tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87784470072424154972024-03-13T00:07:20.339-07:00c'est la vieAll the world's a stage This blog is an attempt to share my life insights & gifts with my fellow men in the eternal journey called LIFE.Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.comBlogger195125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778447007242415497.post-48503694658272703432020-05-12T10:09:00.000-07:002020-05-12T20:55:09.923-07:00Leadership Lessons being a TLI Chair in Toastmasters<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“A leader takes people where they
want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to
go, but ought to be”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I have
undertaken few club leadership roles such as the Club treasurer, VP-Education,
President, and as an Area Director, at each level, I had different leadership lessons,
which has helped me evolve as a leader. Last year July, I was entrusted with
the responsibility of being the TLI (Toastmasters Leadership Institute) Chair.
The Toastmasters Leadership Institute helps Toastmasters across the district to
come together to network, share ideas, and be inspired. We share the best
practices and experiences of senior Toastmasters with newly-elected club
officers on how to best serve their clubs and grow as a leader. A lot of work had been done by the predecessors in setting up the TLI and reaching out to many members through the events. So, the bar was set for us to reach out to and raise it further.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As I look back
now, at the whole term, there have been many memorable moments to cherish, and
significant milestones which we were able to accomplish, maybe I will reserve
it for sharing on another day. Let me delve in to my leadership lessons in the
last one year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b> 1. Leadership
Success Triad – Vision, Autonomy, Flexibility</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I
came to appreciate this concept of leadership triad as being fundamental for
leadership success in my role as TLI Chair. There are three aspects which one needs to have in place
for smooth functioning and making a strong impact.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">First
and foremost, the question to be asked is “What is my vision as a leader for my
team/company/employees? It is said:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“Leadership
is about Vision and Responsibility, not Power”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Having a
vision makes it easier to focus on when the going gets tough or it gets too
much to handle. What is that we are trying to accomplish and what impact are we
wanting to make, these questions will help us work towards achieving the vision
without giving up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The second dimension
is the leader’s ability to give autonomy to your team and trust them to do the
work. Most often, some leaders tend to micro-manage and end up taking all
decisions for their team since they are the leader. They expect to rule their
team with iron-fist and control them, expect them to abide by their decisions
(or, orders!!). But that is a huge failing as a leader since it never gives the
opportunity to the team members to showcase their talent. There is a fine
balance to be maintained here, you have to give autonomy yet put in a process
to check in frequently so to ensure good quality output. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The third
success dimension is the flexibility to accept others idea/views. Sometimes,
because of our past success, we may be tempted to believe that we know it all
or ‘my way or the highway attitude’. Yet, as a leader, it is critical to keep
this attitude at bay, because many failings happen because of the inability of
the leader to adapt his views and accept others view. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In my TLI
role, I had the opportunity to see all the triad elements in action
(fortunately in a positive way). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The District
Trio [TM Sarma Mahalingam (District Director), TM Pravin Mani (PQD), TM Satish Menon (CGD)] had the common vision of enabling members experience and we had the same
focus for all the TLI events to give the best member experience, this ensured
all our activities was aligned towards achieving the common vision. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As TLI comes
under PQD (Program Quality Director), I had a trustworthy and passionate Toastmaster Pravin
Mani who placed the trust on me and let me handle the TLI events as I deemed
fit. He didn’t micro-manage or thrust his control on me except asking for
updates and suggesting changes when required. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In terms of
flexibility, many times during event planning, be it the event program agenda,
role players finalization, we had differing opinions on the approach. Yet, at
no point, we allowed our personal ego’s to come in, and we always were open to
each other views and kept our common vision to dictate the final outcomes. I
realized that being open to his views and event team views on some matters proved
to right, since it was better than my view. <span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b> 2. TEAM
in action:</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> Together Everyone Achieves More, and rightly so. Though, it’s become
a cliché still it’s a satisfying experience to see it in action. The reality is, one can't truly succeed without having a good set of colleagues, who are equally passionate to work towards the common vision. We had a TLI
Training calendar finalized at the beginning of the term (July-June) and budget
allocated as per our plan. It was a good experience in project management and
planning, since each TLI event was like a project/mini-conference by itself.
And doing one event every month in the first term was equivalent to a full time
job, if not for the support I had from my TLI team. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Each of my
TLI event chairs and TLI SPOCs played a critical role in the success of each
event. A big thanks to the following members: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">TM Bhagath
(Chennai Kilpauk YMCA TMC), TM Vinoth (HCL Pinnacle TMC)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">TM Raja
(L&T ECC TMC), TM Vijay (WABAG TMC),<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">TM Arun
Kumar (Chennai Speakers Forum), TM Swathi Devi (DXC Chennai Chapter TMC)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">TM
Muthukumar (Infosys TMC, Chennai), TM Kavitha (CGI Chennai TMC),<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">TM Bharath
(CGI Chennai TMC), TM Manisha (Wipro Chennai TMC),<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">TM
Subramanian (BACI Chennai Silver Tongue TMC), TM Amartya (Terra VIT), TM
Ranjith (Citi Odyssey TMC), </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">DTM Malar (Virudhunagar TMC), TM Sasi Varier (L1 AD
- Trichy TMC), TM Surya (TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL-NIT TRICHY),TM Shantanu (K6
AD – Brisa VIT), TM Akhil (K5 AD – Nuvens VIT) and TM Gayathry (DCP Chair). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Many role players had supported the event team
for the success, Iam unable to put them here since I didn’t want it to become a
vote of thanks article, yet their contribution and support for critical for the
success of the various TLI events across Tamil Nadu. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">3.<span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Innovate
to Succeed:</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It
is important for any entity to continuously explore the aspect of innovation as
a means for continuous excellence. When we started the year, we consciously
made the decision to innovate in few aspects to enable the member experience.
So, we started with online zoom training (first of its kind then) yet it has
come commonplace now in quarantine time. The online zoom was especially
conducted for Division L members for ‘Train the Trainers” session. We followed
it up with doing a live demo meeting for the “Conducting Effective meeting” TLI
event. It got 190+ attendees and was immensely enjoyed by all the attendees.
Next, we wanted to make the ‘New member Orientation’ session memorable for the
new members who join Toastmasters. So, we launched the ‘Inter-Area Fun’ Contest
where each area was grouped into teams and they played fun games and quiz based
on Toastmasters, to compete and win prizes. Though attendance was less, it was
enjoyed by everyone who attended it and the event pics say it all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Usually,
JTP and Emergence is considered a standard format, so to make it different and
engaging for audience, we introduced ‘Judges discussion Panel’, where
experienced judges panel discussed on their experiences as a judge and what to
do and what not to do as a judge. Again, this was received well by members, who
could relate to practical application of judging instead of a boring
presentation to run by. Finally, ‘Emergence’ event where contest winners share
their technique to prepare for contest, we innovated by clubbing a leadership
session by TM Sridhar Renganathan. We had mixed feelings about it since we
weren’t sure how the reception will be, because it was an afternoon session,
whether people would be patient enough. However, it ended up as one of the best
received TLI event with over 240+ registrations and many stayed back till
7:30pm to network and discuss. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So,
be it business or your daily work, explore ways to innovate, and it will be a
sure shot way to make your mark as a leader.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><b> 4.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></b></span></span><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif";"><b>Acknowledging
others Support:</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As the TLI
team for this year, we were successful in making our presence felt, create
memorable members experience and learning, which was acknowledged by many. It
is easy to get into a mindset thinking that this success was only because of
our efforts. While, we did put humongous efforts for all TLI events, a
significant part of the event success was because of the support provided by others, especially TM
seniors, talented individuals who agreed to be the faculty for the sessions and
were generous with their time. One can't succeed on their own and often you need to take others along, for which you need to be humble and be open to reach out to others for help.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In our own
lives and enterprises, if you have been successful, it might be a good idea to
think and reflect about who all have contributed towards your success. It might
be your family members, parents, friends, office seniors and others mentors,
whoever it may be so, reach out to them and convey your thanks to them for
their support. Sometimes, we tend to take certain support for granted, yet
however small their contribution has been, they did have a role to play in your
success. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I take the opportunity in this article to acknowledge all the speakers for the TLI
events this year (mentioned in the chronological order of the TLI events):
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">DTM Karthick
Mohandoss (CAT-EDCI Club), DTM Sampath Sowrirajan (TN Mentor Chair)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">TM Deenadayalan (HCL Speech Weavers), TM Gayathry (DCP Chair), DTM
Sunil Jose (Asst Chief Judge), DTM Lalitha Giridhar (Chennai Toastmasters Club),
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif";">DTM
Saro Velrajan(Chennai Speakers Forum), DTM Jayan (Meraki), DTM Vijayalakshmi
(Meraki), DTM Sundararaman (Meraki), DTM Rahul Shankar </span><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif";">(Tamizhootru Chennai Solvendhargal
Mandram), TM Aravind Vikram (Ericsson TMC)<span style="color: black;">, DTM Pattabi
(Madras TMC), TM Srijana (Ford Mustang TMC), TM Aadil (Chennai TMC), DTM Reena
(Chennai Wordsmiths TMC), </span>DTM Sampath Sowrirajan (TN Mentor Chair)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif";">DTM
Reena (Chennai Wordsmiths TMC),</span><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif";">TM
Subramanian (BACI Chennai Silver Tongue TMC), DTM Ravanan (Madurai TMC),<o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">DTM Sampath Sowrirajan (TN Mentor Chair)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">DTM Sampath Sowrirajan
(TN Mentor Chair), TM Raghavan Sridhar (AD-D2), <span style="color: black;">DTM
Sunil Jose (Asst Chief Judge), TM Pravin Mani (PQD), TM Adithya (Agua VIT)</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif";">DTM
Subhadip Banik (Infosys TMC, Chennai), TM</span> <span style="color: black; font-family: "tahoma" , "sans-serif";">Selvarajan (Chennai Communicators Club), TM Sridhar Ranganathan (Chennai
Wordsmiths TMC)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">DTM
Sunil Jose (Asst Chief Judge), DTM Jayan (Meraki), DTM Vijayalakshmi (Meraki),
DTM Sundararaman (Meraki), DTM Parthasarathy (DXC Chennai Chapter TMC)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">TM Shantanu (AD-K5), TM Nirav Katyal (Fogo VIT)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "tahoma" , sans-serif;">TM Hemamalini (L&T ECC TMC), </span><span style="text-align: left;">TM</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;">Selvarajan (Chennai Communicators Club)</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: left;">TM Mohanakrishnan (Symantec TMC), </span><span style="text-align: left;">DTM Ravanan (Madurai TMC), TM Priyanka (Genesys TMC)</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">DTM Lalitha Giridhar (Chennai Toastmasters Club), DTM Rajeev Nambiar
(Chennai Wordsmiths TMC)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">***************************************************</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Hope my above insights are useful to you in your own leadership journey. I sign off quoting the words of </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">John Donahoe who said, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">'</span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">Leadership is a journey</span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">, </span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">not a destination. It is a marathon</span></i><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><i>, not a sprint. </i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><i>It is a process, not an outcome</i>.'</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">For those
unaware of Toastmasters International, it is a nonprofit organization that
operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of promoting communication, public
speaking and leadership. I have been fortunate to be part of this wonderful
community since 2012 and over the various years, have had experienced mentors
and leaders from whom I have learnt and applied a lot in my Toastmasters
journey. If you are keen to develop your communication or leadership skills,
you can search for any Toastmaster clubs nearby your location, and attend one
of its meeting as a guest.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778447007242415497.post-54921013278711072552020-04-06T05:09:00.000-07:002020-04-06T07:25:25.244-07:00Leadership/Business Insights from the movie "Imagine That"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“Only those who can see such signs of life are able to find treasures”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The above quote from Paulo Coelho well acclaimed “The
Alchemist” stresses the point that the signs are always around us. If we can
recognize, understand them and act accordingly, then our lives will far better.
Often I have found that movies are a good source of motivation and the reel
lives contain many insights which is applicable in our real lives. I have
always found when I watch movies (maybe, not all yet some), they depict the
reality of life and the humdrum which we lose ourselves into. If we look closely
enough, then there are certain gems waiting to be taken and embellish our
lives. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So, here we go, with understanding some insights from the
movie “Imagine that”, a 2009 American comedy film starring Eddie Murphy. It
centers on the relationship between a workaholic father and his daughter,
Olivia, whose imaginary world becomes the solution to her father's success. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdXgkEMxFKHfaj87EQbDQdOrx9rqiHggxF5FxrwIXAf9FxBb5HoMXut9ju6JoY7vLam4WoJOjsj2p7WgktM0Usn0hX_lK8JZVk9qN09oV8mz-6QrKxbKyDMytDw7y_2rSwoCl6_E8xklE9/s1600/imaginethat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="550" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdXgkEMxFKHfaj87EQbDQdOrx9rqiHggxF5FxrwIXAf9FxBb5HoMXut9ju6JoY7vLam4WoJOjsj2p7WgktM0Usn0hX_lK8JZVk9qN09oV8mz-6QrKxbKyDMytDw7y_2rSwoCl6_E8xklE9/s320/imaginethat.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Disclaimer:</b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> This is not a movie review, I don’t have the
skills to write movie review hence if you are expecting that you can read the
movie plot <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagine_That_(film)#Plot" target="_blank">here</a>. The movie bombed at box office, though let that not keep you
away from the amazing insights which it had.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Insight 1: Remember
to have fun, not be serious always</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It is interesting to note that the main protagonist of the
movie, Evan is a top financial advisor ,a job which can be as serious as it can
be. The pressure to be on the top and to be perfect is very high in all our
work. However, it is important to have fun as we focus on work. The metaphor in
the movie where Evan accepts his daughter imaginary world and starts doing
childish things like dancing to please the guarding dragon etc, is an
indication that fun should be an integral part of our work lives. When was the last
time you had fun/real fun with your colleagues and most importantly, spending
quality time with your family too.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Insight 2: Important
to package your work differently to be noticed<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Evan’s competitor Johnny Whitefeather has the whole company
under some spell as he shares his views which sounds like nonsensical idioms
filled with Native American mumbo jumbo. While, it is important to have strong
content, this aspect shows why it is important to package our content with
stuff which attracts the audience attention. Packaging can mean lot of things, how
you structure your content, how do you deliver it, how to brand your initiative
or position it to your target members. While focusing on packaging, ensure the
content is solid and has value addition, without which the process will fail,
which leads to our next insight, which is.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Insight 3: Air talk
doesn’t win always, hard work matter<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Evan gets used to his daughter’s help with her blanket “Go-gaa”
to get financial investment tips. When the golden opportunity of leading his
firm comes up, he and his competitor has to crunch numbers and present their
analysis. Both Evan and his rival Johnny end up looking for help from imaginary
sources instead of doing the hard work. Johnny tries to impress the client by talking
mumbo jumbo, which gets called out as Air talk for lacking any meaning. Fortunately
for Evan, his daughter ends up spending time at her friends and isn’t available,
so even though he forcibly gets the “Go-gaa”, he eventually ends up working
late through night to crunch the numbers and make solid analysis, which helps
him make a better impression to win the coveted deal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Bottom line, all said and done, if you are really keen to
win, ensure you don’t compromise on hard work. Hardwork after all is the secret
to success.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Insight 4: Family
matters, focus on quality time with family <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Everyone has pressure to prove at work. And everything comes
at a cost. Most often, people run behind material success, money, fame at the
detriment of their family relationships. Work is important no doubt about it,
and there is nothing wrong in aspiring high and working hard for the promotion.
Yet, it is wise to realize that all said and done, our true (invaluable, if I can
add) possessions will be our family relationships with our spouse/kids and parents,
and true friends/dear ones.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It is unfortunate to see people spend their peak time of
their lives in making money and not being there for their kids and when they
are ready to spend time with kids, they have grown and gone out to make their
own lives. Look back at your life and ask this question, how much quality time
you are having with your family and dear ones. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Insight 5: Find your
style, don’t copy others blindly<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Johnny assumes that Evan is using a shaman technique to make
hit guesses about whether to buy or sell company stock, which has led to his popularity.
So, when the big moment presents itself, where both are given a task to analyze
portfolio holdings of the legendary investor, Johnny resorts to forcing his son
to the medium to get shamanic insights, in the process, forgets to do the
required analysis of the holdings, where as if he had done it properly, he
would have walked off with the prize.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">At work and life, we may sometimes be amazed by others style
of doing things. While it is good to derive inspiration from others, one should
blindly copy someone else style, at best it will give you mediocre outcome and
worst, leave you looking like a fool. In business too, this becomes important,
when companies try to adopt other’s best practices without customizing it to
its own culture. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Hope you found the above insights useful and relevant. What
other insights have you had from the movie. Would love to hear your thoughts, leave them in the comment section.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Stay Safe and Sound.</span></div>
</div>
Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778447007242415497.post-77472285301038439622017-01-29T22:24:00.000-08:002017-01-29T22:25:41.577-08:00Unknown Legacy of Former India PM<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Recently I finished reading the book “Half Lion”. The book
is about the story of how PV Narasimha Rao (PVNR or PV) transformed India. The
book was an eye-opener for me in many ways. Before I get to that part, let me clarify
few things. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQbK00-BeGZZJ1tdnjbUt82KcYAAXJmgI7X3I8No0jm4wf9US4-nLKy5ZWhZ5-WFaZ6pVu6-308kj3r_tyG1SoHGM-FZ5voTHvgBi4xO3GohOHTWGkzBkp7IF-9IPeMz6VyWdQXBSgbZlE/s1600/half+lion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQbK00-BeGZZJ1tdnjbUt82KcYAAXJmgI7X3I8No0jm4wf9US4-nLKy5ZWhZ5-WFaZ6pVu6-308kj3r_tyG1SoHGM-FZ5voTHvgBi4xO3GohOHTWGkzBkp7IF-9IPeMz6VyWdQXBSgbZlE/s1600/half+lion.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Before I read the book, I had known very less about PV. Just
few images from my childhood days in DD channel of the former prime minister
who hardly made any impact in media. One remembers a smug faced man, with bald
head, miniature stature, hardly anything charismatic about him that would make
him stand apart. In fact, I thought there is anything impressive about him. All
that changed after I read the book:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">His is the only minority government which completed its
tenure of 5 years fully. Minority governments before and after him had hardly
survived more than a year. He had minority representation in the Parliament,
had his own party members plotting against him and yet he went on to lay a path
for India which had played a big role in taking India, where it is today. Here
are some of the greatest achievements of his premiership:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We all know Manmohan Singh as the brain behind
liberalization which brought the wave of growth and prosperity in India.
