Of fumes and highs........

One of the days which leaves a lot of things to think of. It was a meeting few months back with some old college pals. Time to talk of gone days and discuss where life has landed us. After a long time we decided to meet. The meeting was scheduled at Pizza Hut and everyone was excited to see everyone after years. There is a spontaniety in relations which you build during schools and colleges, you always know that its fun to be with each other.
However, things had changed, for some people it was for good and for some, i had a question mark. We headed for coffee day post lunch to spend some time discussing professional life and personal life. Some old memories, some new. Suddenly two of the gals got up to smoke and two more joined. Evident on face was the expression that look we can smoke. :)
Somehow, i have been exposed to smokers, drinkers and druggers all through my college life, but it never intrigued me, i never thought that an addiction could make me look cooler or could help me impress people. Its not that i look down upon smoker, but i surely know that here is a person who is slave to situations and circumstances. I smile at them not because i am impressed, but because i feel sad that they have nothing more to boast of.
I think it depends a lot on your surroundings and your brought up. All my life, i was given freedom of choice. Every little thing that i wanted to do and experiment, i knew no one would stop me. The very fact that i am free to do good or bad, i will be only made aware of consequences, made me think twice before i headed for something. I knew i had no one to blame but for myself. Also, i had learned that cool is a person who has brain which works for good and who can impress people with his/her words and personality. There isnt a second external factor needed to be impressive.
When i see smokers burning people's lungs, drunkers falling on roads and druggers in high, i just smile and want to say one thing, " If you can not stand in your senses, can not bear with the energy in your own nerves, can not stand the thoughts of your mind, you are not cool, you weakness is coming out in form of fumes and is visible to all. " :)

So, i say, thanks for the offer, but i think i am happy and i love myself, i dont think i need a high to step into a different world, because my real world is beautiful and i can make it better.

A weekend in paradise..

The story of ISB preparation started for me in June. GMAT, essays and interviews. One evening in ISB with my college time friend triggered the desire to be an alum of this magnificient abode of intelligence and learning. I started from zero and worked my way up. Crazy as i am, i have been eating, drinking and sleeping ISB for last 6 months now. So, once the results were out and i knew i was there, it was time for me to get back to life and fun.Me and a group of friends decided to travel to Bandipur wildlife sanctury near Bangalore. We started at 11 PM and reached this real Junglee track around 2 AM at night. Unplanned and uncalled for visits always attracted us. No bookings, no set destination and no limits. We reached Bandipur around 3:30 AM, as expected we found that we had no place to sleep and rest as all resorts around were booked. We saw a small road side tapri and sat infront of it, waiting for clock to strike 6 AM and start our search again. At 6 AM we reached forest office enquring about the jungle trek, only to discover that treks have been banned, so we decided to move to madhumalai and further where we could actually go for a jungle trail.We moved 40 kms further into tamil nadu border which lay in way to ooty. This was a small village located amidst mountains. We went 8 kms inside a thin lane to reach to a paradise. There were four beautiful huts right amidst mountains. We reserved the huts and headed for a trek in jungle with a guide. There were foot prints of animals, rabbits, dears, ponds and water falls. We were heading towards a beautiful range of nilgiris and i felt like singing out loud, ye kaha aa gae hum, when guide said hussssshhhhh, what if tiger or elephant comes. WOW!! Can one come here? :). We all hid behind bushes near a water body waiting for tiger to come, but it did not. So, we decided to go in search of tiger in a night safari. Big open jeep and rocky terrains, everything was dark and silent. In the front light of jeep, we saw rabbits, dear, wild boars, but Mr. Tiger gave us no appointment, still i cant explain in words, the thrill to wait for a tiger in deep jungles. We came back for a camp fire near our hut amidst mountains.When i woke up in morning and saw outside window, the shades of sky, the shadow of mountains, i knew that if there was a paradise on earth, it would have looked like the one i am in. I saw elephants grazing. I went near one and said hello, but it was having its breakfast, so no response. I knew in few moments for now, we would be heading for Bangalore, i sat in one corner trying to capture the beauty of nature till my eyes could visualize it.The day had come to an end. I told myself, for one year it is ISB, once its done, you can come back and start all these crazy trails again. So, with a decision to live life to its fullest before digging deep into books and getting adjusted to a 20 hours day routine, i came back. ISB, i love you because you have been my focus for over 6 months now, but i dread too much of study and work, they can only be my temporary passions which dont last long, so please dont help me end up getting into a job which has 20 hours day routine as well. I am back in office and back to work with bruised feet and tanned face, figuring out the 18 lakhs puzzle, but trust me in paradise no one bothers about money and education, everyone is educated to live and survive.

Some things learned ..

Lee Iacocca had been my favourite autobiography for years now. I was very young when papa gave me this book. I have read it 5 times by now and its surprising that i simply remember one line in it - "Why walk when you can run!!"

There is one common thread i get from all biographies that i have read. God gives everyone a balance of good and bad times. Good times are not the opportunities to differentiate, its the bad times when you are given an opportunity to learn and shine. Every successful human has failed and has failed so badly that there was no hope to stand again. Its in the times when you have nothing to loose, that you shine most. So, remain crazy about life and don't give in to situations, instead take them as opportunities and fight.

Aur Karvan Chalta Gaya..

