Locke and the science of Jack fight with each other. I like the dialogues also. One of my favorites is "The best way to find what is lost is to stop looking for it."
Did you hear that god?

Rang De Basanti

2006-08-18T14:25:00.000+05:30

" दुनिया मे जीने के दो हि तरिके होते है. ऎक जो होरा है उसे होने दो, बर्दाश्त कर्ते जाओ और दुस्रा उसे खुद बदल्ने कि जिममेदारी लो."
The are translated as " There are only two ways of living life in this world. One, just watch and bear whatever is happening around you. The second, is to decide to do something about it."

These are the lines with which the film "Rang De Basanti" marked the beginning of an end of the epic saga that it potrayed for over 2.5 hours. I watched it over and over again. And every time I do it gives me a new message.
It tells me that a revolution should always begin silently. It should catch the audience by surprise. More often that not a revolt is brought by the young blood. The film teaches you never to overlook anybody you think is screwed. You never know, they might end up waking your conscience.
It tells you that when you listen to your heart, you become fearless. That is the power of faith. Kudos to the team and the actors who spawned such a memorable experience.
I hope you have watched it. If you havent, do it now. You are loosing on something.

Passion and Professionalism-II

2006-08-16T17:21:00.000+05:30

Here we continue our discussion. Ironically, it comes on the same day when I complete exact one year in my current organization.16th August. I remember, being punctual on the first day. I guess a little over punctual. The excitement was tremendous. My first job as a Manager. From that day I have not lost my professionalism. But sure my passion has a taken a downslide. Reasons are immaterial, but when it happens, it doesnt seem the right place for you to continue.
I passionately work in this organization. It's problems were my problems. I carried them home with me and thought about it all the time. But recently they have not cropped up. They have left me and so have the challenges. The work seems monotonous because somewhere I am not able to identify myself with the work that I am doing. In a nutshell, I am just doing my job.
But then it stagnates growth as it makes life devoid of challenges, hurdles. The very thing that tests you. It might seem like a rut at first, but believe me, its the fuel that burns the fire of ambition.
I hopeyou got my point. My suggestion will always be to work with passion, profesionalism will automatically follow.

Passion and Professionalism-I

2006-08-10T17:54:00.000+05:30

I was once asked in an interview, what is the difference between a job and career? I replied, that what you want do passionately, becomes your career and that what you do professionally becomes your job. A job happens only in the office, while work happens anywhere. But there is thin line between working passionately and professionally.
Most of the managers/leaders will exploit you by mixing and matching either one of them. Its not necssary to have passion in the work you do. But its effective. Then the time line starts to recede and there is no difference between your work-place, your work-station and your home. These people more often are termed as workaholics. Money can be one factor, but more often than not, its not the catalyst for a person to incite that passion. Everyone has his/her own reasons, some might be emotionally connected, some might like the kind of work, some are built that way. There are multiple reasons for a person to be a workaholic. I once asked a friend, who is a passionate worker, why doesnt he lets his hair down? Probably frequent a pub or something. He answered; "I dont need a pub for kicks. I get it in my office. My office his my pub. My cubicle my dance floor. My workstation my music. My work my date." I didnt know what to say. Its his perspective.
But what happens when you loose passion admist the work that you are doing? Now the reasons for the same are also difference why that would happen. But are they justifiable? How can you be passionate of something that ran in you sweat and blood, and at times in your soul, and then one fine day loose interest? But it happens.
I always say truth is more stranger than fiction. Lets continue this further for tomorrow.

The Triple Convergence

2006-08-09T17:40:00.000+05:30

No No, this is not something I have come up with. This is Chapter 3 from "The World is Flat" that I am currently reading. After discussing the 10 flatteners of the world, Tom describes in this chapter how they converged and helped levelling the playing field. He calls it the " Triple Convergence" , we will see how the same works:
1) Convergence 1--> It takes in to stride the fall of berlin wall along with Netsacape browsers, Work flow softwares, Out sourcing, Offshoring, Supplychaining, Insourcing, Informing and Steroids that converged by the fall of year 2000. This convergence in turn led to a global playing field for nultiple forms of collaboration.
2) Convergence 2--> This takes in to consideration and 1st convergence and how it was utilised for enhancing productivity by a new cadre of managers, innovators, business consultants, business schools, CEO's, IT Specialists. How they got comfortable with and developed sorts of horizontal collaboration and value-creation processes and habits.
3) Convergence 3--> And this came into picture, it opened a chain of opportunities for peopleto come out in th open field and compete. This actually gave boost to cross border people from India, China and Russia to connect and show their capabilities.
There is lot more to come, and its going to be joy ride, Stay tuned!

The World aint flat yet

2006-08-08T13:57:00.000+05:30

Irony has got a a definitive way of popping at the least-expected mode. The World is not yet flat. Well, these are no my views. Apparently Pankaj Ghemawat, a professor of Harvard Business School expresses the same in his article "Global Strategy: What's Different". He spurns of the idea of a flat world and dimishing borders as "apocalyptic" and justifies it.
He gives us two contradicting examples. One is that of a Wal-Mart and its cross-border expansion problems and other is that of Yum! Brands with its high-intensity proliferation in the Chinese markets.
I am not sure what is the point he want's to stress on. The article goes on to stress that Wal-mart didnt match the pace of revnue growth because it couldn match the cultures of the retail giant with the same on the local market in a Non-US lke territories. The reason did sufice them to exit from Germany and a stunted growth in the other areas. Then he talks about Yum! Brands (Parents of Pizza Hut & KFC) and how as it matched the culture in China grew with about 1800 units in 2005.
I agree with his point FDI flows are accounting to 10% of the capital formation. But there are many forms of indirect investements which are adding to the company revnues. Moreover, Tom doesnt say in "The World is Flat" that the flattening has been completed. It is happening, but at a pace that is going to astonish everybody. The flat world encircles the mere fact that how the world is becoming a single market. How easy it is to cross-port data and convert the same in to information. Its not abou borderless world, but wireless world.
As far as the article goes, I disagree with the same. It's implicit that if there is a cultural disparity, your organisation will cease to exist on the market. But that entails the fact that companies do come up with innovative strategies to match the same.
Ironically, Tom emphasises on the Wal-Mart's global supply chain as one factor contributing to the flattening world.