However, few know that PV is the actual architect of bring in reforms which
liberalized the economy, eased the licence raj and imposed restrictions in free
trade with other countries. He succeeded in convincing his own party members in
voting for the reforms who didn’t want to liberalize Indian economy believing
we were selling ourselves to foreign interest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">He is vilified for his role in Babri Masjid demolition and
is considered party to the plot. However, the reality is different. His only
mistake was to trust the ruling government in UP that they will protect the mosque,
(and who eventually had plotted to demolish the mosque). He had even tried
back-channels to speak to VHP, BJP leaders to ensure no damage won’t happen to
mosque, however selfish interest had backstabbed him. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Vajpayee government got the limelight by declaring India as
the nuclear power (by conducting nuclear test in Pokhran), however the reality
is PV played a crucial role in furthering India’s nuclear program. According to
the book, the nuclear test was planned in April 1996, but since PV’s government
lost people mandate in the elections, the test were postponed and PV handed the
mantel of the work to Atal Bihari Vajpayee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">When he was the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, he brought
in land reforms which hurt him as well, since he owned hundreds of acres of
land himself in his native village. Yet his belief in having social justice for
the land workers, made him push land redistribution reforms (paradoxically, he
was replaced as a CM for this very action, because of the landlord lobby).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">PM Modi has become famous for visiting foreign countries and
wooing investors to invest in India. PV started the initial trend of inviting
investors over to India, and marketed India’s potential to the world. Until
then, the world saw India as a socialist place which had its doors closed to
external world. His pro-foreign policy has been furthered by subsequent
governments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Paradoxically, one of PV’s key actions which backfired
against him is this decision to arrest corrupt politicians in the Hawala money
case. His own party members were indicted in the case, due to which he lost his
own supporters in his party. So much so, for taking actions against offenders,
morally right decisions, yet a huge political mistake. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Being the first Non-Nehru lineage person to become the Congress
President, he did more than required of him. And for all his contributions to
India, he stands vilified by his own party men, abandoned during his final days
(his body wasn’t allowed to be kept in Congress headquarters as is the norm and
he didn’t have his memorial in Delhi, so to prevent him being seen as an
all-India leader).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The best part of PV was he had the ability to play the timid
mouse, a wily fox or a courageous lion as the situation demanded. His life
offers insights for anyone interested in strategy, and outwitting competitors,
may it be political or business. I usually don’t support any political leaders,
since this generation leaders are hardly inspiring except a few. Yet, after
reading the book, I felt that he hadn’t got his fair share of praise and
recognition which he deserved. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This blog is meant as a tribute to the man who as an
individual was sincere and placed country interest above himself and achieved
so much despite having so little power unlike his predecessors. He truly was
one of India’s greatest Prime Minister. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">P.S: I loved the author Vinay Sitapati’s writing style. It
was lucid and easy to comprehend. A narrative writing which balanced concepts
and conversations, the book was a fun read. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778447007242415497.post-86912193416737094322015-10-11T09:10:00.003-07:002015-10-11T09:10:54.067-07:00The Choice<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The only person from whom I derived strength had suddenly deserted me. A sense of unworthiness filled up inside me. What’s the use of living? The one person for whom my heart beat seemed to barely care about me. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Tears trickled down my face uncontrollably. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Nearby, on the table I saw the sharp edge of the knife glistening. I made up my mind and stretched my right hand towards it… </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />**************************************** </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<strong>Timeline: </strong>Two hours back </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It had been 15 minutes since I had ordered a drink. Nothing was going right in my life. There were rumors of recession hitting my company and equations with my boss had touched the lowest bottom. Somehow my manager had taken a liking to criticize every action of mine. The same job, the same dull and boring faces, the same dull machine, nothing was exciting about life. The only bright side was the paycheck at the end of the month. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The world seemed tasteless and lifeless. Until I met her. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Sneha. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We had got to know each other in our first workplace. We had an employee social group and both of us were enthusiastic members. Since, we were active volunteers; we worked closely on many assignments. Eventually, we got to enjoy each other’s company. Not only did our friendship bloom, our feelings for each other bloomed as well. I proposed and she accepted. Those two years were the best years of my life. We started to make plans for making our relationship a permanent one. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Things don’t always go the way we plan it. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We both got better career opportunities and we had to make a tough decision. I relocated to Hyderabad and she moved to Bangalore. We promised to keep in touch but the heavy work load and late night shifts spoiled the plan. Days would fly by and we spoke over phone only during weekends. After planning for three months, were we able to make time to meet in person. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The ‘Hangout’ restaurant was our favorite spot. I had arrived early and was waiting for her. The place brought back so many memories with her. Our first date, our first kiss! </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The clinking of the wind chimes brought me back to reality. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>"Sir, Normal Water or Mineral Water?"</em> asked the waiter. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>"Mineral water without ice" </em>I said. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>"Waiting for Madamji, Sirrr?" </em>He asked with a mischievous smile. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Just then, I saw her enter the restaurant. She was wearing a black tops and jeans. Her favorite. She came and sat in the chair opposite to me. Usually, she would sit beside me so I was surprised why she decided to sit across me. I wanted to tell her about how much I missed her and how I longed to see her. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>"I missed you a lot"</em> I said. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
She didn’t say anything. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Usually she won’t miss an opportunity to say that she missed me too. Something was off. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So, I asked <em>"What’s happening?" </em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>"Life is good. I am getting to meet many interesting people"</em>, she started eating her food. After sometime she said<em> "You know there is a guy who I met". </em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My heart skipped a beat. A guy! <em>Who is he?</em> I asked. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>"Well, he is amazing. He makes everyone fall for him. The way he speaks, the way he moves, he is the perfect guy"</em>, and on and on she went. She recollected the times when she had gone out with him on weekends and he made her try stuff which she wouldn’t have done normally. He has freed me, she continued. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Of all the things I had dreamt, this was the last thing I needed to hear. She had been seeing the guy every weekend!! </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The only bright light in my life flickered. It was clear that she had feelings for this guy. Surprisingly all these were the words which she had used to describe me, during our initial courtship days. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We finished our dinner as she continued to share instances of how good the guy was and how she was discovering new things in life. With every statement, it felt like a knife was being thrust into me. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
We bid adieu and I rushed back home. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I entered my apartment. The lights were off and I slumped on the chair in the middle of the room. I couldn’t control my emotions. Tears started trickling down my face. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The only person from whom I derived strength had suddenly deserted me. A sense of unworthiness filled up. What’s the use of living? The one person for whom my heart beat seemed to barely care about me. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Nearby, on the table I saw the sharp edge of the knife glistening. I made up my mind and stretched my hand towards it.…. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>"Giving up so soon?"</em> I heard a voice behind. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Shocked, I asked <em>"Who are you"? </em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>"Someone who cares enough" </em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The voice sounded familiar yet I couldn’t figure out who it was. A man wearing a black coat gently walked forward and stood before me. His face wasn’t visible as he stood in pitch darkness. However, the light reflected from outside through the window illuminated just enough to catch a glimpse of his cloth and a shred of twirled hair in the front which moved every time he walked. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>What do you know about what I am going through? There is nothing in my life to live for. My life is a mess. And the only person who I thought loved me has abandoned me,</em> I cried. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He listened patiently. He took something shiny from his long overcoat pocket and tossed it over to me. It was a metallic watch. However instead of the clock dial, it had concentric circles. The inner circle had revolving area and the outer circle had twelve tiny dots. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>What’s this? </em>I asked. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>This is the watch of Destiny. With this, you can go to any moment of your life, once to past and once in future. However you will have only an hour to spend. Then you will return back and after five minutes, you get to visit your future. </em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Did he say a moment of my life which I can change!! </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One moment came in particular. During the dinner Sneha had mentioned that when she was settling down in Bangalore, she was going through a tough phase at home and there was no one to support her. When she was struggling, she came to meet the new guy and liked him since he had been there for her. If only, I could go back and support her in the time of her need. Maybe, then she will still love me. Initially we had planned to meet once she had relocated to Bangalore. However, I had to cancel my plan last minute since something else had come up. But now, nothing else seemed more important than meeting her. So, I visualized the scene and touched the inner dial. The tiny dots blinked for twelve times and I felt a tingling sensation. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
**************************************** </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>Timeline:</strong> Two months back </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was standing near her apartment. I found her flat and knocked on the door. She was surprised to see me. She jumped on me and started crying. I hugged her tightly and comforted her. We didn’t speak but I could understand that she was going through a tough time and that she was happy to have me with her. She shared about her struggles and we discussed about how we plan our future together. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I felt that since I was being with her during her roughest phase, she would continue to love me. Eager to find, if it worked, I fast forwarded the side dial to the time when I was waiting in the ‘Hang Out’ restaurant. Hopefully, the final thirty minutes would end in a romantic way! </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>"Waiting for Madamji, Sir?"</em> the waiter asked with a mischievous smile. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I saw her enter the restaurant. I was eager to hear what she would say. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Has her love remained the same for me? </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Does she yearn for me the same way as I yearned for her? </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was getting excited with each moment as she came nearby. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
To my shock, instead of sitting next to me, she came close and sat opposite to me. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
She started sharing about this guy who she had met and who had bowled her over. The only difference was that this time, she quoted different reasons for getting attracted to him. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My heart skipped a beat. Even after changing an instance in the past, when I was with her during her low phase and in-spite of discussing our future, she found other reasons for getting attracted to him. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I couldn’t stand it. She went on talking about how impressive the guy was. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Why didn’t she love me anymore? I am not fit to live, I cursed myself. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Meanwhile, the watch dial’s light blinked brightly. The one hour time was getting over and I saw myself lift up and found myself in the dark room slumped in the chair. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>So, how did it go?</em> the Man asked. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>Life is nothing but lie and betrayal. I loved her and was there for her. I felt we were made for each </em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>other and will be together forever but she didn’t feel that way. She still chose the other guy over me. </em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>Well, there is another perspective. Sometimes, for some people, love is limited to their need of you. Once their need is fulfilled, so is your presence. There is nothing wrong in what you did. You cared for her with all your heart. If she couldn’t realize that, it’s her problem; not yours,</em> the Man said. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I started breathing heavily. It was extremely painful and unbearable to see that the girl who I had loved so much saw all this as a transaction. I felt used and thrown. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>If this is what I get in return for caring for someone so dearly, I don’t think I deserve to live. </em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>Before you decide to end your life, don’t you want to try out the dial one more time? Another few seconds and you get to see how your future will be? </em>The Man prompted. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Saying so, he turned and moved. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I observed him carefully as he walked to the door. I knew that time was running out but suppressed the urge to check my watch. I took a deep breath and started counting in reverse under my breath. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
"Ten, nine, eight, seven..." </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And clicked on the dial… </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>Timeline: </strong>Ten months later </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A cool breeze blew across my face. I was sitting under a sun shade near a swimming pool. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I wondered what I was doing here. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A beautiful lady came and gave me a peck on my cheeks. Then she came and sat close to me and kept her hand on mine. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>"What do we buy for Ma? Her birthday is coming up next month, isn’t? </em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I didn’t have a clue whom she was referring. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>Who Ma? </em>I asked cheekily. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>Your mother, stupid! Her birthday is coming up next month. We said we will buy her a nice sari. </em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
How did such a beautiful girl end up being my wife! I felt on cloud nine. She not only cared about me but also thought of my mother. Sneha rarely used to be concerned about others, forget enquiring about my parents. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Another thought struck me. What if this affection was short lived? Sneha too in the initial days had appeared loving yet in due time, all that had changed. Why not confirm it by visiting the future and seeing if this was a permanent. I clicked on the second square once more. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>Timeline: </strong>Two years later </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was driving in a hurry, horns blaring around me. Sitting in the car, all I could hear was commotion. I drove across few streets and parked my car. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>Happy Anniversary darling! </em>I heard a beautiful voice as I entered the door. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A woman dressed in elegant blue and green sari approached me. She was carrying a baby. As soon as </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I came close by, the baby had a big smile on his face and held out his arms towards me. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Seeing her and the child, I felt blissful and loved. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A sweet family which I had always dreamed for. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
After freshening up, we went out for dinner. Being a special day, she had planned a candle light dinner. We spoke about how the years had passed so quickly and how Aryan had grown too. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Time just seemed to fly. We came back and after putting Aryan to sleep, we went to the terrace. A gentle breeze swung by and her face glowed beneath the moonlight. I clasped her hand and pulled her close to me. I brought my face close to hers and said <em>"Promise me, you will always be with me. You are the light of my life". </em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>"I will be there for you for the rest of my life"</em> she whispered. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And we hugged. All my worries of finding the right person disappeared. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So, a wonderful life exist, a new life exist. I felt my body outline becoming thinner and looked at my watch. The last dial was flickering indicating that the time was coming to an end. Time had just flown. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I opened my eyes and found myself in the chair again. This time, I was relaxed and was feeling better. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was reflecting on the experience I had since the two visits. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Man walked to the front and stood with his back to me and said: </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<em>"I hope you got what you were looking for. Just remember. <strong>In life, nothing happens to you. It always happens for you." </strong></em></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Meanwhile, his outline had become semi-transparent and I saw the logo on his coat. It looked familiar. It had a symbol on the front pocket. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Where have I seen it? </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He walked a little further and vanished into the darkness of the room. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was taken aback. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This man… If he hadn’t come at the right time, I would be dead now. I didn’t even get a chance to thank him. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Then it struck me. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The front pocket! The logo "A". It was my valediction coat. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It was gifted to me by my parents. I had asked ‘A’ to be stitched on the front pocket. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I rushed to next room and unwrapped the coat. I put it on & walked towards the dark portion of the room where the Man had disappeared. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As I stepped forward, I hit against something. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I looked at it & smiled. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I saw the man with a black coat and with a shred of twirled hair on the top. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was standing before the Almirah mirror! </div>
</div>
Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778447007242415497.post-7687301919384428602015-05-31T08:59:00.000-07:002015-05-31T08:59:55.820-07:00Success is always around us<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘Success’ is a mystical thing. All of us want to be
successful. Yet most of us want a free ride to success. Even though the intent
is there within us to succeed, most of all aren’t willing to do what’s needed
to become successful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My weekend started off with a working Saturday by the end, I
was quite tired & exhausted. In such cases, Sunday becomes a treasured day.
But as I woke up in the morning, I was feeling quite lazy and completely
purposeless. Though, I had few things which needed my attention, I wasn’t at
all inspired to do anything on that. My mind was occupied with something which
was wondering about something which left me powerless. All I did was switch on
the TV, had food, lie on bed & pass time. The day passed like seconds. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the evening, when I was conversing with a friend, I realized that how much we take
life for granted. There are so many things which inspire us, motivate us to do
something, yet we end up choosing to pass time, wondering about things we don’t
have & get stuck on issues, be it with people, our worries, problems etc. In
the process, we exhaust the most precious resource which is NOW, instead of
being at our best and when we are at our best, success becomes an outcome. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaVZw3cSMZYZazO4u9M2qA3IspuybZkpgLvFMcEAB32leJyH-Xc1o1zaOBolQ796muSk63pBpWzp4KMZb87LA0UPLxLbZWZQIINQ4K5szhDZj41S5N5GQIAM2qK4BhLsHDE1sscxxEPSqI/s1600/success+is+around+us.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaVZw3cSMZYZazO4u9M2qA3IspuybZkpgLvFMcEAB32leJyH-Xc1o1zaOBolQ796muSk63pBpWzp4KMZb87LA0UPLxLbZWZQIINQ4K5szhDZj41S5N5GQIAM2qK4BhLsHDE1sscxxEPSqI/s400/success+is+around+us.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That’s when I thought I was stuck in the same trap. Few things
which I had been planning to do, like writing a blog, reading a book, planning
few things all were put on hold, just because I was waiting for something to
happen and since that didn’t materialize, other things got inadvertently
impacted. But the moment I realized that, I chose to work on. I did some
exercise which usually makes me feel good in the end, switched on my fav music
which usually inspires me & then got down to work on the things which mattered
and which I wanted to accomplish. Here, Iam penning an article for my blog
which I had been planning on for more than 3 weeks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is said that amidst the busyness of life, the simple
things get side tracked. Most often the simple things are the most important as
well. In the daily rush of our life, we make the simple things complicated. What’s
needed to simplify our life is just to take a step back and look at what we
have. Usually, the stuff which are required for us to be happy & be
successful is just around us. Be it
caring parents, friends, resources to utilize, all is just with us. We just
need to recognize and then choose to act on that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I didn’t intend to pen a gyaan type post, yet for me it was
a big realization on how daily moments just slip pass by while we keep waiting
for things to happen, hoping for things to happen & wonder if things will
happen. I took a step in doing something productive & break myself out from
the quicksand of ‘waiting & wondering’ which goes on & on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What we have with us for sure is NOW, and if we can choose
to look at the things which we have with us & act, then in due time, things
will surely happen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Success is always around us, isn’t? </span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778447007242415497.post-83950562509632390942015-04-19T11:41:00.002-07:002015-04-19T11:42:58.709-07:00Speech craft – A Journey of Discovery<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of the speech craft participant commented in the final
session “Speech craft is a place where one learns not how to become a speaker
but how to become a crafter”. And truly so at the end of 6 week Speech craft session
at L&T Construction, HCI (Heavy Civil Infrastructure) IC, the participants
had become Amazing Crafters; Crafters of words into mesmerizing speeches,
Crafters of ideas to powerful thoughts & Crafters of personality. The whole
journey proved to be of immense learning & discovery both for the
participants as well as for me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7Hs1PbqGYwJenp8_Gt9lT-cgNas2xbkTf2vb89pB4as3uLZ44qw8U9XpRUTOHP0-KRfsAus0NDY02Jl2tl9-my3h1zOt1jBOUbOkmQAlbvQhQ2xkPGZ4gaARQgxXKx32C7Nhvr9lfObM/s1600/Speech+craft+TMI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7Hs1PbqGYwJenp8_Gt9lT-cgNas2xbkTf2vb89pB4as3uLZ44qw8U9XpRUTOHP0-KRfsAus0NDY02Jl2tl9-my3h1zOt1jBOUbOkmQAlbvQhQ2xkPGZ4gaARQgxXKx32C7Nhvr9lfObM/s1600/Speech+craft+TMI.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I would like to share 3 insightful learning which I had for
myself during the course of coordinating the speech craft sessions. Hopefully,
you find it useful as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><!--[endif]--><b>Camaraderie by Senior Toastmaster members: </b>One
of the unique selling proposition of Speech craft was the educational talk in
each of the 6 week sessions. Whoever I had approached right away agreed instantly
to come over as the educational speaker in spite of the fact that all of them
had a busy schedule & had other commitments. My sincere thanks to TM
Sridhar Ranganathan, DTM Lalitha Giridhar, DTM Nina John, DTM Saro Velrajan
& TM Rajesh Natarajan, whose sessions were quite valuable for the
participants.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><!--[endif]--><b>Assumptions Challenged: </b>The Speech
craft program was done for senior managers & Deputy General Managers and
hence when we begin, I had a lot of assumptions. That <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> they may be have a mindset of know it all types,</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> they may not be able to commit the time required
for the session amidst their busy schedule, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> they will not be regular in attending all the
meetings,</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> they will be least interested in knowing about
Toastmasters</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Almost all of my assumptions proved to be wrong. All the speech crafters
were excited about the opportunity to become more competent speakers and took
each session seriously by putting immense efforts to give the speeches in every
session. In fact, other than 3 members who dropped out since they got shifted
to other location after the first session, the remaining 12 members gave a
speech in all the sessions. Plus, 2 members became members of our Toastmaster
club in the midway of the program. It made me realize that most of the
assumptions which we carry about people may not be always true.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><!--[endif]--><b>Expressive Communication - Competitive
Advantage: </b>Even though the speech crafters were senior managers and had
large teams under them, they exhibited extreme enthusiasm & commitment in
taking part in the speech craft and for the right reasons. And as one speech
crafter said “Speaking is important so that the talented gets to express his
work to top management. “Most often, a talented person remains unnoticed due to
lack of communication skills. If one needs to be successful, one should know
not only how to speak but how to communicate the right message in a right way. Hence, as long as you can communicate well,
you have a strong competitive advantage over others. And Toastmaster helps you
gain that advantage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Especially for a corporate, the outcome of the speech craft
is directly proportional to the support extended by the top management of the
company. Iam thankful to Mr.Srinivas Remella (Technical Training Head) &
Mr.Anil Kalaga (Training Head) who were enthusiastic about the Speech craft
program right from the start and extended complete support to ensure the
participants are benefitted from the program. I also thank Division D Governor
Deepa for her continuous support & personal interest in ensuring the
program success. My heartfelt thanks to my Toastmaster friends who supported in
the successful execution of the program. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I enjoyed & learnt from the session as much as the speech
craft participants. The transformation which we saw in each of the participants
in the final session was amazing. Overall, the 6 week journey has been truly fulfilling
& of immense learning.I strongly recommend anyone who wants to start a self development regime to start attending Toastmasters, there are plentiful of opportunities to develop yourself on multiple dimensions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As the quote goes “Once you have traveled, the voyage never
ends…” The travel will continue, so would be the voyage of learning &
discovery.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778447007242415497.post-42863409825702866622015-04-08T10:21:00.001-07:002015-04-08T10:21:53.038-07:00What are your Assumptions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Recently during a discussion with my manager, the topic of discussion turned to my involvement in a work which was handled by another team in HR. I reasoned saying i felt that the work was confidential hence i didnt involve myself in it. He said "you seem to be bounded by so many assumptions". </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Thinking over it i realized that so many times in our life, we have so many of the assumptions which put a veil over how we see our life. Just to name a few couple of assumptions which come to the top of my mind are:</span><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Autoricksaw drivers always charge high fare</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Politicians are corrupt</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">People who drink/smoke are bad</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Money is the root of all evil, </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">etc etc etc.</span> </li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmK1857mNa3o1KAOK7SwNuGyn_p2hJvWcaQXDpV_ceFQ9Me3VMAjr4xDX_wTykzUCsxx0_LwXqisQx7mwRff57gtX5Sf0kAExARciq1nFI5QRKCShumXCHMQ6vIvrFlOTd4guiIz9tCUWs/s1600/assumptions1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmK1857mNa3o1KAOK7SwNuGyn_p2hJvWcaQXDpV_ceFQ9Me3VMAjr4xDX_wTykzUCsxx0_LwXqisQx7mwRff57gtX5Sf0kAExARciq1nFI5QRKCShumXCHMQ6vIvrFlOTd4guiIz9tCUWs/s1600/assumptions1.png" height="210" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">During last weekend while traveling outside, I wanted to take autoricksaw to go to my destination.Usually, I dont ask any autoricksaw fellows who would be waiting at the bus stop since I have always assumed that they will quote a high fare. However this time, I felt why not ask and see what he says. So, when i enquired not only he quoted a nominal fare, I was able to negotiate with him to put the fare and charge an extra 10 bucks. The point is, my assumption about autoricksaw guy been unfair & charging exhorbitant fare was proved wrong. All i did was question my assumption.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><div>
i dont mean to say our assumptions may be wrong. In some cases, it may be right, but blindly following some assumption because thats what our parents had told us or that was what we had experienced several years back, might lead us to ignore the reality and keep ourself confined.</div>
<br /></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As a good colleague of mine used to say "<strong>When you assume, you make an ASS of U & ME</strong>". </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So friends, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">What assumptions do you have in your life? </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">To what extent they dictate your life. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Can you try challenging them and see how true or relevant they are? </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div>
</div>
</div>
Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778447007242415497.post-65586707186789892022015-03-31T20:36:00.000-07:002015-03-31T20:36:02.675-07:00Balance is the Key<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In younger days during biology classes, the teacher used to
ask the question “Which is the best diet?” Usually, 2 factions gets
formed. One faction strongly in favor of ‘Vegetarian’ diet & the other one
vociferously supporting ‘Non-Vegetarian’ diet. A couple of students would side
with ‘Eggetarian’ diet and try to stay in the middle. This would go on for some
time, with each faction saying their choice ‘pro & con’ & then after
few verbal abuses & high raised voices, finally, the teacher would intervene
with the answer. The best diet is ‘Balanced Diet’, a diet which consists of all
the required nutrients in the correct quantity as needed by the body. Of course,
we were left baffled with the answer and would try to justify how
‘Vegetarian/Non Vegetarian food’ is more balanced than the other. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Before you start wondering if Iam going to give gyaan about
Balanced diet & how do we integrate it in our life to become leaner, a BIG
disclaimer. I have no idea about balanced diet and know as much as that diet
has four letters in it. Apart from it, all I know is what I have heard from
hear say. Hence, I would restrict myself to the former part of the ‘Balanced
Diet’. The Balance. How “Balance” plays a key role in our lives and how once we
understand its relevance, we can live a more balanced life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(not a happy life, but a balanced life)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6zNxf0o9E8CrbnTnMToD7a5xBJhpHryj2SQ7fDnhFs29IrKe8NjYcKRjGQ6vl3LikeToRnHB3PBBHwip67ISxNycQ2n84rBv1n9jrFkRoGU7I6-AaGCY7Bm8unLgfbAMJ3acb37TDhNBa/s1600/balance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6zNxf0o9E8CrbnTnMToD7a5xBJhpHryj2SQ7fDnhFs29IrKe8NjYcKRjGQ6vl3LikeToRnHB3PBBHwip67ISxNycQ2n84rBv1n9jrFkRoGU7I6-AaGCY7Bm8unLgfbAMJ3acb37TDhNBa/s1600/balance.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I strongly believe that ‘Being Balanced’ is one of the key
natural laws in life. Being very good is not good. Being very bad is also not
good. One should always know both the good & bad and that allows the person
to know both sides of a coin & accordingly make a decision. I have seen
from close quarters on how extremity of a good thing back fires. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Take the case of parents who bring up their child. Sometimes
in the name of loving their child, some parents don’t put any limit on them,
pamper them with everything they ask for, in most cases, the child would turn
out to be a brat & disorderly child. And if the parents are too strict
& dictate each and every step of the child, he/she will be completely
dependent upon them for all the work & would lack in self-confidence.
