reflections on the decade that went..

Today, a date (1-1-11) that will come only once a century. A few similar one's 1-11-11, 20-11-2011, 12-12-12 are coming up in the near/distant future. Also, 20-12-2012 is the closest to the (in)famously publicised doom's day. Its the beginning of a new year and the second decade of 21st century. Any new beginning calls for new plans, reflecting on the previous experiences. My resolution is not to make any resolutions!

If I look back and think about the past decade, a few memory images pass by. There have been a lot of changes that took place, some might call them evolution, some nature. But change nevertheless. 10 years ago, while the world was busy welcoming the new millennia, my good friend Anand and I gathered to “study” at our 4th floor apartment in Jamnagar. We heard the fireworks of our nearby Summair Club and Vishal International Hotel and went to the terrace (7th floor) to see if we could see anything. I can't recollect of whether we saw anything, but the only lights we saw in the distant horizon was the orange spherical Reliance Industries, the worlds largest grass roots refinery had was taking shape since a few years. Last night, we were at embankment to experience the fireworks and celebration in London. It was spectacular (youtube-link) and worth the six hour effort of getting in and out under crowd control. Between the two new years, there past a decade of change.

The experience of earthquake, in the early hours of 26th January 2001 (national holiday for Republic Day), is the one that will stay with me for ever. It was exciting at that time, but its scale and disastrous extent was beyond my mental capacity. Instincts take over and behaviour, understanding what is happening takes a while. For me at that age, spending nights in the open and in the ground, was exciting. People were affected and they equally adapted in cities and villages. Another such recollection of watching news reports of the destruction it caused later on. Results of HSC during June 2001, admissions to the BVM Engineering College in IT (first batch), amongst widespread news of the IT Bubble (ka)boom. Another image from that year springs to mind, is that of a man jumping down the WTC during 9/11 another such world changing event. New found friends, the friendly and not so friendly professors. Many events of the college life, may be too many to describe flash by, fast forwarding the clock to 2005 and graduation, with Auroville, tsunami and riding the bike in the floods after college. Excitement of placements and beginning professional careers, not just for myself but placement of friends was equally satisfying. Work took me to Bangalore, Reading, Hyderabad and London, where I am today from the later part of the decade.

I've changed in appearance, weight, thought process, understanding of the world, nature and its genius ways, likes, dislikes, food, habits, reading habits, movies, tv shows, routine, interests, communication mediums.. the list goes on, as I ponder.. To observe similar changes in the people around us is also entertaining.

Wishing all a very happy new year and a great decade ahead, and many more..

Wishes

A forward on Excellence...

A forward on Excellence...

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A German once visited a temple under construction where he saw a sculptor making an idol of God. Suddenly he noticed a similar idol lying nearby. Surprised, he asked the sculptor, "Do you need two statues of the same idol?" "No," said the sculptor without looking up, "We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage." The gentleman examined the idol and found no apparent damage. "Where is the damage?" he asked. "There is a scratch on the nose of the idol." said the sculptor, still busy with his work. "Where are you going to install the idol?"

The sculptor replied that it would be installed on a pillar twenty feet high. "If the idol is that far, who is going to know that there is a scratch on the nose?" the gentleman asked. The sculptor stopped his work, looked up at the gentleman, smiled and said, "I will know it."

The desire to excel is exclusive of the fact whether someone else appreciates it or not. "Excellence" is a drive from inside, not outside. Excellence is not for someone else to notice but for your own satisfaction and efficiency...

Thoughts?

Prime Minister's Debate!

Watching the adopted method of putting the Prime Ministerial Candidates on Live TV debate actually was a mixed feeling. It was rather gloomy because all of them suggested that the world around them was in a complete mess and they needed like a lifetime to sort things out.

If all of us put actions where our mouths are, the world will be a better place and quieter too. It all looked like a very well rehearsed show with carefully selected audience and questions. It might have well been the most anticipated and watched TV program in the recent past and the Channel would have made its investments. That's all it boils down to isn't it, ROI (Return On Investment). I'm cleaner than him. Is politics always supposed to be so?

Depressing

Long time.. No see

Moving...

Truth
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Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and founder of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Non-violence, in his lecture at the University of Puerto Rico, shared the following story as an example of "non-violence in parenting":

"I was 16 years old and living with my parents at the institute my grandfather had founded 18 miles outside of Durban, South Africa, in the middle of the sugar plantations. We were deep in the country and had no neighbors, so my two sisters and I would always look forward to going to town to visit friends or go to the movies.

One day, my father asked me to drive him to town for an all-day conference, and I jumped at the chance. Since I was going to town, my mother gave me a list of groceries she needed and, since I had all day in town, my father ask me to take care of several pending chores, such as getting the car serviced. When I dropped my father off that morning, he said, ' I will meet you here at 5:00 p.m., and we will go home together. '

After hurriedly completing my chores, I went straight to the nearest movie theatre. I got so engrossed in a John Wayne double-feature that I forgot the time. It was 5:30 before I remembered. By the time I ran to the garage and got the car and hurried to where my father was waiting for me, it was almost 6:00.