The Supply Chain

2006-08-07T14:50:00.000+05:30

"Supply Chain"-My favorite word. Love this word for its different meanings associated with different things/people at different times. Let me just take you on a ride of this magnificent word and its implications
Supply Chain in its original form involves a coordinated system of organizations, people, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service in physical or virtual manner from supplier to the customer.
Supply Chain for a Manufacturer would include things like Raw Materials-->Inventory Stocking--> Production Line--> Packaging--> Shipping --> Customer Delivery --> Post Sale Maintenance. This will be associated with data coming from the Sales, Finance,Inventory, Design. A well defined synergy amongst these factors will help an on-time delivery at the customers end to create value.
Supply Chain for an IT Services povider will probaby include Functional Analysis--> Technical Analyis--> Design--> Development--> Testing--> Maintenance. The activities involved are virtual as there is no tangible product conceived. Moreover the supply is service-oriented as its on-demand.
Supply Chain for a Human Resource Department would include--> Analysis of the Requirements-->Resource Planning and Strategy--> Pooling--> Selection--> Training and Development--> Appraisals. With a slight modification this aligns with the strategy of the organisation you are working for.
In this manner, everything is "supply chained" in this world. Look closely, aren't we a part of a massive supply chain? The one that goes on eternally and includes such factors as:
Birth--> Childhood--> Teenage-->Work Years--> Retirement--> Old Age--> Death.
Now you must be wondering who is the supplier and who is t customer? Given the fact that both of them are an integral part of the chain. But isnt the answer that what we are searching for time immemorial? Who is our supplier i.e where do we come from and who is our customer i.e where do we go when we are finished. Do we create the value or solve the purpose for what we were concieved in the first place?
Better think on the same.

The Final Three Flatteners

2006-08-05T11:19:00.000+05:30

Dude! Finally finished the chapter. As much as I am mesmerized by the content, I still feel that Tom has gone a little overboard giving credit to certain American companies for flatteneing the world. Anyway's the gist of the matter is that World has flattened and the last 3 factors also contribute to the same:
8) In-Sourcing:- No. Its not anti-outsourcing. In-Sourcing typically refers to a process og the vendor going down deep into the client's infrastructure and streamlining the process to create horizontal value. The depth of the realtions cant be quantamized, but it comes to a point where you cant make out who's working for whom. Here we take example o UPS. Well, to tell you, I love UPS's tag-line - "Your commerce, Synchronized." Tom says, they have been living up to it. Not only are the synchronizing the globa supply chains round the word, they have embedded themselves in client's internal structure also. Then it gives them a chance run the buisness as their own. They are responsible for cutting delivery time, repair downtime and saving millions with in inventories by synchronised shipping. What a world we are living in!
9) In-Forming: - Our world, Googled! The main theme of this flattner circles round the process of availibilty of information at the fingertips of anyone, anywhere in this world. Type three ingredients in Google, and they will give you a recipe of it. And this has given a new boom to the aspect called reality. Tom says, in a flat world no one can hide, even if they can run. He quotes Mark Twain; "Always tell the truth, so you dont have to remember what you have told." May be by now, we should get a lesson that World has shriked, and so has information availibilty time.
10) Steroids: - It all ends with the kind of technologioes that make this flattening all the more efficient. He talks about the ipods and the ipaq's and mobiles acting as credit cards. How much our world has shrinked and accerelated by these "Steroids". Its just amazing to have life-like video conferences and save millions of dollars in travelling. He ends the chapter with an example of Rolls Royce engines fitted in Boeing. They are built with an automatic tracking chips which talk to a mainframe computer at Rolls Royce. That way they can tap real time data and help the planes to efficiently manage the engines in cases of problems like a lightining strike.
It's a must-read book, I feel so.
And I would specially like to mention four lines that accurately silhouette the globalization era:
" In the midlands of Africa lives a Gazelle and a Lion
The Gazelle wakes of every morning and knows that he must run to save his life otherwise he will be eaten by a lion.
The Lion wakes up every morning and knows that he must run to catch the Gazelle otherwisehe will starve today.
It doesnt matter whether you are a Lion or a Gazelle, the thing you should remember is always to keep running."