Shikayat is baat ki nahi ki zindagi ne humse poocha nahi,
Shikayat is baat ki nahi ki samay ne humko roka nahi,
Shikayat is baat ki hai ki hum uske saath chalte chale gae,
Ki zindagi kisi ko pooche ka mauka nahi deti, phir hum kyun asha ke mele mein ghumte reh gae!

Beautiful eyes with colors of hopes and dreams bigger than life. Mind that works, sometimes for good, sometimes for bad, but does not when to stop and let it end. Limbs that move in direction that sometimes are decided and sometimes undecided. Some in torn clothes, some in polished shoes. Some with hunger, some with menus. Human life is a kaleidoscope, which had often held my hand and taken me to a different world with every step and experience. Yes, the domain is painting called "Life" in the canvas of world.
I have been trying to paint this since over an year now. I see multiple shades of life while i travel to plush campus of my company for work. There is a run for life. There are stark realities and contrast which i observe everyday. Poor person pulling a cart infront of a BMW showroom unaware of what that huge showroom with two cars stood for? People with food carts for daily wage workers, a large stream of vehicles which seems to be heading towards no where and then there people running on road to rush to start a day which had nothing new in store. There are broken buildings which probably are signs of broken dreams which stood in glory years back and then there are huge mansions which stand on these broken foundations. There is a crowded corner, someone has just been a victim to the running life and his life has come to a stand still. People have gathered to see his stony eyes so that they can talk of it whole day.
Sometimes, i wonder, is life an illusion? Do we really know what we do, where we go, how we move and when we end? There is something called life which comes in us when we are born and almost instantaneously comes the fear for death. We learn to trust, feel and hurt. We learn to think, we keep building castles in our scope and who knows when will these stories and dreams rest in peace forever with us.
Yes, i do feel life is a mystery. Its a journey of hopes, successes, failures, feelings, but in the end destination for every human being is one- journey to an unknown world.

ISB interview preparation..

I can write down my interview experience, however, i feel that what is needed for this interview is self exploration and confidence about everything you put on paper and talk about. So, experiences will differ from person to person, but there can be a general framework for preparation. Giving enough thought to factors about yourself is important. I will try to list down some points which i generalized from my interview in R1 -
a) You need to carry your interview call email.Absolutely anything other than that is optional.
b) Go dressed comfortably in formals.
c) Read your application properly. You will know the gaps where you can be questioned.
d) Prepare for some basic questions- Why MBA? Why ISB?What after ISB? Which career path? Why that career path? How will you link your current work profile to that career path? How do your qualities as stated in essay make you suitable for the chosen B school and career path?
e)Read about the b school and its offerings. Also see what are the things you would want to improve in a bschool to suit for your career stream. You can ask last question in interview based on this research.
f) Examples to quantify qualities that you have written in your essays. Leadership, team work could be some commom ones of them. Some insight into how will you handle certain mentioned situations.
g) Ask people around you to read your essays and take mocks. You will get a lot of idea on how they read your essays and what are the gaps they question you at.
h) Be humble to learn from every feedback and every situation.
i) You can be judged on one of your strong factors in depth. So, please do identify some major parts of your profile and question yourself.I

I feel that they see your thought process, your attitude towards work and life. You might not be know all, but you might be willing to know all.
All The Best!!

Getting into ISB Class of 2009..

Ok.. This is going to be a funny story.. Let me set it aside for one of those boring meetings, when i want to look busy. ;)