What’s best for the child is to have a parent who gives them the freedom to
express themselves while at the same time, being observant of certain values
& rules which are sacrosanct to the family. The child in this case, would
grow up to be a matured, independent individual with the confidence to face the
world. What’s required a balanced love. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I recall a quote which I had read in my school days. It said
something about ‘Life being a roller coaster ride’, what’s there today won’t be
there tomorrow, what’s there tomorrow won’t be there, day after tomorrow. It
took me sometime to realize the reality of it. No matter how happy you are
today, the feeling is going to go off after a while. Similarly, troubles or
worry, no matter how big they are, would pass off after a while. Be it
happiness, sorrow, grief, obstacle, challenges, hurt, if we realize that
holding onto one thing completely isn’t a wise thing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As someone said ‘Dark is equally important to relish the
Light in life’. Hence, sorrow is equally important to enjoy the happy moments
of our life, obstacles are equally important as our achievements in life. Once
we keep this in our mind, no matter what life throws at us, we are well set to
take it in the right stride. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Let’s hold on to the ‘Balance’ in all aspects of life, and our
life will be balanced.</span></div>
Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778447007242415497.post-63508267528161504322014-04-24T12:29:00.003-07:002014-04-24T12:30:42.690-07:00Secret to become Rich<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Iam back! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After a long hiatus, thanks to the prodding of two of my friends, I finally got back to write an article. To think of why i stopped writing, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">there were a couple of reasons. One, I felt I had to write a truly perfect, and unique article, which will be well received. Secondly, I thought that </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">instead of writing blog, I will use that time to focus my efforts in writing my book. Surprisingly, I couldnt utilize my time for book writing as </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">well. To cut a long story short, I eventually ended up becoming lazy and my procrastination friend ensured that I continued to procrastinate my idea of </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">writing a blog. That was until now, when I decided to kick out the procrastinator guy out and write an article now! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I really havent a clue of what to write now. Iam just wondering which apt topic to write upon. If you are expecting something profound to come up, do </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">not go any further! Seriously, do not go any further. One thing which comes to my repeatedly since the last couple of months is the desire to become </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">rich. To have a big bungalow, have all the luxuries of life and being rich enough to travel across the world! As i sat wondering how will i go and make </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">my desire come true, I came across an video in the net, which was about the topic of becoming rich! With my curiosity bursting out, I watched the </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">video earnestly. At the end, I was dumb founded about what i got to see. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The video had a very profound message to share. It tell a story of a boy who dislikes his father, and sees him as a nobody, a poor, unsuccessful and </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">not a smart person! They struggle to meet their daily needs. His father inculcates a habit of making him put a part of his pocket money into a box. The </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">boy asks his father "Why arent we rich". The boy's father responds <i>"Being rich is not about how much you have, but about how much you give"</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The boy doesnt understand it then, but resolves not to be poor as his father. He puts his best effort and in due time, gets scholarship and ends up </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">getting a good job! He becomes busy with his work, neglects his father by not visiting him during the vacation. In few months, his father passes </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">away. The boy visits the home then and gets to see a different side of his father (Dont worry, his father is not a CIA/FBI agent, as we most often see </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">in movies). I have shared the video link below for you to watch. </span><br />
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ieg9MkNR3X8" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: left;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ieg9MkNR3X8</a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I will leave it to you to watch the remaining part of the story. IT IS WORTH THE TIME TO WATCH! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As I watched the video, I had a couple of realizations. Most often we are so busy with our own concerns and problems in our life, that we wonder why a</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">rent we happy or why arent we getting rich. We are fully immersed in multitudes of problems in our life. But the secret of being rich, is not about </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">having a big balance account in the bank, or owning a huge villa. Coz, at the end of the day, you would still want to have more, earn more. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6wRyQgsBC1S2DkisZfIjPBY6EPRearlIAXl08S0bHAPgHtAtUY6mtkDgK4Oarx5JnyvoKpfxQsNIgDETHl2vgDEyxGAez-tgvNtpajnVE_QJixJMA9UWiHVTkSgnztXWaq1ji6Td6Yn5n/s1600/Being-the-richest-man-in-the-cemetery-doesnt-matter-to-me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6wRyQgsBC1S2DkisZfIjPBY6EPRearlIAXl08S0bHAPgHtAtUY6mtkDgK4Oarx5JnyvoKpfxQsNIgDETHl2vgDEyxGAez-tgvNtpajnVE_QJixJMA9UWiHVTkSgnztXWaq1ji6Td6Yn5n/s1600/Being-the-richest-man-in-the-cemetery-doesnt-matter-to-me.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">moment one starts thinking about someone's else happiness, doing something however small to bring a smile to other person life, there is a completely </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">new world waiting to be discovered. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Just try doing any of the following today! </span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Make someone feel better about themselves (Because you will feel better about yourself at the end)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Making someone belief in their dreams (Coz your belief in your dreams will become much stronger)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Making someone's hope come alive (Coz your light of hope will never fade)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Bring a smile to someone or (Coz you will remain smiling always)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Appreciate someone for their goodness. (Coz your good deed will be appreciated for eternity) </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Call it law of karma, law of universe or the SECRET working in your favor. Irrespective of what you believe in, when you truly take a step forward to </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">help someone else by overlooking your own problems or concerns, that's when LIFE gives you much more than what you can imagine! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Imagine a world where people respect you genuinely, love you and truly care for your well being! Imagine a place where your one simple action impacts </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">someone's life so much that you are remembered forever. Imagine leaving a legacy behind where you are good deeds continue to touch and make others live </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">their life for better. That is in the truest sense, being RICH. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">All</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> you need to do is one simple stuff. Dont bother about how much you have, just give. Because at the end of the day, being rich is not about how </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">much you have, but about how much you give. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>P.S:</b> Thank you Preeti and Vardhinee for reminding me often to re-start my blog writing. Your insistence helped in me overcoming my laxness. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As a extra note to the article, something interesting happened, which Iam sharing here. When i finished writing the article for the first time. I had </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">fully written the article and had pasted it to the blog post, when suddenly my laptop got switched off. (it keeps switching off, arbitrarily). I </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">restarted the system only to find my entire article disappear! I had written in a unsaved notepad, so it wasnt there and neither was it saved in the </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">blog post draft. I had with great difficulty overcome my lazyness to write an article, and when I finished writing it, I found to my dismay that it </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">had fully vanished. A part of me said 'it already late, go to sleep, you can write the article later, but another part of me said "if i dont write </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">the article now, possibly, I may become lazy & not write the article for a long time. So, i sat back and again wrote the article for 30 minutes and </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">published it again. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The reason why Iam sharing this here, is to just remind my lovely readers that whenever you decide to change for the better, YOU </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">WILL BE met with unforeseen challenges or troubles and you will be tempted to give up! My only request to you is not to GIVE UP! Just continue trodding </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">an extra few steps, you will reach your destination. May the force be with you :) </span></div>
Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778447007242415497.post-91559436202881619682013-12-02T11:53:00.001-08:002013-12-03T17:48:31.098-08:00Five Insights from my Full Marathon Experience<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You don't know what you can do till you try. 2
years back, 5 km Marathon looked like a monumental step for me. I remember vividly the first 5 km marathon
which I ran in 2011. Tired to the core after stretching myself to the limit to
complete 5km, I thought I had done it. Then the 10km happened. Then the 21 km.
After completing 21 km twice, finally, I mustered the courage to try out a full
marathon. 42.198 km. and it happened at the Wipro Chennai Marathon event, which
became the 2<sup>nd</sup> most happening Marathon events in India after
garnering 10000 runners, after the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I
completed it in 7 hours & 20 minutes. Comparing it with other full marathon
runners, the timing is ridiculously long enough to consider it as an
achievement. But considering the fact that after running for 22km, I got knee
pain and blisters in feet, & hence had to walk the remaining 20km, it’s
amazing in one way, because I never fainted ;) On a serious note, during the
run, I gained some insights which are very much applicable and relevant to our
day today lives. I hope this post will help you get few insights of your own. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: yellow;">1. It’s all in your mind:</span></b></h3>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: yellow;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ideally, for a full marathon, a minimum of 6 weeks of
training is recommended. So to get your muscles used to the full rigor. In my
case, I had recovered from a viral fever 3 weeks back & was held up with
few personal commitments to get the required time to practice for 6 weeks. By
the time, I realized that I had to start practicing, it was just 1 week ahead
for the marathon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8XJkc0cOH-W2QEYlqbFNGs6MYAHAPCxpNbKEMRpEl8DVwOzFIR-oN_hje4HsvwhBfqr2am6b1YyniYpsY2JZ5356sN6SLfBHb7QUXPu8SndWSbsEF5YTfvfkxMrcXL4Uo9nvPERbTmelJ/s1600/mpossible.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8XJkc0cOH-W2QEYlqbFNGs6MYAHAPCxpNbKEMRpEl8DVwOzFIR-oN_hje4HsvwhBfqr2am6b1YyniYpsY2JZ5356sN6SLfBHb7QUXPu8SndWSbsEF5YTfvfkxMrcXL4Uo9nvPERbTmelJ/s200/mpossible.jpg" width="132" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Still, with some exercises & practices in the last 1
week, I was set for the marathon. I realized that it mostly is a mind thing.
Definitely, the practice helps, but more than the practice, its what you decide
in your mind. My colleague Bala A had attempted 21Km as his first marathon and was able to complete it, without much of a practice. Iam not advocating
running without any practice (you may not be that lucky ;)) but the point is,
if you think you can do it, you will do it. Period. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In our lives too, let it be your goals, ambitions, desires,
what you think in your mind, plays a big thing. No matter where you are, what
you are, how you are, just BELIEVE that you can do, whatever you desire to do.
In due time, you will achieve what you set out to do. Just realize it & leverage
it, after all,<b> It’s all in your mind. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: yellow;">2. Relax, It’s your race to run:</span></b></h3>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: yellow;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When running the race, I saw people running faster than me, running
far better than me. Sometimes, it was disappointing to see, how badly I was
faring when compared to rest of the folks who were doing a much better job. But
gradually, it dawned on me, that it was my marathon to run and I needn’t worry
myself about how others were running the marathon. Others may have had a better
(or less) practice, better (or none) accessories, may be running their 5<sup>th</sup>,
10<sup>th</sup> (or 1<sup>st</sup>) marathon. Due to the knee pain and blisters, I was
walking (mind it, not running) at a speed which would have made a tortoise
speed look awesome! All this lead to a timing of 7 hour 20 minutes (Gosh, feels
so embarrassing to say this long time!), and I was feeling bad over it, with
every passing minute. But then the truth dawned. “So What?” Only, when I
realized that it was my marathon to run & I can run it in any way, without
any pressure or comparisons, I became relieved & tried to enjoy the run. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Similarly in life, as long as we are concerned about what
others have, what others make, wear, speak, do, you will never be able to focus
on the most important stuff, i.e YOU. You will just continue to waste your
energy, time and effort living your life, the way you think, others expect
from you. It’s other life, they are living it their way. You have a life to
live, live it your way. What others are and do is none of your concern, what you are and do is everything for your concern.
So, friend, <b>Relax, it’s your race to
run. <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: yellow;">3. There are some things you can never be
prepared for:</span></b></h3>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: yellow;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I had kept a target time of 6 hours to complete the Marathon
but I never anticipated the knee pain & blisters to occur. It had come few
times before, but after running at Gym for 2-3 days, the knee pain had
subsided. I thought it wouldn’t come. Similarly, it had started raining cats
& dogs, shortly after the Marathon began. No matter, how much I had
practiced before (though, I hadn’t done much practice), I could never have
practiced with a knee pain or blisters. Likewise, the unexpected down pour of
rain. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The point is, in our lives too, we can’t be prepared for few
things. No matter, how cautious or well planned you are, you will always be hit
by the unexpected in life. The question then is, what do you do then? When it
happens, it helps to laugh at life’s unexpected twist & say to Life “You
know what, I expected the unexpected”. Trust me, it helps quite a lot to know “<b>There are some things you can never be
prepared for”</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: yellow;">4. You can’t do it alone:</span></b></h3>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: yellow;"><br /></span></b></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After I had completed 24km, I met another runner (Ezhil
Kumar) who was walking at a similar pace. Gradually we struck conversation and I got to know that even he had got blisters in his feet, due to which he wasn’t
able to run or jog at all. It was his 3<sup>rd</sup> marathon and he
considered it as the worst, coz of the unexpected rain and the pain. Still, we managed to walk on. Many times,
either he or I wanted to sit down for a while, take some rest but then, we
continued to encourage and push each one to move on, one step at a time. In
due time, both of us completed our Marathons, with our continued support to
each other playing a crucial role in
helping us complete it. Likewise, 2 of my colleagues Nageshwar Sahu & Narita
Kumari who had run 10km and 21km respectively, were waiting for me at the end
to complete my race. A senior leader (Venky)
in my company, who is an avid runner, had shared some tips and wished me luck
for the race. Few colleagues (Dharma, Uma, Sahu, Narita) had even called during
the race to check if I was doing all right. Similarly, the encouragement said
by the volunteers at the aid station, was very helpful. Such support played an
immense role in ensuring that I complete the marathon at any cost. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I realized that no matter what we do, achieve in life, it wouldn’t
be possible; without others support and encouragement. It doesn’t mean, one
cant do anything by himself. The initiative certainly has to be taken by
someone, but in due course, unless you have someone to support you, to motivate
you, to mentor you, to believe in you, <b>you
can’t do it alone. <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: yellow;">5. Your actions have a meaning: </span><o:p></o:p></b></span></h3>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: yellow;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Finally, after completion of the race, when the news spread
to my colleagues, friends, they all congratulated me and celebrated it
as if it was their own achievement. It was so touching to see that. Some even
said that my act was an inspiration to them, to try out something new. Looking
at it, I realized that what we do every-day, knowingly or un-knowingly makes a
big difference in someone’s lives. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We may keep speaking about stuff to be done
but in the end, what we do, what others see us do, makes a big difference. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqv5BMyTsIKYm4_2p1YDzdOX0eUTrQvs4AQWqT1Sxg0YkWn05wQg9UI1IK4_gSMsZjl9Y-GUrNEYSxgKbjItUPXxMup3Yt-RLtH_40DUHHxPIdKXNsE6i5WexXLSj2a9faJ9yIfAKy61Q/s1600/mLimits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqv5BMyTsIKYm4_2p1YDzdOX0eUTrQvs4AQWqT1Sxg0YkWn05wQg9UI1IK4_gSMsZjl9Y-GUrNEYSxgKbjItUPXxMup3Yt-RLtH_40DUHHxPIdKXNsE6i5WexXLSj2a9faJ9yIfAKy61Q/s200/mLimits.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In our daily lives, in the different roles that we don, a
father, son, friend, brother, colleague, manager; everything we do, will impact
someone’s lives in some way. A caring word, a shoulder to cry, a small support,
may have impact, far beyond anyone’s imagination. We may or may not attach any
meaning to it, but chances are that others might make BIG sense of your
actions. So, friends, bottom line, whatever you do, think once before you say
or do something, because way beyond your imaginations, <b>your actions have a meaning<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That brings me to the end of the post. Hope, you found the
post useful in some-way. Before I end the post, I have a small request to you.
If you haven’t tried running marathon yet, its time you give it a shot. Start
with 5km or 10km, depending upon your appetite, believe me, the experience is
truly mind boggling and elevating. Apart from the health benefits, you will
do yourself a world of favor, by adopting a habit, which will give you
memorable memories for a LONG RUN. :)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For those planning to take part in the upcoming Marathons,
here are the details of the next eagerly awaited ones: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Dawn to Dusk (in Jan):</b> <span style="color: lime;"><a href="http://eventjini.com/dawntodusk">http://eventjini.com/dawntodusk</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Auroville Marathon (in Feb):</b> <a href="http://marathon.auroville.com/"><span style="color: lime;">http://marathon.auroville.com/</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As a closing note, I would like to thank my Mom, my sister
Chinth Nidhi, Sahu, Narita, Venky, Vikramadhetan (my 10<sup>th</sup> school
batchmate, who I got to know recently & who is an avid runner), David,
Dharma, Uma (BACI Team Aspire members), Ezhil Kumar, Harish Raichandani
(facilitator who completed his dream of full marathon at the age of 50 and whose marathon experience was a morale booster) for their support and encouragement in helping me complete my FULL Marathon. Also, thanks to my BACI Toastmaster friends for their hearty wishes. :)</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778447007242415497.post-53311593195390505532012-10-24T10:35:00.000-07:002012-10-24T21:23:20.084-07:00The Advent of my Toastmaster Journey<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="Default">
Few years back, I had got to know about Toastmasters International.
For those who havent heard about Toastmasters, Toastmasters International is a
non-profit organization which provides a wonderful platform where each member
will get an opportunity to improve their communication and leadership skills. I
didn’t do much about it until recently when I begin to play a role in the
Toastmasters. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglI-6Xt08xORhOoyVTt-8h-SmlteyNrf_Sbns-DAMDWbvoe3v6s4EXGjo0epjIPPi9MwVpqw1s0qWlPyajQ4lEP9JK4vCrYSKarpWjtZQZyetnMdN22FJKsw3UnJ1M564Sy7Gxhg0adaTr/s1600/ToastmastersLogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglI-6Xt08xORhOoyVTt-8h-SmlteyNrf_Sbns-DAMDWbvoe3v6s4EXGjo0epjIPPi9MwVpqw1s0qWlPyajQ4lEP9JK4vCrYSKarpWjtZQZyetnMdN22FJKsw3UnJ1M564Sy7Gxhg0adaTr/s200/ToastmastersLogo.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="Default">
We have started a Toastmaster chapter in our company, called the
BACI SilverTongue Toastmasters club. In-spite of a short period of time, we are
into a full sprint mode now. As a registered member, each of the members is
supposed to complete 10 projects, at the end they will be recognized as
Competent Communicator. 2 weeks back, I did my first project – CC2. I have
shared below, the topic which I had spoken about. My colleague Balaji also had
given his first project speech – CC1, which is providing an ‘Ice Breaker’ session
– basically introducing himself to the audience. Another colleague, Nageshwar Sahu, a
very capable Toastmaster himself, had helped us </div>
<div class="Default">
practice the speech 3-4 times
& refine it. Thanks Nagesh for your help <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span>. Now, over to the speech…</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> **********************************************************************</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="color: orange; margin-left: -9pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Project
CC2: B/G Friend</span></u></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">How
many of you think that understanding women is difficult? Can you please raise
your hands?? Thank you but unfortunately I don’t buy that thought. I think it
is easy to understand women. The reason being two of the most beautiful
relationship which I have with two women in my life, namely with my mom &
sister. I have never felt that I couldn’t understand them & Iam able to
modify my behavior accordingly to make them happy. Hence, I found it curious
when one of my friend came to me & complained – ‘It is so difficult to
understand girls’. He had a book with him called ‘Men are from Mars, Women are
from Venus’. The book was supposed to help him understand more about women’s
way of thinking. I said to him – Buddy, why don’t you directly start
interacting with girls & then try to understand them, instead of learning
it from a book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My friend being a bookworm
replied back – I find books to be a better company than the girls. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, it triggered my thought process on how I
can convince my friend in his language. Taking books & girls as comparison,
bring out the similarity. That’s what Iam going to share my thoughts on B/G
friend – Book/Girl friend. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">As
the quote goes, never judge a book by its cover. There are certain small books
hardly 100-150 pages, but the amount of impact it can make in your life is of
big magnitude.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the same time, there
are certain books which are bulky, good looking to quote one – Emperor of
maladies; the cover is beautifully decorated, looks nice, but believe me once
you see the first page, it will be like as if your entire physics, chemistry of
your 12<sup>th</sup> standard has been crammed in the first page. What I mean
to say is that you will not understand a single word (for a leisure reading).