The next Three Flatteners

2006-08-03T13:00:00.000+05:30

After the first four flattener's here comes next three in line.
5) OutSourcing :- As the dot com bubble went bust, many fibre-optic companies when into bankruptcy. Investors and Venture capitalists who had invested in these companies started to put their thinking caps on. And then they met with a second-buyer of those huge data pipelines-India. As India started venturing into the communications protocol, a new trend started to emerge in US. As the economy had tanked and costs had to be cut, the companies started asking " Hey who are those guys that will get this work done at a cheaper rate?" And thus started Outsourcing. It helped flatten the world in a profuse sense as it cut down costs and helped achieve greater efficiency of work by integrating a cross-spectrum of individuals.
6) Offshoring:- Now the basic difference between OutSourcing and Offshoring is that the former is involved in moving only the backroom work while the later is involved in moving all the operations. Now here we take China in perspective. Due to cheap labor and subdued manufacturing costs, China has always attracted companies on a value-proposition. The Chinese when opened the gates, the people in US thought it has an interesting venture because they finally foundt the place where they could move their whole operations and get the most out of it at a very very low cost. This is one world flattener that doesnt cease to amaze me because, its not only Manufacturing but the Chinese have started grappling the other sectors also.
7) Supply-Chainining:- This actually terms with seamlessely integrating the process to deliver the products at the customer doorsteps to create value. Thomas gives us the example of Wal-mart and how it has clipped costs by sourcing goods from the manufacturers directly.How it has efficiently planned the sourcing chain and practised the just-in-time delivery to cut down inventory costs. It doesnt matter in which part of the world the product is manufactured, in the supply chain its the data that flows through is consolidated at one end and converted in information. Analysis of the customer buying patterns is done and likewise product is shipped with a reduced delivery time. Amazing! Though I feel Tom has gone a little Pro-Walmart, but still it really epitomises the flattening of the world.
Stay tuned, U will be back right after a short break. :-)

मराथि ब्लोग

2006-08-02T13:01:00.000+05:30

नमस्कर मनदलि;
अयुशात पहिल्यन्दा चुका न करता मराथि लिहिन्यचया हा अनुभव अविस्मार्निये आहे. त्तुम्चि ऒश ( अर्थतात--> Operating System) सपोर्त करएल कि नहि ते मला महित नहि. पअन माझ अत विचर मझे मरथि सुध्रारन्याचा आहे.
मला थोदिशि मदद करा. मि अप्ला रुनि राहिन.

ध्यन्यवाद.

आप्ला विन्म्र
अद्वैत जोशि

Beggars are the Choosers!

2006-08-01T16:08:00.000+05:30

A recent survey of the Maharshtra State goverment reveals that Begging has manifested in an Industry. In Mubai it self there are about 50,000 beggars accounting to a revnenue of 180 crore. Rates are fixed for where one wants to beg and a fixed percentage is set for authorities so that everyone can get a share of the beggars loot.
The Bombay Beggary Prevention Act (read para-5) terms begging as illegal. But the handicapped beggars are left untouched by the anti-begging squad.Clearly, handicapped beggars are better earners as they command more sympathy. Now this actually has given a twist to the industry. A foray of mafia gangs have stepped in paying for the amputation of bosy parts of the street-side beggars.
A recent inquiry in beggar amputations has revealed some shocking realties. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has launched a probe for doctors willing to ampute beggar's body parts for $200 (10,000 INR)

Vikrant and the Offshoring

2006-07-31T12:28:00.000+05:30

The 18 year old Vikrant Khanvilkar , the youngest of the 7/11 mishap died succumbed to death today. He had suffered head injuries. Now the death toll has risen to 201. 201 innocent people lost their lives because some of the follies made by our freedom fighters 58 years ago and some which are still continuing in the face of Ayodhya and Gujrat.
Meanwhile we are at the economy spot, there is a new boost to the health care industry in India. With the rising healthcare costs in the US a growing number is US employers are sending their ailing employees offshore for healthcare treatment. This actually is cutting down costs on the same. Way to go for the hospital-ity industry. :-)
Guys! I have been searching for film " Omkara" 's lyrics all ovre the place. May be my serach-criteria's are not right. :(. Just help me out of you, I really need those lyrics.

Let go for once, Please!

2006-07-29T12:30:00.000+05:30

Emotions play a vital role in anybody's life. Every minute we are experiencing a turmoil of emotions which churn us in. They say to find the ultimate truth, we should get rid of these emotions. But is it possible. I mean, yes it is possible, but is it do-able.
Get rid of love, get rid of desire, get rid of ambition. Yes you have to get rid of certain emotions like hatred, jealousy, lust because what they create is only negative energy around you. But you know what, a hundred times more a crime has been committed in name of love than in the name of hate. There is a thin line between love and hate. And believe me you, its like walking a razor's edge. Introspect and you will get the answer. We tend to hate them the most whom we love the most. Why such things happen?
How can one suddenly stop loving someone? Its just a pure emotion that just cant be vandalised. The biggest weakness of an human being is letting go. But what we tend to forget is that we all have to let go one day. Of this world, of your loved ones, of your levi's, of your car, of your swatch. Then what is the point is gaining all this. Beacuse the vedas say, that your soul is what you are. It is the not that thing that comes along with you after you die, it is you. In the niceities of the world, we forget where we have come from. But if you have come down, living life is a challenge. To every problem there is simple soultion, but more often than not its not easy.Hence we tend to live in that rut all the time.
You want to leave you job, right? You are not able to work and the environment is suffocating, right? Then why dont you just leave it? Is it right to stay in a place where people dont believe you are capable of doing something? Is it right to stay in the place where people forget what you have done over a period of time and then in-turn ask what is your value-addition to the organisation.? Is it right to be emotionally attached to some one who in turns defies your logical thinking process and then slef becomes detached?
I feel like shouting on top of the board, for god's sake, let go for once. Please!

