Nagin

Got thoroughly bored and was browsing through YouTube when I came across this.



Just couldn't stop thinking about Neetika, Motee and Mistha. Miss you folks a lot...

Don ko pakadna...

Don ka record todne ka koshish to 10 test-playing mulko ke batsman kar rahe hain, magar ek baat samajh lo.... Don ke jitna mahaan banna mushkil hi nahi, namumkin hai !!

Happy 100th Birthday, Sir Donald Bradman.

Of Pain and Suffering

While browsing through a bookstore yesterday, I came across a book called "What I talk about when I talk about running" by Japanese author Haruki Murakami. Since I have always loved running long distances myself, I instantly started browsing through it. One very interesting thought was presented in the prologue of the book itself.

The author had spoken to several marathon runners and had asked them the same question: what do they think about while they are running? Obviously, one thought which would cross an individual's mind when undertaking a strenuous task such as running a marathon is the constant pain that never leaves one's side after having run a few kilometres.

The marathon runner's answer made for interesting food for thought, in the perspective of marathon running in general and for life in particular.

The runner replied: Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional.

What a profound idea. If I keep telling myself about the constant pain, I'm only adding to the suffering. The pain is gonna be there anyway. However, if I tell myself that every step that I take takes me closer to my final destination, in that case I choose NOT to opt for the suffering and accept the pain that in any case was part of the deal.

78mm Adventures

A couple of days ago, I spotted this guy wearing a Kshitij 2007 (IIT Kharagpur fest) t-shirt. What instantly caught my attention was the tag line: “Nothing else exists except atoms and empty space. Everything else is opinion.”

And it is our opinions which decide how we choose to look at things. More often than not, our environment conditions us into believing certain things and we start looking and thinking along a pre-defined path.

There are some, however, who are different.

I have been fortunate to have met people who have a refreshingly different opinion about matters. To most of us, job security is a worry and perhaps only the most desperate of circumstances would encourage us to forego this blanket of security. Yet, there are some who know that they were meant to do something different and every thing else in life is just a compromise. Some people choose to take the highway to their dreams.

Jeet, Jagrit and Rathore are three such friends from my MBA days at Nirma. Having decided that a different world and a different destiny were calling out to them, they’ve now hung up their corporate suits only to put on their t-shirts and ragged jeans which allow them to be their own self. And in this self, they found that they were adventurers first, hot-shots later.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m proud to introduce to you 78mm Adventures.

Follow your heart, click the link.

Double Bash

Happy Independence Day to all Indians everywhere !! Jai Hind !!

And dear blog.... belated 3rd Happy Birthday (11th August). :))

Now that's a car !!

On a day when Lewis Hamilton must sit back and blame his car tyres for not allowing him to challenge Massa for the leadership position at the Hungarian Grand Prix, I went photograph hunting for the McLaren Mercedes F1 car that was on display at the South City Mall.

Mama I'm comin' home !!

All right. Here I am, back home in Calcutta.

The last week of stay in Bangalore involved hectic activity. Things needed to be packed (this usually leaves me looking around the room helplessly), people needed to be informed that I was leaving, office work had to be delegated and most importantly, I had to meet all the friends in the city.

For the first time in my adult life, the packing wasn’t as big a nightmare as it usually is for me. I had enough suitcases to pack my stuff into, although Motee made her presence felt at the last minute and did a much better job than I could’ve ever done myself.

I had three different send-offs and each of them was very special.

The first was when I met up with Charul, Bipasha ‘Ben’, Jeet and Motee at Qwiky’s. The second one was much later in the week with the group that I’ve now started referring to as the ‘78 mm gang’… (B-I-G post on this gang coming up next). Of course, this gathering couldn’t have happened anywhere else but at ‘The Jukebox’.

The third one was an ‘office’ gathering since it involved a few of the office guys and their respective better halves. It was great to go out for dinner with them and to realise that even in a short span of time, I’d grown very fond of these folks.

By the end of the week, all the packing and unpacking had really caught up with me. Had it not been for Mistha who very sweetly decided to host me at her place for yet another night at her place, I would’ve been only more harassed. Oh what a fun night it was. Motee came over and we spent the night watching TV, eating pizzas, playing antakshari during the power failure and having some awesome coffee. (The ‘antakshari’ was my idea and trust me, I had absolutely no idea that Mistha and Motee would immediately agree to the plan. Played antakshari after AGES and it was good fun.)

The next morning was even more fun. Bulla came to receive me at the airport and we both were very excited about how my parents would react. I was giving them a surprise and they had no clue that I had packed up my bags and was headed home.

When I did finally stand before him, Dad was just v-e-r-y surprised to see me. I think for a couple of moments he just couldn’t come to terms with the fact that I’d actually managed to pack all my belongings and come over from Bangalore to Calcutta without informing him and taking any sort of help from him. As for Mom…well, Moms are just awesome, aren’t they? Mom just kept smiling and hugging me. There was just too much joy to be expressed by words, I guess.

I have met up with almost all my friends since I’ve come back and it feels so great to catch up with Bulla, Lambu, Raj, Budhau, Konal and Horse.

Oh yes, that reminds me.

The dude that Horse is, he SMSes me last Friday at 1:30 in the morning to ask me if I’m awake. When I replied that I indeed was and when he didn’t reply for about 5 minutes, I very seriously thought that the dude was in trouble. Just when I was about to call him back, he calls and asks me if I had office the next day (Saturday). I said that I did. “Cool,” he says, “I don’t know what you do tomorrow; you take a half-day, call in sick and don’t go at all…I don’t care. Just make sure you’re at my place at three tomorrow.” And before I can go “Dude, wtf?”, he makes me drop my jaws by adding casually, “I’m getting engaged.”

Imagine my surprise!! I sat bolt upright in bed. Obviously, I was very excited for him. We chatted for about twenty minutes and then decided that this called for a celebration. True to our nature, we walked out of our respective houses at 2 in the morning and headed for…where else? Our favourite haunt, The Atrium !! Over a couple of beers, he told me how just earlier in the evening the girl and her family had come down from Nagpur and when both of them gave their assent, the families decided to have a small ceremony the very next day.

Well, my movie watching spree has definitely come to a halt, but I did manage to catch ‘The Dark Knight’ with Horse and Bulla. We went to the South City Mall and barely managed to get three seats in the second row from the front. This on a Monday night at ten o’ clock!! Wow !! Calcutta seems to be really catching up on the movie scene.

I haven’t managed to get a broadband connection for myself yet. I promise posts will get more regular once that happens. Let’s hope I can get a connection by the end of next week.