Similarly, Iam sure you will agree if I say that don’t judge a girl by her
appearance. I needn’t talk more on that, still what really matters is what’s
inside the girl rather than her external appearance. That’s true for both girls
& books.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Last month, I & my friend had
visited the Landmark center to look at new arrivals. As I looked at different
books, I couldn’t help wonder that there were so many different genres of books
lined up. Fiction, literature, management, psychology, philosophical, spiritual
etc. They induce so many different emotions in their readers. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Similarly, when you are with your girl friend,
they have a mesmerizing power to induce so many different emotions in you. They
leave you happy, sad, excited, confused, surprised, devastated, the last two
being more often. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Books have an ability to stretch your
frontiers of knowledge & make you a learned man. It is said that the more
you read, the more you become knowledgeable. At crucial times in our life,
certain books can motivate, inspire us to stretch ourselves & strive for
success. Like the heroine in the movie, Singaam, where she gives a pep-talk to
the hero, who then goes ahead to bash the villains, girl friends can motivate
someone to be a better man & attain a bigger goal in life. Though you don’t
have a choice in terms of listening to the uninterrupted flow of advice,
sometimes, it does benefit you in a big way.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Another similarity which a book &
girl friend has is in terms of their universal impact on the society.
Confused?? Let me explain. Books by virtue of increasing knowledge in the
society, contributes to the GKP, which is Gross Knowledge Product, which is the
collective intellectual capital of its citizens, where as girl friends by
virtue of their consistent shopping ensures they provide good livelihood to the
shop keepers, there by contributing to the GDP, Gross Domestic Product of the
nation.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Two men were having a conversation. One
man said to the other – I become a millionaire after my marriage. The second
man remarked – Wow, seems your wife has brought you loads of luck. The first
man replied – I was a billionaire before marriage. Now, a book can teach you
how to save money, but only a girl friend can teach you how to spend the saved
money!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Finally, to put things in perspective,
reading books is like a hobby, which endures for a long time. Having a girl
friend is like having an interest, which is more a short term. It doesn’t
matter if you have an interest or a hobby, what matters more is what you do
with it & whether you make it a permanent part of your life. That is true both
in case of books as well as girl friends. Stay open to learning, and both books
& girl friend can positively influence your life for the better. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Thank you!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> **********************************************************************</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Dear friends & readers, if there is one good thing
which you can do for yourself, that would be this. Join a Toastmaster community
nearer to your living place. Though, I have started the journey very recently,
being a wise man (as Iam) I can understand the significance of +ve impact,
which TM can make in your life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Hoping that I would be sharing more insights from my TM journey in this
blog, & hoping that I also get to hear about your TM journey too.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">God Speed & May the power be with you! </span></div>
</div>
Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778447007242415497.post-53797484380164996202012-10-03T12:12:00.003-07:002012-10-03T12:25:59.876-07:00When the Gods said ‘Oh My God’<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Disclaimer:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was inspired to write this post after a
long hiatus. Initially I was skeptical about writing the post as I wasn’t sure
to what extent this would be helpful to others. But eventually, I went with my
gut feeling on expressing my thoughts lest someone finds it helpful. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just in case you don’t find it useful, don’t blame
me. My disclaimer is that I have pre-warned you. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Three things are sanctimonious in India. Religion, Politics and Cricket. Anyone having different belief or thought against the wildly
held belief on any of these three will be straightway declared as rebellious
misfits in a best scenario to outright madmen in the worst case scenario.
Hence, anyone courageous enough to touch on any of these subjects could be
labeled a misfit or madmen, depending upon his good deeds in his ‘Purnajanam’
(last birth). Rarely there comes a movie which deals with the subject of religion and manages to convince people in terms of driving across its message. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh My God (OMG) is one such movie. I loved OMG
not only for the entertaining dramatized script but also due to its direct take on
the way religion is blindly followed by people. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s about the journey of a protagonist from being a non believer
to a believer in God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paresh Rawal has
done an awesome job of donning the protagonist role of Kanshi, who is a
businessman who sells God idols in his shop and tells far-fetched tales to
sell his idols, the ones which we hear in Haridwar, Rishikesh. He considers the God idols just as stone pieces and tells white lies to lure unsuspecting customers to buy his goods, who completely fall for his trap.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To keep it short, a small earthquake destroys only his shop.
He approaches the insurance to claim the damage amount, who tells him that
earthquake being an act of god, doesn’t fall under the claims. Having no other
option to get funds to save his collateralized home, he files a case against
God accusing him of intentionally destroying his shop and seeks compensation
for that. The Godmen, being salesmen agent’ of God represent and fight the
case on God’s behalf. What follows is a funny account of how the media, society
ridiculing the insanity of Kanshi, later start supporting him in his case.
Also, enters Akshay Kumar as God Kanhaiya who stays with him and supports him
towards the end, making him realize that there exists God, not in the sense
people think and worship him, but in a different way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This article is not a movie review of OMG; rather it’s the sharing
of my main learning’s in the movie. These are my own personal opinions and;
not intended to hurt anyone sentiments or religious belief. [But if you still
insist on getting hurt after reading some of my views, by all means be hurt.
After-all, we live in a democratic country]</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTYJt92bdfi13x_9TnIQ2GTASpljshfAAsQGnzFgLroHOORywuFIWgf81bDZP0ujzg3XEi5oubHlo1bXQDDI9cPwg32CKX3uIXoQ_sGREa4XYwnFlbYI7Oyn2ok3ReqHrM3pfogaMOU_zk/s1600/oh-my-god.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTYJt92bdfi13x_9TnIQ2GTASpljshfAAsQGnzFgLroHOORywuFIWgf81bDZP0ujzg3XEi5oubHlo1bXQDDI9cPwg32CKX3uIXoQ_sGREa4XYwnFlbYI7Oyn2ok3ReqHrM3pfogaMOU_zk/s320/oh-my-god.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the movie, Kanshi argues in the court that the beggars
outside the temple aren’t allowed inside and they go hungry, but there is a
big line of devotees waiting to do ‘Pal Abhishekam’ [Bathing God’s idol with
Milk]. My major contention is with the wastage of gallons of milk, oil used for
the Puja’s and God preparations, which could be used to feed the poor and the
hungry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add on to it the temple entry
charges, special ‘darshan’ tickets; it seems to be one of the most profitable businesses
next to politics. As Kanshi says in the movie, this is the only business whose
growth rate doubles during recession. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The other point which is beautifully captured in the movie
is about the role of Godmen, the self proclaimed messengers of the Almighty and who claim to know the right way to worship God. Some Godmen have moved
onto the next level. They proclaim themselves as the God’s avatar and bless devotees
prostrating at their feet asking for their blessings. What madness. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>People who believe in Godmen, falling for their magic acts can think about what Akshay donning the role of Krishna says in the movie "Mein Kishan hoo, isliye Chamatkaar karta hoon. Mein Chamatkar karta hoon, isliye Kishan nahi hoon. [Iam Lord Krishna & hence i can do miracles, I do miracles but that doesnt makes on Lord Krishna]<br />
<br />
My take is that if you want God, you need to
look within, because God is in everyone, he is everywhere. Instead of blindly
following and prostrating before Godmen who become rich with your money and dictate to you how and when to worship God. As Kanshi says, they have copyrighted
God who is available to all. For instance, a saint in the movie says that Sai Baba of Shirdi<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>died<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>with lack of water and oil with not
much followers. But post his death, people found a way to worship him and collect
crores of money to run a trust in his name, thus making the trust owners
wealthy. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have much respect for the belief people have in God. I too
believe that God exist but he doesn’t exist only in temples. He is omnipresent.
But sometimes in times of despair or unfavorable situations, I have found
myself turning to an entity called ‘God’ and blame him for the unfavorable
circumstances and asking him to help me out. As if, crying and petitioning will work out. On introspection, I have realized that I have done that mostly
because I want to shift my accountability to him, so to feel pity for myself and have less guilty about ‘projecting an image’ of helplessness. I don't intend to say don't reach out to God. We certainly need the support of the superpower to help us wade through the crisis, but what is required at the crisis time is undying faith and a positive belief that things will turn out well, rather than visiting temples and giving chunks of money as donations and expect things to turn better.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just to bring a scientific angle, which I felt could have been
dealt in the movie but was surprisingly missed out, I believe the reason why our
prayers are answered is that because of our earnest belief to make something
happen and due to the power of our sincere thoughts behind it. As someone – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“When you truly want something to happen,
the whole universe conspires to help you achieve it.”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s your earnest desire which makes thing
happen, rather than God sitting in his office who keeps approving or
disapproving your applications request. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My sincere appeal to my fellow friends who are die hard
theist are - If you spend Rs.1000 towards temple visits and puja’s, please
spend at least 10% of that amount for feeding a poor person. Just in case, if
you are able to spend the entire Rs.1000 in feeding or helping a needy person,
Iam sure you will meet or experience God in real life. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Diving a little into spirituality, wise people have said
that everyone is a God. There is a Tamil song whose lyrics goes like ‘Manidhan
enbavan deivam aagalam’ (Man can become God) and goes on to share ways in
which a human can become God through his deeds, hence everyone is God. Even
actor Kamal Hassan says the same in his movie ‘Anbe Sivam’ where he says ‘Love
for Humanity is equal to God’. When a stranger helped you in times of distress,
they were being a God. When a teacher motivates or inspires a child to aspire
for the best in his/her life, the teacher is being a God to the child. When
your friend gives you a helping hand in difficult moments, he is being a God
for you. Every-time we are helping a needy person, we are representing the God
through us, through our actions. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the climax, when people realize the true nature of the Godmen and they had to run away to save themselves, one Godmen makes this comment to Kanshi. <i>"People are <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">God fearing and not God loving. </b>Hence,
no matter what the awareness, eventually they will seek asylum in the temple
because that is how weak they are." </i> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I can only hope and pray that even if we
continue to visit temples, we continue seeking God through our actions, by being a
Samaritan first, Devotee later. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a said before, if you are an Atheist, this is a good to
watch movie. You will love it as it reinforces many of your beliefs. If you are
a Theist, this is a MUST watch movie as you will have an opportunity to
experience the way real GOD exist among us. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That's all I had to share about the movie. I hope you found something useful in the post. I would like to hear your opinion too about the movie and your beliefs. Look forward to hear your thoughts. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
God speed to all in our journey of life. </div>
</div>
Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778447007242415497.post-64691030365188196192012-07-15T11:36:00.001-07:002012-07-15T11:37:09.207-07:00Insights from Half Marathon Experience<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
To set context, a group called Dream Runners had organized a
Half Marathon at Elliot’s Beach. It had 2 categories: 21km & 11 km
Marathon. My colleague Swami had enrolled for it & he asked if I would be
interested. Being someone who relishes new challenges, I was quite eager to
take it up. Few of my college friends
are active Marathon runners & seeing their Facebook updates definitely serves
as an motivation. So, both of us signed for the 11 km run. I know that for
Marathon Pro’s – 11km will seem like a baby step, yet for me it was
significant, considering this was my first participation in an independent
event. The runner finishers were to be given certificate, a medal & a
T-shirt. While, I experienced the Marathon today, I realized few insights which
are very much relevant in our day to-day lives. I have shared 3 insights here
& hope that as you think over it, you may decide to empower your life by
following those insights.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3qJFVXFAKbKEV9gwy_ZiuYap58uUaaFzgNZZJO8Ei_gQ5zv4swa_mX6X9mZxom3_mp7IKV2VSSvT_WwaBctF5qh9BLC5hQ8mwFd8wgo01IdyrTwUA3wsi_6frJmu4RGCs5se6AJyc4tJl/s1600/timthumb.php.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3qJFVXFAKbKEV9gwy_ZiuYap58uUaaFzgNZZJO8Ei_gQ5zv4swa_mX6X9mZxom3_mp7IKV2VSSvT_WwaBctF5qh9BLC5hQ8mwFd8wgo01IdyrTwUA3wsi_6frJmu4RGCs5se6AJyc4tJl/s1600/timthumb.php.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Barriers are self imposed</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most of the barriers be it physical, mental which we have in
life are self imposed. Be it be health, money, relationship, career, whatever be
the case, most of them are often self imposed. To give an instance, I have
never run a 10 km run. The maximum distance which I have run once or twice is
5km, which I run in the gym treadmill. So, when I signed on for the 10 km run,
the anxiety was indeed there, if I would be able to complete the race as the
distance would be almost double. Yet, I kept on affirming to myself that I would
be able to complete it. It may not be easy but certainly not impossible. Just
by positive affirmation, I wasn’t surprised when I was able to complete the race
(with extra effort) but also finish it in 1 hour & 10 minutes. I wonder if I would
have been able to do the same, if I had second thoughts or an attitude that I wouldn’t
be able to run 10 kms, because I have never done it. The case is same with many
things in our life. Be it a good job, a rich financial life, achieving our
goals, a lot of it depends upon how we look at it, and what we tell ourselves
in terms of achieving it. Just remember, you have unlimited freedom to achieve anything
you want, only if you realize that the so-called barriers which you foresee is
often self-imposed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2. Age is not a limit</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
This was a surprising observation which I had during the
race. While running the 11km run, I saw that most of the 21km half marathon runners
were aged greater than 40. Similarly, under 11km race, there was a small kid
(hardly aged 10) & 2-3 elderly people (age greater than 55) who completed
the race. Again, this relates to our mental labeling that one needs to be young
to do things or with older age we can’t do many things. The sad part is we
impose this attitude on our-self & stop doing stuff which we enjoy, quoting
age as a factor. Colonel Sanders was 60 years old when he had founded KFC. You never
know what music you have got, hence break whatever age limitation you
have about yourself & go out pursue what you like doing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3. Take it one step at a time</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The secret to complete a Marathon is to focus on taking one
step at a time. Thinking about the entire race route would not only be over
bearing, it will also tire you out mentally. The ones who run slowly at a
steady pace will be able to successfully complete the race. The same holds true
for most things in our life. Whatever goals which you have set for yourself
(assuming you have set any) can be accomplished, if it is followed by a plan of
action, executed one at a time. Thinking about a having 2 crores in your retirement
fund 30 years later will seem to be unrealistic, yet the same could be achieved
by saving money systematically every month. Thinking about becoming a company
CEO 20 years down the line may seem challenging but the same will happen, if
you invest your current time in training
yourself & developing the talents required to be successful as a CEO. Any goal
in your life is achievable if backed with a good plan & an unwavering focus
on completing one step at a time. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I hope you found the insights useful & you reconsider your
current mental attitude to see if you are allowing any of it to hold yourself
back. Iam sure that there is a whole
world of magic waiting to be unfolded in your life. As for me, I look forward
eagerly to participate in the next 21km run. Do let me know, if you are aware
of anything that happens in Chennai. </div>
</div>Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778447007242415497.post-21577068720148602792012-06-02T23:37:00.003-07:002012-06-02T23:37:43.398-07:00Paths Are Made By Walking - A Touching Read<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A saying goes 'The best of things are always found in the simplest things'. It's surprising that as we grow, we tend to forget about the simple things which really gives us happiness. Some of my favorite speeches include that of Steve Jobs speech, the Last Lecture which has touched many people just by the simplicity of their message.Recently, i had read a graduation speech by Nipun Mehta, and was touched by the simple message it share. I have shared the entire transcript of the speech below for your benefit. Iam sure you would be touched too. Happy reading!<br />
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<div>
<strong><em>[Offbeat Graduation Speech Gets Standing Ovation:</em></strong> <em><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2012's
Baccalaureate speaker at the University of Pennsylvania was an
unconventional choice for an Ivy League school. To address their
newly-minted graduates, aspiring to dazzling careers, they picked a man
who has never in his adult life, applied for a job. A man who hasn't
worked for pay in nearly a decade, and whose self-stated mission is
simply "to bring smiles to the world and stillness to my heart". This
off-the-radar speaker launched his address with a startling piece of
advice. Following up with four key insights gleaned from a radical 1000
km walking pilgrimage through the villages of India. As he closed his
one-of-a-kind Graduation Day speech, the sea of cap and gowned students
rose to their feet for a standing ovation. What follows is the full
transcript of the talk by Nipun Mehta. --DailyGood Editors]</span></em></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<img alt="" src="http://www.dailygood.org/images/home/350/upload/5036.jpg?951" style="border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; float: right; height: 194px; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 7px; margin-top: 7px; width: 350px;" />Thank
you to my distinguished friends, President Amy Gutmann, Provost Vincent
Price and Rev. Charles Howard for inviting me to share a few
reflections on this joyous occasion. It is an honor and privilege to
congratulate you -- UPenn’s class of 2012. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Right now each one of you is sitting on the runway of life primed for
takeoff. You are some of the world's most gifted, elite, and driven
college graduates – and you are undeniably ready to fly. So what I’m
about to say next may sound a bit crazy. I want to urge you, not to
fly, but to – <em>walk</em>. Four years ago, you walked into this
marvelous laboratory of higher learning. Today, heads held high, you
walk to receive your diplomas. Tomorrow, you will walk into a world of
infinite possibilities. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
But walking, in our high-speed world, has unfortunately fallen out of
favor. The word “pedestrian” itself is used to describe something
ordinary and commonplace. Yet, walking with intention has deep roots.
Australia's aboriginal youth go on walkabouts as a rite of passage;
Native American tribes conduct vision quests in the wilderness; in
Europe, for centuries, people have walked the Camino de Santiago, which
spans the breadth of Spain. Such pilgrims place one foot firmly in
front of the other, to fall in step with the rhythms of the universe and
the cadence of their own hearts. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Back in 2005, six months into our marriage, my wife and I decided to
“step it up” ourselves and go on a walking pilgrimage. At the peak of
our efforts with <a href="http://www.servicespace.org/">ServiceSpace</a>,
we wondered if we had the capacity to put aside our worldly success and
seek higher truths. Have you ever thought of something and then just
known that it <em>had</em> to happen? It was one of those things. So we
sold all our major belongings, and bought a one-way ticket to India.
Our plan was to head to Mahatma Gandhi’s ashram, since he had always
been an inspiration to us, and then walk South. Between the two of us,
we budgeted a dollar a day, mostly for incidentals -- which meant that
for our survival we had to depend utterly on the kindness of strangers.
We ate whatever food was offered and slept wherever place was offered. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Now, I do have to say, such ideas come with a warning: do <em>not</em> try this at home, because your partner might not exactly welcome this kind of honeymoon. :-)</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
For us, this walk was a pilgrimage -- and our goal was simply to be in a
space larger than our egos, and to allow that compassion to guide us in
unscripted acts of service along the way. Stripped entirely of our
comfort zone and accustomed identities, could we still “keep it real”?
That was our challenge.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
We ended up walking 1000 kilometers over three months. In that period,
we encountered the very best and the very worst of human nature -- not
just in others, but also within <a href="http://nipun.charityfocus.org/blog.php?id=691">ourselves</a>.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Soon after we ended the pilgrimage, my uncle casually popped the
million dollar question at the dinner table: "So, Nipun, what did you
learn from this walk?" I didn't know where to begin. But quite
spontaneously, an acronym -- <strong>W-A-L-K</strong> -- came to mind, which encompassed the key <a href="http://nipun.charityfocus.org/blog.php?id=645">lessons</a>
we had learned, and continue to relearn, even to this day. As you
start the next phase of your journey, I want to share those nuggets with
the hope that it might illuminate your path in some small way too.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>The W in WALK stands for Witness. </strong> When you walk, you
quite literally see more. Your field of vision is nearly 180 degrees,
compared to 40 degrees when you’re traveling at 62 mph. Higher speeds
smudge our peripheral vision, whereas walking actually broadens your
canvas and dramatically shifts the objects of your attention. For
instance, on our pilgrimage, we would notice the sunrise everyday, and
how, at sunset, the birds would congregate for a little party of their
own. Instead of adding Facebook friends online, we were actually making
friends in person, often over a cup of hot “chai”. Life around us <a href="http://nipun.charityfocus.org/blog.php?id=595">came alive</a> in a new way. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
A walking pace is the speed of community. Where high speeds facilitate
separation, a slower pace gifts us an opportunity to commune. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
As we traversed rural India at the speed of a couple of miles per hour,
it became clear how much we could learn simply by bearing witness to
the villagers' way of life. Their entire mental model is different --
the multiplication of wants is replaced by the basic fulfillment of
human needs.When you are no longer preoccupied with asking for more and
more stuff; then you just take what is given and give what is taken.