The First Four World Flattener's

2006-07-27T14:17:00.000+05:30

I did mention in one of my last posts that I am currently reading Thomas Friedman's " The World is Flat." Well, today lets take a bird-eye's view on the first forces that have helped flatenning the world. Shall we ?
1) When the Berlin Wall went down and the Windows, up: - The Berlin wall went down in 1989 and than started a chain of events. The utter act of defiance from the people of Germany was not that of impulse. Freedom was what they wanted. But not only from the chains of discrimination, but of thought also. The downfall fall of Berlin wall took down the iron curtain with it. This opened the people's mind to imagine that a world in itself can become a single market place. Free trade started setting in. In admisdt of this, precisely a week later after wall's event, Microsoft shipped it's first operating system:Windows 3.0. This helped any tom-dick-harry harness the power of computers and gradually helped penetration of the computers in household's. People started realising the power of computing and the tasks that it made easier. They were on a run and they were loving it!
2) When Netscape came up with the first browser: - As thew power of computing became publicised, there was still a discrepancy. Those people complained that they cant share the resources on anyone else'e computer. What was needed was a common framework to help everyone acesss the a pool of resources. The when the internet came in to picture, there was no surefire way to access that data. A start-up company in silicon valley came up with the solution. Netscape. They built the first browser which again helped people access data and information thorugh the websites at the click of the button. Tim Berner-Lee , the father of World Wide Web, then brought another revolution that overnight shrinked the world.
3) When Workflow software started talking to each other:- After the internet boom, what was needed was the applications that can seamlessly integrate the business process. So that the Manufacturing, Finance, Sales and Inventory departements would be connected as they should be. This in turn give rise to data pipelines which helped transfer crucial data over long distances. I am not talking about cities but about countries. As the application began to come closer, connected by the web of pipelines, it didnt matter whether you were sitting in Boston or Bangalore. The work was done at the blink of an eye.
4) When Apache created the first open-source software: - Apache was the first open-source software that was created by a group of programmers. Open-Sourcing bought a new wave of revolution with itself. Here was bunch of geeks sitting, geographically diverese seeding the code to develop the software which can be freely downloaded and used. This actually was the people who had been shrking the world this time. The same is the case with LInux. The onlibe communities and blogs whic act as whistleblowers have transformed this daily people in the citizen-journalists. This in turn has given a new dimenesion to information mining.
We have more to come, so do visit back!

Life in a nutshell.

2006-07-26T19:20:00.000+05:30

Every writer at some time ceases to write. Not because he is at loss of thoughts, but he is at loss of words. Every emotion can't be scripted. Though the Vedas have tried a lot to script some out-of-the=body experiences, it requires a great deal of spirituality. That day I was reading Upanishads (concise version), and I was "literally" at loss of words. The way the ancient hrushis have enumerated the very sense of life is just amazing.
Soham-Asmi; I am that fire, I am that soul. They tell you that the soul is eternal while the body is temporal. Moksh is achieved when we learn what we have come to learn on this earth. It just warms your heart.
I remember reading Brian Weiss's " Many Lives. Many Masters." His book revovles around his psychiatric patient. He cubs here fear by regression therapy, where-in she recalls her past lives. The book tells us about 7 masters who possess the knowledge of the ultimate truth. The patient (sorry I dont remeber her name) actually speaks to them, or rather they speak to her while she goes in to the trance. The very realities and absurdities of life are beautifully unfolded in that book. It takes you to a thought level that you are eternal. No matter what grab you wear, you always have the strength to know what you were in your past life. You also know the purpose of your life in this birth.
I guess I know what I am doing over here. I have had that luxury. But do you know what you are doing here? Why of all you were born with that special trait, in that body, with that face?
Its time you started finding the answers.

Recruitment

2006-07-25T19:10:00.000+05:30

Lets write today of something I am professionally involved in. Recruitment. I love this field. Though this isnt orginally that I started my career with, but its seamlessly connected with Sales & Marketing ( Prima Facie of my career). Recruitment industry in India is on a boom. You people must have heard of the term " Demand-Supply gap" of talent pool in India. Lets discuss this for a while. Shall we?
There is a law of economics that coins the demand-supply aspect as follows, " When the demand equals the supply its commodity, when the demand surpasses the supply its speciality and when the demand is less than the supply, its liablity."
Our recruitment scene follows this law, but there is a slight modification over here. In India, talen is realtivelygreat. Giving the statistics, Indian universities are expected to produce 400,000 engineers, about 100,000 managers and about 2.5 million graduates. Wow! And given the current scene, just 4 sectors-IT/ITES, Telecom, Retail and Financial Services are expected to add about 500,000 jobs this fiscal year.
Then why-o-why are the companies still facing a dearth of talent? If we zero-in on the aspect of quality, some fault rests on the education system. Then the IT boom is stripping talen of other sectors as the MNC's go on to increase the breadth of their operations. To give a rough idea: Infosys selects about 3-4 people fo the 700 intervieews. A conversion rate of less than 2.2 %.
Now the question rests, is the demand really more than the supply? In numbersm yes. But in quality, no. Then what can be done for these people to bring them upto the level so that they can be converted from liablity into specialty?
I will think about the same and write......