Namma Bengaluru

Quick post before I shutdown my laptop for the last time in Bangalore.

It has been a wonderful time here in Bangalore and I've loved every minute of it.

Like I can't get tired of telling friends.... if there ever were one city after Calcutta which could make me feel at home, it could only have been Bangalore.

I Love this city from the bottom of my heart and the people of Bangalore will always have a special place in my memories. Every body, all my colleagues at office to the shop-owner who sold me all those Maggi packets...all of you have helped me create some magical memories which I shall treasure forever.

Love you all so much...

And yes...at the end of these 6 months... I can only smile and proudly proclaim...you are... "Namma Bengaluru".

Cheers !!

The Empire strikes back

News which I'm not sure whether to be proud of or be worried about: 30 inch trousers no longer fit me !!

Went to a store yesterday to buy a new pair of trousers, only to discover that I now have a 32 inch waist. This from a guy who spent most of his college and MBA years wearing 28 inch trousers. It has only been in the last year or so that I had graduated to 30 inch trousers. Apparently, they are nearing their expiry date too.

Perfect start to the weekend

Rainy Saturday afternoon giving way to a cool evening breeze... rum and Coke in hand... and watching the first James Bond film 'Dr. No' for the umpteenth time.

A perfect start to a long awaited weekend break !!

Inshallah

I came across the following passage while reading 'They Came to Baghdad' by Agatha Christie. I found the idea quite fascinating.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"That is as Allah decrees. It is in his hands."

"Inshallah," the other repeated.

For a moment he longed intensely to be a man of Eastern and not Western blood. Not to worry over the chances of success or of failure, not to calculate again and again the hazards, repeatedly asking himself if he had planned wisely and with forethought. To throw responsibility on the All Merciful, the All Wise. Inshallah, I shall succeed!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

A couple of days after reading this, Motee and I also struck up a similar conversation. We generally agreed that perhaps human beings are better off at times leaving it all in the hands of an almighty power, even if there actually is none. Just the belief that there is someone there up above who is keeping a watch out for you is a peaceful thought.

And as if that weren't enough, I came across this on Ridhi's blog.

Reclaim your life

After a truly amazing weekend, I happened to be at the new Bangalore airport yesterday. My friend and I decided that a quick cup of coffee before she took her flight was a good idea. Settling down on a chair, I reflected on the beauty of the evening when I, as I am wont to, noticed two kids.

These fellas were seated on a baggage trolley and were grinning from ear to ear as their father pushed the trolley around. The mother followed a short distance behind, a faint smile on her face. The li'l chaps had their hands in the air and were shouting with glee, unmindful of the happy audience around them.

I paused and thought to myself that perhaps this is the reason why we must keep meeting kids...keep observing kids: they remind us of the simple joys of life and how we ourselves once were. They remind us of how little it takes to have a great time...how little it takes to reclaim your life.

Issues with Time

I was speaking to a friend yesterday and conversation generally revolved around how our lives have changed (she is a friend from college days) and how the nature of things which demand our attention have changed over time.

Earlier, life was all about attending college, tuitions, some work (at dad's office) and meeting up with friends.

Somewhere down the line, things have gotten slightly more complicated.

Me being me, I started categorising the various 'lives' that we need to lead. These could primarily be broken-up into five categories:

1. Work life

This portion, obviously, starts dominating a majority of our hours that we are awake for (in some cases, also our sleeping hours; in fact, I have been regularly dreaming about work the last couple of months). We slowly gravitate towards becoming the major bread-earning member of the family and phrases such as 'CTC', 'in-hand salary' and the works start being repeated. Hushed conversations about people switching jobs and who is in who's good books are also part of the daily rigmarole.

2. Social life

Weekends (and hurriedly organised week-night dinners) are for friends. These occassions keep us in touch with 'the good ol' days' stories and also stop the grapevine from dying a natural death. Stories abound of corporate snakes-and-ladders here too.

3. Love life / Married life

Not everybody is stupid: some stay single. The other group, however, needs to spend some time attending to 'sweetheart' issues as well. As relationships mature, the following cascade of comments make an appearance:

"We need to spend quality time together in order to know where we're going" --> "Where ARE we going????" --> "We need to spend more time together with the family"

4. Family life

We also need to keep our parents happy. No matter how different we've grown up to become since the time they held our hands and taught us how to walk, we need to be there and understand their needs in their ageing years. Which means that we need to spend more time with them than we were previously bluffing ourselves into believing. Clearly, they should be getting very good quality attention time, even if the amount of time gets sacrificed because of work-related issues.

5. Personal life

~exhales loudly~

And if we can finally find time out for ourselves, only then can we do some amount of introspection and think in what direction OUR lives are really going. Only then can we ask ourselves those niggling, uncomfortable questions that we know we have been putting away. Or even if nothing else, this is the only time when we have nobody, and I repeat, NOBODY around us and can then hope to R-E-L-A-X in every sense of the word. Ironically, although this is the time we need in order to do well in our other aspects of our life, THIS is the one which we keep postponing all the time.

Don't believe me? Ok, try this. When was the last time you sat down in a chair or lay down on a bed and:

a. did NOT have the TV on

b. did NOT have a song playing on the radio / laptop / computer

c. were NOT thinking about the slow speed of the movie you were downloading

d. were NOT waiting for a phone call which you dreaded or which you just wanted to get through with

e. were NOT making a mental list of things that you wanted to do/buy

When was the last time you just breathed in deeply and with a contented smile said to yourself "Ok! I have lots of things happening around me...some good...others not so good... but all in all, I think I'm doing the best I can...and if not, here's how I plan to do the best that I can..." and then proceed to have a meaningful conversation with the one person who matters the most in your life....YOU !!!

When was the last time ???

Author's suggestion: Start writing a diary, my friend, and find some time for yourself.

Beating melancholy

I don't know what captured my spirit today afternoon but I started feeling very melancholic. If there were one dialogue that suited me well (as it has suited me perfectly many times), it was Antonio's opening words from 'The Merchant of Venice': In sooth I know not what why I am so sad.

There's one thing that I do most often when I'm feeling a little low.

I buy books.

Most people I know have often heard this story. It is a story which I'm pretty proud of. It dates back to the time when I was in college and had a job which paid me a princely salary of 3,000 rupees a month. One fine day, I was in a similar mood and I dragged my good friend Ravi to College Street. We spent the entire day browsing through bookstores, carefully peering into musty second-hand books, squatting at road-side stalls which sold books we wouldn't have found in any organized retail book stores, had our lunch at road-side dhabas and yes, we had coffee at the Indian Coffee House. Anyway, by the time we two returned home, we both held a carton full of books in each of our hands (that's four cartons of books; for those readers who are either bad at basic mathematics or have been too confused by my style of writing). All in all, we'd spent Rs. 18,000 on a combination of new and second-hand books.