Life is simple again. A farmer explained it to us this way: "You
cannot make the clouds rain more, you cannot make the sun shine less.
They are just nature's gifts -- take it or leave it." </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<img align="right" border="1" src="http://www.servicespace.org/inc/ckfinder/userfiles/images/dgood/village_women.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; margin: 2px 0 2px 2px;" width="250" />When the things around you are seen as gifts, they are no longer a means to an end; they are the means <em>and</em>
the end. And thus, a cow-herder will tend to his animals with the
compassion of a father, a village woman will wait 3 hours for a delayed
bus without a trace of anger, a child will spend countless hours
fascinated by stars in the galaxy, and finding his place in the vast
cosmos.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
So with today's modernized tools at your ready disposal, <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>don’t
let yourself zoom obliviously from point A to point B on the highways
of life; try walking the backroads of the world, where you will witness a
profoundly inextricable connection with all living things. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>The A in WALK stands for Accept. </strong> When walking in
this way, you place yourself in the palm of the universe, and face its
realities head on. We walked at the peak of summer, in merciless
temperatures hovering above 120 degrees. Sometimes we were hungry,
exhausted and even frustrated. Our bodies ached for just that extra
drink of water, a few more moments in the shade, or just that little
spark of human kindness. Many times we received that extra bit, and our
hearts would overflow with gratitude. But sometimes we were abruptly
refused, and we had to cultivate the capacity to accept the gifts hidden
in even the most challenging of moments.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
I remember one such day, when we approached a rest house along a barren
highway. As heavy trucks whizzed past, we saw a sign, announcing that
guests were hosted at no charge. “Ah, our lucky day,” we thought in
delight. I stepped inside eagerly. The man behind the desk looked up
and asked sharply, “Are you here to see the temple?” A simple yes from
my lips would have instantly granted us a full meal and a room for the
night. But it wouldn’t have been the truth. So instead, I said, “Well,
technically, no sir. We’re on a walking pilgrimage to become better
people. But we would be glad to visit the temple.” Rather abruptly, he
retorted: “Um, sorry, we can’t host you.” Something about his curt
arrogance triggered a slew of negative emotions. I wanted to make a
snide remark in return and slam the door on my way out. Instead, I held
my raging ego in check. In that state of physical and mental
exhaustion, it felt like a Herculean task-- but through the inner
turmoil a voice surfaced within, telling me to accept the reality of
this moment.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
There was a quiet metamorphosis in me. I humbly let go of my defenses,
accepted my fate that day, and turned to leave without a murmur.
Perhaps the man behind the counter sensed this shift in me, because he
yelled out just then, “So what exactly are you doing again?” After my
brief explanation he said, “Look, I can’t feed you or host you, because
rules are rules. But there are restrooms out in the back. You could
sleep outside the male restroom and your wife can sleep outside the
female restroom.” Though he was being kind, his offer felt like salt in
my wounds. We had no choice but to accept. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<img align="right" border="1" src="http://farm1.staticflickr.com/97/253455263_42865022e4_n.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; margin: 2px 0 2px 2px;" />That
day we fasted and that night, we slept by the bathrooms. A small lie
could’ve bought us an upgrade, but that would’ve been no pilgrimage. As
I went to sleep with a wall separating me from my wife, I had this
beautiful, unbidden vision of a couple climbing to the top of a mountain
from two different sides. Midway through this difficult ascent, as the
man contemplated giving up, a small sparrow flew by with this counsel,
“Don’t quit now, friend. Your wife is eager to see you at the top.” He
kept climbing. A few days later, when the wife found herself on the
brink of quitting, the little sparrow showed up with the same message.
Step by step, their love sustained their journey all the way to the
mountaintop. Visited by the timely grace of this vision, I shed a few
grateful tears -- and this story became a touchstone not only in our
relationship, but many other noble friendships as well.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
So I encourage you to cultivate equanimity and accept whatever life
tosses into your laps -- when you do that, you will be blessed with the
insight of an inner transformation that is yours to keep for all of
time.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>The L in WALK stands for Love.</strong> The more we learned
from nature, and built a kind of inner resilience to external
circumstances, the more we fell into our natural state -- which was to
be loving. In our dominant paradigm, Hollywood has insidiously co-opted
the word, but the love I’m talking about here is the kind of love that
only knows one thing -- to give with no strings attached. Purely.
Selflessly. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Most of us believe that to give, we first need to have something to
give. The trouble with that is, that when we are taking stock of what
we have, we almost always make accounting errors. Oscar Wilde once
quipped, “Now-a-days, people know the price of everything, but the value
of nothing.” We have forgotten how to value things without a price
tag. Hence, when we get to our most abundant gifts -- like attention,
insight, compassion -- we confuse their worth because they’re, well,
priceless. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
On our walking pilgrimage, we noticed that those who had the least were
most readily equipped to honor the priceless. In urban cities, the
people we encountered began with an unspoken wariness: “Why are you
doing this? What do you want from me?” In the <a href="http://nipun.charityfocus.org/blog.php?id=583">countryside</a>,
on the other hand, villagers almost always met us with an open-hearted
curiosity launching straight in with: “Hey buddy, you don’t look local.
What’s your story?” </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
In the villages, your worth wasn’t assessed by your business card,
professional network or your salary. That innate simplicity allowed them
to love life and cherish all its connections. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<img align="right" border="1" src="http://nipun.charityfocus.org/blog/images/india/udeshi1.jpg" style="border: 1px solid black; margin: 2px 0 2px 2px;" width="320" />Extremely poor villagers, who couldn’t even afford their own meals, would often <a href="http://nipun.charityfocus.org/blog.php?id=608">borrow food</a>
from their neighbors to feed us. When we tried to refuse, they would
simply explain: “To us, the guest is God. This is our offering to the
divine in you that connects us to each other.” Now, how could one
refuse that? Street <a href="http://nipun.charityfocus.org/blog.php?id=619">vendors</a>
often gifted us vegetables; in a very touching moment, an armless
fruit-seller once insisted on giving us a slice of watermelon.
Everyone, no matter how old, would be overjoyed to give us directions,
even when they weren’t fully sure of them. :) And I still remember the
woman who generously gave us water when we were extremely thirsty --
only to later discover that she had to walk 10 kilometers at 4AM to get
that one bucket of water. These people knew how to give, not because
they had a lot, but because they knew how to love life. They didn’t
need any credit or assurance that you would ever return to pay them
back. Rather, they just trusted in the pay-it-forward circle of giving.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
When you come alive in this way, you'll realize that true generosity doesn’t start when you have some <em>thing</em>
to give, but rather when there’s nothing in you that’s trying to take.
So I hope that you will make all your precious moments an expression of
loving life.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<strong>And lastly, the K in WALK stands for Know Thyself. </strong></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Sages have long informed us that when we serve others unconditionally,
we shift from the me-to-the-we and connect more deeply with the other.
That matrix of inter-connections allows for a profound quality of
mental quietude. Like a still lake undisturbed by waves or ripples, we
are then able to see clearly into who we are and how we can live in deep
harmony with the environment around us.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
When one foot walks, the other rests. Doing and being have to be in balance. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Our rational mind wants to rightfully ensure progress, but our
intuitive mind also needs space for the emergent, unknown and unplanned
to arise. Doing is certainly important, but when we aren't aware of
our internal ecosystem, we get so vested in our plans and actions, that
we don't notice the buildup of mental residue. Over time, that
unconscious internal noise starts polluting our motivations, our ethics
and our spirit. And so, it is critical to still the mind. A melody,
after all, can only be created with the silence in between the notes. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
As we walked -- witnessed, accepted, loved -- our vision of the world
indeed grew clearer. That clarity, paradoxically enough, <a href="http://nipun.charityfocus.org/blog.php?id=703">blurred</a>
our previous distinctions between me versus we, inner transformation
versus external impact, and selfishness versus selflessness. They were
inextricably connected. When a poor farmer gave me a tomato as a parting
gift, with tears rolling down his eyes, was I receiving or giving?
When sat for hours in silent meditation, was the benefit solely mine or
would it ripple out into the world? When I <a href="http://nipun.charityfocus.org/blog.php?id=641">lifted</a> the haystack off an old man's head and carried it for a kilometer, was I serving him or serving myself?</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Which is to say, don't just go through life -- grow through life. It
will be easy and tempting for you to arrive at reflexive answers -- but
make it a point, instead, to acknowledge mystery and welcome rich <a href="http://nipun.charityfocus.org/blog.php?id=747">questions</a> ... questions that nudge you towards a greater understanding of this world and your place in it.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
That’s W-A-L-K. And today, at this momentous milestone of your life,
you came in walking and you will go out walking. As you walk on into a
world that is increasingly aiming to move beyond the speed of thought, I
hope you will each remember the importance of traveling at the speed of
thoughtfulness. I hope that you will take time to witness our
magnificent interconnections. That you will accept the beautiful gifts
of life even when they aren’t pretty, that you will practice loving
selflessly and strive to know your deepest nature. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
I want to close with a story about my great grandfather. He was a man
of little wealth who still managed to give every single day of his life.
Each morning, he had a ritual of going on a walk -- and as he walked,
he diligently fed the ant hills along his path with small pinches of
wheat flour. Now that is an act of micro generosity so small that it
might seem utterly negligible, in the grand scheme of the universe. How
does it matter? It matters in that it changed him inside. And my
great grandfather's goodness shaped the worldview of my grandparents who
in turn influenced that of their children -- my parents. Today those
ants and the ant hills are gone, but my great grandpa’s spirit is very
much embedded in all my actions and their future ripples. It is
precisely these small, often invisible, acts of inner transformation
that mold the stuff of our being, and bend the arc of our shared
destiny. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
On your walk, today and always, I wish you the eyes to see the anthills and the heart to feed them with joy. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
May you be blessed. Change yourself -- change the world.</div>
<div>
**************************************************************************************** </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<i>This is a transcript of the Baccalaureate address to UPenn's
graduating class of 2012, delivered by Nipun Mehta. Nipun is the founder
of <a href="http://nipun.charityfocus.org/blog.php?id=583">ServiceSpace.org</a>, a nonprofit that works at the intersection of gift-economy, technology and volunteerism. His popular TED talk <a href="http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=3048">Designing for Generosity</a> provides an overview of their work and guiding principles.</i></div>
</div>Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778447007242415497.post-32326268461797882812012-05-27T18:55:00.003-07:002012-05-27T18:58:35.574-07:00The Cab Chronicles: Solving the Mystery of Women<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: small;"> ‘The heat is
increasing incessantly. How are you bearing it?’</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Don’t ask Karthik. This place is turning more into an oven
nowadays’, Arvind said wiping the perspiring sweat from his face. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘It’s time to start. Who are we waiting for still?’ exclaimed
Joseph. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Just then, Mani knocked at the cab door. He was talking on
his phone hence he opened the cab door & diligently dropped his bag in the
seat & went out again, continuing his phone conversation. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Now that’s what I call the marriage syndrome’, said Arvind.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘What’s that’, Joseph asked excitedly?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Well, you see the time after a person gets engaged, is the
happiest time’?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘For a person?’Joseph interjected.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘No, the telecom company’, sighed Arvind. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Karthik couldn’t hold back his laugh & said ‘Rightly
said so, Arvind.’</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Arvind continued. ‘Before getting engaged, work remains a
big part of the person’s life. After engagement, his phone becomes a big part
of his life. The amount of time on the phone increases accordingly, which gets
duly reflected in the phone bills. I saw Mani thrice today & on all the
occasions, I saw him talking on the phone’</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Yeah, telecom companies do everything at their disposal to
create avenues for people to come together, so to cash in on the emotions. I have a hunch that the months preceding the
time of the year when marriages happens most, would be the most profitable
quarter for the Telecom providers. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The driver entered the cab signaling we were ready to leave
now. Karthik signaled Mani to board the cab, who was busy walking to & fro
still lost in his phone conversation. It took a while to catch Mani’s
attention, but eventually he noticed & came back. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Sorry guys to keep you waiting. Just busy on a call’, said
Mani</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘No problem. Carry on’, said Karthik. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The cab started & the driver switched on the A/C which
provided a big relief to all. Since Mani was on the phone, the whole cab remained
silent.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Surprisingly, Mani wasn’t talking at all. I mean he wasn’t
speaking much. The two words which we heard were ‘Yes dear’, ‘No dear’ that too
used very infrequently. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Sometime just to break the monotony of the conversation,
Mani would speak up few other words such as ‘Uhmm’, ‘Yea yea’. The longest
sentence which he would have spoken was for 4 words. <i>‘Is it? Then fine’. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">After 20 minutes of conversing, Mani abruptly ended the call.
Joseph had dozed off listening to ‘Yes, No dear’. Karthik surprised by the
sudden end of the call asked ‘Is all well’, Mani?’ The end of lullaby (phone
conversation) seemed to have its effect on Joseph, who woke up. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">“All is well, Karthik, replied Mani. Why do you ask?’ </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘It seemed strange that you ended your phone abruptly after
what seemed to be an engrossing conversation’.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Oh, that. My phone charge is completely off’.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Oh I see. How are the marriage arrangements coming up?’</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Going on pretty well. A lot more stuff to finalize still,
so plenty of things at our hands. Even now, we were discussing about the printing
of marriage invitations’</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Ohh. That’s nice’, remarked Joseph wondering from which
angle would the conversation qualify as a discussion. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Yeah. We had a healthy discussion. She was sharing her
inputs on various things and I agreed with her’, said Mani.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Arvind, Karthik nodded in quiet agreements, as if
empathizing with Mani’s state. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">“So what happens after the marriage syndrome?” Do we have
any cure for that, asked Joseph.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Well, you see. It’s quite a paradox. The solution for
Marriage syndrome co-incidentally is Marriage itself’ replied Arvind. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘I don’t get it?’ Joseph asked quizzically. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Well, Joseph it’s like this. For anyone inflicted with
Marriage syndrome, it’s like a phase. The symptoms start withdrawing after
marriage. The amount of time spent on phone reduces till a point where you
would be happy to leave your phone. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘I agree. I feel that the amount of time spent on phone
before & after a marriage follows a bell curve distribution. Increasing until
a crest & then decreasing eventually to zero. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Is it?’, wondered Mani thinking which point of the bell
curve he was currently in. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Practically speaking, the marriage syndrome is meant to
help the guy and girl get to know each other. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">But nothing could be farther from
the truth’ remarked Karthik. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘I don’t think so. We get to know others the more we talk.
We identify each others interest, likes, dislikes etc. Don’t you think so?’ asked
Mani.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Well my boy, that’s the myth. One figures that it is normal
to understand someone after spending time with them, but in case of women, it’s
not applicable. I can say with experience that with woman, the longer the time
you spend with them, the harder it will be to understand them. Actually, this
topic is quite worthy of a PhD thesis. So much unexplored & undefined. The
fact that no man has solved the mystery yet, speaks of the insurmountable challenges
that lie ahead.’</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAAssYSU0zPLA4loEA01e9WeRvVmX_QgKNc2lsFWRGLt4uycEg6T7884KnqffjSe2_dTVRk-BxV6XSIfwe9FPQqJ32uTs39_X0IKZOvjnr6D1LrpJRHjzDjUDeEV-KAOoewPUSu3-jYXnO/s1600/cary-tennis-22-460x307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAAssYSU0zPLA4loEA01e9WeRvVmX_QgKNc2lsFWRGLt4uycEg6T7884KnqffjSe2_dTVRk-BxV6XSIfwe9FPQqJ32uTs39_X0IKZOvjnr6D1LrpJRHjzDjUDeEV-KAOoewPUSu3-jYXnO/s320/cary-tennis-22-460x307.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Why don’t you both share some insights from your experience
on ‘What to do & what not to do in a marriage, so as to avoid unhappiness
in life?’ asked Joseph. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘I hope we could do that. As is the case, the more you think
that you have solved it, the more you realize it’s unsolved. It’s complicated’,
Arvind said. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Maybe, but there may be some general insights which you
would know. At-least that will help us avoid the pain points’, Mani asked
eagerly. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Well, there may be few axioms which if followed to the
letter would help you avoid some amount of trouble. ‘ said Arvind donning the
sage mode ready to share his gyaan!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘So, what is that axiom’, asked Mani.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Remember the one & only most important axiom <i>‘She is always right’</i>. No matter what
the situation is, what the place, just keep this one thing in mind. She is
always right. Just agree with her & life will be ok for you. ‘ said Arvind. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘But, what if she had made some mistake & you need to
correct it?’ asked Joseph</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Well, God save the person who is courageous enough to point
a woman her mistake & moreover tell her what to do. That’s the quickest suicidal
way. Not only you earn the wrath of the woman for a lifetime, you end up being
the reason for every bad thing that happens. She will not rest until she has
earned her revenge. Keep that in mind’</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Uhmm’, Mani murmured wondering if has done anything like
that yet. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Don’t worry Mani, based on what we heard today, your conversing
style is pretty good. If you stick to that, I doubt if you will ever make that
mistake’, Karthik said jokingly. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Arvind continued, ‘That said, it doesn’t mean that just
agreeing with her will ease things out. You have to exhibit that you will be
for her in any situation when she needs you. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘How can one tell that she needs me’, asked Mani.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Well, that I can’t say. I have thought about it from all
possible logic & I have never been able to understand how one can figure
that out‘</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘I completely agree with you’, Karthik replied. ‘Once, I had
an office meeting late into night. When my wife called & said that she <i>thought</i> she was feeling little uneasy
& wants to see a doctor. Since I was busy, I told her ‘That it would be
nothing & that in some-time, she will feel better’. I couldn’t speak for
long because of my meeting but I told her we will see about it once I reach
home. I think she kind off said that she wants me to be at home immediately,
but I didn’t give it much importance then. I reached home little late &
being tired went to sleep. It was in the morning when I remembered about her
health and asked how she was feeling now. All I got was a glaring look & ‘Nothing’
reply. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Was that all that happened’, Arvind asked inquiringly? It
seems that you got away with it easily.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Well, that was just the beginning. The morning tea &
breakfast surprisingly for the next 3 days was sour & bland. In order to
save further trouble, I told my wife that I wanted her to rest & that I will
eat at office itself.’</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘I get the idea here. If you had reached home when your wife
had called you, wouldn’t that have made her happy? Next time, you can rectify
your mistake & things will be easy from then on, isn’t?’ remarked Joseph. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Even I thought so. But with time, I realized that it is
impossible to figure out when a woman needs you. Few weeks later, something
similar happened. I was on my way to office early for a meeting, when my wife
called me & said ‘she was feeling a little uneasy and <i>thought</i> she had fever’. My intuitive mind quickly activated &
recalled my previous conversation with her. I thought she expects me to be with
her now & I shouldn’t miss a good chance to show how much I cared for her.
I called up the office, cancelled the meeting & quickly reached back home.
Any idea what I got in return?’ </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘A big smile? A hug?’ asked Joseph</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Nope. A glaring look again!’ replied Karthik dejectedly.
She said I was stupid to cancel an important meeting for which I had started
early & for which even she had got up early. She remarked ‘you should know
how to prioritize things. you needn’t have come. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I told her that since she was feeling uneasy, I thought of
being with her. She replied ‘you shouldn’t waste your time on small things like
this. If I hadn’t woken up soon, I think I wouldn’t have felt uneasy’ - indirectly
blaming me for the outcome. Karthik seemed to choke as the old memories came
back to haunt him. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Joseph had dozed off again. Listening to all the contrasting
realities would have taken a toll on his already tired mind & body, so he had
retired to sleep. Mani had a perplexed look in his face as if weighing the
incidents & wondering what to infer from them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘All said & done, does a solution exist?’ asked Mani in
a despaired tone, since things were looking bleak no matter how one looked at
it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">‘Don’t worry Mani, remarked Arvind. You get used to it after
a period of time. It’s like the stock markets, one day you see it reaching
heights & the other day, rock bottom. In due time, you began to expect it
& when that happens, the reality somehow seems better than your worse expectations.
You will learn in due time.’</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The cab driver slowed down as we got near to Karthik’s drop
point. His phone rang at the same time.
He picked up his phone & as he got down, Mani could hear him say ‘Yes dear.
You are right’!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">‘That’s experience speaking’ remarked Arvind as we bid
adieu to Karthik & went ahead with the journey.</span></span></div>
</div>Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778447007242415497.post-65329474845250128172012-04-09T13:04:00.002-07:002012-04-09T13:04:55.555-07:00The Law of Reciprocity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I was motivated to write this post
when I was having a casual conversation with my colleague Ashish. He was
assisting a junior acquaintance of mine for his GD/PI preparations in an institute.
The background story is that I had referred Ashish’s name to my junior who was
appearing for GD/PI in the same institute which Ashish had graduated last year.
For the last 4-5 days, Ashish had been spending close to 45 minutes discussing
& assisting my junior with his preparations even though my junior was a
stranger to Ashish until then. I was appreciating Ashish on his good natured
help, when he said that he was simply returning the favor. That got me
interested and I asked him which favor he was referring to. He replied that
when he was preparing for his GD/PI interview, he was assisted by his senior
who had spent quality time with him which helped him in converting his call.
