Long time. I was not busy. But was in a deep observational mode, watching people, conversing with people, watching Sachin score a sensational double hundred in this very place. Bangalore is blessed.
Had a brilliant Benne Masala Dosa this morning in CTR,Malleshwaram which finally enthuses me to write this up. God lies in details, they say..I still maintain it's Masala Dosa and I have a companion who agrees on it.
ok boiling down to business, I was closely watching the evolution of myself and others likewise.
Sail through....
"Where there is smoke there is fire" - a mere proverb which has transcended from a form of expression to a philosophy that drives the world we know of.
The cause is supplanted by the effect. As the world gets more complex by the day with little time and means to delve deeper, smoke has replaced the fire. The effect has become the proof of the cause even though there may not even be a direct correlation between the two. But the beauty is - once we can disregard this nagging fact of causality - life becomes simpler. Just look for the smoke and conclude on the fire. Conjure up the smoke and lap up the credit for the fire that never was. In due course of time there is no need for fire at all as long as there is the mesmerising pall of smoke. We are the products of the Smoke Metric.
As a child my first experience with seeing-the-smoke-and-concluding-the-fire was with my report card. A high percentage is all it took to keep teachers happy, parents smiling and relatives idolising. Where there are marks - there is understanding and there must be talent! It was quite fascinating to see how success is built on essentially the failure of the system. Failure to establish a correlation between the real cause and the effect. I had a hope that in the higher echeleons of education the system will be refined and tuned to beat the haze. Little did I realise that the lesson of childhood will only prove itself over and over again for the rest of the life. I learnt of the Marks Metric.
On the professional field good work results in learning, I am told. It generates ideas that can be shared with the community as papers in journals and technical conferences. So better the work - the more is the possibility of number of publications that it can produce. The smoke descends. In the absence of time, intent and means to really evaluate the worth, we measure the merit of the work and hence the person(s) involved from number of papers produced. The smoke engulfs the fire - if there was one. The objective of good work is supplanted by the metric of maximising papers. With the plethora of conferences and journals and paucity of time and reviewers - it is not a difficult task to get the "paper-work" accepted. I am learning about Paper Metric.
The idea may not be ones own, the thought may be borrowed but ones ability to present gives him an ownership that the hardworking, toungue-tied originator does not seemingly deserve! A bit thicker skin and little lesser moral qualms and the idea belongs to the one who articulates it the best. I learnt of the Talk Metric.
Then there are Car Metric, Foreign-Travel Metric and host of effects that we all are happy to let our lives be ruled by. After all, metrics are easier to "achieve" than what they originally meant to measure.
Over time, I am sure the canvass will grow larger. Will get involved from individuals to companies. Solid revenue, solid profit year on year will make way for the obsession with growth - year-on-year and eventually quarter on quarter. Stock market darlings are the entities with sharp growth. The smoke of growth made the the the fire of revenue and profit a superflous niceity. Stars are over shadowed by meteorites. They vanish as fast as they come but then there are enough born everyday to latch on. Every now and then the inevitable happens - bankruptcy, pink slips and broken dreams. But there is just enough time to forget but not enough time to really build to last. Why build when growing just long enough to catch the investor fancy is all we need? I am and will be learning about the Growth Metric.
There are many more metric that I sure will pick up as I struggle to join stream of 'metriculates' - sometimes in, mostly out. I wonder if we will ever have the fire that does not need the smoke to manifest itself. Or will I lie impaled in the in the maze of smoke metric - never knowing if there ever was a fire within.
Why all this?, ok for a 22 year old guy writing this, one might infer the guy would make money to say, buy gifts to his girlfriend and relatives.
Gifts to girlfriend?....ok expensive gifts.
Moorkha, gifting is for the unimaginative. The more expensive it is, the more it speaks about who you are, not what you feel for her. It’s untrue to say people don’t like gifts but to assume that gifts can substitute for love is plain arrogance. That’s what Sahir meant when he called the Taj Mahal not a symbol of love but an emperor’s way of boasting that he could afford a love his subjects couldn’t. From weddings to V-Day, every occasion is now becoming a test for love. You can buy your neighbour’s wife a red Porsche convertible on her next birthday but will it win you her heart?
Gifts are never a substitute for love. Expensive gifts, even less so. They only reveal your own lack of ideas.
Learn the Salsa for her instead. Write her a poem. Mail her a song. Open the car door for her more often. Take her for a walk on Sankey Tank/Marine Drive. Play with her mastiff. Challenge your imagination. Surprise her. Enchant her. Woo her. Seduce her. Every day can be V-Day. You only have to make it so. Fight with her, argue with her, make love to her. Make her laugh more often. That’s what love is all about. Not what you buy her.
As I sat in a dark hall, surrounded by so many bored young couples munching popcorn and staring at the screen, watching an unbearable movie called Valentine’s Day, I am reminded of how beautiful and ephemeral all love is. To preserve it, cherish it, hold on to it, you need imagination, courage, adventure. You need a heart that can beat fast and a pulse that races every time you are near her.
Well, I really took the topic to a noman's land.
Coming to the point, ya IT. Agreed that IT has been the middle class Nirvana and all those vaakyaas. But I fear, what might happen with this smoke replacing the fire within.
Lets talk about Bangal0re: What has changed in recent times? Nothing much in terms of the city apart from its natural wear and tear which, with growing corruption in our political system, is becoming more apparent.
No wonder the Bangalore of today is becoming breathlessly greedy, unbearably obsessive about money. Success is no more measured here by the yardsticks of excellence. It is measured only by cash. Be it art, movies, music. Be it enterprise. The nurturance of talent, the celebration of excellence, the respect for wisdom has all given way to the greed for money. And, as we all know, cities that stop breeding talent and creativity and begin to respect only wealth end up as Gotham City. So the fact that Bangalore is deteriorating so fast is not because people from UP,TN,Andhra Bihar(Atleast they dint runaway overseas) are desecrating it but because it is attracting the wrong migrants.
We are no longer attracting poets and musicians, brilliant academics and young, bright-eyed research students. We are attracting hustlers and carpetbag.
And the smoke replaced the fire. It's no longer fire in the belly. It's just smoke in the mind and a lighter in the atm card, lesser souls. And smoke's getting huge like the casual increase in the font size as I am descending.
Thookadisi thookadisi beeladiru thamma, nanna thamma...manku thimma.
Thookadisi thookadisi biddaruu, nannajja ninnajja mutthajja. Dosa is working.
Restless,
Infectiously Impatient,
Jd.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
The We.
It was in the week of 18th of July 2010. I was site-seeing in Bombay with my dad and driver. The whole morning was spent in visiting the Malabar hills, Worli sea-face, Nariman Point with eye-popping astonishment. In the afternoon, Dad had a conference with some of the corporate honchos of India Inc at The Taj Palace, Colabha. Considering it's proximity to the Gateway of India, I decided to stay up there for the next hour and a half or so. We took a break in one corner of the vast complex which acts as an interface between the Taj Palace and the Arabian Sea. Nearby, a little girl was playing with her parents. She was hardly 5 or 6 years of age. By inspection, it was visible that she was an American. As she tossed the toy up, it fell off her hand and rolled towards me. Naturally, I handed it over to her. "Thank you", she said sweetly. I smiled back. "I appreciate it", added the little girl. I mumbled "you are welcome" etc. as I pondered over what I thought was a surprising addition for a child. Something is so different from home.
Awkay, lets talk biziness..It is not the thank you but the "I appreciate" part of it. The voice may be of a little girl, but the composure was of a grown-up.