Finding myself in a similar mood today, I switched off my cell after office and left for the Landmark Store at Forum. These are what help me beat my melancholic mood:

1. No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
2. Alexander: Book One - Child of a Dream by Valerio Massimo Manfredi
3. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
4. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
5. The McKinsey Way by Ethan M. Rasiel
6. Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh

Simplicity

I left my house early for work today morning. On my way, I spotted something which I thought I'd share here.

At the corner milk shop, four school-kids, none of them more than 7-8 years old, had lined up and were slowly counting coins to buy their packets of flavoured milk. All the kids had a school-bag on their back and looked smart in their white shirt and blue shorts. One or two of them were so small that they were peering over the short display window.

The shop-owner, a good 6-ft tall and with a bushy moustache, towered over the kids and smiled down at them and their efforts of getting the number of coins right. A moment later, he bent down to help the youngest of them since the child could not hold all the coins in his palm. The little kid looked at the shop-owner with wide-eyed amazement at how easily he could count the coins and do the math in his head, all at the same time.

I shook my head and with a smile, continued my walk to office.

Schools

Schools make me nervous. Everything about schools make me nervous.

What is there not to be nervous about? The playground with kids running about reminds me of the time I would run around a playground carefully, lest I got my clothes dirty. Quiet corridors remind me of classes in progress. The harsh ring of the bell reminds me of 'tiffin breaks', both the official and unofficial ones (the latter being between classes).

I went to a school day before yesterday on a work-related activity. The brothers in their white robes, quietly shuffling through the hallways and keeping a keen eyes on the classes in progress, made me nervous.

Let me just say that I heaved a sigh of relief when I wasn't pulled up for not having a decent hair-cut and not having polished my shoes that morning.

IPL + Indy = Super Sunday

The IPL is over, the Rajasthan Royals have won and a day later, here I am eating an apple and wondering what to write.

Couple of things. Don't hate me for not being regular on this blog. I know you aren't too regular either, but then what the hell, it's my blog.

Second, I saw the second innings of the IPL final (don't be so eager to strangle me... give me a moment.. there's a perfectly simple reason for missing the first innings) and completely enjoyed it.

By the way, I'm a huge fan of Warne, and have been awestruck by the manner in which he has captained the Rajasthan Royals team. In fact, yesterday afternoon, I was all rooting for them. But having seen the way in which Dhoni and his band of merry yellow men went about defending that seemingly low total of 163, I feel that yesterday Dhoni was the better captain. It all went down to the last ball and you must give credit where it's due, i.e. to the Chennai Super Kings. Had the Rajasthan Royals been fielding second, I would've perhaps been more in favour of Warne, but as of now, Mr. Dhoni, I thought you were the better captain yesterday. Just bad luck that:

a) Raina couldn't hold on to the catch of Yusuf Pathan when he was on 13 (Pathan, obviously, went on to make a quick-fire 56 and winning the Man of the Match award); and

b) Balaji couldn't do a Joginder Sharma.

But no complaints. All said and done, the IPL has been a source of much entertainment (cricket + cheerleaders combined) and yesterday we were witness to a battle between the two best teams of the tournament.

Finally, the reason why I missed the first innings.

I went to see 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Crystal Skull'. I'd heard there were negative reviews about the film but trust me folks, this is one helluva enjoyable film. I loved it !! Indiana Jones is back...and how !! There was just the right amount of action, fun and romance in the film (In fact, today morning I commented to a friend that the film was almost like a blockbuster Hindi film minus the song and dance sequences).

Go watch it. It is AWESOME !!

An Old Samurai Saying

I was browsing through an old book when I came across an old Samurai saying which I thought I'd share here:

"No matter what it is, there is nothing you cannot overcome"

Hector Ruiz's father's advice

Just watched this video on TED. This is the first time I've heard Hector Ruiz, the head of AMD, and I like the way he talks about his two passions in life, children and education. In fact, his rise from modest beginnings reminded me of our very own Subroto Bagchi of MindTree Consulting.

I particularly liked the way he ended his speech by talking about how his father inspired him to constantly improve. He says his father used to tell him that for mankind to move ahead, every generation must do better than the previous one. So, when Hector went to college, his father advised him to do well. Later on in life, when he was getting married, his father reminded him of the old advice and told him that now he must be a better husband than what his father was. A few years down the line, when Hector became a dad, his dad just walked up to him and reminded him the same thing; that he must now become a better father than what his father was.

Simple, yet sagacious.

P.S. Kinda busy these days, so posts might be sporadic. I do plan to get regular in a few days and also plan to update the blogroll and the links on the right.

Dreams vs. Vision

Dream is what you see in your sleep.

Vision is when you wake up and attempt to make that dream a reality.

Bachelorhood Bliss

Bachelorhood bliss is cooking Maggi at 10 o' clock at night, while 'Yun Hi Chala Chal Raahi' is playing on the laptop and you know that you gotta sleep early since you've got office the next morning. :)

Rear Window (1954)

Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954) is a masterpiece. It tells the story of Jeffries, a photographer who has recently met with an accident and is confined to a wheelchair with a broken leg. To overcome boredom, he keeps looking out of the rear window of his New York apartment from where he can observe the lives of the occupants of various houses. While keeping himself thus occupied, Jeffries gets convinced that the salesman living in the building across his apartment has murdered his nagging and bed-ridden wife. How Jeffries overcomes his own guilt of spying on unknown people and later how he convinces first his nurse, then his girlfriend and finally his detective buddy about the murder forms the rest of the story.

Most of the tension in the film is derived from the manner in which the film is shot. Hitchcock again makes the viewers feel claustrophobic by offering them more or less the same view that Jeffries has, i.e. of the apartment which he occupies and the view from the rear window of the apartment. Although the action does sometimes shift outside, the shots are still from inside the apartment, making the viewer see and feel almost exactly what Jeffries feels. (In my humble opinion, Hitchcock had used the same claustrophobic effect with more brilliance in his 1946 film Rope.) Towards the film's climax, one can almost feel the helplessness that Jeffries feels by being tied down to his wheelchair. Two scenes bring this out brilliantly. One, where Lisa, Jeffries' girlfriend is being attacked by the salesman and two, when the salesman comes to murder Jeffries himself.