Here we go. It was a sunny afternoon in February when i thought of writing GMAT and immediately took 23rd july as the date. I bought Official guide and was kind of stunned to see the size of the book. However, since i had given an attempt to CAT, i was not scared of sizes of books anymore. So, i carried the big yellow book costing some Rs.1000/- back home and placed it in one corner with other 200 novels and MBA prep material. The shelf cried out of pain, as i was expert in loading the same, but i never really picked a book to read. The TV smiled and so did i. I sat in my couch and switched on the TV. Something within me said, 23rd july is far away, so its fine, you can keep collecting books till April atleast without feeling guilty.
Life brought with it lots of shocks in May. At that point in life, i lost focus and did not know how to resume back. I requested my head to put me into some training into some different location for a week or so. The request was heard and i was sent to Infosys Hyderabad for a week long training. I carried the yellow book with me.
Training was fun. People were highly co operative. I could manage to sleep till 10 AM and reach for classes. I made it a point that i learn nothing for i did not go there for learning. Campus was beautiful, though it looked extremely dull without people at night. The silence and sorrow in me, made me think of life with new perspective. I STARTED THINKING. Suddenly i realized that my life could not be without focus. I visited my friend residing in opposite side of Infosys campus, yeah that opposite door belongs to ISB. I called up Mrins, my college and hostel time friend, said i want to see you. She decided to put her assignments aside for me and we spent some great time chatting about life and experiences. As usual, i had started back for Infy at 8PM, but we sat right infront of door chatting till 10 PM. (So, we still did not value time when it came to us. ) However, a meeting with her turned to be a turning point for me. I bought a dream. Dream to grow and be a part of this amazingly scenic and deep inside jungle kind of campus. I liked the fact that it was far away from madding crowd, that people actually got to spend time on self growth and life was a wider perspective with every second and sleep forbidden nights. And yes, i brought back two golden words from my friend, focus and control. They became the foundation for quite a few things in life.
I came back to bangalore with a passion to get into ISB. I started preparing for GMAT. My morning walks got converted into GMAT prep, my evenings were religiously dedicated to this noble cause. Internet was all about online resources. And finally, i landed with a decent score which could have kept hope to get in intact.
Now came the monster. Write essays. Writing about yourself can be a killer and that too when you have always wanted to be humble. :) I created a group of 5 people who would help me review my essays. I would write a humble set of achievements and send to a pal of mine. She would be like, babe, you got to bring out the best, think big. Sleepless days and nights. God, i don't want to boast about myself, but if this is what it takes, i will behave as if had it not been for me, all previous teams and organizations would have died. But trust me, when i started writing my essays, i realized that it could have been a fact.:) There was so much i did, which i never thought was big. There was so much in me, which i never thought really made a difference. It was a journey of self exploration. After listening to about four people that essays that i had written were a nightmare, i decided to make them simple. Also, i decided to accept my elder brother's comments as final and i could not help writing four lines in last essay which were almost like disclaimer stating, this is what i am.
The days went by, i heard a beep in my cell, you have an int on 22nov. I was like, oh, now what. Know what you want to do afterMBA. And i mean, how would i know what to do after MBA, i wanna do something. Define something. OK, these guys just don't realize that my world has been running on something and anything for years now. I was like, ok i know you want me to change. I started looking for professional Interview prep help, but then i realized that this is another self exploration. Others can not help me know myself. I aligned with one of the other aspirant and started preparing with him. There was a question on every point in essay. Why do you want to live was also a question. Why ISB? Oh, i like the campus and then nice set of people to talk to, u see. Hee hee, Gary, you cant be that honest, my friend replied. You have to use your brain to get in, its not our sense of humour session. OH. I will do. I went back home to get out of this too tensed state. Being with Noni, settled my mind and thoughts. I came back with a story. I worked on that story. One of my biggest weakness turned out to be structuring. I needed to relate and frame my response. I had to put more data into my framework of thoughts. Days and nights passed in surfing through wikipedia and then came the d day.
Enter into windsor manor and decide to settle your hair. I met a lady, i thought she was an aspirant too. Talkative as i am, i started, hey, its gonna be stupid hour session. Are you tensed. She said, not really, i am in panel. I walked out without speaking a second sentence. :) I had to write an essay on "Composed" and trust me thats the most difficult thing to do when you are going for an interview. I wrote something and waited.
People smiled and went in and smiled and came out. Then came my turn. I had written in my essays that i am a day dreamer, so first question was how has been this interview in your dreams. I was about to fall from my chair when i saw the lady in panel, but somehow managed. And to my surprise, no one smiled. I knew i was in for a stress interview. There were questions on every word and every sentence. It went on and on and on. One guy never asked any question, so i kind of smiled at him for his generosity after every 10 mins. Suddenly, one of them said, ok Garima, we are done with an interview, any questions for us. My mouth was left wide open. The discussion was still on, i was enjoying it, why give it an abrupt end. Something within me said, you have spoken a lot, you should have not taken this as a platform to talk. :( I asked a few questions to them and then there was a thank you session. I had decided that i will say thanks, i enjoyed this discussion, but i said thanks three times to three of them and said Thanks for your time. I had learned a lot of table manners, but i decided to run out without applying any of them.
After going through a non smiling interview and aburpt ends, i still kept hopes. I decided i am going to think that i am in ISB, till they tell me you are not. I started following law of attraction seriously. I was living my dream now. It converted into reality. When i look back at last 6 months, i just get to believe in destiny. I always joked that i will not be able to die if i dont clear mba entrance and finally God did grant me a hope. I want to cherish every little moment and memory for this journey, coz the process of apping made me grow and know myself. I am much more clear and evolved in my thoughts now. When i speak something, i know that i need to define the "something". For somethings its best said, " Its not the destination, but the journey that makes a difference. " Indeed, it doesn't matter where one would have landed in the end, what mattered is the fact that journey of self exploration is irreversible.

There are years ahead and a life ahead. Hope, i can look back in time and smile.

Solutions vs Services in IT..

Hmmm...
Now this is gonna be fun. I love diversity. I have changed 4 jobs in 4 years. I have worked in IT services, products and now i work in solutions team. When i started working in one of the respected MNC, i was out into a cellar in Chennai for two months training. Revolutionary as i was, i hated the way people were treated in IT industry,more so, because we as Indians have an attitude to become servile to situations. A cry to be respected raised time and again, saw some of us moving out of cellar to a better locale. Sitting in TV room with people around playing carrom and dining over oh so fought for good food, i was wondering if life was going to be a fight for right for years to come. Yes, in a way it tunred right. I decided years back that i will build a brand for myself where i am not just a resource and i will also spend some time in analyzing who can we as IT providers become innovative and pro active rather than being reactive and servile. Incidently, i can say that i have an answer. Being a part of solutions team in myorganization, i work at pro actively identifying opportunities in industrial problem where IT can be a solution.
We try to define requirements with our experts and consultants and we come up with a seasonal ready to sell IT solution to our clients. Since we take a lead in time, we can protect our brains and intelligence using IP rights and for every pro active step that we take, i feel i add to pride of my nation and every developer who has actually let his intelligence get sold for Rs. 20,000/- because he knows not what he gives.
I can say that IT solutions are the future of India. Its high time we start acting as leaders. We have learned enough be being followers, now is the time to show day lights our way. ;)

Dreams Unlimited...