Western culture imbibes a personality at a very young age. It is rooted in the culture that worships individuality above all. In correct proportion it liberates people and makes them complete. There is lot to learn from the western concept of individualism and its implications - positive or otherwise.
Individualism is a powerful notion. It is therefore imperative to exercise it judiciously. Without the sense of context individualism naturally gravitates to the worship of 'I' above all – ending up in denying the value of we and the social fabric that connects us. It cracks open foundation of relations between individuals - whether in families or at work places. One can argue it to be the cause of nuclearisation of families despite the many advantages of joint ones.
Excess of I also tend to spill out as public display of expression that are deeply personal - taking away the exclusive dignity of private-feelings. The on-your-face display of affection in public is just one such instance. It makes one wonder if we have regressed to the life-forms so well documented in National Geographic. We see I's in public places in outfits only suited within the four walls of residential privacy - as if the walls of the bedroom have just expanded to the city limits.
Obsession with the self ends up in insensitivity and eventually intolerance for the rest. Intolerance does start with I! There is little patience or openness to look at the value of we at a relatively smaller price of accommodation. There lies the downside of western worship of individualism when pursued without understanding.
We are in a world of people increasingly obsessed with "my life", "my space", "my freedom", "my time" with little appreciation of the fact that without the context of 'we', I is inconsequential. A great concept has been taken down to the lowest common denominator of thoughtless self-gratification.
Concept of 'I' is not alien to India. We have one of the longest history of delving in the self. It has been focussed on understanding and realisation of the self attaining a deeper appreciation of 'I' in the larger context of the world around us.Today, however, we seem to mimic the west with effortless panache of arboreal life form. Needless to say without the culture and tradition of individualism of the west - the lessons are only in behavioural superficiality and mindless practices.
We lack the internalisation of I. Neither do we enjoy the social infrastructure that can nurture and guide the exaltation of the individual. So when the West looks at our history for lessons in collective identity and self realisation to temper the downside of individualism - we gape at them through the prisms of media and social window shopping of package-tours. The outcome is comical with a tragic undertone.
The beauty of the night sky is in the collection of fiery stars in mutual gravitational understanding. Rest have been lost in individual space time oblivion. Let’s live like stars too.
Western culture imbibes a personality at a very young age. It is rooted in the culture that worships individuality above all. In correct proportion it liberates people and makes them complete. There is lot to learn from the western concept of individualism and its implications - positive or otherwise.
Individualism is a powerful notion. It is therefore imperative to exercise it judiciously. Without the sense of context individualism naturally gravitates to the worship of 'I' above all – ending up in denying the value of we and the social fabric that connects us. It cracks open foundation of relations between individuals - whether in families or at work places. One can argue it to be the cause of nuclearisation of families despite the many advantages of joint ones.
Excess of I also tend to spill out as public display of expression that are deeply personal - taking away the exclusive dignity of private-feelings. The on-your-face display of affection in public is just one such instance. It makes one wonder if we have regressed to the life-forms so well documented in National Geographic. We see I's in public places in outfits only suited within the four walls of residential privacy - as if the walls of the bedroom have just expanded to the city limits.
Obsession with the self ends up in insensitivity and eventually intolerance for the rest. Intolerance does start with I! There is little patience or openness to look at the value of we at a relatively smaller price of accommodation. There lies the downside of western worship of individualism when pursued without understanding.
We are in a world of people increasingly obsessed with "my life", "my space", "my freedom", "my time" with little appreciation of the fact that without the context of 'we', I is inconsequential. A great concept has been taken down to the lowest common denominator of thoughtless self-gratification.
Concept of 'I' is not alien to India. We have one of the longest history of delving in the self. It has been focussed on understanding and realisation of the self attaining a deeper appreciation of 'I' in the larger context of the world around us.Today, however, we seem to mimic the west with effortless panache of arboreal life form. Needless to say without the culture and tradition of individualism of the west - the lessons are only in behavioural superficiality and mindless practices.
We lack the internalisation of I. Neither do we enjoy the social infrastructure that can nurture and guide the exaltation of the individual. So when the West looks at our history for lessons in collective identity and self realisation to temper the downside of individualism - we gape at them through the prisms of media and social window shopping of package-tours. The outcome is comical with a tragic undertone.
The beauty of the night sky is in the collection of fiery stars in mutual gravitational understanding. Rest have been lost in individual space time oblivion. Let’s live like stars too.
Restless,
Jd.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Jd Unfolded.
Friends expect a mail now and then,
Else they wonder if I still care,
Relations demand to hear more often,
Unsure of the connection we used to share.
Colleagues by-gone wait for a note, /*Speculation*/
Just to say, I remember,
Children look for signs that I dote,
Relations aren’t absolute neither forever.
Partner wants my love to show, /*Future*/
In forms material or beyond,
Everyone seems anxious to know,
If we still share - a tangible bond!
Only strangers or those with implicit trust,
Share a space, face to face, for hours,
Utterances there are not a must,
One doesn’t know me, the other truly does
Else they wonder if I still care,
Relations demand to hear more often,
Unsure of the connection we used to share.
Colleagues by-gone wait for a note, /*Speculation*/
Just to say, I remember,
Children look for signs that I dote,
Relations aren’t absolute neither forever.
Partner wants my love to show, /*Future*/
In forms material or beyond,
Everyone seems anxious to know,
If we still share - a tangible bond!
Only strangers or those with implicit trust,
Share a space, face to face, for hours,
Utterances there are not a must,
One doesn’t know me, the other truly does
Friday, June 4, 2010
On wheels-but did you check the fuel honey?
Apologies for taking a long break from my favorite job. Certain compulsions drive an individual to do things just for the sake of doing. Yes, I am talking the Gita. Gita says work incessantly for the sake of working without expecting anything in return. I feel I am living the Gita.
Anyway, coming to the point, I have been closely observing a number of families, their logistics etc. off-late. I am fortunate enough to have friends/contacts from diversified backgrounds. and I feel restless to tell you all what I feel when I get into their shows and know the daily knitty-gritty of life. This reflects the same in many of your,mine and several other families too.
Lets talk business, bhai-saab. Loved the word bhai- especially after the BROTHERS (Mukesh and Anil) got united and upon knowing that our India's 10% growth rate is well on the cards again after the shake-hand.
Folks,
The Sharmas in Delhi, Iyers in Chennai, Boses in Kolkata, Dhabolkars in Mumbai, Vadapallis in Hyderabad and an assortment of all in Bengaluru, share something in common. They mostly live in their own homes, cook in modular kitchens, drive their own cars and take regular vacations in up-market resorts in India or abroad.
The upwardly mobile has gone way beyond what their parents’ could even day-dream about.
Senior Sharma to senior Iyer aspired to get the children through college and get them settled. Their ultimate wish was to own a home before retirement. They were the people who wistfully imagined of a life with just enough money to rise above the scrounging mediocrity. But it always remained out of reach for most. Life was challenging enough to make the everyday issues seem like chores. Who would have thought of it as a blessing in disguise?
The middle class has come a long way since. People have moved up within and across the class. Neither the Sharma’s nor the Iyers have to face the daily corrosive uncertainty - about themselves or their children. There is affordability to secure a good life and a future for all. Naturally, the seniors expect us to be worry-free and happy. Interestingly, we do not seem to be so.