James Stewart puts in a decent performance as Jeffries. Maybe it is just me, but somehow Jimmy Stewart has always had a very sophisticated air around him, something which just doesn't go with a rough-and-tumble character like Jeffries.

Thelma Ritter as Stella, Jeffries' nurse, has perhaps the best line in the film. "Intelligence?" she asks. "Nothing has caused the human race so much trouble as intelligence." Ha ha. How true is that?

And then, there's Grace Kelly. ~sighs~ That, ladies and gentlemen, is classical beauty for you (Apart from Elizabeth Taylor in 1963's "Cleopatra" of course). When she walks out in front of James Stewart in this satin nightwear, she is the picture of grace, glamour, beauty and sensuality all rolled into one. She brings to life the character of a New York socialite who is excited about the prospect of running dangerous errands.

I loved the moral dilemma that Jeffries offers regarding voyeurism. Instantly addictive, voyeurism presents a dilemma for each one of us, especially when you're in a condition like the one Jeffries' finds himself in where you think you can actually help / do what is right by spying upon people.

All in all, one cool film.

My rating: 4 out of 5

The Knife Conundrum

I read this in The Economic Times a few days ago and found it to be an intriguing question.

Assume that you have a knife. An ordinary knife with two parts to it: a wooden handle and the steel blade. Now, after a few years of use, you find out that the blade is in a bad condition, has lost its edge and must be replaced. So you go ahead and replace the blade with another piece of steel blade.

Considering that the blade is the more 'essential' part of the knife, would you say that it is the same knife or a new/different knife?

Ok.. let's go ahead.

After another few years, you realise that the wooden handle of the knife too needs to be replaced as it has weathered considerably. You remove the wooden handle too and replace it with a new handle.

What now? Is it still the same knife?

Interesting, isn't it?

Now, let's consider the human body.

Considering that after every few years, almost all our body cells die and are replaced with new cells, are we then the same person or have we finally found an answer why man 'changes over time' ??

Post no. 250: Vande Mataram

I happened to hear the 'Vande Mataram' at least 3 times on the way to work today morning. It wasn't the A. R. Rahman soul-stirring version, but the soothing violin rendition that one used to hear on All India Radio in the mornings.

The National Song of India, 'Vande Mataram' has always been one of my favourite songs in Sanskrit (not that I know much of Sanskrit - just a couple of 'shlokas' and a few couplets here and there). However, the beauty of Bankim Chandra's song from his great novel "Anand Math" has always captivated me. Here's the reason why:

'Vande Mataram' - translation by Shri Aurobindo

Mother, I bow to thee!
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
bright with orchard gleams,
Cool with thy winds of delight,
Dark fields waving Mother of might,
Mother free.

Glory of moonlight dreams,
Over thy branches and lordly streams,
Clad in thy blossoming trees,
Mother, giver of ease
Laughing low and sweet!
Mother I kiss thy feet,
Speaker sweet and low!
Mother, to thee I bow.

Who hath said thou art weak in thy lands
When the sword flesh out in the seventy million hands
And seventy million voices roar
Thy dreadful name from shore to shore?
With many strengths who art mighty and stored,
To thee I call Mother and Lord!
Thou who savest, arise and save!
To her I cry who ever her foeman drove
Back from plain and Sea
And shook herself free.

Thou art wisdom, thou art law,
Thou art heart, our soul, our breath
Though art love divine, the awe
In our hearts that conquers death.
Thine the strength that nerves the arm,
Thine the beauty, thine the charm.
Every image made divine
In our temples is but thine.

Thou art Durga, Lady and Queen,
With her hands that strike and her
swords of sheen,
Thou art Lakshmi lotus-throned,
And the Muse a hundred-toned,
Pure and perfect without peer,
Mother lend thine ear,
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
Bright with thy orchard gleams,
Dark of hue O candid-fair

In thy soul, with jewelled hair
And thy glorious smile divine,
Loveliest of all earthly lands,
Showering wealth from well-stored hands!
Mother, mother mine!
Mother sweet, I bow to thee,
Mother great and free

Hamlet

"Hamlet: The Prince Of Denmark" is one of my all-time favourite plays. I studied Hamlet as a part of my English syllabus at the ISC level (my love for "Great Expectations" also arises similarly). Of the many fond recollections that I have of the play, the one that strikes me the most is when I argued with my English tuition teacher.

He was of the opinion that some of Hamlet's 'madness' were mere projections to throw the likes of Claudius, Polonius and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern off-guard; the rest of the time he had perhaps actually lost his mental balance owing to

a) his father's unfortunate (and perhaps untimely) death; and
b) his mother's little hesitation in getting married to his uncle, Claudius.

I argued with Sir (my English tuition teacher) that why put the blame on Hamlet, when such an accusation can be made towards most 'normal' human beings. Don't we all act most practical at times, only to act stupid and emotional at other times and not see things as they really exist?

Anyway, Hamlet's "To be or not to be" is one of the most famous soliloquies ever; it has every right to be so. However, I personally liked his first soliloquy more than his second. The following is Hamlet's first soliloquy from Act I Scene II:

HAMLET

O, that this too too solid flesh would melt
Thaw and resolve itself into a dew!
Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd
His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! God!
How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable,
Seem to me all the uses of this world!
Fie on't! ah fie! 'tis an unweeded garden,
That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature
Possess it merely. That it should come to this!
But two months dead: nay, not so much, not two:
So excellent a king; that was, to this,
Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother
That he might not beteem the winds of heaven
Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth!
Must I remember? why, she would hang on him,
As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on: and yet, within a month--
Let me not think on't--Frailty, thy name is woman!--
A little month, or ere those shoes were old
With which she follow'd my poor father's body,
Like Niobe, all tears:--why she, even she--
O, God! a beast, that wants discourse of reason,
Would have mourn'd longer--married with my uncle,
My father's brother, but no more like my father
Than I to Hercules: within a month:
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears
Had left the flushing in her galled eyes,
She married. O, most wicked speed, to post
With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!
It is not nor it cannot come to good:
But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue.

[link courtesy: http://shakespeare.mit.edu/hamlet/hamlet.1.2.html]

But the one speech which I came to like the most in the whole play comes from a very surprising source: the foolish old man Polonius. His advise to his son Laertes, who is leaving for foreign shores for higher education, is something which I greatly liked. Here it goes:

LORD POLONIUS

Yet here, Laertes! aboard, aboard, for shame!
The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail,
And you are stay'd for. There; my blessing with thee!
And these few precepts in thy memory
See thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue,
Nor any unproportioned thought his act.
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.
Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatch'd, unfledged comrade. Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in,
Bear't that the opposed may beware of thee.
Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice;
Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment.
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy;
For the apparel oft proclaims the man,
And they in France of the best rank and station
Are of a most select and generous chief in that.
Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all: to thine ownself be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell: my blessing season this in thee!