"If you want your dreams to turn into reality, live them as if they were real."
Wait for getting into my dream B school had every moment full of anxiety,when one fine day, a friend of mine who landed from california after long, decided to visit me. Me, a strong believer in the philosophy that you meet people for a reason was yet to find out why did i meet her. we decided to meet at one of the malls in bangalore.
We discussed about life and times. I bought a denim frock which i had been eyeing for over a month now. :) At the back of my mind, all i had was God, i want to get into B school this year. I dont want to die non MBA.
Me and my pal decided to discuss life over a glass of sugarcane juice. Some interesting facets of life. Suddenly, she started talking of "Law of attraction" . Interestingly, this concept drew me towards it. I have been this boring thinker all my life and i always believed that dreaming is reality. Someone was telling me that if you live your dreams, they become a reality some day. All my fears and anxiety suddenly converted into faith, faith that i will live this dream of doing my MBA from one of the top b schools. I had this strange feeling of happiness which comes when your good thoughts become real.
On dec 12, 2007, i received the acknowledgement of my conviction. I was emotionless. The faith of living my dreams had normalized my behaviour. Suddenly, i could sense the emotions of success and failures. The fear started subsiding and for everything that happened for last 6 months, i knew that God had a plan. Its a fact that if you dream of something, live for it and die for it. There is no balancing act as living your dreams as reality.

Supply Chain et al

"Everything starts and ends at urge. It is powerful enough to fight all odds. So, have that urge, things will start falling in place."

Or in other words, here i am going to talk of demand and supply. Urge/need and i will do it for you business. Though the roots evolve over simple process, the actual implementation is as complex as it can get. The professional term for "I will do it for you business" is "Supply Chain Management". These views have evolved from an interesting read on retail.
India with a population of one billion, growing middle class, rising highly educated youngsters and hence ever expanding consumer market is rated to be the most underserved market in terms of Global Retail opportunity. It is assumed that retail is going to be the next boom in India after IT.
Facts-

• India's retail industry is among top10 and is valued to be around 300 billion.
• Three big players- Wall Mart&Bharti, Reliance and Pantaloon.
• 300 million strong middle class

India's decison to allow upto 51% FDI in retail sector led to coming in of wall mart which allianced with Bharti to tab this immense unleashing potential in SCM sector.

While the market figures are lucrative, the challenges that retail Industry will face as it develops in India are quite a few. The market being non uniform, led by mushroom growth of small retailers, thousands of middle man and uneducation at the level of root suppiers are not easy to curb. But in every urge that is strong lay an opportunity to fight challenge. Here are some of the typical challenges that i feel a retail business will have to handle effectively.

• Poor Infrastructure
• Gap between rural and urban economy and consumption patterns
• Absence of high tech infrastructure and facilities
• Lack of retailing and warehousing expertise
• Inefficient and less organized transportation operators

A retail industry survives on effective supply chain management system. It should be able to do away with bottom line costs and push the advantage to customers in form of lower cost and hence increased loyalty in return. They need to effectively manage the infrastructure and take maximun advantage of locations and strategically place their distribution centers to take geographical advantages. Retail faces more competition as this is based more of customer perception and benefits that they can offer to customer against the competitors operating in similar situations. Change and implementation is key. Retail players might want to set up an extensive distribution network. This should have stronger inventory to face uncertainity, distribution centers close to market and stronger collaboration. The marketing strategy might have to differ based on regions and customer segments significantly considering underlying diversity inherent in Indian diaspora.

The basics for this industry will vary from typical service industry. The roots of the retailers will have to reside in India, they will have to work closely with local people and ground level workers. So, the Retailing business in India has to operate in extremely localised manner. It will involve a lot of ground work. Businesses will have to look for optimum utlization of cheap labour force, tabbing benefits residing in regional structure. They will have to invest in technical solutions which integrate this diversity at an overall level. They will have to establish third party relations and build strcutures to take first movers advantage at this stage. Aligning with local business players is key here.

97 percent of Indian retail industry today is owned by small and medium sized retailers. New entrants in this sector will have to strategise on whether to tab this potential or enter into structured retailing as Reliance has done. Retailers should explore the sourcing opportunities in India. Availability of cheap labour force and localised skills can be used effctively to drastically reduce assembling and manufacturing costs for goods to be marketed. Also, some of the goods to be sold will strictly be localised and hence will need development of local skills. The reginal parity and different set of challenges will make supply change networking strategy in India quite different from the one that exists in global market today.