Today the upwardly mobile Dabholkars are affluent, educationally decorated, successful yet ailing. They seem to suffer from a depressive ailment that we can call mal-calibration. In simple terms, it is the lack of sense of proportion of the problems encountered in life. So individuals are reeling under a variety of stress and strain which seem as insurmountable as the crib fences are to a toddler. Only difference is unlike the toddler, they never grow up to realise that the fence is just two and a half feet in height. People are suffering from a loss of perspective since there is no major hurdle in their lives against which they can calibrate the daily disappointments. So what were puddles to the senior Dhabolkar appears to be bottomless pits to the junior.
It is disturbingly amusing to see that a mere difference of choices of vacation spots can evoke a friction between Bose spouses as would have an incidence of physical violence in earlier times. How a couple of near perfect education and wealth can drift apart on questions of settling abroad or buying a home or picking the living room furniture or even on who pays for what? To them each of these are as deep and disturbing as was the dilemma faced by the senior Boses when the date to pay the home rent and the school fees coincided and they just had means for one. In absence of real problems the daily trivialities now appear as serious misery. Worse still, the situation is compunded by the fact that with increased affluence Vadapallis can afford more - further increasing the number possible points of contentions! Untreated, mal-calibration can over time break families apart or merely continue a diseased existence. Children wither under perennial clouds of misplaced priorities and even pick up the malady to pass on to theirs.
.
The lot of the middle-class may have changed. But there are millions whose haven’t. Then how have Vadapallis lost the reference of reality? The truth is, in addition to losing perspective of their own lives, they have also insulated ourselves from the world around. Otherwise, it is difficult to explain the disconnect when everyday travails of the less fortunate are beamed 24/7 on the 30 inch LCDs in our living rooms. The Iyers to the Sharmas have compartmentalised themselves. So they do not even calibrate against the reality beyond their immediate neighbourhood – the unending struggle for existence, for food and for shelter, for freedom and for dignity; struggle for even the fundamental right to live.
I just wish someday we will look through the crib fences and comprehend the sheer blessings that we have chanced upon. Someday we will be understanding and serene enough to extend a helping hand to others whose plight shocked us into gratitude. Someday everyone will be prosperous enough not to have any reference to calibrate against! By that time we will have grown beyond the fencing of our personal cribs.
Restless,
Jd.
Anyway, coming to the point, I have been closely observing a number of families, their logistics etc. off-late. I am fortunate enough to have friends/contacts from diversified backgrounds. and I feel restless to tell you all what I feel when I get into their shows and know the daily knitty-gritty of life. This reflects the same in many of your,mine and several other families too.
Lets talk business, bhai-saab. Loved the word bhai- especially after the BROTHERS (Mukesh and Anil) got united and upon knowing that our India's 10% growth rate is well on the cards again after the shake-hand.
Folks,
India is moving. The lower of the middle class is moving to the middle, the latter in turn, is moving to the upper of the class. Some of them are even crossing over to the absolute top tier of the prosperity percentile.
The Sharmas in Delhi, Iyers in Chennai, Boses in Kolkata, Dhabolkars in Mumbai, Vadapallis in Hyderabad and an assortment of all in Bengaluru, share something in common. They mostly live in their own homes, cook in modular kitchens, drive their own cars and take regular vacations in up-market resorts in India or abroad.
The upwardly mobile has gone way beyond what their parents’ could even day-dream about.
Senior Sharma to senior Iyer aspired to get the children through college and get them settled. Their ultimate wish was to own a home before retirement. They were the people who wistfully imagined of a life with just enough money to rise above the scrounging mediocrity. But it always remained out of reach for most. Life was challenging enough to make the everyday issues seem like chores. Who would have thought of it as a blessing in disguise?
The middle class has come a long way since. People have moved up within and across the class. Neither the Sharma’s nor the Iyers have to face the daily corrosive uncertainty - about themselves or their children. There is affordability to secure a good life and a future for all. Naturally, the seniors expect us to be worry-free and happy. Interestingly, we do not seem to be so.
Today the upwardly mobile Dabholkars are affluent, educationally decorated, successful yet ailing. They seem to suffer from a depressive ailment that we can call mal-calibration. In simple terms, it is the lack of sense of proportion of the problems encountered in life. So individuals are reeling under a variety of stress and strain which seem as insurmountable as the crib fences are to a toddler. Only difference is unlike the toddler, they never grow up to realise that the fence is just two and a half feet in height. People are suffering from a loss of perspective since there is no major hurdle in their lives against which they can calibrate the daily disappointments. So what were puddles to the senior Dhabolkar appears to be bottomless pits to the junior.
It is disturbingly amusing to see that a mere difference of choices of vacation spots can evoke a friction between Bose spouses as would have an incidence of physical violence in earlier times. How a couple of near perfect education and wealth can drift apart on questions of settling abroad or buying a home or picking the living room furniture or even on who pays for what? To them each of these are as deep and disturbing as was the dilemma faced by the senior Boses when the date to pay the home rent and the school fees coincided and they just had means for one. In absence of real problems the daily trivialities now appear as serious misery. Worse still, the situation is compunded by the fact that with increased affluence Vadapallis can afford more - further increasing the number possible points of contentions! Untreated, mal-calibration can over time break families apart or merely continue a diseased existence. Children wither under perennial clouds of misplaced priorities and even pick up the malady to pass on to theirs.
.
Look around and you will see TV-ad-families - in malls, resorts and gatherings. Wait till the end of the social commercial and the emotions ooze out of the plaster of age defying make-ups.
The lot of the middle-class may have changed. But there are millions whose haven’t. Then how have Vadapallis lost the reference of reality? The truth is, in addition to losing perspective of their own lives, they have also insulated ourselves from the world around. Otherwise, it is difficult to explain the disconnect when everyday travails of the less fortunate are beamed 24/7 on the 30 inch LCDs in our living rooms. The Iyers to the Sharmas have compartmentalised themselves. So they do not even calibrate against the reality beyond their immediate neighbourhood – the unending struggle for existence, for food and for shelter, for freedom and for dignity; struggle for even the fundamental right to live.
I just wish someday we will look through the crib fences and comprehend the sheer blessings that we have chanced upon. Someday we will be understanding and serene enough to extend a helping hand to others whose plight shocked us into gratitude. Someday everyone will be prosperous enough not to have any reference to calibrate against! By that time we will have grown beyond the fencing of our personal cribs.
Restless,
Jd.
Monday, May 10, 2010
The 'Person' Factor
I am writing about a 'person' who is close to my mind and heart. More close to the latter. But when it comes to inspecting or even remembering cricumstances, this 'person' is often found in the former too. I will not be telling the name of this 'person'. Neither will I be telling the gender. But what I am trying to evangelize through this write-up about this 'person' is worthier than names and genders.
Any pursuit is sometimes like sculpting with a commodity called Time. As you proceed, the sculpture that emerges is often different from what was in your mind, Isn't it? Life's like that. Worse, while trying your best, as it emerges, you do not quite know what the final form will look like----the sculptor experiences moments of profound pain during this process even as he chisels away. In moments like these, my 'person' stood by my side and helped me with direction and affection. I have watched this person evolve and navigate through various devastating difficulties with the keenness of a photographer. Yet, with a shameful undertone, I remained only a photographer without doing much to bail out my 'person'. Certain circumstancial turn of events are such that they remain outside your circle of influence. All this photographer did was a silent prayer..a prayer that would fetch a smile down the time-line to this 'person'. That apart. Lets talk business as I always don't.
Dickens' thoughts across his mind aptly describes the DNA of this person as I have seen carefully over the months..It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness(yes, some of this person's choices were hopeless). it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. Imagine a life which walked the above talk. Yes, I am talking about my 'person'.