[link courtesy: http://shakespeare.mit.edu/hamlet/hamlet.1.3.html]

You don't need to be a Dhirubhai...

....to be an entrepreneur. You just need to be a passionate believer. Here's something I came across earlier today.

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Detroit School Of Rock Success Story

http://www.detroitschoolofrock.com/

(FORTUNE Small Business) -- If you think you can't launch a business in these tough times, think again. I recently met an entrepreneur who confirmed my belief that anything is possible if you have the right idea and sufficient passion.

A few weeks back, I listed some office furniture on Craigslist. A friendly guy named Jason Gittinger responded moments later. He was on the prowl for a good deal. Gittinger described himself as "just a drummer" but also mentioned that he was starting a business.

He stopped by the next day, and I found myself completely taken with him. Of course, it helped that he'd used StartupNation.com as a key resource to write his business plan, but what interested me most was his incredible, contagious passion.

Based in Royal Oak, Mich., The Detroit School of Rock and Pop Music is Gittinger's dream business come true. The newfangled music school launches this week and promises to eliminate much of the drudgery of learning to play an instrument.

Instead of traditional music lessons, Gittinger's for-profit school immerses students in an actual five-member band of similarly skilled wannabes who jam together regularly, supplemented by practice sessions with a "music mentor."

Yes, the music usually sounds a little off, but the rising rock stars have a blast, which is critical to keeping them enthusiastic and engaged.

While the secret ingredient to Gittinger's business plan is this fun factor, the secret to getting the business off the ground - even in spite of the tough economic time - has been his passion.

Unlike so many who write business plans but never put them into action, Gittinger successfully scrounged all the key ingredients he needed to hang the "Open" sign on his door.

At every turn, his passion - verging on obsession - was pivotal.

For example, Gittinger needed to finance the build-out of the space. The drummer-turned-entrepreneur succeeded in getting an SBA-backed bank loan, which is no easy task. How did he do it? Gittinger not only wrote a business plan, but also created a 500-page training manual for the teachers whom he planned to hire. When he tossed that manual on the banker's desk, it became obvious that Gittinger wasn't your average drummer.

When he found his dream location, he got the owner excited about his concept for the school and put that "warm fuzzy" to work. He was able to negotiate the monthly rent down from $3,800 to $2,900. And because the owner took a shine to his vision, Gittinger was able to arrange for a portion of those monthly payments to be allocated to a future purchase of the property. Smart.

Next, how to furnish the place? It needed the "cool factor" musicians crave and insulated spaces where they could jam. Gittinger heard that the dilapidated Michigan State Fairgrounds was being demolished.

He got in touch with a foreman and offered to remove the wooden basketball court floor before the building was destroyed. Another sweet deal. Now his school would have gorgeous wooden floors, suffused with local nostalgia.

And on the way back to the school, he found two brand-new warehouse windows at a garbage dump, and threw those in the truck as well.

But now, how to pay for the labor to lay the floor, hang windows, build walls and paint everything - not to mention wiring, plumbing and making sure everything was up to code?

Again, Gittinger's passion played an unexpected but instrumental role. One day while he was screwing in the emergency exit lights, a 20-something guy walked through the front door. He was an aspiring guitarist who had heard about Gittinger's school.

"Dude, got any extra paint brushes?" he asked. "I'd be happy to help."

Many other volunteers helped out along the way. This wasn't just a business, people sensed. The launching of the school had become a cause, with Gittinger as its evangelist.

All in all, Gittinger estimates that he added about $1 million worth of improvements to the facility - but he spent only a tenth of that to get it finished. Better yet, he already has 90 applications from musicians who want to come play at the Detroit School of Rock and Pop Music. Not bad, considering that landing those first customers is the single most difficult task for any startup.

Based on his projections, Gittinger is now on the verge of leaping from the dollar-poor life of a drummer to the six-figure life of a drummer entrepreneur. Yeah, there's doom and gloom in all the major economic indicators. But does that really matter to Gittinger? Frankly, I'm not even sure he knows there's an economy out there. He's far too focused on his grand opening.

From http://uncommonbusiness.blogspot.com

Jhumri Talaiya

1. Received this SMS from a close friend today afternoon: "It is said that we know the meaning of being happy only once we've known what it is like being sad.. then how do we know that we are living till the time we experience death?"

Completely stumped, I could only recommend her to read up the works of Bertrand Russel and/or J. Krishnamurthi.


2. The Indian Premier League (IPL) is well and truly underway. It has been a much bigger hit than I had thought it would be; what with the damp squib that the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) turned out to be. I believe that after the opening match of the IPL (Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Bangalore Royal Challengers), Brendan McCullum has become an overnight sensation in Calcutta (I can't wait to go back to Cal to hear how they pronounce his name in the padas.)

And today, of course, they won at the Eden against the Deccan Chargers. Oh how I wish I were there!!!

3. I was speaking to Ravi today. He was complaining to me how terrible the heat and the humidity in Calcutta has become. I knew that he was absolutely spot-on 'coz only day before yesterday, a colleague whose parents stay in Cal was telling me the same thing. Moreover, Mom too was complaining about it over the phone today evening.

My mind rushed back to a few years ago when I was travelling around Cal in May and I was thinking to myself how awful it would become in a couple of years. And it has been that way!!! And I blame deforestation and unintentional ecology harming 'developments' for this.

I have resolved to do something about this as soon as I reach Cal. I've already asked a few friends and they too feel that something needs to be done urgently. It would be great if you could give me any inputs.

~folded hands~ Samaachar samaapt hue.

P.S. If you're still wondering why I mentioned the once major mica mining town of Jharkhand as my title post, it's because I couldn't think of anything appropriate for the disjointed post contents.

The Story of 'Man'

Today, I chanced upon the Vivekananda Vedanta Network website after a long, long time. Searching for inspiration, I desperately wanted to read some of his works.

Although not exactly what I was looking for, the following article really surprised me. Plus, towards the end of the piece, I also came across a story of Manu. I have of course heard of stories of the great sage Manu, but hadn't known about this one.

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This lecture on Jnana Yoga was delivered by Swami Vivekananda in London on June 21, 1896, and is reproduced here from his Complete Works, 2: 70-87.