Retail Boom will bring Indian pride and development at grass root level. This growth will need local semi skilled people reap benefits of economic prosperity. As i strongly believe, any economy and business close to food, clothe and shelter, will survive. Retail connects all three needs in one store. This has a future. Who knows India might beat China in manufacturing. After all, this is one country which can turn challenges into strengths if need be. :)

Rising from ashes- Indian Saga

A nation widely known for beaurocracy, illiteracy, poverty .. blah, blah, blah... Now, features on every nation's economic charter. People power? Oh yes.. indeed!
I remember few years back on a lazy lunch talk, i told a friend of mine that India has a future which is remarkable, because growth always has one, she smiled and said,"Gary, you are emotional about India, i dont wanna hit that soft corner. " I also laughed at that, but then i was talking data and facts there, so had little doubt in my mind.
Again in a discussion 3 years back over mergers and acquisitions, i told SK ( well, he is a M&A consultant today), what if one day a home based Indian company takes over a biggie. He turned and said, you dream big and i love that. :). I was like ok, i dont come from Mc Kinsey, so fine. Sitting neat in 2007, we have tatas, kingfishers and blah blah blah. Oh ok. I wasnt really emotional. I took a decision to stay back in India 2 years back for a reason. I dint want the spirit of fighting for life and struggle die in me. Its good and bad. Things are not so obvious for we Indians, so our brains are open to think. We dont really assume that being a pedestrian, people will give you way. We stand right infront of a moving car and find our way. Rather, its either ways i die, but if i dont try, i will stand on the other side of the road forever. :)
Wow, i love being Indian. Looked at the thought process. What a spirit to take risk. It can only come when you know, you have nothing to loose.
Here are some of the facts that people are trying to capture in numbers and pens-

• Over the next two decades, the country’s middle class will grow from about 5 percent of the population to more than 40 percent and create the world’s fifth-largest consumer market.
• In 1985 93 percent of the population lived on a household income of less than 90,000 rupees a year, or about a dollar per person per day; by 2005 that proportion had been cut nearly in half, to 54 percent. 431 million fewer Indians live in extreme poverty today than would have if poverty had remained stuck at the 1985 level. If India can achieve 7.3 percent annual growth over the next 20 years, 465 million more people will be spared a life of extreme deprivation.
• extreme rural poverty has declined from 94 percent in 1985 to 61 percent in 2005, and we project that it will drop to 26 percent by 2025. While the progress has been substantial—even historic—significant challenges remain.

Wow, i love numbers and all above that the fact, that we as Indians, never really though of these numbers. We simply fought a fight for survival. It brought lots of limelight to us, we are acknowledged, people want to study us. But we dont really care, for we are truly democratic, free will survivers, or rather winners of tomorrow. We will keep on making deals years on years. Our long lost brain drains serving people for dollars, will come back, not because we want them back, or we have changed the infrastructure or lifestyle for them, but just because they want to come back, because somehow this country can get them money and same non luxurious homely feeling which they did not relate to few years back. [ Pun intended]

Hail to Indians- for they know not what they cant do !!! [ Well, that stands for all kind of wrongs we are known for as well :)]

Strategy

Organizations are known to differentiate based on their strategy. Essentially all competitors build same product, set similar processes and target same customers. This is the initial growth stage. Everyone has a chance of survival, because market is too huge. As more and more players enter into market, their arises a need to DIFFERENTIATE- a word which has kept most of the top managers on toes for ages and years. Innovation is not a small game. While they say options are limitless, there is only so much that one can do in calculated manner. So, drives in the heroic word- Strategy. Often misused, but still widely used. :)
I was reading a nice speech given by one of the young budding manager on strategy for an IT company. It was simple and looked more operational to me, but linked straight to strategy which emerges from no where.
For years each business has run on some basic concepts-
a) Need for it to exist
b) People who can elaborate the need and setup a process to fulfill it
c) People who enable this process with labour and effort
d) A mechanism which takes this offering to the people who need
e) The consumer finally

Each business starts as innovation, everything that is repeated for more than a decade reduces to process and now? Since its a process, you know what fits where and you start playing with human intelligence. You want to put that into a database and process it. Amazingly, for years the human mental asset was considered to be intangible and difficult to capture commodity. But this is not the same today. BPO was someone intellectual asset, which was put on papers and followed by 200 people recruited. Maintenance in IT is another service which is going to follow similar trend in years to come.
So, here is a strategic shift. Lets talk of how it works in IT:
a) If someone can outsource to me, can i outsource to someone else? Hmm.. how about small tier2 cities? Small companies. Lesser salary, lesser brand name, so less expectation. Lets start a supply chain in IT. China, Malaysia, or may be even Ramnagar within India.
b) 200 people * 8 hours. Let me look at my human assets as products lying in warehouse. Some are lying in shelves unused for years, some products do not get to see shelves ever. How about managing this imbalance. Lets cann it productivity improvement. Utilization, may be.
c) Enough of big shops(read US, UK). Let me take my stuff to those small growing budding businesses. They might pay me lesser, but then my operations are normalized and even 10rs profit on 200 is ok for me. Lets have a wider portfolio for a better market tolerance.
d) My industry is people intensive. Decades of exposure has made work routine. Got to add value to work and give them something new to make them stick to me, or else they will break free. [ growing economy, u see:)]

Donno, if i talk absurd, but i have covered STRATEGY for next IT move. And i love the fact that this is moving manufacturing way. Does that essentially mean, all business are same?

Journey to the not so knowns- Part3

Village- HilleNijgal- 55 kms off Tumkur road. Better called Vishwa's village.