But I must be really clear. I am no different from this 'person'. I have my struggles, my frustrations and my own fears--along with my hopes, goals and dreams. I have had some good seasons and some deeply painful ones. I have made some spectacularly good choices and some outrageously bad mistakes. I am very human---work in progress.
But the photographer as always, looks at the captured snap, reflects for a moment about the snap. This reflection about my 'person' and the conclusions drawn which I certainly do apply in majority of the circumstances are:
It inspires me a torrent of ideas (Observing a person closely is like that, isn't it).
Let me put it very systematically:
It gets me thinking about the importance of showing up fully in whatever you do--giving the fullness of your brilliance and playing full out. Being wildly passionate about your To-Do's. Being breathtakingly committed to your opportunities.
My 'person' in my mind asks the questions which does make me restless thinking about the answers:
how do you feel after an ultra-productiive day?
how do you feel when you've given your best, had fun with your folks and walked that extra-mile for friends?
how do you feel when you've brought more heart to whatever you do?
Feels pretty good, isn't it?
My 'person' gives out the performance of the life.
Wows the audience and gets them cheering.
And this 'person' has the capacity of being the Bono of selling staplers, the Keith Richards of accounting, the Jimi Hendrix of human resources. And when my person gets famous and people from all over ask for an autograph, I hope this person will drop a line for me. I would love to hear, if I am alive.
My 'person' failed more than most people. Failures in relationships, life etc. I used to wonder why this happened! But my 'person' never played the Poor Me and suffer from the dreaded disease of Victimus Infinitus.But now I get it, My 'person' was stumbling towards the best life. "Fail Faster; Succeed Sooner" Isn't it?
Failure is just a part of the process of getting to world class. Screw-Ups are the marks of excellence.
So Go Ahead;
Stretch Today; True joy comes when you put some skin into the game. Yes, you will start to experience more failures. But guess what? Success also starts to pay more visits like it has to my 'person'.
Any pursuit is sometimes like sculpting with a commodity called Time. As you proceed, the sculpture that emerges is often different from what was in your mind, Isn't it? Life's like that. Worse, while trying your best, as it emerges, you do not quite know what the final form will look like----the sculptor experiences moments of profound pain during this process even as he chisels away. In moments like these, my 'person' stood by my side and helped me with direction and affection. I have watched this person evolve and navigate through various devastating difficulties with the keenness of a photographer. Yet, with a shameful undertone, I remained only a photographer without doing much to bail out my 'person'. Certain circumstancial turn of events are such that they remain outside your circle of influence. All this photographer did was a silent prayer..a prayer that would fetch a smile down the time-line to this 'person'. That apart. Lets talk business as I always don't.
Dickens' thoughts across his mind aptly describes the DNA of this person as I have seen carefully over the months..It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness(yes, some of this person's choices were hopeless). it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. Imagine a life which walked the above talk. Yes, I am talking about my 'person'.
But I must be really clear. I am no different from this 'person'. I have my struggles, my frustrations and my own fears--along with my hopes, goals and dreams. I have had some good seasons and some deeply painful ones. I have made some spectacularly good choices and some outrageously bad mistakes. I am very human---work in progress.
But the photographer as always, looks at the captured snap, reflects for a moment about the snap. This reflection about my 'person' and the conclusions drawn which I certainly do apply in majority of the circumstances are:
It inspires me a torrent of ideas (Observing a person closely is like that, isn't it).
Let me put it very systematically:
It gets me thinking about the importance of showing up fully in whatever you do--giving the fullness of your brilliance and playing full out. Being wildly passionate about your To-Do's. Being breathtakingly committed to your opportunities.
My 'person' in my mind asks the questions which does make me restless thinking about the answers:
how do you feel after an ultra-productiive day?
how do you feel when you've given your best, had fun with your folks and walked that extra-mile for friends?
how do you feel when you've brought more heart to whatever you do?
Feels pretty good, isn't it?
My 'person' gives out the performance of the life.
Wows the audience and gets them cheering.
And this 'person' has the capacity of being the Bono of selling staplers, the Keith Richards of accounting, the Jimi Hendrix of human resources. And when my person gets famous and people from all over ask for an autograph, I hope this person will drop a line for me. I would love to hear, if I am alive.
My 'person' failed more than most people. Failures in relationships, life etc. I used to wonder why this happened! But my 'person' never played the Poor Me and suffer from the dreaded disease of Victimus Infinitus.But now I get it, My 'person' was stumbling towards the best life. "Fail Faster; Succeed Sooner" Isn't it?
Failure is just a part of the process of getting to world class. Screw-Ups are the marks of excellence.
So Go Ahead;
Stretch Today; True joy comes when you put some skin into the game. Yes, you will start to experience more failures. But guess what? Success also starts to pay more visits like it has to my 'person'.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Gold, now is old.
Once upon a time my parents too were children.
My mother and her friends went to school alone ever since they were in the 5th/6th standard or even earlier. It was a daily routine of hanging out of a packed tin-box-on-wheels and then walking a good kilometre to school. Returning home would just mean retracing the path along with many others - some returning from school or college, rest from work. It could mean reaching home several hours late - either the buses were too crowded to hang from or there weren’t any due to strike or a heavy shower. In fact, when it poured and streets were flooded it was quite fun to wade through knee deep water. It was an unique concoction from rain and drain! Some of her class mates even swam in it!
I am sure their parents were concerned and anxious but could not really do much about it. Those days owning a car was rare. There was no concept of a cell phone to give a hurdle-by-hurdle update. So it wasn't really possible to ensure their safety and security by today’s velvet-glove standards. Parents were concerned but not paranoid of their well being. They could not literally afford to be! Interestingly, most of my mom's classmates whose parents had cars and even chauffeurs, travelled just like she did.
Daily life offered the work-out of today's gym. Naturally most of them were skinny. Obesity was an uncommon word found only in English dictionary. They had to become independent, understand and work through problems of the real world. She quickly learnt that people are generally good but some are not. She learnt that some had this obsessive need to wade through the packed bus and position themselves where ladies were. For some reason they would quite often get shouted at by the women around. Some other had an unusual tendency to be physically friendly with kids (She learnt the word paedophile lot later - till then they were just bad people). Then there were a few who seemed to have the undying spirit to laugh, joke and animatedly discuss sports or politics. They generally have a good time even while sweating to stand straight amongst the tip-toe crowd. All of these were part of life - even during exams. Each day was a lesson - an on-the-job-training on life skills.
By the time they returned from school there was hardly any time to play. But they did. There were no gated communities with Mexican grass lawns, tennis courts, swimming pools and winding jogging tracks. They had their entire neighbourhood streets and by-lanes to play any game that was the flavour of the season or whatever they could conjure up. It was fun to put up make-shift goal posts or wickets on the streets with slippers or bricks. Then there would be cars that would pass causing temporary hold-up and sometimes shift of the bricks for 'lagori'! After annual exams were over they had summer vacation. They would find a patch of land in someones backyard to put up their very own badminton court/lagori site. It needed skill to keep the shuttle on the court with poorly strung rackets and breeze that seemed to appear from nowhere. They used to play for pure fun and joy. There were no games lessons to be taken. They werent sent to soccer, tennis, cricket, painting or violin lessons. No preconditions of studs or snickers or jerseys. They weren't affordable. Games had to end when the sun went down and street lights came on. They ran home from wherever they were as the conch-shells sounded for the evening puja's at households. Life was not guarded by the walls of a gated community. Parents just could not afford to be so 'concerned' or 'caring'. They still had a blast. Absence of Xbox, PS3s and Nintendos or even cable TV meant children had no option other than inventing their own games and past times. But still mom and her friends hardly had a dull moment.