Two Options: (1) Nihilism or (2) Seeking the Real

Two positions are possible. One is to believe with the nihilists that all is nothing, that we know nothing, that we can never know anything either about the future, the past, or even the present. For we must remember that one who denies the past and the future and wants to stick to the present is simply mad. One may as well deny the father and mother and assert the child. It would be equally logical. To deny the past and future, the present must inevitably be denied also. This is one position, that of the nihilists. I have never seen a person who could really become a nihilist for one minute. It is very easy to talk.

Then there is the other position--to seek for an explanation, to seek for the real, to discover in the midst of this eternally changing and evanescent world whatever is real. In this body, which is an aggregate of molecules of matter, is there anything real? This has been the search throughout the history of the human mind. In the very oldest times, we often find glimpses of light coming into the minds of people. We find men and women, even then, going a step beyond this body, finding something which is not this external body, although very much like it, much more complete, much more perfect, and which remains even when this body is dissolved. We read in the hymns of the Rig-Veda, addressed to the God of Fire who is burning a dead body, "Carry him, O Fire, in your arms gently, give him a perfect body, a bright body, carry him where the fathers live, where there is no more sorrow, where there is no more death."

The Concept of "The Fall"

The same idea you will find present in every religion. And we get another idea with it. It is a significant fact that all religions, without one exception, hold that we humans are a degeneration of what we once were, whether they clothe this in mythological words, or in the clear language of philosophy, or in the beautiful expressions of poetry. This is the one fact that comes out of every scripture and of every mythology that we as we are now are a degeneration of what we were. This is the kernel of truth within the story of Adam's fall in the Jewish scripture. This is again and again repeated in the scriptures of the Hindus; the dream of a period which they call the Age of Truth (satya-yuga), when no one died unless they wished to die, when they could keep their bodies as long as they liked, and their minds were pure and strong. There was no evil and no misery; and the present age is a corruption of that state of perfection.

Side by side with this, we find the story of the deluge everywhere. That story itself is a proof that this present age is held to be a corruption of a former age by every religion. It went on becoming more and more corrupt until the deluge swept away a large portion of humanity, and again the ascending series began. It is going up slowly again to reach once more the early state of purity. You are all aware of the story of the deluge in the Old Testament. The same story was current among the ancient Babylonians, the Egyptians, the Chinese, and the Hindus. Manu, a great ancient sage, was praying on the bank of the Ganga, when a little minnow came to him for protection, and he put it into a pot of water he had before him. "What do you want?" asked Manu. The little minnow declared he was pursued by a bigger fish and wanted protection. Manu carried the little fish to his home, and in the morning he had become as big as the pot and said, "I cannot live in this pot any longer." Manu put him in a tank, and the next day he was as big as the tank and declared he could not live there any more. So Manu had to take him to a river, and in the morning the fish filled the river. Then Manu put him in the ocean, and he declared, "Manu, I am the Creator of the universe. I have taken this form to come and warn you that I will deluge the world. You build an ark and in it put a pair of every kind of animal, and let your family enter the ark, and there will project out of the water my horn. Fasten the ark to it; and when the deluge subsides, come out and people the earth." So the world was deluged, and Manu saved his own family and two of every kind of animal and seeds of every plant. When the deluge subsided, he came and peopled the world; and we are called "man", because we are the progeny of Manu.

Retro parking lot

Twice now have I been pleasantly surprised to the sights at my office parking lot.

The first occasion was a couple of months ago when I spotted this Beetle.


There's something about a Beetle which just draws your attention to it. (Motee says that it always looks like the Beetle is smiling back at you.)

And then, yesterday, I spotted this Jeep which just brought forth a wave of nostalgia.


However, my office parking space is not half as spectacular as this. ;)

Til Kingdom Come

The 'Welcome Tune' on my mobile phone now for some time... and the song on my iPod in a loop.

------------------------------------------------------------

"Til Kingdom Come"

Steal my heart and hold my tongue.
I feel my time, my time has come.
Let me in, unlock the door.
I've never felt this way before.

The wheels just keep on turning,
The drummer begins to drum,
I don't know which way I'm going,
I don't know which way I've come.

Hold my head inside your hands,
I need someone who understands.
I need someone, someone who hears,
For you, I've waited all these years.

For you, I'd wait 'til kingdom come.
Until my day, my day is done.
And say you'll come, and set me free,
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.

In your tears and in your blood,
In your fire and in your flood,
I hear you laugh, I heard you sing,
"I wouldn't change a single thing."

The wheels just keep on turning,
The drummers begin to drum,
I don't know which way I'm going,
I don't know what I've become.

For you, I'd wait 'til kingdom come,
Until my days, my days are done.
Say you'll come and set me free,
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.

-- Coldplay


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Now playing: Coldplay - Til Kingdom Come [Hidden Track]
via FoxyTunes

Praise works in many ways

I realised today that praise can work in many ways.

To most, praise can only uplift their spirits and make them feel happy and elated.

To others, praise can actually be disappointing, if they feel that their efforts haven't been recognised enough.

And yet there are those who feel extremely disappointed and dejected at having been left out of the laurel sheet completely.

Hmmm...

How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life - Kaavya Viswanathan

A quick review about a book that I started reading purely on a friend's recommendation and that I was only too happy about reading an e-book version of. For, if I had had bought this book, I would've rued having spent good money on a book so sad.

'How Opal Mehta...' is the story of, well, Opal Mehta and how her entire life spins around getting admission into Harvard. Her parents have drilled into her the idea that the sole reason for her existence is to get into Harvard. They have formulated what they call the HOWGIH (How Opal Will Get Into Harvard) plan which includes cello lessons, welding lessons (these for recreation!!), math camps etc. Problem is, the child has become such a geek that the Dean of Admissions at Harvard asks her to 'go get a life'. How Opal and her parents struggle to find out what 'get a life' means forms the basis of the rest of the book.

Frankly, I liked the way the book began. Opal had nerdy written all over her character (in tense situations, she starts reciting prime numbers in her head so as to calm herself down). Moreover, the contrast between her and the easy-going free spirit Valerie 'call me Val' Marks in the first chapter is brilliantly funny.

Unfortunately, the book loses its sheen thereafter. The military precision with which Opal's parents proceed to try and get her a life is fun, but the idea is repeated too often.

I kept getting a feeling that I was reading the script of a very bad Hollywood teen-college movie where the protagonist is lost and confused about her identity. It was getting way too cliched and I hence, I decided to chuck reading the rest of the book.

Of course, there's the matter of plagiarism against the book, but the book in itself is too immature for me to comment on that issue. I would've overlooked the plagiarism bit if the book would've maintained my interest, but it did not. What ultimately matters to me is whether a book (fiction) entertains or not. Sadly, 'How Opal Mehta...' could not build on the expectations built in the first chapter.