Prince-ly India

2006-07-24T15:18:00.000+05:30

Media sometimes hypes things up unnecessarily.
In the city of Kurukshetra (Haryana, India), a 5 year old kid called Prince turned 6 in a trench 60-feet deep. Am I kidding? Well apparently not. This Prince wandered of somewhere from his house and fell in the nearby dug well of 60 feet depth with the breadth of only 16 Inch. Futile measures were being carried out to release him. In the end the army was called. They planted another trench 10 feet apart, dug through it and released him. Kudos to the army and the kid who survived the fight for his life for about 50 hours. But now the media has created a super-hero out of him. They say they are going to sponsor his whole education. And believe it or not this news was running as " breaking-news" non-stop on 3 premier media channels of the country.
Agreed, the attention was needed. But I think there was no need to cover it continously and keep other news on a back-burner. Whatever prayers you want to say, say it in your heart with purity. Why you need to harp about it and create a display of emotions which will invariably, sell? I simply dont understand. Was the fate of a 12 year old Tsunami survivor changed? Our war-heros didnt get this kind of media-pubilicity. Who are those families who were killed in the Mumbai blasts? Who were the heroes of the day who made it possible for Mumbai to return back to normal?
The media will probably not answer these questions because no-one likes to know the reality. They just want to percieve what it might be ,and then speculate about it. In that way journalism is alive, so are the news. News that wont matter in the first place.

Its Only Words

2006-07-22T13:20:00.000+05:30

Words are a trap. I seriously beleive in this. How many times you have experienced a diffuclty in expressing yourself to help someone understand what you are feeling? Most of the times , right? Yesterday, I was referring to two types of anythings in this world-Functional & Technical. Technical aspect of anything is realtively easy to understand. Just cross-reference anything that is accepted as a standard in that particular situation. Functional thing is relative. Everyone understands the same in their own context and then deems it right. More often than not, quality is often refferd to understanding exactly what the other person needs and doing it likewise. Some have this as an inherent gift, some dont. Hence some people are liked most and some are not. But how many peolple know the hidden aspect of it?
In his sequel to "Kane and Abel", " The Prodigal Daughter", Jeffery Archer gives a classic example of this. Apparently it's discovered in the end that Florentyna's (Abel's daughter) doppelganger, an anynomous backer to their crumbling bank was William Kane-her father's arch rival. Now who would remember him and appreciate him? Probably Abel will be able to. :-)
The point here is everyone is an unsung hero in somebody else's lufe. May be n his/her father's, mother's, brother's, sister's, dughter's, son's,friend's,bank cashier's, maid's;virtually anyone's. We touch lives of them whoose exsistence we are not even aware of.
In this scene, no words are requried. A different level of connection is established. A functional connection where no technicalities are involved. Everywhere there is love, even in hate. Paradoxical it is, but we tend to hate people we love the most. So lets promise ourselves that I will go beyond the words sometimes and do things in a shadow that will affect someone in a good manner.
And at the end of the day ask ourselves: Whose life did I touch today?

Two Types

2006-07-21T10:51:00.000+05:30

Yesterday I heard a heart -warming news. A friend of my brother's lost her elder brother in a heart attack. He was barely 32 years old! Life sometimes compels us to sit back and analyse what is death. What is death?Do you know it? Well form me death is just the absence of real-life and not end of it. Time and time again we have been able to contact those para-natrual beings who have left the womb of earth long-ago-physically. Some people say they talk to souls. Possible, given the scenario that telepathy exists between persons with deep mental connection. Yesterday I saw in the program" Mano ya na Mano" the concept of Automatic Writing. They say that the writer in the state of trance writes what what the soul around him/her tells. This actually helps in solving some grave problems faced by the human beings. If you want to know more visit--> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_writing.
Speaking about the same, death has become a way to live in Lebanon. With the Israelies captivating their hamas ministers and bombing the cities have already triggeres a chain of disrest in India. Indian doesnt want to tweak ties with Israel, but also due to pressures of the Left parties, it has to take a strong ground stance on the thier acts of bombings and kidnaps. About 100 Indians have said to be rescued with the joint operations of the Navy forces. The INS Shivaji will be docking in the Larnaca port in Cyprus, from where these people will be flown back to India. So it still persists in India that the left is always right.
There are two types of errors in this world. One is Functional and the other is Technical. More often that not, the functional error is very hard to catch because that reflects the quality of the human thinking. Technical error more or less means a non-compliance to the pre-defined set of procedures or rules. We will tocuh the same in details afterwards, but life let me tell you is always in shades of gray. There is no definitive black and white. So the errors also are a combination of functional and technical aspects. The gravity depends on the percentage dispersion. Invariably, technical errors are easier to rectify than functional errors.

Flat World and the Tax-net

2006-07-20T11:28:00.000+05:30

Currently I am reading "The World is flat" by Thomas Friedman. I actually happened to see the documentary on the same on the discovery channel way before the book was published last year. He typically touches the aspect of the free market and how the technology has sort of " levelled the playground." He gives an analogy of how Columbus moved to west to find India and inadvertently landed discovering America. He then came to a conclusion that the world, really is round. Thomas says he moved east, to India, China, Japan et al and has come to a conclusion that World, invariably is flat. The idea was jump-sparked when he was having a discussion with Nandan Nilekani, the CEO of Infosys.
I am through the first chapter where he says that the changes tooke place while "he was sleeping." Apparently we all were, until the book was published. In the 2nd chapter he enlists 10 forces that have helped flattening the world. Its going to be an interesting journey.
The Tax-net is closing in. If you are a credit card holder, with annual expenses accounting to more than 2 Lacs, and you have not submitted your PAN (Permanent Account Number), you are in for a surprise. The IRD is going to scrutinize all those applicants and take an action against them. Be sure to pay your taxes, especially those in the bracket of 8 Lacs-10 Lacs. Wow!.Sure big money involved here. But let me remind you, dont expect this to reflect on the country's infrasrtucture immediately.
Oh! By the way, we are on and running again as the Blogspot as a whole domain is not going to be blocked by the ISP. It is that blogs which contain objectional anti-national content that will face the music.