The journey started from Shopper Stop at Banerghatta Road. We all gathered to travel to a small village off Tumkur road. Vishwa had decided to show us his vilage. We were all excited. Started driving on the road, and met Vishwa near Majestic. We started following him on Tumkur Road. Dhaval took the driving seat and managed to get a dent on car almost right at the beggining of journey. :) After around 50 minutes of travel, we saw an indicator on Vishwa's bike for a left turn. The scanary around was beautiful. It was a big highway and there were small green hills around. After we took a left turn, we came across a railway crossing. We waited for around 10 minutes at the crossing only to discover the beauty of nature lying hidden behind. This was a small muddy track. We waded through it, to be received by host's family. This was the spot, we were supposed to have breakfast at. We were served with coconut chutney and rice made from a large round citrus fruit on a banana leaf. The food was yummy. We saw old way of heating water under a muddy chulha.
After having our breakfast we moved on for a trek through village farms. We started by peeping into an old house, houses which sheltered animals like sheep and cow, much to the thrill of 4 year old Muskaan.

We walked through farms to reach to capsicum farms, and custard apples. The farm looked beautiful with yellow and red capsicums, rice fields and also some typical masala plants that are out in sambhar. We proceeded to village school. There was a large ground and some classes in it. The place looked open and peaceful as it was holiday for kids. From there we trekked down to an ancient temple in village, it had a huge pillar at entry. We were huffing and puffing, thanks to the luxurious life we spend in cities, it was time to take some rest for us. The next trek started with water pool for cattles, coconult trees, sem fali plants and we saw some women picking these falis and pakaging them. We bought some of it and moved forth thorugh a thin lane towards a corn plantation. Vishwa plucked medium sized corns and offered them to us. They were sweet and tastier than any corn i had ever eaten. From there we climbed a semi tough terrain to reach to a small building on hill top. We rested there and drank coconut water.
Moving on to the village rain diety. This was a huge water reservoir right infront of rain diety temple. We rested in stony caves of that temple for sometime and started walking on stony elevated hillway towards the temple.
We climbed some 50 stairs to reach the village temple located at some good height. The village could be seen from there. We prayed to God and were all set for the rural lunch. The menu was Raagi ball, curry, green daal , salad and a sweet dish. We all were having Raagi ball for firt time, so was a relatively difficult thing to digest, but we managed. After having lunch and having strolled around the temple, we started descending to vilage again. This was a trek covered with Imli trees and natural tree webs, leading to village farms. Here came a tube well, everyone tried hands at putting their faces right infront of the water gushing out of the tube.
By this time, we were all tired, all set to reach back to pavillion. We visited lakshmi temple, rested for a while, got pictures clicked on a tractor and drove back to the city life.

Facts-
- Village is scenic and beautiful
- Main economy is based on agriculture, so people are cultured and united
- Scope for better education
- Village needs more source of income
- Caste system is prevalent

Infosys vs TCS vs Wipro

I came across a very interesting article in ET few days back. This was on divergent paths taken by Indian IT companies after years of competition. Somehow i always had a feeling that strategically these companies are differentating now, so it was great to see it coming in black and white from pen of Sudhir Apte. (Sr Analyst and Country Head, Forrester).
Here are some of the strengths of each of the organization as mentioned-
Wipro- R&D and Infrastructure Management are its core strengths. The org stands at a revenue of 3.45 Billion. It has set up a niche in six sigma conuslting in software. Good part is its approach to acquire domain specializing small companies which brings in more business expertise to it. Applying innovatin is its mantra and it is laying more and more stress on solutions. When it comes to technology and cost Wipro remains the first choice.
Infosys- This org has 30 offices worldwide and around 9 development centers in India. With a revenue of 3.1 billion, being the latest entrant in IT race, this organization has a lot to boast of in terms of its world calss infrastructure and process centric approach. Infy is clearly the first choice when it comes to quality and delivery. However, the organization today is focusing more on business centric approach, solutions and IP assets. The key mantra for most of the IT orgs would be non linear growth in times to come. This is clearly in competiiton of Accentures and IBMs of the world.
TCS- Established in 1968, Asia's largetst and India's number one IT organization. It indeed is best capable of handling large sized deals across globe, thanks to its global network delivery model. The organization boasts of technical efficiency and its global rollout delivery efficiency. Its customer portfolio is wide and is spread across regions. It believes in market penetration and wil bid low to get an entry into client side and expand reach there on. Iw ould say that i find the strategy of this organization very fool proff because its roots are strong. However, it fails to differentiate in terms of marketing.

Seeing that all 3 vendors no longer belong to same creed, IT consumers have a clear choice to make. The road ahead for all the three is strategically different and who wins and who looses is the game to watch.

These biggies remain to be hopes and support for atleast 3 lakh Indians directly and many other indirectly. Its good to know that strengths have now been recognized and ways parted to competed with a bigger world out there. Thats the beauty of business, there is thrill of doing something new every moment.

Fever......

I hate it when i have fever. Whole world seems to have stopped. I cant have ice creams and nothing looks good to me. I dont feel like reading, writing or talking. I am irritated with everything available on this earth.
What a useless life. I am looking out of window and i sincerely wish that my body temperature was normal and so was my mind. Only good thing is my teddy tracy. It seems to be healthy always. She is never sick and she doesnt catch cold or fever. God! i want to get well soon. Muje accha ni lag raha hai. I think i can cook my bread on my face, its so damn hot. I cant eat soup and ganda khana. Hope, i am better tomorrow. :(

Well.. right from my nephew's mind.......

The world has evolved into a complex theme. We have cars, homes, relations, aeroplanes and blah blah blah. I just thought of looking at a simpler angle of life and started with basics.
[ My nephew is my inspiration. He owns no complexity and i love kids, simply because their world is simple and full of honest love.]