Book Rating: 1.5 out of 5

Enjoy the Pursuit of Excellence

And that's it!! Enjoy yourself, have a great time. Like I recalled a few days ago to a friend, "One day, you're gonna die. What's the point in dying if you've never really lived??" Don't make the mistake of thinking about putting in that extra effort... just let the energy flowing within you take over and make sure you enjoy yourself so much in whatever you do (work, partying, reading a book or simply walking down a road) that the extra 10% beyond the 100% comes in naturally. And make sure you aim for the stars, 'coz life is fun only if you're shooting for the impossible... and enjoying the ride which takes you there. :)

Extreme Ways

I've just finished watching "The Bourne Ultimatum", the final film in the Bourne Trilogy. I absolutely loved the series !!! I feel it is films like these (and also films like 'XXX' starring Vin Diesel) that forced the makers of the James Bond films to rethink their script-writing fundamentals. It almost literally forced them to re-invent Bond... and what a wonderful job they did in not only casting the unlikely blonde-haired Daniel Craig as the legendary 007, but also in terms of the script (no flashy dialogues, almost no gadgets, et al.).

Also, I loved the manner in which all the three Bourne films ended. To add to the manner in which a punch-line is delivered by James Bourne, the end credits roll down with Moby's 'Extreme Ways' playing. It is an awesome track, one which you absolutely MUST listen to. :)




"Extreme Ways"

Extreme ways are back again
Extreme places I didn't know
I broke everything new again
Everything that I'd owned
I threw it out the windows, came along
Extreme ways I know move apart
The colors of my sea
Perfect color me

Extreme ways that that help me
Help me out at night
Extreme places I had gone
But never seen any light
Dirty basements, dirty noise
Dirty places coming through
Extreme worlds alone
Did you ever like it then

I would stand in line for this
There's always room in life for this

Oh baby, oh baby
Then it fell apart, it fell apart
Oh baby, oh baby
Then it fell apart, it fell apart
Oh baby, oh baby
Then it fell apart, it fell apart
Oh baby, oh baby
Like it always does, always does

Extreme songs that told me
They helped me down every night
I didn't have much to say
I didn't get above the light
I closed my eyes and closed myself
And closed my world and never opened
Up to anything
That could get me along

I had to close down everything
I had to close down my mind
Too many things to cover me
Too much can make me blind
I've seen so much in so many places
So many heartaches, so many faces
So many dirty things
You couldn't even believe

I would stand in line for this
It's always good in life for this

Oh baby, oh baby
Then it fell apart, it fell apart
Oh baby, oh baby
Then it fell apart, it fell apart
Oh baby, oh baby
Then it fell apart, it fell apart
Oh baby, oh baby
Like it always does, always does

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Now playing: Moby - Extreme Ways
via FoxyTunes

The Sunscreen Song

On a day when a hundred questions regarding career and life (in that order) were running through my head, I couldn't thank Motee enough for making me listen to this...
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Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be
it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by
scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable
than my own meandering
experience…I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not
understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and
recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before
you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you
imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as
effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing
bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that
never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm
on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you

Sing

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with
people who are reckless with yours.

Floss

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes
you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with
yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you
succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your
life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they
wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year
olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe
you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky
chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t
congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your
choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body,
use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people
think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever
own..

Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for
good.

Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the
people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you
should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and
lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you
knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live
in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will
philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize
that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were
noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund,
maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one
might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will
look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who
supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of
fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the
ugly parts and recycling it for more than
it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen…

Lyrics to "Everybody is free to wear sunscreen" by Baz Luhrman

Have a great trip to Mumbai, Motee. :)

A beautiful weekend

I had a wonderful weekend, owing to some great company provided by Motee and Mistha. To add to the fun, Harsh was here too and it was great to catch up with him after about 3 months or so. Harsh and I visited the Hard Rock Cafe here in Bangalore and I must admit, the place rocks!! The food is great, the alcohol is better and the ambience (along with the music) is among the best that I've ever experienced. Also, the staff is very courteous.

It rained in Bangalore yesterday and today. Left stranded by the downpour yesterday were me, Motee and Mistha. We were on MG Road and decided to step into this bookshop called 'The Bookworm'. Totally loved the smell of old books in this shop. Couldn't tear myself away from buying the following:

1. The Shattered Thigh & Other Plays - Bhasa
2. The Laws of Manu
3. Rudra - The Idea of Shiva - Nilima Chitgopekar
4. The Interpretation of Dreams - Sigmund Freud
5. The Impossible Question - J. Krishnamurti
6. The Future of Competition - C.K.Prahlad; Venkat Ramaswamy

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Now playing: ColdPlay - Yellow
via FoxyTunes

Marriage / Merger Proposal

So I walk into our cabin which seats 4 people and my colleague Kiran tells me, "I've sent you a mail. Please check and reply." So I sigh and settle down into my seat to find the following in my inbox:

From: Kiran RS. Kumar

To: Shekhar Ruparelia
Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2008 5:59 PM
Subject: Fwd: Marriage Proposal

Is she ok for ur marriage

And so, here was the mail that I sent back to him:

From: Shekhar Ruparelia
Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2008 6:34 PM
To: Kiran RS. Kumar
Cc: Gaurav Prakash
Subject: Re: Marriage proposal

Dear Kiran,

First of all, many thanks for the brilliant job done in shortlisting a target for the proposed merger. You've surpassed my expectations and my regards for the same.

The target for the proposed merger seems great... however, prior to final negotiation deals, I would most definitely have to conduct further meetings with the party concerned. This would be required in order to study the compatibility of the mission, vision and values of the two organisations (in order to gauge the cohesiveness of the two cultures) before the proposed merger. Also, I would request you to present the time-frame till the time of proposed merger in a matrix format, with inputs on date, location and duration of meeting with the party concerned.

Please keep in mind that the proposed merger is to be considered only after a span of 2-3 years since I am still not EBITDA positive. This is due to a current trend wherein there is heavy cash outflow post my monthly receipts. These expenditures are primarily made towards our vendors (landlord, newspaper-wallah, eateries, beer-shop owner etc.) and while your eagerness to see the proposed merger happening as soon as possible is much appreciated by me, you must also acknowledge that my commitment towards the vendors is also non-negotiable.

Finally, I would also like to inform you that the proposed merger with the third party shall be subject to approval from my 2-bench Board of Directors (Mom and Dad) currently holding office in Calcutta.