He anxiously asked me, ' Why were you late? 'I was so ashamed of telling him I was watching a John Wayne western movie that I said, ' The car wasn't ready, so I had to wait, not realizing that he had already called the garage. When he caught me in the lie, he said: 'There's something wrong in the way I brought you up that didn't give you the confidence to tell me the truth. In order to figure out where I went wrong with you, I'm going to walk home 18 miles and think about it. '

So, dressed in his suit and dress shoes, he began to walk home in the dark on mostly unpaved, unlit roads. I couldn't leave him, so for five-and-a-half hours I drove behind him, watching my father go through this agony for a stupid lie that I uttered. I decided then and there that I was never going to lie again.

I often think about that episode and wonder, if he had punished me the way we punish our children, whether I would have learned a lesson at all. I don't think so. I would have suffered the punishment and gone on doing the same thing. But this single non-violent action was so powerful that it is still as if it happened yesterday.

That is the power of non-violence."

"Forgiveness is giving up my right to hate anyone for hurting me."

feeling more resposible

What frantic weeks. What memorable occasions. What great fun. Wouldn't even attempt at penning down the crazy busy schedules. Amongst the near and dear ones after a long time. Lot of dancing, music and paranoia.

Photographic evidence and memorabilia - Sneak Preview, Individuals & More Individuals.

Unforgettable

approaching a year in the blogosphere

As that day of the year approaches , a year has whizzed by since the first post. Chetan’s comment on it “Just go on man!!! All the best for future blogs...” is still fresh in the head. Life moves on, with a few changes nevertheless, but it sure does move on. The old adage of time and tide not waiting for anyone is so true. Technology and the web have moved on as well. Twitter's come along which have taken away a lot of micro thoughts away.

Everyone seems to be joining the twittering band-wagon. The blue birdie is flying high. I’d be rather interested on looking at a chart which classifies any post, be it twitter or facebook status, by subject types. I can largely put them into mood updates, food/meal updates, weather updates, sports updates, a few sensible ones followed by silly gaming updates (mafia wars and farmville are especially loathed). I’m following the (then) top 5 Indian twitterers . I find Vir Sanghvi, the most sensible of all. Chetan Bhagat uses it well for marketing his fresh profession and gathering public opinion on his thoughts. Shashi Tharoor adds a diplomatic multi cultural colour. Barkha Dutt, Rajdeep Sardesai and likes are usually promoting TV Journalism and raising questions on current affairs. What’s really good to see is the transparency that it’s brought and a different mix of network. A few intelligent friends that I follow as well, always make sure they answer every question that the above ask. I can’t understand why Gul Panag is in this list. Discovered a little add-in to post my tweets here on the blog as well, so which hopefully will keep it alive.

The goods always are chased closely by the bads, aren’t they? I can’t figure out why people think the world would be interested in knowing when they got up or had a bath or like the tea that they just made. Cat-fights, bitching about, personal slurs and similar things are un-called for in any medium of communication. You have to be very judicious about who you follow, because otherwise you gather a lot of personalised versions of trivia - as if the new sites and magazines aren't giving you enough. The funny thing is because there are so many places where you have registered, you tend to have an intersection of common friends in your list. You can see the same message via so many different channels.

As the holidays draw closer, companies get ready to flash their holiday marketing. Red colour will over-whelm the streets. You know it when you see the red Starbucks cup with stars. Winter is slowly pushing autumn out and you see people playing with their visible breath while waiting for their bus/train.

Chilling

Pune Mumbai Weekend

Busy evenings follow busy days, busy weekends follow busy weeks. I’m sure every one feels the need of relaxation. Emotional seismograph is at its happy highs and lousy lows, during such busy times. On my way from work, to a family friends house for dinner on an auspicious day of Dhanteras, get a call from a very good friend Sanchit, inviting me for his wedding in January. Funny enough that I couldn’t make those dates because I’ve got my own, this December, but nevertheless shared many laughs of old days.

One particular trip with this particular guy and other common friends was weekend at Pune/Mumbai when I used to work in Hyderabad. I went up from Hyderabad, they’d driven down from Ahmedabad, to meet a common friend, Chinmaya, working in Pune. Timeline goes like... Saturday morning arrival at Pune... typical VVNagar type breakfast at “chai-tapri”... conceiving ideas of Radiance... Osho ashram visit in Koregaon Park... Osho chappal shopping... don’t know how those footwear brand got its popular name... lying around in a pool in some remote club resort... playing cricket, volleyball and a bit of alcohol... Chinmaya’s splash in the pool hitting the rock-bottom... drive down to Mumbai in a awesome weather via the hills of Lonavala... stopping over for a famous vada-pau at a popular joint... finally managed to reach a sea view flat to visit Sanchit’s awesome Bhai/Bhabhi... card games begin with meagre bets of a rupee each... in climax the last round was 4K!!... there was a lot of Vodka Apple + Edge flowing in the blood to realize what we were doing... Sanchit was busy making his apple flavoured vodka hookkas... all wasted to the core in the end... hit the bed and got up straight next afternoon... flight back to Hyderabad and the taxi ride back home still in hangover...

As all these nostalgic thought-waves flow through the brain, Gandhiji’s quote stares at me with his ever smiling photograph “there is more to life than increasing its speed”. Art on the London underground

Waves