Friends' birthdays, visits to the cousins' were the special events. Annual picnic to the zoo was super special - preceded by weeks of excited preparation. A vacation out of the city was a mega event that came once in a couple of years. With so much fun who needed dining out? There were a handful of eateries anyway, rest were either too shabby or too expensive.
Not everything seemed to be fun. As a child She always wanted a bicycle. There wasn't one. As a teenager She still wanted a bicycle. Still there wasn't one. Hiring one was an option but at 60 paisa an hour it was an expensive proposition. So cycle remained a morning dream. Stealing a ride from friends, acquaintances and even strangers was a momentary joy but with a bit of shameful undertone. The intensity of want was nearly physical. The reality of not affording one was as stark. But looking back it seems that it is one of the biggest lessons of life - to want something so badly that not having - gives you a hunger that drives you to strive. Her son,(Jd) in fact, many sons and daughters of today will never know of it.
Decades have passed since. Increasing affluence has transformed the wonder years.
There is enough disposable affordability to make their/our children so safe and secure that they do not even know what the real world is like. Money is something that comes out of a wish-box called ATM, beggars are people who not have debit cards. Children do not get time to exercise their imagination. There is no need to invent since there is hardly a need that is unfulfilled. Where is the need to think of new games when Funskool is inventing them and our parents are ever-ready to buy? Where is the need to play imaginary cop and police games when we can have preprogrammed realism of 3D graphics? Where is the fun of simply playing when there are schools to give us lessons from soccer to elocution and our parents have enough money to send us to most? Our parents want their children to be so safe, so secure, so healthy, so happy that they(children/we) do not know how to cope outside the gates of the community. Their stomachs cannot take regular water. They cannot accept not getting what they want. Will today's children ever know what fun lies in the attics of their own imagination - joys that are beyond the realm of pre-loaded games? I wonder if they will ever know the bitter sweet sensations of longing - the never-ending wait for fulfilment, the intense pain of un-attainment and the lessons from its aftermath.
We think we can afford and hence we should. We should give our progeny a blemishless world. We should give them what our grandparents ventured not to our parents. We should shower them with the best since we can. In our affluent concern parents forget that they can afford because their parents could not.
I am very indebted to my beautiful mother to have brought me up the best way.
She is singularly responsible for the way I think today, for the way I smile today.
Happy Mother's Day to my mom!
My mother and her friends went to school alone ever since they were in the 5th/6th standard or even earlier. It was a daily routine of hanging out of a packed tin-box-on-wheels and then walking a good kilometre to school. Returning home would just mean retracing the path along with many others - some returning from school or college, rest from work. It could mean reaching home several hours late - either the buses were too crowded to hang from or there weren’t any due to strike or a heavy shower. In fact, when it poured and streets were flooded it was quite fun to wade through knee deep water. It was an unique concoction from rain and drain! Some of her class mates even swam in it!
I am sure their parents were concerned and anxious but could not really do much about it. Those days owning a car was rare. There was no concept of a cell phone to give a hurdle-by-hurdle update. So it wasn't really possible to ensure their safety and security by today’s velvet-glove standards. Parents were concerned but not paranoid of their well being. They could not literally afford to be! Interestingly, most of my mom's classmates whose parents had cars and even chauffeurs, travelled just like she did.
Daily life offered the work-out of today's gym. Naturally most of them were skinny. Obesity was an uncommon word found only in English dictionary. They had to become independent, understand and work through problems of the real world. She quickly learnt that people are generally good but some are not. She learnt that some had this obsessive need to wade through the packed bus and position themselves where ladies were. For some reason they would quite often get shouted at by the women around. Some other had an unusual tendency to be physically friendly with kids (She learnt the word paedophile lot later - till then they were just bad people). Then there were a few who seemed to have the undying spirit to laugh, joke and animatedly discuss sports or politics. They generally have a good time even while sweating to stand straight amongst the tip-toe crowd. All of these were part of life - even during exams. Each day was a lesson - an on-the-job-training on life skills.
By the time they returned from school there was hardly any time to play. But they did. There were no gated communities with Mexican grass lawns, tennis courts, swimming pools and winding jogging tracks. They had their entire neighbourhood streets and by-lanes to play any game that was the flavour of the season or whatever they could conjure up. It was fun to put up make-shift goal posts or wickets on the streets with slippers or bricks. Then there would be cars that would pass causing temporary hold-up and sometimes shift of the bricks for 'lagori'! After annual exams were over they had summer vacation. They would find a patch of land in someones backyard to put up their very own badminton court/lagori site. It needed skill to keep the shuttle on the court with poorly strung rackets and breeze that seemed to appear from nowhere. They used to play for pure fun and joy. There were no games lessons to be taken. They werent sent to soccer, tennis, cricket, painting or violin lessons. No preconditions of studs or snickers or jerseys. They weren't affordable. Games had to end when the sun went down and street lights came on. They ran home from wherever they were as the conch-shells sounded for the evening puja's at households. Life was not guarded by the walls of a gated community. Parents just could not afford to be so 'concerned' or 'caring'. They still had a blast. Absence of Xbox, PS3s and Nintendos or even cable TV meant children had no option other than inventing their own games and past times. But still mom and her friends hardly had a dull moment.
Friends' birthdays, visits to the cousins' were the special events. Annual picnic to the zoo was super special - preceded by weeks of excited preparation. A vacation out of the city was a mega event that came once in a couple of years. With so much fun who needed dining out? There were a handful of eateries anyway, rest were either too shabby or too expensive.
Not everything seemed to be fun. As a child She always wanted a bicycle. There wasn't one. As a teenager She still wanted a bicycle. Still there wasn't one. Hiring one was an option but at 60 paisa an hour it was an expensive proposition. So cycle remained a morning dream. Stealing a ride from friends, acquaintances and even strangers was a momentary joy but with a bit of shameful undertone. The intensity of want was nearly physical. The reality of not affording one was as stark. But looking back it seems that it is one of the biggest lessons of life - to want something so badly that not having - gives you a hunger that drives you to strive. Her son,(Jd) in fact, many sons and daughters of today will never know of it.
Decades have passed since. Increasing affluence has transformed the wonder years.
There is enough disposable affordability to make their/our children so safe and secure that they do not even know what the real world is like. Money is something that comes out of a wish-box called ATM, beggars are people who not have debit cards. Children do not get time to exercise their imagination. There is no need to invent since there is hardly a need that is unfulfilled. Where is the need to think of new games when Funskool is inventing them and our parents are ever-ready to buy? Where is the need to play imaginary cop and police games when we can have preprogrammed realism of 3D graphics? Where is the fun of simply playing when there are schools to give us lessons from soccer to elocution and our parents have enough money to send us to most? Our parents want their children to be so safe, so secure, so healthy, so happy that they(children/we) do not know how to cope outside the gates of the community. Their stomachs cannot take regular water. They cannot accept not getting what they want. Will today's children ever know what fun lies in the attics of their own imagination - joys that are beyond the realm of pre-loaded games? I wonder if they will ever know the bitter sweet sensations of longing - the never-ending wait for fulfilment, the intense pain of un-attainment and the lessons from its aftermath.
We think we can afford and hence we should. We should give our progeny a blemishless world. We should give them what our grandparents ventured not to our parents. We should shower them with the best since we can. In our affluent concern parents forget that they can afford because their parents could not.
What they can afford is within reach, what they cannot - compels them to reach out. What we have means for - shapes our children to face the familiar. What we do not, shapes them to face the unknown. Let's deny them some of what we can afford. Let's give them the chance to become.