Now he being a senior, he simply was returning the favor back by helping
someone.</span></div>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7_mOtbvggfXN2gWhZsjUlZN85fgZ31TmzjJfXmSrpd1i4bdLdZ-U_siR1kVcWwET6gIsP3wLQPTok3LHdq1oSMHyR4X3or_LLSXqczX-8V2qHojBiFPDN3HfYFNb_9EsHB4a-ynNMVn1V/s1600/actofkindness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7_mOtbvggfXN2gWhZsjUlZN85fgZ31TmzjJfXmSrpd1i4bdLdZ-U_siR1kVcWwET6gIsP3wLQPTok3LHdq1oSMHyR4X3or_LLSXqczX-8V2qHojBiFPDN3HfYFNb_9EsHB4a-ynNMVn1V/s320/actofkindness.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That got me thinking. My friend
Ashish was not only being grateful for the help he had received, he was also
reciprocating it by freely offering his services. What’s more interesting is
the fact that the senior who had helped Ashish had started off a chain of
reciprocity by helping Ashish. Or probably that senior would have received some
help from his senior and he too decided to help his junior (Ashish). No matter
what the case was, the good thing is that the chain of reciprocity was started
because of the act of a one individual who had offered a help initially. And it
continues to touch many people’s lives in multiple ways. It also makes people
grateful for the help received & provides free help being offered to the
deserving. And probably, this is what immortal truly is. Someone who remembers
your little act of kindness/help & helps others by being grateful for it, I
think that you have been immortalized by your act of kindness. Thinking back,
even in my life I can recall instances when people have touched my life by
sharing an encouraging word when I was down or by sharing inputs which had
helped me make a good decision. Iam sure all of us would have experienced
something similar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We don multiple roles every day like
that of a Father, a son, an employee, a Manager, a Citizen, a Human. We become
so engrossed with our own lives, that it’s only less often we tend to reflect on
the impact we are making on others & what we are doing to make this<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>world a better place. Even if we
intentionally focus on taking an initiative and doing one minor good act for
someone, for anyone who we meet, the good feeling which comes along with it can
only be experienced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The act of kindness
can be a small thing like guiding someone who is confused, cheering up someone,
helping someone financially, there is no limit to the way we can touch others
life. The one learning which I would like you to take from this article is ‘How
many chains of reciprocity have you initiated today’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As Stephan Grellet <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">said,</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><i>“I expect to pass through this world but
once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show
to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I
shall not pass this way again.”</i></span></div>
</div>Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778447007242415497.post-38328358192037678622012-03-27T10:39:00.003-07:002012-03-27T12:21:25.486-07:00Unleash your Creativity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I have lost track of the number of times people say ‘Think outside the box’, Think Innovatively; think creatively. What no one says is how one can do so by staying within our work & life boundaries. I have just completed reading a book ‘Steal like an artist’ by Austin Kleon. I wouldn’t say that this book is a classic like the ‘Six thinking hats’ rather it’s more like a guide to make your creative buds get down to work. The book tag line piques up the interest by claiming “10 things nobody told you about being creative”. I found it a refreshing read which emphasized on certain points related to creativity and included a few which were general gyaan for living a creative life. Let us take a quick peek into the 10 secrets for creativity and I will share my thoughts as we move along.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5vdq5Vcnd8RHqZNTAghQvXCJQtxVn-fGVGHgESqEHkhFj_vtnIbE4HItrIrVAsXT6o03WPf68XfhlKwjkj_oMozlUfG59LMjc77rHzoYsslGFCbVgFxa7O6s6a9OdCeIt6cWvMRRO0agl/s1600/UnleashCreativity.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5vdq5Vcnd8RHqZNTAghQvXCJQtxVn-fGVGHgESqEHkhFj_vtnIbE4HItrIrVAsXT6o03WPf68XfhlKwjkj_oMozlUfG59LMjc77rHzoYsslGFCbVgFxa7O6s6a9OdCeIt6cWvMRRO0agl/s400/UnleashCreativity.png" width="400" /></a></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So, the 10 things nobody told you about being creative are:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><ul style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">Steal like an artist</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Don’t wait until you know who you are to get started</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Write the book you want to read</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Use your hands</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Side projects and hobbies are important</span><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: small; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Do good work & share it with people</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Geography is no longer our master</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Be nice</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Be boring</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Creativity is subtraction</span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Personally speaking, I found the first 3 points most relevant to the topic at hand. I used to think that one has to be original with their ideas; that Original thinking is the best way of creativity. Austin has a different view. Jonathan Lethem says that when people call something “original,” nine out of ten times they just don’t know the references or the original sources involved. One just needs to look at Kollywood’s music directors to understand the meaning of the above sentence. Quite a many South Indian music directors (except the two legends, of-course) who had supposedly composed great music in the early 90’s have seen the world figure out their secrets with the advent of Internet. They have been quietly stealing all along (or should I say choose innovatively) from their western counterparts. Anyways, returning back to our topic, the author says that one can steal good things to begin with and gradually you begin to find your own niche. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The second point impressed upon the fact that it’s in the act of making things & doing the work that we figure out who we are. This stands true for anything in our life. Most of us keep hoping that things will turn out better and then we keep waiting for that ‘Inspirational moment’ when things will change & we will find the purpose to our life. I had went through this phase few years back, when I was waiting for an inspiration to strike down from heavens, and Voila, I find my purpose!!! Guess what the ‘good moment’ may never come. But the good news is that ‘no matter where you are, you always have the choice to try what you want to do. Things may or may not turn out as you had envisioned but at-least you have given it a try & learnt something useful. You never know when Inspiration might strike you all of the sudden.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The third point is to do what you like doing. When you want to be creative, the best advice is not to write what you know; it’s to write what you like. The manifesto is this: Draw the art you want to see, start the business you want to run, play the music you want to hear, write the books you want to read, build the products you want to use – do the work you want to see done. That is the secret of success! :)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Rest all things in the book are pretty straightforward. In the end, Austin emphasizes the fact that we become what we focus upon. It’s about subtracting as much things from your life, that you will have time to add onto things you like doing. If you want to achieve something, subtract all the useless, time wasting activities from your daily routine. The sooner you realize this, the better your life will be. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">To summarize, one quote about copying brings out the gist of the book. It’s like this - ‘Don’t just steal the style, steal the thinking behind the style’. The idea is not to rip off from someone else, but understand their way of looking at the world and then through their eyes, find your vision. If one could do that, in due time you will be on your way to walk the path of creative genius!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Make the ‘creative spirit’ be with you!</span></div></div>Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778447007242415497.post-29600658009860122342012-03-02T10:12:00.001-08:002012-03-02T10:15:29.008-08:00The Volvo Surprise<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It’s being 2 months, since I wrote an article. Some of my friends had asked me as to why Iam not writing any stuff. I don’t want to give any excuse; it’s just that I didn’t feel like writing. Being unsure of how things would pan out might make a person inactive.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> Fortunately, few things happen to us which shake us out of our deluded state & push us to do something which we have been avoiding all along. :P Iam going to share here one such incident.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGTFp8_UewUB79wugrbn0r9c1pCbn3M7L4kj4J4B-fbDIqa7OE4-brtQASiwEfqi9eXklyGbO3jIBYmgHory2DYPkMCdMuddM6a5OkA9PPxwz4pQNjsnz2XGDSfWwGHCBIpObyEayRjFnh/s1600/services_25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGTFp8_UewUB79wugrbn0r9c1pCbn3M7L4kj4J4B-fbDIqa7OE4-brtQASiwEfqi9eXklyGbO3jIBYmgHory2DYPkMCdMuddM6a5OkA9PPxwz4pQNjsnz2XGDSfWwGHCBIpObyEayRjFnh/s320/services_25.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It all begins with an unexpected trip to my grad college NIT, Trichy to attend the Technical Fest, Pragyan. I had been planning to visit my college for a long time, since I was based out of Chennai for the last 4 years, invariably ended up not visiting the college. Over a casual discussion with Alumnae, he mentioned that he has plans to visit the college. So, that was the genesis of this trip. With my mind made up on the trip, I proceeded with the next logical step in the process of planning a trip. 1) Decide the travel destination; 2) Book the tickets for travel. Three things are ubiquitous in the world. Entertainment, Mobiles & Internet. So, the ubiquitous Internet presented itself as a convenient mode for booking my tickets. I went to the tnstc online booking site and begin my search for the type of bus. Few years back, the only bus in my consideration set would have been the ‘standard deluxe’ bus costing between 150-200 bucks, the only criteria being it should have a push back seat, or sometimes when I want to indulge myself - a ‘Ultra deluxe’ costing 400 bucks in case A/C is required along with the push</span><span style="font-size: small;"> back seat option. Now since Iam working now, the cost criterion was put on the back burner & many new varieties were added to my consideration set. I went on and looked at the different option for choosing the bus type. There were many options namely ‘Ultra deluxe, Deluxe, Air conditioned, Semi deluxe, Volvo A/C’ etc. It looked more like a menu card. I was wondering which one to choose; and with occasional inputs from my colleagues, we began the process of filtering the options. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Since I have travelled in few bus types before, the thought process that ran in my mind for each option went like these: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> ‘Ultra deluxe’ – Tried and tested. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">‘Semi deluxe’ – Less tried & yet to be tested</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">‘Deluxe’ – Untried and wouldn’t want to be tested</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Air conditioned – Looks promising</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Volvo A/C: </span><span style="font-size: small;"> A combo offer. Definitely a good Contender to consider</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The VOLVO apart from having a catchy name which was appealing, the price of the ticket which was around Rs.400 helped me in zero in that as my option. I have always believed in quality more than the price. Generally people believe that a higher priced product means a better quality, and a lesser priced product means a lower quality. I don’t exactly buy into that. I don’t say that a higher priced brand wouldn’t have a good quality, but it needn’t be true always. I prefer to follow Warren Buffet’s philosophy that if the product is of a good quality, one needn’t look at its brand or expensive price to validate its good quality. I don’t allow the brand name or its price to figure much in my decision making selection process. But in this case, the VOLVO bus seemed like a Dhamaka offer, not only you have air conditioned; it would definitely have the push back option too, a lot more comfy & relaxing since those are present even in a normal deluxe bus. </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">All said and done, the day of the trip arrived. Since the bus start time was at 10:58 pm, I left my office a little early by 5pm & reached home to take a little rest. I packed up few things in my bag and left home at 8:15pm. Contrary to the expectations, the traffic was less and in spite of the State Government’s best efforts to make all the roads in the Anna Nagar – one way (due to the Metro project), the traffic kept on moving and I reached Koyambedu bus terminal by 9:00pm. It’s been few years, since I had come to Koyambedu so I took some time to find out the platform where buses plying to Trichy were put up. The buses were standing in a row, like all were on display in a showroom. I took a stroll from one end to the other. There were people milling around, trying to find their bus & some enquiring about the ticket availability. I plugged in the ear phones and immersed myself with the best past time activity – listening to music, while scanning the crowd.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The buses had different timings mentioned on them:</span><span style="font-size: small;"> 9:45pm, 10:15 pm, 10:19pm, 10:45pm, 11:00pm & they were standing in a row accordingly. (What complex model would have been used to arrive at the timing 10:19?)</span><span style="font-size: small;"> Since, my bus timing was at 10:58pm, I began to wonder going by the timings mentioned, my bus should stand between 10:45pm & 11pm. But there was no sign of any bus. A thought crossed my mind if the bus platform was similar to that of the </span><span class="st" style="font-size: small;">Platform 9 </span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>3/4</i></span><span class="st" style="font-size: small;">, King's Cross </span><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Station in</i><i><span style="font-style: normal;"> the Harry Potter series. Probably I need to check in the space between the platforms where 10:45pm & 11pm buses were standing. Just then I saw a bus conductor come towards me. I took out my bus ticket and asked him if he knew when the bus would arrive. The conductor had one look at the bus ticket and then remarked ‘It will come at the time when it is supposed to come’. I wondered if the conductor was a fan of Rajnikanth, given that he was delivering Rajnikanth’s punch dialogues. I thanked and continued my strolling. It was around 10:55pm and still there was no sign of my bus. I double checked the date and time of the bus, in case I had mistakenly booked a bus for some other day. Fortunately, all details were right. After walking to one end of the platform, I turned around and my eyes fell upon a beautiful, marvelous sight. Contrary to your fantastical imaginations, it was not a girl. </span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;">But the very dear Volvo bus for which I was waiting with anticipation. One look at it and it would be hard for anyone not to fall in love with it. With its majestic look plus a pure white color & a shiny LED’s at the front displaying the places & route number, the VOLVO looked like a King with a crown adorning its head. It was so marvelous to look at, that it could have been bestowed the privilege as the National Bus of India. Overall, a complete royal look! My heart puffed with pride on choosing such a good bus, that too a royal selection. The conductor began to check the tickets & a bunch of people gathered around him in hopes of getting a seat in the royal bus. The uniform worn by the conductor, the high tech ticket issuing machine which he had in his hand & the big bright door of the bus looked aesthetically inviting, as if the ones entering it were the blessed ones. Alas, that was the end of all good things - Imagined or real. </span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;">The bus conductor checked my ticket and I put forth my right leg into the bus. One look at the interior & my jaw dropped down open. People talk of an expectation gap, i.e. the gap between the things one expects and actually gets. Considering that, the expectation gap in this case was big enough to create a gap in an ideal expectation gap itself. I hope you got the point. The things which I had imagined in the VOLVO and the ones which I saw before my eyes had no correlation, except the fact that there were 4 wheels below us in both cases. The bus was a normal A/C Volvo bus which is prominently used for the local transportation & has a higher ticket fare. The authorities have marked seat numbers over each seat and made it into the ‘VOLVO A/C’. I went and sat down in my seat. Fortunately, I had brought only 1 bag, but in case I had gotten a bigger luggage hoping that the seats would have been broad, it would have been a real test of my patience limits. What was funnier was the fact that there were many people in the bus who had the same dumbstruck expression on their face. Few who were mightily crushed on seeing this, were busy pouring their heart sorrows to their dear ones over phone. A man was remarking on the phone ‘And there is no TV, No push back seat, and No place even to keep the luggage’. Poor guy, I could fully empathize with him. All of the people inside were sitting like machines, spine straight, eyes straight ahead, sitting stiffly – both body and mind. The luggage’s which were brought became an integral part of the body, which was kept alongside the legs (Alongside & not under the seat. There was no space to keep the luggage under the seat</span></i><i><span style="font-style: normal;">L</span></i><i><span style="font-style: normal;">). The conductor brought in a few gullible passengers, with the promise of a luxury bus travel while charging an exorbitant fare of Rs 370. The happy faces which bought the ticket and came jostling in, soon got the ‘How did I get stuck here’ look in their faces. </span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;">The only way I could console myself was by reminding that if a Horse can sleep standing, at least Iam better off having a seat to sleep on! Something is better than nothing. Still, as wise people say – there is something good in a bad condition too. The degree of torture was lessened by the fact that the journey was completed in 6 hours, hence reducing the torture time. Imagine, sitting like that for 7-8 hours which happens sometimes when you take overnight journey. (My colleagues had come down from Bangalore in KPN and unexpectedly, it took a good 8 hours for them to arrive at Trichy. Probably the private travel groups would have felt sad that people take their punctuality for granted and wanted to show that even they can beat their government counterparts by arriving late). Finally, around 5:30am, I reached Trichy bus stand. </span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;">As soon as the bus stopped, people tumbled over each other to get past the door and into the open air as if breathing the air of freedom, which was kept away from them. Few others after getting down began stretching their hands, legs, body etc to ensure that the body parts resumed their normal functions again. As I got down from the bus, I could only smile & think ‘never would I have imagined such a VOLVO travel. Maybe that’s what is meant by “delivering beyond one’s wildest dreams”</span></i></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">P.S: Feels good to break the inactive mode finally. The return trip was fortunately better, as i had chosen the standard bus type - 'Ultra deluxe'. I tell you nothing works better than Warren Buffet's principles :)</span></div></div>Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778447007242415497.post-49313778929297899772011-12-31T11:41:00.000-08:002011-12-31T11:44:13.313-08:00Another Journey Ahead!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Dear Readers!<br />
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Wishing you & your family a Happy New Year 2012. Let the year ahead be a more enlightening, happy and learning year for you. As the new year begins, i would like to share few key aspects which i have embraced in my own life. There is a lot more to learn, more to explore, more to experience, still i hope the things which i have learnt would be useful for you too.<br />
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The below things, i have been fortunate to learn from my many mentors/teachers who i have had in my life. The 5 things which i wish for you would be:<br />
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1) Quest for infinite learning<br />
2) Invest in yourselves<br />
3) Consider every experience (success/failure) as a stepping stone to your life's purpose<br />
4) Enjoy the journey rather than await the destination<br />
5) Share what you have with others<br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b>1) Quest for infinite learning:</b> </span>There is a quote "Known is a drop, unknown is an ocean". No matter what the circumstances, always keep learning and more importantly, be open to learning. Of course, Learning comes not only from books, but from meeting people, situations. The list is endless.<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">2) Invest in yourselves:</span></b> Apart from your routine work, study, ensure you keep investing in yourself. May it be a hobby, interest or anything which you have liked doing, just go ahead and start doing it. It's never late to invest in yourself. Now is the best time to START. <br />
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<b style="color: red;">3) Consider every experience (success/failure) as a stepping stone to your life's purpose: </b>Most of life problems are anticipated ones, rather than the real ones. The cause of anxiety is having expectation on the outcome and the tendency to differentiate situations as bad and good. Instead, look upon every situation as a learning experience to help you move forward in life and accomplish your mission in life. <br />
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<b style="color: red;">4) Enjoy the journey rather than await the destination:</b> This encompasses the above aspects in the sense, enjoy every moment of your life journey. It's the journey which helps us evolve the most, and which truly empower us. hence, the journey is the true bliss. <br />
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<b style="color: red;">5) Share what you have with others:</b> We are very fortunate to have so many things in our life but we realize it very less often. The law of universe is that the more you give, the more you get rewarded. May you give to others, what the needy requires, and accordingly your needs would be taken care of. <br />
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Some of the above things, even Iam trying to follow earnestly. Hopefully, I would be able to accomplish it. Iam a man of less words, as a result many a times, many of my friends think Iam inexpressive or secretive. I on the other hand believe that it's best to let our actions do the talking rather than spend time in proclaiming what about it. Experience has taught me that the former works much better than the latter. I hope that in this year you achieve your dreams, ambitions and get a little more enlightened (Of course, do leave few things out for the subsequent years ;) )<br />
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Wish you a Enlightened, Happy New Year 2012. <br />
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Best wishes,<br />
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PS</div>Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778447007242415497.post-4758247534141549452011-12-26T11:53:00.000-08:002011-12-26T11:55:20.261-08:00Is it impossible for another Steve Jobs to be born in this world?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Iam currently reading ‘Steve Jobs’ by Walter Isaacson, and completely glued to it. There are many incidents which spark a chain of (positive) thoughts in different directions. Anyways, don’t worry. I won’t be elucidating the nitty-gritty of the book in this article. Nor Iam going to speak about Steve Jobs and his legendary work. I leave it up-to you to get a hold of the book and see it for yourself. The main reason why I got inspired to write this post was to raise a simple question. </span><span style="font-size: small;"> <i>“What does it takes to become a legend like Steve”</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In one of the chapters in the book, Steve Jobs after addressing Stanford University students makes an observation that “<i style="color: lime;">the new generation of kids has become more materialistic & careerist than his generation. He says that there was a wave of practical purposefulness which was present but now students aren’t thinking in idealistic terms or nowhere near it.”</i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: lime;"> </span>Now, how is this statement related to the title of this article?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TIqtdw4EijU/TvjQUH7t3kI/AAAAAAAABoY/K2-yyai2BxI/s1600/success.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TIqtdw4EijU/TvjQUH7t3kI/AAAAAAAABoY/K2-yyai2BxI/s1600/success.jpg" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It’s my personal belief that to do great things in life, one has to be great himself; in the sense, great in terms of thought, attitude and value system. And why do I say that? Steve Jobs life has many instances where his actions were guided by certain maxims, by his belief systems, strive for perfection and his passion for creating WOW products. There were few situations where in he did it just to get an experience and in the process somehow connected the dots and made use of the opportunity which presented before him. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Unfortunately, many of today’s youngsters are motivated by job titles, compensation, perks etc rather than the most important thing which is required at-least a Passion for the work being done. Iam not saying that everyone has such mindset. Some of my good friends are passionate about what they do, and that’s why they do what they do. And it mighty feels good to see them working on their passion. But my concern is the vast majority of the student population who are getting into jobs just to make a living. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The need of the hour is people recognize that there is innate potential waiting to be tapped in them and it’s better to do what they like doing. If 5-10 people passionate people can make a difference, imagine the difference 5K-10K people can make?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I would say the following 3 traits is required to create and do great things. [Of course, other traits like hard working, perseverance, patience, humility, visionary etc else is needed. But the below highlights the few MUST criteria’s to be able to succeed]</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> a) <span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Open attitude to experience</b></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> b)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>WHY & not WHAT</b></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> c)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Strive for perfection</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">One with an open attitude to embrace life in its fullest will experience uncertainty & risk. While it brings a whole set of good and bad things in to your life, understanding and learning from the up’s and down moments will help us wade through uncertain times & succeed later.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Many times in our life, we are motivated by ‘WHAT’. What will I get if I do this? What’s in it for me etc etc. but we forgot that to become truly successful in anything we do, what matter is not the WHAT but WHY. ‘Why should I do it’, Instead of asking ‘What is in it for me’ ask – “Why is this for me”. If you can come up with a good answer for that, there will be no doubt about the outcome of your work.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Man’s search for perfection lends a meaning to his life. Otherwise, routine life brings with it routine job which is just ROUTINE. Strive for perfection in any work you do. That’s what Martin </span><span style="font-size: small;"> Luther King Jr famously said <i>“Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well.”</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">To sum up, the tenet on which I raised the question ‘<i>Is it impossible for another Steve Jobs to be born in this world?’ </i></span><span style="font-size: small;"> is based on the state of mindset of current generation on pursuing materialistic things which are transient.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> But if we realize that and start exploring things, begin doings thing we love or love what we do (which holds true either way) & a focus on doing things perfectly as much as possible, all the traits which were one of the prime reason for Steve Jobs to be an iconic legend, will be applicable for others too. I firmly believe that each of us can make a dent in the universe too.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish :)</span></div></div>Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778447007242415497.post-31119454949681559782011-11-18T06:09:00.000-08:002011-11-18T06:16:02.979-08:00Lessons from the movie 'Charlie & the Chocolate factory'<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: black;">Iam sure many will like this post at-least for the name ‘Chocolate’, if not for the lessons from this movie. Still, this is one such movie which has a good amount of creativity, fun as well learning integrated in it. A friend of mine liked the movie because of the subtle messages which sensitized the audiences on finer values of life. We will see some of the learning, but before that for those who haven’t seen the movie, here is a brief description of the plot. (Of course, the suspense has been kept secretive as much as possible)<o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: black;">The movie is about <span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Charlie Bucket</span> a kind, loving boy who lives in poverty with his mother, father, and four bedridden grandparents. Directly across the street from their house is a world-famous chocolate factory, the owner of which, <span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Willy Wonka</span>, has long since closed access to the factory due to problems concerning <span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">industrial espionage</span> that ultimately led him to fire all his employees. One day, Wonka announces a contest in which five <span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Golden Tickets</span> have been placed in five random <span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Wonka Bars</span> worldwide, and the winners will be given a full tour of the factory, as well as a lifetime supply of chocolate. One ticket-holder will be given a special prize at the end of the tour.