The Conversation

2006-07-19T13:25:00.000+05:30

Today I decicided to supersede all my e-mail signatures with the line "Life's simple, not easy." All the trials and tribulations we face in life have got one simple soultion, but more often than not, its not easy.
Like today I heard a conversation between two people:

1st Person: "Hey, wake up, look at the sun outside, its looking brighter than ever before."
2nd Person: "Really? Let me just take a look." When he goes out and has a look.
2nd Person: "Yes, but why it is looking so beautiful today? I have seen it many times before. "
1st Person: "Is that so? Then if the sun has not changed, what has?"
2nd Person: "May be the way I am looking at is changed."
1st Person: "Exactly!. All we need to do is master the art of looking at things in a different manner."
2nd Person: "Its easier said than done, dude. When we are haggled by the mundane things, we are bound to think negatively. Things always dont work the way we want to."
1st Person: " You are right, but every situation or a problem teaches you a new lesson. A lesson you should never forget."
2nd Person: "But are we competent enough to learn from the same? I mean, the thinking process stops when we are low on spirits. It just feels like either yelling aloud or to cry silently."
1st Person: "This situation comes in everyone's life, but great people are often separated from good people by this tendency only."
2nd Person: "But its so easy to say this when you have no thinking to do. Every burden is shouldered by me."
1st Person: "Who say's I have nothing to do? Did you ever come across a situaton when you do something against your wishes just for someone you love?
2nd Person: "Yes sure I have, everyone does."
1st Person: "Then inevitably you have in all totatlity surrenderd to me. I am the one that shows light and differentiates the right from the correct"
2nd Person: "But with your principles, the world doesnt run."
1st Person: "I know dear, but I just make the world a better place to live. If I was not there, how would you know what love is? What it feels to thrive for someone. Achieve what you dreamt of just because you didnt think it was pragmmatic in the first place."
2nd Person: "So are you saying that I have no importance whatsoever."
1st Person: " No, you have it in your own territory. Look buddy, the difference between you and me is the one between efficency and effectiveness, between Management and Leadership, lets just say you are the Manager and I am the Leader."
2nd Person: "But then who is superior?"
1st Person: " No one, it's the situation that demands performance from both of us. Sometimes you have to analytical, calculating, other times you have to be soulful, emotional."
2nd Person: " You have all the answers dude."
1st Person: "And you have all the questions."
2nd Person: "But what's the use if the answers are not there."
1st Person: " But unless questioned, the answers dont come, thats why you are responsible for all the advancement in the world."
2nd Person: "And you are responsible for letting us know who we are. Thanks!"
1st Person: "Thanks to you too!"

You might be wondering who are these people. One is the Heart and other is the Brain. Could you make out who is which one?

Magny-Cours

2006-07-18T10:58:00.000+05:30

Actually I forgot to give a review of the Weekend GP. Here it goes:
The Venue- Magny Cours, France (About 160 Miles from Paris)
Laps:- 70 Laps.
Positions: 1) Micheal Shcumacher
2) Fernando Alonso
3) Phillpe Massa
Review: It was an astounding speed surgence that helped Ferrari and Micheal to extend the lead over Fernando over the first few laps of the race. Though the strategy of Massa holding back Alonso on the intial laps also helped. It was potentially a 3 pit-stop for Michael. But the Renault changed its strategy from 3 pit-stop to 2 with Alonso's second pitstop counting 11.7 seconds. Though this didnt rule in the favor of Renault, it gave Michael that advantage that was needed. But still Michael needs to close 17 championship points before he catches Alonso as a potential world-champion. I reckon (like Steve Slater :-), the Ferrari should take a concerted effort to push back Alonso. The reason is even if Michael wins all the upcoming 7 races and Alonso gets 2nd in all, he will still be ahead of Michael in the championship run. Thence forth it is the team effort that is going to matter now.
They are saying that they are going to block Blogspot along with 17 other websites for carrying anti-national content in the kitty. Please forgive if I am not able to post for few more days, its not my fault.

Mahtma Gandhi and POTA

2006-07-17T14:07:00.000+05:30

In greek literarture, Hubris- is the sin of arrogantly overstepping natural boundries. Nice word! Now the opposite of Hubris is know as Nemesis- the counterbalance force that restored order and balance. Helen Mathur in her article "Word Smitten" gives an example of Nemesis as: "Mahatma Gandhi was a nemesis to British imperialism in India." True. But what about India? Was it a nemesis or hubris? Taking the current scene in to stride, the things are profusely overstepping natural boundries. Islamic terrorism is at the acme. In spite of this, our honorable PM is saying that he is not going to revive the POTA.
Then what is the solution to save innocent lives? Well he says, the intelligence agency should gear-up and prevent the calamities from happening. How can we expect a IB officer on a shoe-string budget to prevent from something of a bigger magnintude from happening? Today the Mumbai police doesnt have funds to buy the uniforms. There are 2 ways of looking at it. Either the government is back-logging on the issue or the mandatory funds are siphoned off. Look at the scene where you can get a gelatin-based bomb stick for meagre Rs. 50 near Mumbai.
The security is so lethargic, that I think we should go the Swiss way.
Talking about lethargy, have you guys travelled to Sinhgad lately? Well I did yesterday and I am glad to be alive with my bike, as I survived the roads. Though they weren't potentially "roads".