A baby is born with a clean slate sleeping mind and no words. He opens his eyes and suddenly sees light all around him. He sees people 10 times his size, but he doesn't know fear, so he yawns and finds them boring. Wonder, does he ever feel that he needed another sweet little non speaking thing by his side? But his life has put him between 200 big and complex creature. He is the only little thing. Still, his blank mind tells him that these big monsters are the only thing who come to him when he cries. So, he is now kind of fine living with these monsters who make funny faces and laugh at him for no reason. [ Well, get into a kids mind, he is thinking like that.]
Now, the kid has started moving his hands and legs and he is curious about life around him. He wants to hold the monster's head and scratch him hard with his tiny nails if he doesnt understand what is in his mind. :) Kid sees a curve on monster's face and he copies it. Hey, look, he is smiling :). Everyone is jumping and little baby is surprised, whats the big deal. He does it all time, what if i did it once. Never mind, these people are crazy! He turns his head and looks for his milk bottle. Now he is drinking his milk and is asking the monster to put his/her hand on his hairless scalp. Ah well, this monster is a little stupid, but fine. He makes this bottle of milk and kind of entertains by making those faces. Else, its quite boring lying on this whole day. Donno, how does this big human walk.
Now, the baby has started prioritizing the monsters. So, ok, this monster is cool, he is always there when i cry and makes better faces. Ok, i prefer to stay in lap of this monster 1, then incase this monster is not there than that monster 2, this monster kinda has access to the outer world, he drives that big machine when he takes me out, so this monster supercedes first two when he is going out else i am fine with 1.
Ok monsters, i have had enough. I see that you guys dont really drink milk, you guys use your mouth. I want to eat too. Okay, this is better than that white milk. Monster 1, " I love you." You are my favourite monster. Now, guys, do i still have to drink white milk. Okay, will do. Help me sit. Monster 2, hold me while i sit, you know i cant. [:D].

I dont know what am i doing :))))))))))))))))) BUT i am sure Noni must have has something like this in his mind when he was born..

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

Well, if i had to choose between million of DVDs, i will pick "friends". I love this serial. Amazingly simple, so close to everyone and the most swiftest of jokes. These DVDs have been my time pass ever since i wrote GMAT. I have plans to finish all 10 seasons. I am left with 5 :).. I love Joey a lot, as i feel he is very very cute. No hang ups, no issues, just himself. And i particularly liked the one that i saw last night. Ross has moved into a new apartment infront of theirs and poor Joey gets to see a hot girl. He goes to the building to meet this girl, only to find Ross opening the door to him.[ Thanks to Joey's sense of direction and mine too :D. ] And then Joey is cho cute. You feel sad that he gets bogged down every time. Joey loves to eat and he prefers pastry to a girl. Something which i can relate to. :) He is absolutely someone you will fall in love with.

Awe.. i love this serial like anything. One stuff which leaves me laughing like mads.

Journey to the not so knowns........ Part2

Village#2- Off 40+ Kilometers from Bangalore- name: Ravu Gondu

We drove ahead on Kanakpura road and took a left turn to get into another village. A few kilometers down the muddy non existent road, we stooped the car. We got down from the car and started walking towards village. We saw a dairy and a hair dresser. This was a relatively well off village. We moved on to come across a college going boy. To our relief he could communicate in english. We explained our intent to know about their village and see if its feasible to promote it for tourism. Soon, a man walked out a house and asked us to meet dairy secretary. he asked a boy on bicycle to lead us to that person's house.
We reached to a huge and muddy house. A man conversant in english stood infront. He smiled at us and tried to understand our intent. There were muddy houses and fields which i could see from corners of houses. The man told us that he was dairy secretary and also the secretary of some political party. He welcomed us inside house. The house had two big square angans. Around the angans were rooms. He made us sit in one of the rooms, which had tv and glass paintings. This village was surely more prosperous that the first one.
The man took us around to backyard which had a wooden carpentry shop. There was an old bespectacled man cutting wood with axe. This looked like a fairy tale backyard to me. :) There were cows tied at back and way opened to lush green fields. Women as usual were cleaning utensils, carrying wood and washing angan. Kids in this village seemed to have a life of their own as there was no kid on street. The man guided us to a field, he showed us paddy, soya bean and ragi crops.
We followed him to a goshala and then to a small house made of bricks. This house is used for sericulture. There were rectangle wooden boxes with mulberry leaves and with velvet silk worms feeding on it. The boxes were covered with nets all around to save worms from flying. We were told that silk worms pass through four stages lasting for about 28 days, before they can be taken for making silk. The silk cocoons were sold to silk board in Kanakpura. This business was up for two months in an year and the village did silk worm rearing for 100 eggs. This yielded a total of 50kgs of silk yielding shells.
After showing us mulberry trees and fields, he guided us to a path which seemed to be heading towards a temple and ashram. This track was surrounded by green fields on both sides. We could see beautiful hillocks and lush green fields. The track was peaceful and an exciting nature walk every moment. We saw beautiful fields and houses spread all around. After walking for about 1.5 kms we saw a scenic stony hill. We trekked up the hill to reach to a temple. The temple had a story of its own. The pujari told us, that lord hanuman's idol came out of rocks on its own.
As i looked beyond the temple, i saw a beautiful natural waterfall. The beauty of this hill can not be described in words. It was an unfolding mystery at every step. We moved to the top of the hill and found a village bawri [ reservoir of water]. The track ahead had three beautiful sivlingas next to which lay some steps. These steps led us to a beautiful abode of peace amongst the hills. The steps were structured and had well organized pots of plants alingned next to them. We moved ahead to enter through a door. We saw our reflection in the mirror, and moved head to find out if someone resided in that house. A lady stepped out and directed us to a staircase. We climbed the stairs to reach to an area which opened to green scenic beauty of that hill. We were greeted by a sweet and fair lady who could converse in english. We entered into a room, which was like a cave, the walls were painted and it had a small window which was covered with a cloth. There was a bed lying in the corner and there was a lady clad in saffron saree sitting on it. The fair lady told us that the place we were in was an ashram, and the lady sitting on bed was guru maiya. The ashram was constructed by Baba Raam ram as a home for destitute kids. She told us that she was spiritual inheritor of baba. She also showed us the meditation room of Baba Raam Ram. Entire ashram was carved out of caves. The ashram was decorated with hand made potteries which were as beautiful as the heart of kids who made them. This place was a house for 22 kids, who have now moved to Dharwad for studies.
The lady talked about spirituality and Baba Raam Ram. I looked at two kids who had found home in this ashram years back. They were young, decent and with a future that this self less service by Baba had granted to them.
We were offered pooran poli and vadas by the ashram, which was a relief to our hungry stomachs. Lady showed us the ashram and we moved back to the track from where we started but with lot to introspect and think of.
Explaining some of the messages by lady would take another blog.
We started back for Bangalore. In the way, we stopped at art of living ashram, a place where meditation is packaged and commercialized for riches, and is freely available for poor. The campus is enormous and beautiful. We meditated for half and hour and moved on with life..........