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas> <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"> <o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_0Bd5UIKnPP1maX9-m9VRyfn_7OQvihC6wU7jECuLAskOGjjwocpMKTcuacR7XFGzyrzYBLT37r38eVtSciIQXdYHwvhEbQRz5EM1VJAny_SMN9gwQpHouQD19o6lnWXS6hCfJa0yMatx/s1600/charlie_and_the_chocolate_factory_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_0Bd5UIKnPP1maX9-m9VRyfn_7OQvihC6wU7jECuLAskOGjjwocpMKTcuacR7XFGzyrzYBLT37r38eVtSciIQXdYHwvhEbQRz5EM1VJAny_SMN9gwQpHouQD19o6lnWXS6hCfJa0yMatx/s400/charlie_and_the_chocolate_factory_2.jpg" width="400" /></a></o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></v:shapetype></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><v:stroke joinstyle="miter"><v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"><o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"></o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></v:shapetype></span><span style="color: black;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The first four tickets are found by <span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Augustus Gloop</span>, a greedy, gluttonous eater from Germany; VerucaSalt, a spoiled girl from </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Buckinghamshire</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">; <span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Violet Beauregarde</span>, a boastful, competitive <span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">gum chewer</span> from <span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Atlanta</span>; and <span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Mike Teavee</span>, an arrogant, aggressive video-game addict from <span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Denver</span>. The rest of the movie details the tour of the chocolate factory (which wows the audience with every new scene) and how each of the bad children disobeys Wonka's orders after being tempted by something related to their individual character flaws. I hope that you have some idea of the movie plot. Let’s move forward with the lessons from it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: yellow;">Spoiling children with too much pampering:<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">The movie shows in a typical way how today’s children are spoiled by too much pampering. The girl Veruca initially asks for the Golden ticket so her father buys hundreds of thousands of Wonka bars to find the Wonka ticket. After 3 days of effort, when the Golden ticket is found, he gives it to his daughter who immediately after having her desire fulfilled, asks for a new pony. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Pampering a child will lead to bigger & greater disappointements as the child's expectations grows with each fulfilled wish. The child not only begins to demand things to happen (because they want it) & expect all things to be delivered to it in a silver platter, which surely prepares it for failure later in life. The idea here is that many parents think that if they pamper their child with money, toys and other thing which they desire, the child will be happy and that they will like them. Unfortunately, that is far away from the truth. What a child truly requires is the love, care of his parent. Hence, the parents should try to instill values in their child rather than spoiling their childby fulfilling all the child's wishes.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: yellow;">Value Character over Champion:<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">The girl Violet is a very competitive person and her mom states that proudly in the interview that Violet has won more than 200 trophies till date. She says to Violet <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Eyes on the prize, Violet; Eyes on the prize</i>” to win the big prize at the end of the tour. The movie shows that her competitive & boastful character, results in her failure during the tour. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">This is very prevalent in the current generation too. Parents want children to be a winner in life. There is nothing wrong with that. But the sad thing is that children have become a medium to be show cased as victory trophies. The parent proudly display their child talent in literary, sports, and arts to other people. Not to mention that the child becomes adamant, egoistic as he grows up which contributes to his downfall. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A simple look at our mythology as well as on the life of great leaders reveal that during childhood, it’s the focus on character which matters greatly rather than upbringing a child to be a winner.</span><span style="color: lime;"> <em><strong><span style="color: magenta;">Winners evolve with the right values but right values don’t evolve by winning in life.</span><span style="color: cyan;"></span></strong><span style="color: cyan;"></span></em><span style="color: cyan;"></span> <span style="color: black;">(Just to clarify, Iam not advocating not to win in life, but to have a good set of values rather than just a desire to win. If you have a good set of values, there is no way you won't win :)</span></span><span style="color: black;">)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: yellow;">Taking Chances in Life:</span></span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">When Charlie gets the Golden ticket and shows it to his parents, he feels that they can sell the Golden ticket in exchange for money so that the extra money will help them in some way.(His father loses his job adding to their existing poverty).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s when his grandpa says<em> “There is plenty of money out there. They print more everyday but this ticket; there’s only 5 of them. And all that is ever going to be. Only a dummy is going to leave something like this."</em> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">Extrapolating this to our lives, imagine the ticket to be our lifetime in this Earth. We get only one chance at living, still we spend all our waking hours running after money at the cost of neglecting our dreams, family etc, thinking it will provide us some security. The idea which I want to emphasize is that money is present in abundance out in the world. But your dreams, your ambitions are unique and few. Hence, don’t exchange your dreams for money. Chase your dreams/ambitions which will give you lasting happiness & peace (and unimaginable monetary surplus), rather than chasing money.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: yellow; font-family: Calibri;">Holding on to the past or a thing:</span></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></b> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">In one of the rooms where chocolate is made, the kids are told that they can eat anything they like. The girl Violet plucks a candy and to eat it, she takes the gum which she is chewing from her mouth and saves it for chewing at a later time. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Charlie asks her “<em>Why hold on to it. Why not start a new piece.</em>” For which she replies that if she did that, she would be a loser like him”. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">I believe that most of us too hold on to something, similar to the girl Violet holding on to the chewing gum. it can be our past or a thing; The past could be an incident, experience; the thing can be your home, car or any material possession and as long as we hold onto it, we not only hold back ourselves from growing, we shut ourselves from experiencing new things in life. So, just give a thought to it. Are you holding yourselves to something which isn’t benefitting you?<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: yellow; font-family: Calibri;">The quality of your thoughts determine the quality of your life:</span></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></b> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">This is one of my favorite lessons. In the end, when Wonka proposes an offer to Charlie and he rejects it, Wonka is disappointed & hence begins to feel terrible. When wondering, why his candy isn’t tasting as good as before, he realizes that “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I make the candy I feel like, but now I feel terrible so the candy I make is also terrible”. </i></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">That is so true in our life. Everything which you do in your life will be of the quality similar to the quality of your thoughts. This is similar to the law of attraction. That’s why the wise people have always said that to achieve Enlightenment ; look inside yourself. All the problems of the World can be solved by looking inside ourselves & searching for the truth. Once you attain peace within yourself, automatically you will transcend greatness. Genius is what you do and how consistently you do that, and it can be achieved by realizing your inner selves. Your thoughts create your destiny, hence always be mindful of the quality of your thoughts.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Those were the 5 learning which i had derived from the movie. I hope you found it to be useful. If you havent watched the movie, i strongly recommend you to see it once. As always, have a enjoyable time absorbing the values in your own life for a better living. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Learn, Integrate, Empower. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Happy Living!</span></span></div></div>Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778447007242415497.post-9909674136347142762011-10-25T09:47:00.000-07:002011-10-30T01:20:15.251-07:00Perfect Show with Himanshu Rai : Exploring Life's Passion!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">After a good long break of 4 months, Iam happy to present the next edition of Perfect Show. This show is something which I had been planning for a long time & will be liked by many. The Show guest; apart from being my Professor in PG, is someone who is highly respected & looked up-to. I had admired him both as a teacher as well as an Individual. May it be his innovative way of making the classroom session interesting or the eloquence with which he utters the Slokas, he always leaves an indelible mark on his students. It’s my pleasure to have Dr. Himanshu Rai as a guest in this edition of Perfect Show. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Dr Himanshu Rai teaches PG and Doctoral students at Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, India, and his core area being Human Resource Management, Negotiation, and Leadership. He has also taught at XLRI Jamshedpur. Apart from academia, he had a corporate stint with Tata Steel for eight years where he played a pivotal role in developing Quality Systems for his Departments and the Communication Policy for the Company. In addition to his professional commitments, he is deeply involved in academic research, training executives across the board in various industries and management consultancy.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: #3d85c6; clear: both; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEL34moYMoW7BQQSZ4InJwL_j7b9PFREPIWXrmpZoZPNkkwKQEym1k6yUpyZauggNjz4tjyKl_HiEBhn3sOKHFE9db6zms4XVlY1y5OdZx3RFznbfiiG7FAfw5BuVncRna5MyqsHkg9MDL/s1600/Himanshu_c%2527est+la+vie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEL34moYMoW7BQQSZ4InJwL_j7b9PFREPIWXrmpZoZPNkkwKQEym1k6yUpyZauggNjz4tjyKl_HiEBhn3sOKHFE9db6zms4XVlY1y5OdZx3RFznbfiiG7FAfw5BuVncRna5MyqsHkg9MDL/s200/Himanshu_c%2527est+la+vie.jpg" width="171" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">The latest feather in his cap was Common Admission Test 2010 (CAT 2010), as the Convener of which he successfully led the largest format change in world’s testing history exceeding all global standards of testing. He hails from a Vedically oriented background, making him a connoisseur of Sanskrit literature. He is strongly committed to yoga, which he has also taught to his students and is passionate about adventure sports, having led a dozen expeditions in the Garhwal Himalayas. An avid quizzer, he has conducted about 50 quiz shows across the country and has had a delightful stint in dramatics with many plays to his credit. He also juggles a keen interest in reading and collecting books with a strong dedication to music. You can know more about him <a href="http://himanshurai.com/">here</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Let’s begin with the Show now!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Guest: Dr</span></b></span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">. Himanshu Rai (HR)</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Host: </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Prashant Sree (PS)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><u><span style="line-height: 115%;">The PERFECT SHOW</span></u></b></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"><b style="color: lime;">PS:</b><span style="color: lime;"> </span>Welcome to the Perfect Show, Sir. Thank you for accepting my invitation to be in the Perfect Show. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">HR</span></b></span><span style="color: lime; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">:</span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"> Thank You Prashant. It’s my pleasure be in the Show.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"><b style="color: lime;">PS:</b><span style="color: lime;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"></span></b></span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Starting with the Perfect Show, What are you passionate about in Life?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">HR</span></b></span><span style="color: lime; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">:</span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"> I am passionate about living, and I am passionate about learning. Life is beautiful and I love living every moment of it. In particular what excites me about it is the tremendous opportunity it provides me to learn and experience. I do it through my passion for mountaineering, trekking, reading, music and yoga.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"><b style="color: lime;">PS:</b><span style="color: lime;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">That’s sounds wonderful. To keep pursuing your passion in-spite of your busy schedule shows your passion for life. What are your life lessons which you would like to share with others?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">HR</span></b></span><span style="color: lime; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">:</span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"> What I have learnt is that detachment is a virtue that can help you become a better human being as well as a professional. The concept of “Nishkama Karma” suggested by Krishna in Gita is the beacon that guides my life to a large extent. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"><b style="color: lime;">PS:</b><span style="color: lime;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">If you could change one thing in world, what would that be? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">HR</span></b></span><span style="color: lime; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">:</span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"> It is impossible to change just one thing for the consequences of that change would affect the entire course of history as it plays out. However, if I leave alone the intellectualization </span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">J</span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"> and just play it like it is meant to be, the one thing I would change is the position and movement of tectonic plates! We seem to be having one too many earthquakes these days!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"><b style="color: lime;">PS:</b><span style="color: lime;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">I would have preferred the former reply to the latter</span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">J</span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">. Who is your favorite Mythological Hero and why?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">HR</span></b></span><span style="color: lime; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">:</span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"> My favorite mythological (or historical, depending on one’s faith) hero is Krishna. His life itself is a huge learning with the Gita being the icing on the cake. He is one character who is at once artful, diplomatic, detached, and sagacious. The way he handles issues, both philosophical and realpolitik, is amazing!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"><b style="color: lime;">PS:</b><span style="color: lime;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">What would you like to evangelize in your life?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">HR</span></b></span><span style="color: lime; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">:</span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"> The need for our country to focus on primary education and community health, especially for the female child.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"><b style="color: lime;">PS:</b><span style="color: lime;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">What do you consider to be your charm, which you feel attracts people to you?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">HR</span></b></span><span style="color: lime; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">:</span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"> My sense of humor.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"><b style="color: lime;">PS:</b><span style="color: lime;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"> I can surely vouch for that. :) What is your Thumb Rule for Life? </span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">J</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">HR</span></b></span><span style="color: lime; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">:</span><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">‘I don’t believe in miracles; I rely on them. Occasionally I create some!’.</span></span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"> <span class="apple-style-span">It actually is inspired by an Og Mandino quote which said, “I can accomplish far more than I have, and I will, for why would the miracle which produced me end with my birth? Why can I not extend that miracle to my deeds of today? “. Further, I have realized that I have been more fortunate than many others in my life and I owe it to divine intervention. </span></span><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">J</span></span><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Being an eternal optimist, I expect these interventions to continue and in the journey, possibly, make a difference to some other lives as well.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"><b style="color: lime;">PS:</b><span style="color: lime;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Wonderful saying; it is one of my favorite quote. It is certainly motivating to enable people to create miracles in their lives. Being a book enthusiast, what are your three must read recommendations for others & the reasons?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">HR</span></b></span><span style="color: lime; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">:</span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"> My choice would be;</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Gita: for it teaches you how to live</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Siddhartha (by Herman Hesse): for it teaches you how to explore</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Any PG Wodehouse book: for it teaches you how to write!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"><b style="color: lime;">PS:</b><span style="color: lime;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Quite nice! I have found these books to be inspiring & enlightening, especially Siddhartha. Moving onto Entertainment, Name three movies which you have found most inspiring?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">HR</span></b></span><span style="color: lime; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">:</span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"> My top three choices would be:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Life is beautiful, Gandhi & Dabangg</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"><b style="color: lime;">PS:</b><span style="color: lime;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Dabangg! Iam curious to know why Dabangg features in the list?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">HR</span></b></span><span style="color: lime; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">:</span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"> Dabangg unapologetically presents a hero with darker shades of character, a Hindi speaking Robin Hood, but who is also a cop. Through its protagonist, it represents the importance of courage and also elements of realpolitik.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"><b style="color: lime;">PS:</b><span style="color: lime;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Certainly, Dabangg did set a kind of precedent in the Bollywood Industry. What is your advice to the youngsters; on how to be successful in their professional & personal life?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: lime; font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">HR</span></b></span><span style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: lime; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">:</span><span style="background-color: #3d85c6; font-size: small;"><b> </b></span><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: cyan;"><span style="background-color: #3d85c6;">More often than not we are surrounded by negative thoughts for we have been told by people around us that we are not good enough, or not as good as someone else. You must learn to love yourself for what you are. Do not seek love or approbation from outside; seek it from within. Positive thoughts have to come from within; they can’t come from outside.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"><b style="color: lime;">PS:</b><span style="color: lime;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">My next question is regarding the Human Resource field. It is considered to be an easy job requiring not much effort. Can you share your thoughts on what could be done to make a difference in this field?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">HR</span></b></span><span style="color: lime; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">:</span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"> Human Resource is all about motivation, and to do so you need to understand people and their individual needs. Having dealt with ideas and machines earlier, I can say with complete conviction that dealing with human beings is the most challenging job, one that has an extremely high emotional cost. So the statement that HR is an easy job is a myth. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">One needs to understand that motivation is all about direction, intensity and persistence, and to instill that in people, one needs to observe and understand people with a detached perspective. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"><b style="color: lime;">PS:</b><span style="color: lime;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">What is the skill sets required to be successful managers/leaders?<br />
</span></span><span style="color: lime; font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">HR</span></b></span><span style="color: lime; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">:</span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"> Skills required to be a good leader: Communication, Negotiation, Networking, Persuasion; Traits required to be a good leader: Emotional Intelligence, Extraversion, Conscientiousness, and Openness to new experiences and people</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"><b style="color: lime;">PS<span style="background-color: #3d85c6;">:</span></b></span><span style="background-color: #3d85c6; font-size: small;"> <span style="background-color: #3d85c6;">O</span></span><span class="apple-style-span" style="background-color: cyan; font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: cyan;"><span style="background-color: #3d85c6;">n a final note, Iam sure this question would be of interest to the wannabe IIM aspirers. What is the secret to unlock the impenetrable CAT?</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: lime; font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">HR</span></b></span><span style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: lime; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">:</span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background-color: #3d85c6;"><span style="background-color: cyan;"><span style="background-color: #3d85c6;"> There is no Secret ;). On a serious note, IIM Aspi</span></span></span><span style="background-color: #3d85c6;">ra</span><span style="background-color: #3d85c6;">nts ought to focus on their basics in terms of the four areas of testing: Quant, Verbal, DI and</span> LR. They need to analyze their preparation objectively, identify their strengths and weaknesses and then plan accordingly as to which areas to devote more time on in the prep stage. It is always useful to have a blank day just before the test, so that the mind is well rested and stress free on the test day. Also, they need not get bogged down by expectations, either raised through self or by others. They need to understand that CAT is not life, but a part of life and life has much offer to offer beyond CAT. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;"><b style="color: lime;">PS:</b><span style="color: lime;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">Well said, Sir. With that, we come to the end of this show edition. It’s been a real pleasure having you in the Show and interacting with you. On behalf of my show readers and myself, I thank you for sharing your life lessons with us. Iam sure your life lessons would have been inspiring and motivating to young readers like me.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">HR</span></b></span><span style="color: lime; font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">:</span><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span><span style="font-size: small;">It was nice to be a part of the Show. Thank you for your wishes and I wish you the very best too…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">That's the end of this edition of the Perfect Show. I hope you enjoyed this edition. Let me take this opportunity to wish you and your loved one's a Happy & Safe Diwali!</span></div></div>Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778447007242415497.post-74994934970651235312011-10-17T10:23:00.000-07:002011-10-30T00:26:50.675-07:00The Stranger – Part III<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="color: black;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">Read <a href="http://argetslam.blogspot.com/2011/09/stranger-part-i.html" style="color: purple;">Part I</a> & <a href="http://argetslam.blogspot.com/2011/10/stranger-part-ii.html" style="color: purple;">Part II</a> of the Stranger series.<br />
<br />