Request you to revert back ASAP since I too am eagerly looking forward to future negotiations with the proposed party.

Regards,

Shekhar Ruparelia

The One Who Laughs The Loudest...

...isn't the one who's laughing last. It is, sadly, the one who is laughing on the jokes being said by the boss.

Tomaranu Kokoro

I don't know what set off the chain of conversation that I had with a friend today morning. Perhaps it was sleep deprivation, perhaps it was the steaming cup of cappuccino that I had just completed, perhaps it was a culmination of thoughts that had been lingering around in my head the last couple of days. Whatever it was, it was good.

I was on my way to Ramanagar (again) and was sitting in the privileged rear seat of the car when all of a sudden from nowhere ideas started floating around in my head and I just knew that I had to tell somebody about it. So, I shot off a SMS to a very close friend, and the following is a transcript of the SMSes that went back and forth:

Me: I've realised something. I can either choose to live a very ordinary, mundane existence; or else, I can push the envelope each day and go all out for a high achievement life. The idea is to pursue glory, to pursue greatness. And in that if I fail, at least I've tried to achieve the impossible, whereby I would have achieved much more than in a humdrum, mundane existence.

Friend: First one is a good option.

Me: First one is a good option; I've been living it the last two and a half decades. And guess what, I'm not too happy with the results. I am now in a state of mind where I want to improve by leaps and bounds each day. And that would require pushing myself to challenge the limits of my mind (and body) every single day.

Friend: Have you realised... you ought to slow down your thought process. :-)

Me: I don't want to slow down my thought process. No disrespect, but I want to firmly believe that we intentionally slow down our thought processes, which is unnatural. The Japanese have a saying - "tomaranu kokoro". It means "the mind which knows no stopping". Why should we humans unnaturally stem that flow of thought? Why shouldn't we be as dynamic as the river which flows and gushes and brings the fertile soil of ideas to the land around itself?

Friend: I blame it all on sleep deprivation... It makes people cranky. :P

Me: It makes me edgy, and I seem to thrive on it. ;)

Book week

I was fortunate enough to find time-out during the last week to go visit the Landmark store at Forum mall.

For the record, I think Landmark @ Forum Bangalore rocks! In my opinion, it is better than the Landmark at Calcutta (now renamed as Starmark stores). Again, Landmark is my favorite book shop in Calcutta when it comes to locating a book, otherwise it is the Crossword book-store on Elgin Road which I regularly haunt. Two reasons for going to Crossword:

a) I find the ambience at Crossword more pleasant than that at Landmark. It just seems to be the place where you can plonk yourself down on a comfortable sofa/bean bag and read a book.

b) It is just a 10 minute walk from my house.

Anyway, back to the book-hunting expedition that I launched into when I was at the Forum Landmark. I had planned on buying only one book, but then the excitement of buying a new book got to me and I ended up buying three. To add to my joy, I went to Landmark again yesterday and bought another book. Here is the list:

1. Antony & Cleopatra - Colleen McCullough
2. Bombay Tiger - Kamala Markandaya
3. The Best of Saki
4. On Self Knowledge - J. Krishnamurti

The Samurai Entrepreneur

While reading my current book, "Fighting to Win: Samurai Techniques for your Work and Life" by David Rogers, I came across the following extract:

"Naoshige (1537-1619), leader of the powerful Nabeshima clan, told his army of twelve thousand samurai: "When things are done leisurely, seven out of ten turn out poorly. A warrior is one who does things fast."

It reminded me of a quote by Sam Pitroda:

"An entrepreneur is one who has a sense of urgency even when there is no emergency."

PS1: I had read Mr. Pitroda's quote in a book titled 'Business Mantras' by Gita Piramal. The book is a compilation of quotes from Indian Business greats such as Dhirubhai Ambani, Aditya Birla, Rahul Bajaj, Ratan Tata, Sumantra Ghoshal etc.

PS2: Have not been reading regularly at all. Let's hope this book (Samurai Techniques) brings me back to my old ways.

Egg-ing it

The most complex meal that I've ever cooked for myself is Maggi. Yesterday, I decided to get a little more adventurous. And mind you, I've never ever prepared boiled eggs for myself.

Here's the story in pics:

The two boiled eggs that I made on my electric stove (which I later found out were only semi-boiled)


Taking the shell off the first egg was a bit of a hassle

The second one wasn't such a big issue


Voila!! Lunch... Maggi with egg. :)

~Sighs~ The joys of a blissful bachelor life.

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Now playing: 01.Welcome-Shaan, Wajid & Soumya Rao
via FoxyTunes

Sunday's guided tour

I was wondering how to put into words the wonderful evening that I had on the Sunday that just went by. For starters, the lunch was great (simply cooked rice, dal and potatoes...yumm!). Later, made a new friend and we formed an impromptu brotherhood... err... the 'Brotherhood of Deepika Padukone Fans'. And the evening was spent roaming the streets of 'namma Bengaluru'.

But, Motee put it best on her blog here. Read it to get a glimpse into the magical evening.

Where in the world?

Where in the world is Shekhar? No, not a reference to the classic computer game, but a very genuine question a few people were asking when I took a break from blogging a month ago.

To bring everybody up to date with events in life, I'm now in Bangalore. Work is challenging and I'm enjoying the independence and responsibility that comes with living alone. Kinda like what my friend Ridhi was saying here:

You need to come out of that comfort zone and then see what life has to offer to you. And believe me it's not easy. It's not easy to come back home to an empty house after a long day at work; it's not easy to come home and wonder what to do for dinner; it's not easy to survive on McD/Pizza Hut for 6 months; it's not easy to learn cooking right from scratch... it's not easy to spend the weekend doing odd jobs like washing your clothes, going grocery shopping etc.

And as for work, yes I'm pretty proud of the fact that towns in Karnataka which were little more than tongue-twisters for me a fortnight ago are places where I today have developed business contacts all on my own and have kicked off the negotiation processes. Trust me, it's a great high when you know that the odds are stacked against you, your superiors do not expect much out of you since, hey, "you're only a management trainee and you also do not know the local dialect" and yet you manage to take long, positive strides towards your ultimate objective.

Okay. Enough of blowing my own trumpet.

Let me just leave you with a pic that I took from my mobile-phone when I was at a place called Ramanagara, which is 42 km south-west of Bangalore. Movie enthusiasts would immediately point out that this is the same place where David Lean's 'A Passage to India' was shot. Hindi movie fans, however, are more likely to point out that this was the place where Ramesh Sippy created magic when he shot 'Sholay'.