I am very indebted to my beautiful mother to have brought me up the best way.
She is singularly responsible for the way I think today, for the way I smile today.
Happy Mother's Day to my mom!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Dent-Cause
I happened to personally meet this fantastic person near his residence at Lavelle Road, Dr.Devi Prasad Shetty. Here is the man who lived the philosophy I evangelize. "Lead without Title", to show up fully and to make a difference.
Dr.Devi Prasad Shetty was born in Kinnigoli of the South Canara District in India. He's a gifted cardiologist, family man and--above all else--a humanitarian.He's most famous for his extraordinary hospital--Narayana Hrudalaya--which does most of its' surgeries for a nominal fee and majority for free. Dr. Shetty says, “If I am given a choice I would like to treat only poor patients. But unfortunately the economic reality does not allow me to do that." He is the man who charged the rich more and served the poor free of cost. Technology gives the rich what they already have but it gives the poor what they can never dream of having. Poor people in isolation are weak but together they are very strong. This simple thought gave birth to the novel idea, "Yeshasvini Micro Health Insurance", a joint venture between ISRO, Narayana Hrudayalaya and Karnataka State Co-operation Dept. In the first 20 months of 'Yeshasvini', 85,000 farmers had free medical treatment, 22,000 farmers had free surgeries, 1400 farmers had heart surgeries; all for just five rupees per month!!! Dr. Shetty also founded "Arogya Raksha Yojana", a joint venture of Narayana Hrudayalaya, Biocon and ICICI to provide free OPD consultation, cashless surgical facility, diagnostics at discounted rates.
Everybody will agree that his greatest achievement has been his work with children. He operates free for kids under twelve, and of his 13000 operations in a 16 year career span, over 5000 operations were on children
I respect him as a great business head and an amazing human being. Lets talk business as I let you know my reasons for it:
Leadership as a human being is all about having an impact. Making a difference. Leaving things better than you found them. Isn't the purpose of life : To find a cause that's larger than yourself and then to give your life to it? Sure, it's important to make profit in business.Sure you want your enterprise to be operationally excellent. Sure you want high quality products and services. And sure you need to keep innovating and growing your brand. But isn't having an impact in the world--by positively influencing others--what business is ultimately about? Greatness in business as well as in life comes by being an inspirational human being. Dr.Devi Shetty uplifts people around him by his attitude and his very presence. Extraordinary human beings like him live their message, They walk their talk. And above all else, he is my inspiration.
One of our biggest regrets on our deathbeds is that we weren't reflective enough. At the end, the billionaire gets buried next to the street sweeper. We all end up as dust. So lets learn and have some fun. While chasing success I urge you to stay devoted to the lives you touch. Hope you enjoyed reading about my hero.
So a gentle question from Jd who wishes only the best for you : What dent will you make today? What cause will you pursue today? What contribution will you make today--at work, at home--in life??
Dr.Devi Prasad Shetty was born in Kinnigoli of the South Canara District in India. He's a gifted cardiologist, family man and--above all else--a humanitarian.He's most famous for his extraordinary hospital--Narayana Hrudalaya--which does most of its' surgeries for a nominal fee and majority for free. Dr. Shetty says, “If I am given a choice I would like to treat only poor patients. But unfortunately the economic reality does not allow me to do that." He is the man who charged the rich more and served the poor free of cost. Technology gives the rich what they already have but it gives the poor what they can never dream of having. Poor people in isolation are weak but together they are very strong. This simple thought gave birth to the novel idea, "Yeshasvini Micro Health Insurance", a joint venture between ISRO, Narayana Hrudayalaya and Karnataka State Co-operation Dept. In the first 20 months of 'Yeshasvini', 85,000 farmers had free medical treatment, 22,000 farmers had free surgeries, 1400 farmers had heart surgeries; all for just five rupees per month!!! Dr. Shetty also founded "Arogya Raksha Yojana", a joint venture of Narayana Hrudayalaya, Biocon and ICICI to provide free OPD consultation, cashless surgical facility, diagnostics at discounted rates.
Everybody will agree that his greatest achievement has been his work with children. He operates free for kids under twelve, and of his 13000 operations in a 16 year career span, over 5000 operations were on children
I respect him as a great business head and an amazing human being. Lets talk business as I let you know my reasons for it:
Leadership as a human being is all about having an impact. Making a difference. Leaving things better than you found them. Isn't the purpose of life : To find a cause that's larger than yourself and then to give your life to it? Sure, it's important to make profit in business.Sure you want your enterprise to be operationally excellent. Sure you want high quality products and services. And sure you need to keep innovating and growing your brand. But isn't having an impact in the world--by positively influencing others--what business is ultimately about? Greatness in business as well as in life comes by being an inspirational human being. Dr.Devi Shetty uplifts people around him by his attitude and his very presence. Extraordinary human beings like him live their message, They walk their talk. And above all else, he is my inspiration.
One of our biggest regrets on our deathbeds is that we weren't reflective enough. At the end, the billionaire gets buried next to the street sweeper. We all end up as dust. So lets learn and have some fun. While chasing success I urge you to stay devoted to the lives you touch. Hope you enjoyed reading about my hero.
So a gentle question from Jd who wishes only the best for you : What dent will you make today? What cause will you pursue today? What contribution will you make today--at work, at home--in life??
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Nirvaana?
IT has been considered as an almost Nirvaana in Indian families. It's an honor if the son/daughter in a house is aiming/pursuing/completed an MS(Of-course, in US dude/babe) program or works away from the country. The middle class of India or at least a section of it, has found hope and avenue for its aspirations in the ever-growing IT industry. IT has helped people to contribute and grow with the companies they work for.
Let me pen down a few thoughts that just keep floating across my mind when I hear the word-IT revolution. Most of the below stuffs were thought after hours spent in observation. I am eating Bhel Puri with my closest guys and gals while I finally decide to let this out.
Why would we swim when we can row? Rowing is more efficient and definitely faster. Rowing looks like a natural and practical choice unless one does not have a boat or a row or just plain wants to be in water. There is something very uncanny about rowing though. The rower actually sweats to go reverse - with his back to his destination. Swimming may be harder but at least one can see where he is heading!
The IT fellows are working hard. Project schedule rather than biological clock dictate their sleeping hours. Entire life is rearranged around deadlines, tours and engagements. PowerPoint takes precedence over conversation. Outlook is the tool in Windows rather than a powerful faculty. Conversations are punctuated by quick glances at sms or mails on the mobile rather than pauses natural to a dialogue. Early morning walks aren't away from home to the nearest joggers lane rather towards the home - after a night-out at office.
The sun never sets in the global economy. So unless you are the customer you are destined for a schedule famously known as 24/7. But a customer has a customer too. So at the end of it - we are all in the same proverbial boat. Drained, cracking and fatigued - we keep ROWING.
Ironically, none of the people involved have anything to do with a cause that is noble enough to warrant the price. We are not talking about doctors or scientists working for the cause of humanity - life saving, life giving or life enhancing. We are not talking about soldiers defending a land or kindred souls reaching out to the helpless. The product release that made my relative (He is one of a highly respected stalwarts in an MNC) postpone his daughter's very first birthday or yet another return home dawn after dawn - was targeted for Christmas - the season of joy and giving! It is a high tech toy that may get a child excited with its new gaming features. A gizmo that may keep him interested for less than a decimal of the time it took tens of people to make it. It all seem like dark humor.