Nirvana

2006-07-14T14:27:00.000+05:30

Didnt come to office yesterday. Dont want to tell why, cos I dont want to lie. But the reason was genunine. Sometimes I think why people lie? They say truth is stranger than fiction. Very true. Every person on this earth has a lie to tell, and a truth to hide. Most of these people cant handle the very fact that its truism that prevails.
What is moksh? Its going towards the ultimate truth. What is the ultimate truth? Its listeneing to your heart. I feel you are ugly. I tell her that she is ugly. But will I? No, becasue I dont want to hurt her. Or Do I? It might be that I am not capable of handling the reaction of a that person.
Look closely in your hearts, how many times we lie to ourselves. Sometimes unknowingly, cos we more often than not, dont know ourselves.

The Blasts and the Superman

2006-07-12T13:56:00.000+05:30

I stepped home yesterday and bang! the news of the serial bomb blasts in local trains hit Mumbai. Would the people travelling in those first class compartements have anticipated that they might face a violent death? No. What was their fault? Is this the price they have pay for being born in a communal ridden country? No matter whatever you do, death finds you in the way as it is written to find you-Maktub!
But the way Mumbaikers have reacted to the same, hats-off. These are the real heroes. Not Krish and Superman. Unlike them ,they are un-glamorous. Their bodies stink of sweat ant guts of other people who have just died, while taking them out of the debris. Who is going to write about them? No one. One day they will aslo fade aways like unsung hero does.
But I, on my behalf will take this opportunity to salute those people, who time and time again always put Mumbai back on tracks after the any calamity hits the city. Then may be its the 1993 Bomb Blasts or the Communal Riots or 26/7 Rains or 11/7 Serial Blasts. The intellegience today accpeted the fault of not knowing the place and time of the blasts. Though their speculations is that next target might be Solapur. Looking at all this i remember 4 lines from a Marthi Poet called Mardhekar:
" Aaj pahile maran, gele bhambavun pran, majhya gynanache kumpan, smashcanat." It transaltes as follows:
" I saw death today, and was confused and scared, I know where my knowledge ends, its at the funeral."
Please tell your loved one today that you love them, dont know tomorrow, where you will be.

The Stockholm Syndrome

2006-07-11T14:13:00.000+05:30

Life at times is very funny. You tend to think that everything is normal. I mean what possibly be wrong with a healthy indivdual, with a good income and aspirations? But normality is relative. What seems normal to me, may not be to you. I have reached to one conclusion: The root casue of all our misries is our inability to let-go ossomething/somebody. Thousand times more a crime has been committed in the name of love than hate. See the assaults, the rapes, the extra marital affairs, what can we conclude from this?
That day I read an amazing quote. It goes " An optimist thinks we live in the best of two worlds, A pessimist believes its true."
But life in totality is beautiful. Look at the water-droplets in the slashing rains on your helmet, think the last time you drank cofffe by the balcony when with pitch cold outside, remember that warm hug a loved one gave your when you needed only that.
Why human beings behave in a certain way, no one will ever know. But one thing is for sure, living life is very very simple.
Simple but diffcult.

Discipline and the World-Cup

2006-07-10T18:21:00.000+05:30

Hey! Italy won the World-Cup finals. While I was seeing the match, I realised that's its not the talent or the aggression, but the temprament and the focus that matters. "Winners do what losers dont: focus." Every hero has a silver lining, but can be dark as a monsoon cloud. Zinedine Zidane aka Zizou was not an exception. That brutal header by him in Materise's chest not only got him a red card, but also cost France their match. As the game went into the penalty shoot-outs after the levelling of 1-1; France didnt have strikers who could score! Ribery, Henry were replaced, Vierra was potentially retired hurt. Italy deserved the win, but france didnt deserve to loose.
Disclipine of thoughts is the most important discipline in this world. What do we get by riots? Burned buses, feary streets and violent, frenzied mobs killing human beings like animals. If the social sentiment his hurt, will it be pacified by burning tyres and ransacking shops? What harm has the mall owner done when he gets broken windows and empty lobbies? You might be passionate about something or have an undying faith in somebody, but the thing important is to keep your head above your shoulders. " Nazdiki phayda dekhne se pehele, dur ka nuksan sochna."
I remember reading the following lines, but dont know whose's they are:
" Ah Fate! Lets you and I conspire.
To end this sorry scheme of things entire."
Pick the pieces of that broken heart and
remould them nearer to an heart's desire."

Googled!

2006-07-08T11:02:00.000+05:30

Today I just realised , What I am? I am a "mouse potatao". You didnt understand? Well then just "google" it. Ok, now I will stop talking in riddles. Apparenlty, Merriam-Webster's have come up with a new set of words that have made to the international dictionary this time around. Subsequently, Mouse Potato is a person who excessively spends his time on the computer. Well not literally "on the computer", but accessing the same. Apparently, Google has turned into a verb. It means-find the information you need by searching the same in the google search engine. That's simply cool. Hope I will not be bangalored for this. :-)
Today I read a t-shirt quote: " Marraige needs committment, so does insanity." That's hillarious and true to the very root.