I was left speechless on hearing that his son had passed away. Hearing it made me feel more pity for him, who was already in such a bad state.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> “Iam sorry to hear that, Baba”, I replied. </i>The fact that my cousin was in hospital in a highly critical state was a troublesome situation for my family, hence I could empathize with him completely. I didn’t know what to say to him.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">“He is not there anymore. He has left his parents all alone in this nasty world, saying so he started coughing again along with rivulets of tears flowing down his face. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Why don’t you take the medicine now?. Hope you had your lunch” </i>I asked trying to change the subject.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">“Yes, I had something in the morning” replied the old man.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">As he took the medicines, the bus to the main bus terminus arrived. Being a weekend, the bus was crowded with passengers having with their own plan for weekends. We got into the bus & somehow reached one corner of the bus and held to the support railings. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“India is so different from Bahrain. The roads are much better, people are so nice and everything goes on smoothly there”, </i>he said.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">Not wanting to let Bahrain score against India, I interjected <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“India is one of the diverse nations and the world’s largest democratic nation too”. </i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Yes. India is certainly rich in diversity & culture, </i>he said</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Not only that, India also has huge deposits of varied natural resources, </i>I said proudly & regretted the moment I said it. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">No wonder, you still import petrol from OPEC, </i>he quipped. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Life is better in Bahrain compared to Saudi. Or for that matter any other Muslim nations. But at the same time, one has to adhere by the state ideals. Though we aren’t an authoritarian state, we expect people to respect and live by the code as directed by our King & state. </i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Oh, Bahrain has a King too”, </i>I asked.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Yes</i>, he replied looking at me as if I was mentally challenged person<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. We have a King who lives in a luxurious palace. You know what I had the fortune of meeting our King in person. The company I work for is owned by the King’s eldest son. So, being a head of the division I was asked to visit the palace once to submit a report to my company head (the eldest prince). </i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">I was trying hard to imagine the old man as a head of a division. Probably dressed up in formal suits & shoes. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">So did the King meet you?”</i> I asked.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">No. I was waiting in the main lobby when I saw our King. He was returning back to palace from some work, </i>he said.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> He looked at me & smiled as he went in. I will never forget the day.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">I was wondering why this guy was going crazy over getting a smile from the nation’s King. Then I realized that in India, the frenzy fan following for any actors/actresses will definitely beat that of his King. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“There would be lot many women in the palace,</i> quipped a nearby passenger, thinking that the King’s role was to enjoy & move around with women all day. I looked around to see who had asked the question & saw that half a dozen passengers were looking at us intently. I realized that the topic of King had invited the curiosity of few nearby passengers who were glued on to our conversation. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> “Oh… Actually No</i>, replied the Old man. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Our King was meeting with foreign dignitaries that day & was coming back from meeting them. That’s when I met him, </i>replied the old man.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Disappointed at not getting an answer for his question, the man tried again “The King would have many wives with him always, isn’t?”</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">The old man gave a puzzled look. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">He wants to know if the King had many wives & if all of them stayed in the palace,</i> I rephrased the question for the old man.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">He has few, not many wives and they reside in the palace with him, he said.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I heard from my friend that electronic items are available very cheaply there. Is it true?”</i> asked another passenger nearby.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Well, not really. But we do have ample supply of those goods hence the availability at low cost, </i>said the old man. Few more passengers took part in the conversation. It seemed as if I was hosting a reality show with the old man as the guest. The old man was slightly surprised with the new found fame still </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">was patiently answering all the questions. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">Thinking that if the conversation went forth, people would start asking random questions on Bahrain women & goods to the old man, I asked the old man “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I think we have reached the bus station. So where are you planning to go now?”</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I will be going back to Kerala now to our ancestral home. Now that our son is not with us, I will have to go & look after my wife who is alone there, he said</i>. Since the topic had changed from the King to Kerala, the passenger’s interest faded away and they got back to their normal routine of dozing & gazing outside. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">I nodded my head in agreement. I was finding it hard to console a guy who has lost his only son & hence thought it is better to stay silent rather than saying anything. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Son, I would need a small help</i>, said the old man.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Yes, Baba. Tell me</i>, I said</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I would like to borrow some money to go back to Kerala. The money which I had in my purse was stolen by those thieves. All my money is in my bank account in Bahrain which will take a week’s time to be transferred back here. Meanwhile, it will be helpful if you can lend me some money for the bus</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i>ticket. I will send the money to you</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">as soon as I get my money, </i>he said. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">No problem, Baba. You can give me the money later. I don’t have the money now. I will withdraw it from the ATM machine and give it to you</i>, I said.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">The bus had reached the main bus stand. Getting out of the bus, we enquired the place where Kerala buses will start. The conductor directed us to a spot. We asked the driver about the ticket fare to Kerala. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Normal fare 195, Non A/C pushback -290 & A/C- Rs.650</i>”replied the driver as if reciting a hotel menu. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">There is a last bus today & it will leave in half an hour</i>”, he said. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">I told the old man to wait near a shop so that I can go & withdraw the money from the ATM. After withdrawing the money, I came back & extended Rs.1000 to the old man. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">The old man gave me a quizzical look. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I know Baba. I suggest that you travel in a push back seat instead of a normal one. You would have to sit straight in a normal seat which will be highly inconvenient. Also, you would need some money to buy something once you reach there.</i>”</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">“Thank you & <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">God bless you, Son. You are very caring & considerate.” Give me your address so that I can send some gift to you. That is the least I can do for you, replied the old man. </i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Now, that is not required, Baba</i>” I said.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“No, no. I insist. Tell me – would you want a digital camera or a TV”, he asked.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Well, if you say so, a camera would be fine, I said. </i>I have been planning for few months to get a camera. Now that, the opportunity presented itself, why not make the best use of it. Thinking so, I wrote out my name & address in a piece of paper and gave it to him. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Let’s go & get your tickets, Baba</i>” I said.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“It’s not required, Son”. You have really done a lot to me today. I don’t know how I will be able to repay you. I will have something to eat and then buy the ticket. I don’t want to hold you from your journey. You have your own bus to catch now.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">I realized that I was yet to get a ticket for myself. Generally, I book the tickets online & hence have a ticket. Since, it was an impromptu travel decision; I was yet to find out the bus schedules. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Are you sure you don’t want me to accompany you till your bus”, </i>I asked.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“No Son. I think I will go & call my wife & tell her about my journey now. And I will inform my company to about my resignation. Then have some food before boarding the bus”</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Okay, Baba. It was nice to meet you. Take care</i>” I said. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You too Son. Thanks for everything.</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Come to my home in Kerala if you ever come there</i>”, he said with a smile & went off in the other direction.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">I reached the ticket area & bought the tickets for the bus to Chennai. The bus was supposed to leave in 45 minutes. Since I didn’t have any work to do & the downpour was still continuing outside, I decided to wait in the bus until then. I kept my bag & sat down in my seat listening to the music in my iPod. The other passengers started walking in gradually. My weariness overtook me and I slowly drifted off to sleep. I thought about the condition of my cousin & mumbled a prayer that he should get fine. Then, the old man image appeared in my dream. “Poor guy. His situation was so pitiful. He had been working so hard abroad to save money for his family & for a better future but now all of that is just an empty dream. It’s always better to spend your time with your family; Time spent with family is much better than spending time running behind money”</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">As these thoughts were flashing in my mind, my last conversation with the old man played out. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Are you sure you don’t want me to accompany you till your bus”, I asked.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“No Son. I think I will go & call my wife & tell her about my journey now. And I will inform my company to about my resignation. </i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">Hold on. What did the old man say <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“call his wife & office?” </i>During our earlier conversation, the old man had said that he had lost all address which he had. How can he call someone without having their details? I wondered. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">“Don’t be stupid. It’s his home & office number. He may remember it, I thought. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">“Let’s assume he can do that. But then he said he didn’t remember any other information during our conversation. How can he remember their details now?” I wondered. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">I looked at the watch. The bus to Kerala was supposed to start by 7pm. It was 7:05pm now. My bus was still filling it; hence an idea occurred to me. I went out and ran to the place where the Kerala bus stood, hoping the bus would still be there. I spotted the bus around the corner. The bus conductor had gone to get something and the bus was still waiting near the gate. I dashed on towards the bus. As I climbed in, the bus driver shouted<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> “No seats available; Get out”. </i>I just barged in & glanced around at the passengers hoping to find the old man. I couldn’t find him anywhere. The passengers gave me a scornful look.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">The bus had started to move. The reality of the situation dawned on me. As I got down from the bus, I heard the song which was playing in my iPod. It was Frank Sinatra’s & it went </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-align: center;">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">That's life, that's what all the people say…”</i> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; text-align: left;">The End...</div></div>Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778447007242415497.post-3773018595359459232011-10-07T09:26:00.000-07:002011-10-08T11:56:32.874-07:00A Tribute<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Steve Jobs died yesterday at the age of 56. The whole world
is mourning the loss of a creative visionary, genius, leader and a lot more. And
deservedly so. Iam not going to write
about his rich exploits or inventions as numerous articles has been written
about him. This article is a tribute to the
man who I admire for certain things. Everyone has a lot to learn from Steve
Jobs, his life, his philosophy. I read an <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/cvgallo/7-innovation-secrets-of-steve-jobs">article</a> on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs</i>”
(McGraw-Hill, October, 2010) which reveals the 7 principles that are largely
responsible for his breakthrough success; principles that have guided Steve
Jobs for his entire career and, more important, principles you can adopt today
to “think differently” about your company, product or service.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwQbwnigmGgtRFRcMgKhbEnCSS4oTprjfirjDrWmTuBt_eCh77UtPMc9-LA_Q5_160NbJ0Ipg_dReapruP77jDifwO4diyPztM0c325blAgyQ-HYA5qo9yYjmmWsjW2BPejVOHB1wE7klP/s1600/Steve+Jobs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwQbwnigmGgtRFRcMgKhbEnCSS4oTprjfirjDrWmTuBt_eCh77UtPMc9-LA_Q5_160NbJ0Ipg_dReapruP77jDifwO4diyPztM0c325blAgyQ-HYA5qo9yYjmmWsjW2BPejVOHB1wE7klP/s320/Steve+Jobs.jpg" width="232" /></a></div>
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Iam sharing the 7 principles here for your benefit. You can
apply it in your own life, business, career and as Steve Jobs liked to say you
will certainly become ‘insanely enriched’ by following these principles. So
here we go;</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Principle One: Do
what you love</b></div>
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Passion is everything. Innovation—which simply means—new ways of doing
things that improve our lives---cannot flourish unless you are truly obsessed
with making something better—be it a product, a service, a method or a career. </div>
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“Have the courage to follow your
heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.” Jobs
has followed his heart his entire career and that passion, he says, has made
all the difference. It’s very difficult to come up with new, creative ideas
that move society forward if you are not passionate about the subject. </div>
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“Passion won’t protect you against setbacks, but it will ensure that no
failure is ever final.” – Bill Strickland. How to do find your passion?
Passions are those ideas that don’t leave you alone. They are the hopes, dreams
and possibilities that consume your thoughts. Follow those passions despite
skeptics and naysayers who do not have the courage to follow their dreams. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Principle Two: Put a dent in the
universe.</b></div>
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This speaks to vision. Innovation doesn’t take place in a vacuum. You
need to know where you’re going, what the ultimate destination is, and you need
to inspire others, evangelists. </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Steve Jobs has never underestimated the power of vision to move a brand
forward. In 1976, Steve Wozniak was captivated by Jobs’ vision to “put a
computer in the hands of everyday people.” In 1979, Jobs took a tour of the Xerox
research facility in Palo Alto, California. There he saw a new technology that
let users interact with the computer via colorful graphical icons on the screen
instead of entering complex line commands. It was called a “graphical user interface.” In
that moment, Jobs knew that this technology would allow him to fulfill his
vision of putting a computer in the hands of everyday people. Jobs later said
that Xerox could have “dominated” the computer industry but instead its
‘vision’ was limited to building another copier. Two people can see the same
thing but perceive it differently based on their vision. </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Steve Jobs set out with a vision to change the world. What’s your
vision for your product, brand, and your career? Passion fuels the rocket, but vision points
the rocket to its ultimate destination. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Principle Three: Kick-start your
brain.</b></div>
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Creativity leads to innovative ideas. Job believes that a broad set of
experiences expands our understanding of the human experience. A broader
understanding leads to breakthroughs that others may have missed. Breakthrough
innovation requires creativity and creativity requires that you think
differently about…the way you think. </div>
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“Creativity is just connecting things.”</div>
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Steve Jobs creates new ideas precisely because he has spent a lifetime
exploring new and unrelated things—seeking out diverse experiences. Jobs hired
people from outside the computing profession, he studied the art of calligraphy
in college, meditated in an Indian ashram, and evaluated The Four Seasons hotel
chain as he developed the customer service model for the Apple Stores. Look
outside your industry for inspiration. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Principle Four: Sell dreams, not
products.</b></div>
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Your customers don’t care about
your product, your company or your brand. They care about themselves, their
hopes, their dreams, their ambitions. Help them fulfill their dreams and you
will them over. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Principle Five: Say
no to 1,000 things. </b></div>
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Jonathan Ive, Apple design guru: “We are absolutely consumed by trying
to develop a solution that is very simple, because as physical beings we
understand clarity.” Your customers demand simplicity and simplicity requires
that you eliminate anything that clutters the user experience. Steve Jobs reduced complexity in
the Smartphone category by eliminating the keyboard. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Principle Six: Create insanely
great experiences. </b></div>
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“People don’t want to just buy
personal computers anymore. They want to know what they can do with them, and
we’re going to show people exactly that. Jobs has made the Apple Store the gold
standard in customer service by introducing simple innovations any business can
adopt to create deeper, more emotional connections with their customers. For
example, there are no cashiers in an Apple store. There are experts,
consultants, even geniuses, but no cashiers. </div>
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Apple created an innovative retail experience by studying a company
known for its customer experience—The Four Seasons. Apple Stores would attract
shoppers not by moving boxes, but by “enriching lives.” The lesson—don’t move
“product.” Enrich lives instead and watch your sales soar. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Principle Seven: Master the
message. </b></div>
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You can have the most innovative idea in the world, but if you can’t
get people excited about it, it doesn’t matter. Steve Jobs is considered one of
the greatest corporate storytellers in the world because his presentations
inform, educate and entertain. Steve Jobs thinks visually about presenting
ideas, products, and information. </div>
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Don’t let the bozos get you down. One more thing… Innovation takes confidence, boldness and the
discipline to tune out negative voices. </div>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="color: cyan; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“We
don’t need you. You haven’t gotten through college yet.”</i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="color: cyan; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Get
your feet off my desk. Get out of here. You stink and we’re not going to buy
your product.”</i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Your
problem is that you still believe the way to grow is to serve caviar in a world
that seems pretty content with cheese and crackers.”</i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="color: cyan; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“There’s
no reason why anyone would want a computer in their home.” Imagine how
one young man with big dreams must have felt when he heard the following.</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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Of course, these statements were all directed at one time or another to
Steve Jobs. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner
voice.” </div>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="color: cyan; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“Dream
bigger”</b></div>
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Perhaps the ultimate lesson that Jobs teaches us is that innovation
requires risk-taking and risk taking takes courage and a bit of craziness. See
genius in your craziness. Believe in yourself and your vision and be prepared
to constantly defend those beliefs. Only then will innovation be allowed to
flourish and only then will you be able to lead an “insanely great” life. </div>
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Lastly, a lot many people say Steve Job will be missed. I don’t think
so. It is said that every life has its own purpose. And I feel that in his life
time, Steve Jobs has taught us manifold lessons and it will be more than enough
if we understand & inculcate them in our life. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
As Steve himself says, <span style="color: cyan;">“</span><i style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Quality</span></i><span class="st" style="color: cyan;"> is more </span><i style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">important</span></i><span class="st" style="color: cyan;"> than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles”</span><span style="color: cyan;">,</span>
I would say the adage “<b style="color: cyan;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The quality of a person’s life is more important
than the quantity of their life”</i></b> suits Steve Jobs life appropriately. </div>
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<br /></div>
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To wind up, let the words of one of the world’s inspirational figures
guide you throughout your lives.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="color: yellow; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish”</i></b></div>
</div>
Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8778447007242415497.post-90670766939891457542011-10-03T11:51:00.000-07:002011-10-30T00:27:37.126-07:00The Stranger – Part II<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="color: black;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Read the first part <a href="http://argetslam.blogspot.com/2011/09/stranger-part-i.html"><span style="color: purple;">here</span> </a></span></b><br />
<a href="http://argetslam.blogspot.com/2011/09/stranger-part-i.html"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></b></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">Iam not sure if it was the old man’s tone or the fact that the tears were flowing across his face that made me listen to him without reacting back. People generally react by shooing away a stranger or be indifferent to him. But somehow, seeing the old man made me feel that I could relate to him on something. But I wasn’t sure what that was. Since we were standing at such close proximity, I could get a clear look at him. His age seemed to be slightly over 50-55 and he had very few hairs left on his head, a sign of old age. His face seemed crinkled with tensions and worldly worries and he sported a beard which grew uneven across his face. He was visibly thin made more visible by the fact that he was wearing an over sized kurta. The picture was complete with an old leather bag hanging on his shoulders which seemed to sag a little due to some heavy object kept in the bag.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">“What do you want, Baba”, I asked him. (Baba is a salutation used to address elderly people)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">“Help me out son. I came here to visit my son but I have been tricked & my stuff stolen from me, and left like beggar on the roads. Saying so, he coughed violently. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">I thought that since he has come to visit his son and that he must have forgot his son’s address and got lost. Bangalore is a big city to find someone without an address or a contact number. So, he basically wants me to help him find his son. A difficult task but at-least I can direct him to a police station. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">“Baba let me see what I can do”. Do you know where your son lives? Any address or other information?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I had just an address with me. Now I have lost that too. That doesn’t matter now.” </i>He replied </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">coughing.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">His coughing seemed to re-occur frequently. I was amazed by how his fragile body could withstand such a heavy onslaught of bouts of cough. I asked him <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Your coughing looks pretty bad. Are you alright?”</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Iam unwell & I haven't taken my medication for the last 2 days. In addition, this bad climate seems to be aggravating my situation”, </i>replied the old man.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">That’s too much of a gloom for a person to handle. Bad health, bad climate, lost hopelessly in a new place – a recipe for a perfectly un-perfect situation for any person.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Why don’t you take some medication? That will improve your health”,</i> I replied. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I have my personal doctor’s medication list but I can’t buy them”</i> he said.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Why? Aren’t the medicines available here?” </i> I asked</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I don’t have the money to buy it”,</i> he said and started coughing again.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">He seemed to be in a real bad shape and his frequent coughing was taking a toll on him. Definitely not a good place for him to be standing in the rain. My heart reached out to him, so I asked him “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How much does the medicines cost. Let me have a look at that list”</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">The old man gave me a small chit from his bag. Few medicines were scribbled across the sheet.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> “Let’s buy these.” </i>Saying so, I asked him to follow me and took him to a pharmacy shop across the road. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">The old man seemed to be startled or at least that’s what his face expression seemed to look like. The pharmacy was crowded but then this is the time of the year when the pharmacy guys makes a killing. The worse the climate, more the number of people who fall sick & hence more customers. As we waited for our turn, I asked him how he had turned up here.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“My son was working in the company here. 5 weeks back I got a call from India, saying that they wanted me to come down here regarding some important thing. My wife is old and is bed ridden in Kerala, that’s where our ancestral house is. They had conveyed the message to her initially. Because she is old, she couldn’t travel here. Last week, I got an emergency courier informing about this. I was busy with my work hence couldn’t get leave immediately, still I let my boss knew about the emergency and rushed back here”. </i>The crowd at the shop had lessened in the meanwhile, and I used the pause in our conversation to inform the pharmacist to give the required medicines. The pharmacist packed our medicines and I paid for the bill. Coming out of the shop, I handed the medicines to the old man.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I thought all the people here are evil. Fortunately, even good exist. Good people like you”. </i> I didn’t know how to react to that one. I said<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> “It’s not like that. There are a lot many good folks too”. I suggest that you take some medicines now. It will improve your situation</i>. Saying so, I gave him my water bottle and he took few medicines and gulped them down. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“My son would have been the same age as you now. He too was caring and understanding as you are</i>“.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> B</i>eing made the point of adulation again, was proving to be embarrassing for me again. To divert our conversation to another topic, I asked him what had happened next after he arrived in Bangalore.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I reached my son’s office and inquired about my son. They directed me to go to another office nearby to meet someone else. I reached the place & when I tried to enter the office they said that I have to leave my luggage outside before entering it. There was no one outside except two young people so I asked them to take care of my luggage and I went in. I was told to sign few papers after which I would be allowed to meet my son”.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">He paused for a moment. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“After signing the papers, I met my son & when I came out, all I could find was this old bag. Those tricksters had taken away my money, belongings, clothes etc. I looked all around but couldn’t find anyone”.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">The old man really seemed to be very naive. Trusting someone with your belongings without any proof meant a clean sweep of one’s stuff. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“By the way, did you ask them about the papers which you were asked to sign? </i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Oh, that. “I didn’t get time to read it, as they were forcing me to sign it quickly. They said that it’s routine paper work for any visitors. I was more interested in meeting my son, so I didn’t bother much about it”. </i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">There you go again. Signing a paper without reading it in India meant one thing. Being made a complete fool. I didn’t want to bother him further by saying this could mean more trouble later. This man seemed completely out of place. I got curious to know which part of India was he from as staying in India and still being oblivious of all these facts. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Where do you work?”</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i>“Bahrain”, </i>he replied.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br />
</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">So he had traveled from abroad and found himself in this situation. No wonder, the beard explained the place he came from. Then I recalled that he had said that he had met his son. Then why the hell did he leave his son. All he had to do was to go to his son’s office and meet him. His son would take care of him.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“You said you met your son. Why did you leave him there and returned back”, </i>I asked</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I haven’t left him there. I have him with me”, </i>saying so, he took out a small pot from his bag.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“What do you mean”</i>, I asked him.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">The old man said <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“My son died last month in an accident in his firm”.</i><i> </i>It dawned on me that when the old man had said that he had met his son, he had meant his son’s ashes in the pot which he had collected from his son’s company.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;">To be contd... </div><div style="color: black;"> </div></div>Prashant Sreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07028728984318324067noreply@blogger.com4