What I cited is not an isolated case - either in time or place. We are a global colony of rowers in every walk of life. Other than the hobos, rest of us are mere paddle pushers stalked by an unseen destination and egged on by a navigator. Reminds one of Ben Hur in the Roman galleons.
Technology was destined to make our life easier, if not full-filling. In reality, it is disfiguring the lives of almost all who work in it or are touched by it. Between them it a sizable part of the populace. If the engineer's technology gives the salesman more time it only means an additional hour for an additional client. In the infinite irony of life, the salesman may now be hard-selling his time-share vacation plan to the engineer - convincing him of the many ways to enjoy the time the latter doesn't have. One more client and he can meet his company's sales goal.
We are all rowing when we can swim.
I will be failing in my duty if I don't say that I will be a victim of my above observation soon. Therefore, am having my foot pressed on to the clutch, thinking which gear to put..Can I escape this joke by choosing something else?! Yes, I can. After-all, I love life.
Let me pen down a few thoughts that just keep floating across my mind when I hear the word-IT revolution. Most of the below stuffs were thought after hours spent in observation. I am eating Bhel Puri with my closest guys and gals while I finally decide to let this out.
Why would we swim when we can row? Rowing is more efficient and definitely faster. Rowing looks like a natural and practical choice unless one does not have a boat or a row or just plain wants to be in water. There is something very uncanny about rowing though. The rower actually sweats to go reverse - with his back to his destination. Swimming may be harder but at least one can see where he is heading!
The IT fellows are working hard. Project schedule rather than biological clock dictate their sleeping hours. Entire life is rearranged around deadlines, tours and engagements. PowerPoint takes precedence over conversation. Outlook is the tool in Windows rather than a powerful faculty. Conversations are punctuated by quick glances at sms or mails on the mobile rather than pauses natural to a dialogue. Early morning walks aren't away from home to the nearest joggers lane rather towards the home - after a night-out at office.
The sun never sets in the global economy. So unless you are the customer you are destined for a schedule famously known as 24/7. But a customer has a customer too. So at the end of it - we are all in the same proverbial boat. Drained, cracking and fatigued - we keep ROWING.
Ironically, none of the people involved have anything to do with a cause that is noble enough to warrant the price. We are not talking about doctors or scientists working for the cause of humanity - life saving, life giving or life enhancing. We are not talking about soldiers defending a land or kindred souls reaching out to the helpless. The product release that made my relative (He is one of a highly respected stalwarts in an MNC) postpone his daughter's very first birthday or yet another return home dawn after dawn - was targeted for Christmas - the season of joy and giving! It is a high tech toy that may get a child excited with its new gaming features. A gizmo that may keep him interested for less than a decimal of the time it took tens of people to make it. It all seem like dark humor.
What I cited is not an isolated case - either in time or place. We are a global colony of rowers in every walk of life. Other than the hobos, rest of us are mere paddle pushers stalked by an unseen destination and egged on by a navigator. Reminds one of Ben Hur in the Roman galleons.
Technology was destined to make our life easier, if not full-filling. In reality, it is disfiguring the lives of almost all who work in it or are touched by it. Between them it a sizable part of the populace. If the engineer's technology gives the salesman more time it only means an additional hour for an additional client. In the infinite irony of life, the salesman may now be hard-selling his time-share vacation plan to the engineer - convincing him of the many ways to enjoy the time the latter doesn't have. One more client and he can meet his company's sales goal.
We are all rowing when we can swim.
I will be failing in my duty if I don't say that I will be a victim of my above observation soon. Therefore, am having my foot pressed on to the clutch, thinking which gear to put..Can I escape this joke by choosing something else?! Yes, I can. After-all, I love life.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Amreeca
Get this: I just read that people across North America are showing up at designated places to have "cuddle parties". Strangers get together, introduce themselves and then spend time cuddling. Nothing more--just feeling the touch of another human being and feeling connected. Hmmmm.
The paradox of our wired world is that as we become more connected electronically, we become less connected emotionally. People spend hours each night downloading podcasts and surfing the net. But they have forgotten the importance of old-fashioned conversation. They've neglected the power of breaking bread with family and friends. And they've lost sight of human touch.
Do what you like. I am not a judge. But I have no plans to show up at a cuddle party any time soon. I would rather work to build the bonds of humanity with those already around me by being loving to my friends (females, yes) and family, kind to my friends and supportive of the needy. Just doing that would give me all the cuddles I need.
The paradox of our wired world is that as we become more connected electronically, we become less connected emotionally. People spend hours each night downloading podcasts and surfing the net. But they have forgotten the importance of old-fashioned conversation. They've neglected the power of breaking bread with family and friends. And they've lost sight of human touch.
Do what you like. I am not a judge. But I have no plans to show up at a cuddle party any time soon. I would rather work to build the bonds of humanity with those already around me by being loving to my friends (females, yes) and family, kind to my friends and supportive of the needy. Just doing that would give me all the cuddles I need.
The Jobs' Question
The TOI today read an interesting news. APPLE is bigger than MS. APPLE overtook Microsoft in market capitalisation to emerge as among the US' most valued company. APPLE's market capitalisation estimated at $241.5 billion was ahead of Microsoft's $239.5 billion. Now everybody knows Steve Jobs. The same guy whose biological parents threw him up for sale and all the hardships that followed etc. I am a huge fan of this fellow and I have my reasons for it:
Steve Jobs is an interesting guy. How many people start a billion dollar business in their garage in their early twenties? How many people can lead the field in three seperate industries? (Music - The Ipod has revolutionized the way music is delivered; Movies - Pixar is the world's most successful animation studios; and computing - APPLE's devotion to sexy designs and ease of use is legendary.) But what intrigues me most about Steve Jobs is his philosophy.
Jobs asks himself an unforgettable question every time he is faced with a big choice: "What would I do if this was the last night of my life?" Powerful impetus. He met his wife that way.
He was giving a university address a number of years back. She was sitting in the audience. He fell for her and approached her after the event. She gave him her number. He wanted to take her out to dinner that very night but had a business meeting on the books. Life's like that. On his way back to his car, he asked himself what I call the Steve Jobs QUESTION: "What would I do if this was the last night of my life?" You and I both know the answer. He ran back to the auditorium, found the woman and took her out. They've been together ever since.
Look, I know we all have to be practical. I get that we can't apply Jobs' question to every situation. But I feel connecting to your mortality is a great source of wisdom. Reminding yourself that in the overall scheme of things that you will not be here that long is an excellent way to drive passion, promote risk taking and get deeply into the game of life. Connecting with the end is a brilliant practice to keep you focussed on what's most important. Because I exactly know how the precise connection is! (The Accident Drama of the summer of 2009) The fiasco and the rejuvenation of Jaideep. Before it's too late.
Steve Jobs is an interesting guy. How many people start a billion dollar business in their garage in their early twenties? How many people can lead the field in three seperate industries? (Music - The Ipod has revolutionized the way music is delivered; Movies - Pixar is the world's most successful animation studios; and computing - APPLE's devotion to sexy designs and ease of use is legendary.) But what intrigues me most about Steve Jobs is his philosophy.
Jobs asks himself an unforgettable question every time he is faced with a big choice: "What would I do if this was the last night of my life?" Powerful impetus. He met his wife that way.
He was giving a university address a number of years back. She was sitting in the audience. He fell for her and approached her after the event. She gave him her number. He wanted to take her out to dinner that very night but had a business meeting on the books. Life's like that. On his way back to his car, he asked himself what I call the Steve Jobs QUESTION: "What would I do if this was the last night of my life?" You and I both know the answer. He ran back to the auditorium, found the woman and took her out. They've been together ever since.