Steel and Outsourcing

2006-07-07T13:45:00.000+05:30

The steel industry is fortyfying themselves from the spree of hostile/congenial take-overs that are happeneing. Even sabbotaging the moves for a possible Merger and Accquisition. The Arcleor take-over has kickstarted this and Tata Steel is looking at increasing it's current share in the company. Mittal lands in Orissa today to check the possibilities. I guess now everyone including, Nippon, Servestal et al should sit back and think. Instead of fortyfying themselves and going in shell, they might join hands with the fraternity. If you look at Mittal, he is strong in Southern America and far-west part of Europe. Arcelor in the same manner, has stong foothold in Europe. The geographical overlap being minimum, comptetion may not be that cut-throat. The consolidation will result in something more beneficial.
Kudos to HCL for inking the biggest out-sourcing deal to date with some insurance company ( i dont remember the name!). The deal is pegged at approx $700 Million. Huge money!
I fininshed "Veronika decides to die." One of the greatest books I have read. It teaches you how to live life to the fullest. Imagine if someone told you that you are going to die in 4 days. How would you live? Will you care what the society thinks or does of your actions? I wouldnt certainly. You will go where your heart takes you.
I want to contradict what I have written in my last post. It's the other way round, the brain tell you what is correct, but the heart tell you what is right. More often than not, if the correct feels right, the right can never be wrong. So do what your heart says, but not at the cost of your principles.

Somebody Scarp Me!

2006-07-06T15:36:00.000+05:30

There are somethings in life that I will never understand. Why there is a traffic jam? Why we cant say what we want to say? Why on Orkut do people add friends and never post a scrap for them? Why cant we reply to e-mail or chats then and there it self?
Do you understand it? Please do let me know.
As I write this, I remember seeing one of my favorite movies "Crash". It beautifully depicts the situations in which no individual is good or bad. There are the circumstances that make him behave the way he behaves. So now can you blame your ex for ditching you when all you wanted to do was "ghane ghane laton mein zindagi bitana?"
By the way, Veronika is still exploring her last 24 hrs of her life. I dont know why, but that book uptil now has taught me some ground relalities about life and helped answer some of the questions that always baffled me. Though not the above one's, I always used to think what is madness? Its the way people perceive it. But as Paulo puts it " Its the inability of the individual to communicate what he feels." So true. You spoke to god that day, right? Did someone call you mad when you told them? They ought to. In the same way as Newton was called, so was Leornado Da Vinci, Monet, Fauja Usman (A 90 year old guy who won a marathon) and lately, Laxmi Niwas Mittal.

The Mumbai Rains

2006-07-05T14:11:00.001+05:30

Its deja-Vu of 26/7/2005 in Mumbai. The rivers are clogged and so are the drainages. Though the goverment is a little organised and prepared this time around, still the fear rests. Holidays are also raining as people are adviced to stay in doors.Though the banks are open and so are the ATM's (phew!). They are claiming to have about 85 water pumps as opposed to 25 last year. Seriously in these day's I think I am fortunate enough to live where the life rarely gets "interesting".
Today, or rather early tomorrow IST. France takes on Portugal head-on for the place in the semi-finals of the world-cup. The Italy-Germany match was awesome. Though I watched it till half-time only, heard the Del-Piero's goal in the last 1 minute of the match. Just thinking on the same lines what goes in to make a hero?
Heros are not momentary. They have the ability to push even when they hate what they are doing. I contend with the conventional line " Do what your heart says." We should listen to our hearts. But more often than not, heart is what is correct but not necessarily right. Its the brain that tells us to move on and do something when we dont want to. Remeber the times when you didnt want to study. Your heart says "sing with the rains." but your brain says "study, because thats what will help you to climb up the chains."

Veronika Decides to Die

2006-07-04T12:54:00.000+05:30

The Private Equity and VC investements touched a whooping 3.4 bn $.That too in the first 2 quarters of the year. I think India is really on the global road-map. But the flip of side is, is it really? You look at the drainage systems in Mumbai, the infrastructure in Bangalore and Pune. Do you feel India is internationalizing? I dont, seriously. The petrol have touched sky-high.
Manmohan singh says that route to prosperity is through the rural areas. But here the farmers are committing suicides! Now they want to come up with something called "Corporate Farming." I think these guys should just leave the jargons aside and start something at the ground level. Agriculture revolution is what is needed.
Talking about revolution I came up with an interesting concept. I guess all revolutions are started by Parties. Parties as in gala affairs or get-togethers. Ironically, what is you think that is best might soon become what is worst. Then shall we term as anything that is best in our lives?
"A 24 year old girl. Beautiful, intelligent and normal. Veronika. One fine day she decided to commit suicide and lands in a mental asylum. There the doctors tell her she has only 4 days to live. "
This is the brief synopsis of the Paulo Cohelo's book "Veronika decides to die." I am currently reading it. Sounds boring doesnt it? I thought likewise at first. But I am 80 pages through and loving it. It has all the ingredients to come into one of my favorites. Think about this sentence from his book and let me know if you can decipher it: "It doesnt matter who is correct, it only matters who is right."

Interesting Times

2006-07-03T13:35:00.000+05:30

Today the quota discussion took a new turn as the goverment is saying to exercise it as soon as possible. So the innuendo starts this year itslef. 54% increase in the total seats has been affirmed. I dont know what good is going to come-up. The average quality of the education is definately going to go down.
Its started raining cats and dogs in Pune. In Mumbai they are fearing 26th July redux. I hope nothing of that sort happens...god forbid! Though one person has already lost his life after he got washed away at the Worli sea-face.
As I write this remember an ancient chinese curse "May you live in interesting times." Do you think we are?
An after thought on the theory of motivation. It says needs are the greatest factors in motivating an individual. I disagree. I think that the wants are the greatest factors. We dont live for the needs. Our needs can be counted on the finger-tips. After the stereotyped "Roti, Kapda, Makan" comes the need for socialising and self-actualisation. But do these factors motivate us to become what we are?
We thrive for what we want and not what we need. I want to wear a Levis. Hence I must work hard and earn money so that I can go and buy it.
There's my motivation.