Look, I know we all have to be practical. I get that we can't apply Jobs' question to every situation. But I feel connecting to your mortality is a great source of wisdom. Reminding yourself that in the overall scheme of things that you will not be here that long is an excellent way to drive passion, promote risk taking and get deeply into the game of life. Connecting with the end is a brilliant practice to keep you focussed on what's most important. Because I exactly know how the precise connection is! (The Accident Drama of the summer of 2009) The fiasco and the rejuvenation of Jaideep. Before it's too late.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Fall from Designation
Father-figure, the phrase brings to mind an image of someone that we look up to. Someone who guides and protects; whose strong hand we cling on to lift ourselves out of pitfalls – large or small. Even after we grow-up, we never seem to grow beyond the sense of security and confidence that this person instills at times of crisis. It’s an image that is larger than life – an image of unfathomable strength and wisdom, of quiet assurance. It’s also an image which is just beyond the daily details, somewhat distant and slightly removed from the mundane. It gives him the aura that we so love to depend on - the image of a father.
With nuclear families, working parents and the daily grind, the sheen is wearing off. Demands of modern life have made the father part of the routine. He is not anymore the person for whom breakfast and newspaper wait on the table. He is the one that is making the breakfast. As a member of the family, he shares the chores. Once keeper of the house, he is now part of housekeeping. Father today, is very much part of the threadbare daily details.
The sheer presence that restored order, changed ruckus to a whisper, the single glance that signalled that line has been crossed - is a lost paradigm. It’s a loss that families will not be able to replenish easily. It was a role that is as essential as that of the mother's all pervasive endearing one. Together, they were the ‘ying’ and ‘yang’ that made parenthood complete. Father used to step in only as an exception. He was the instrument that was rarely used and hence had an aura of omnipotence that made his influence even stronger.
When father intervened, it was the last word. It had an air of finality that was beyond questioning. In today’s world that seems so unreasonable. Fact is, not everything can be reasoned out by all at all points of time. There is immense value of learning to act just on faith or simply because someone of substance has told you so. We, especially children, can’t always be logically convinced. The latter requires an understanding that only comes with experience. How can we do something when we do not even have the maturity to appreciate the need of it? We do it on faith. We do it because we have the faith in the person asking us. We do it because we trust he knows. That is how we learn. We learn to cycle, we learn to swim; we learn to try even when it seems futile. That is why we spend hours in study when instinct wants to play. Acting on faith is an ability that helps us stay on course even when we have no experience to make a judgement on it. Father is one of the first symbols of faith in our lives; at least he used to be. Not anymore. As misdirected notions of rights and fairness seep through the foundations of families and the daily grind chips away the sanctity of roles, we have lost the perspective of role play. We have lost our father figures. We have chosen to lose them.
On a chess board the queen wields the power. She can move in all directions as far she wants to. The King can only take one step at a time. Still we lose the game if we let the king be checkmated. It’s not about what power one has. It’s about the role one plays. More importantly, it is about the roles one let’s others play in pursuit of a win - be it at home or on the 64 squares of the board.
With nuclear families, working parents and the daily grind, the sheen is wearing off. Demands of modern life have made the father part of the routine. He is not anymore the person for whom breakfast and newspaper wait on the table. He is the one that is making the breakfast. As a member of the family, he shares the chores. Once keeper of the house, he is now part of housekeeping. Father today, is very much part of the threadbare daily details.
The sheer presence that restored order, changed ruckus to a whisper, the single glance that signalled that line has been crossed - is a lost paradigm. It’s a loss that families will not be able to replenish easily. It was a role that is as essential as that of the mother's all pervasive endearing one. Together, they were the ‘ying’ and ‘yang’ that made parenthood complete. Father used to step in only as an exception. He was the instrument that was rarely used and hence had an aura of omnipotence that made his influence even stronger.
When father intervened, it was the last word. It had an air of finality that was beyond questioning. In today’s world that seems so unreasonable. Fact is, not everything can be reasoned out by all at all points of time. There is immense value of learning to act just on faith or simply because someone of substance has told you so. We, especially children, can’t always be logically convinced. The latter requires an understanding that only comes with experience. How can we do something when we do not even have the maturity to appreciate the need of it? We do it on faith. We do it because we have the faith in the person asking us. We do it because we trust he knows. That is how we learn. We learn to cycle, we learn to swim; we learn to try even when it seems futile. That is why we spend hours in study when instinct wants to play. Acting on faith is an ability that helps us stay on course even when we have no experience to make a judgement on it. Father is one of the first symbols of faith in our lives; at least he used to be. Not anymore. As misdirected notions of rights and fairness seep through the foundations of families and the daily grind chips away the sanctity of roles, we have lost the perspective of role play. We have lost our father figures. We have chosen to lose them.
On a chess board the queen wields the power. She can move in all directions as far she wants to. The King can only take one step at a time. Still we lose the game if we let the king be checkmated. It’s not about what power one has. It’s about the role one plays. More importantly, it is about the roles one let’s others play in pursuit of a win - be it at home or on the 64 squares of the board.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Drink coffee with Dhirubhai
Reading is one of the best disciplines I know of to stay "on your game" and at your highest". Reading from a great book is all about having a conversation with the author. And we become our conversations.Just think, tonight-by reading 'Polyester Prince'- biography of Dhirubhai Ambani , you can get behind this great man's eye-balls and learn what made him tick. wanna hang out with Madonna tomorrow? Grab her book. Same on Jack Welch, Mother Teresa, Bill Gates, Salvador Dali or the Dalai Lama. And reading a book by someone you respect allows some of their brilliance to rub off on you. The hand that puts down a great book will never be the same. As Oliver Wendell Holmes observed: "A mind once stretched by a new idea can never return to its original dimensions."
When I was growing up, my maternal grandfather, A.V.Subramanyam {Editor, Around Bangalore (an English Fortnightly) and also worked with the Civil Court of Karnataka} once told me: "Cut back on your lifestyle or cut back on what you spend on your food but never worry about investing money in a good book". That powerful thought has accompanied me through life. His philosophy was that all it takes is one idea discovered in a single book to lift you to a whole new level and revolutionize the way you see the world. And so my grandma's house was filled with books. And now I try to devote at least an hour or so to reading. That habit alone has transformed me. Thank you, Grandpa.
These books have shaped my thinking. They have formed my personal philosophy. They have made me the man I am. To me, my books are priceless.
The old expression is true : "Knowing how to read and not reading is almost the same as not knowing how to read." Make the time to read something good each day. Fill your mind with big ideas and dazzling thoughts. Use books to flood your soul with hope and inspiration. And thats a beautiful thing.
When I was growing up, my maternal grandfather, A.V.Subramanyam {Editor, Around Bangalore (an English Fortnightly) and also worked with the Civil Court of Karnataka} once told me: "Cut back on your lifestyle or cut back on what you spend on your food but never worry about investing money in a good book". That powerful thought has accompanied me through life. His philosophy was that all it takes is one idea discovered in a single book to lift you to a whole new level and revolutionize the way you see the world. And so my grandma's house was filled with books. And now I try to devote at least an hour or so to reading. That habit alone has transformed me. Thank you, Grandpa.
These books have shaped my thinking. They have formed my personal philosophy. They have made me the man I am. To me, my books are priceless.
The old expression is true : "Knowing how to read and not reading is almost the same as not knowing how to read." Make the time to read something good each day. Fill your mind with big ideas and dazzling thoughts. Use books to flood your soul with hope and inspiration. And thats a beautiful thing.
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