Outcomes:
- Village has potential and means to grow.
- Needs right networking so that villagers can earn more by eradicating middle men.
- Silk culture can be promoted at a larger scale.
- Women can commercialize their art and craft. They are relatively well organized.
- Given its proximity to hills, this can be an attractive spot for tourists.
- Village needs some improvement on roads.
- People are relatively educated and aware. It makes sense to ask art of living group to enable these people for good.

Journey to the not so knowns..........Part 1

Village1 - Off 30 kms from Bangalore
Saturday, 15th of Sept 2007. A day which Dhaval, Pritam and myself blocked for a journey to the unknown- The rural part of Karnataka. The day was preceded by rains, but we were determined to start with our first field trip to rural India. Dhaval decided to drive us through this first journey. We all gathered at 7:30 AM infront of Shopper Stop, Banerghatta Road to head towards kanakpura main road off Bangalore.
Multiple questions and thoughts crossed as our car cut across the city roads and traffic. What is the life in village like? How will we manage without knowing language?
We were finally moving away from city crowd and big mansions. We hoped that the influence of city life will be visible in the vicinity of 100 kms around bangalore atleast. But we were only to be proven wrong by our first right turn off 30 kms from bangalore. We were now in a small village with about 100 houses. Houses square in shape, similar in structure, with women cleaning utensils and children running on streets[ Pardon my prejudice, but men seemed to be doing nothing, but for sitting and ordering] . People looked unperturbed by cars as probably they saw many going by that way, however a stopped car did gather a lot of crowd. May be the questions," Do these people have anything to do with us too? They often pass by, but never bother to stop. Do they have anything to take from us? "
We stopped the car next to a small school. Moved out of car to interact with people around. As expected no one knew hindi or english. But as they say, "language has never been a barrier in communication. Communication happens with feelings and eyes. If they are right, you will put across your message." One kid guided us to a tall man sitting infront of a big house. To our relief, he knew hindi. We explained our purpose of visiting village to him. We expressed our desire to know more about village, its scenic beauty, its potential to be a host to weekend travellers and willingness of villagers to accept such travellers. As usual, there was an air of doubts and questions, which we tried to clarify by explaining our purpose and intent. While we were talking it out to the tall man, kids had already built the trust and started jumping around us. Their innocent eyes looking at our cameras and videos with an awe. Pritam started shooting videos and befriending with kids. I smiled and moved ahead to ask their name. The reaction to smile was spontaneous, but understanding my question regarding their name was difficult. Somehow we started introducing each other.
The tall man, who seemed to be some accepted authority in village asked some kids to take us around village. We headed to some narrow muddy gullies. Kids were jumping and dancing out of excitement and thrill of being captured in camera. We moved ahead.. Some shy women-smiling from the corner of their angans, some old women- looking out of anxiety at us, the herd of kids -getting larger with every passing home. We saw goats, buffaloes, cows. Dhaval managed to speak some broken Telugu and hence tried to communicate with two kid leaders[ Yep, leadership skills are out at every level, some people do stand apart:)]. They thought we had gone to take them to bangalore, we told that we had come to their village to open doors for people to travel their village, meet those people and experience their life. Some pictures, some writing and some school going kids opened a course of conversation which had no common language, but lots of innocence and acceptance. I was touched by their simplicity and ability to take life heads on. They are satisfied and happy. City fascinates them because poverty in village can not hold them. And i knew that they were right. There was nothing hi tech in their life. Bangalore's prosperity and fame got nothing evidently changed beyond the city limits.
Another way of looking at it was, that they still preserve the culture, innocence and trust that Bangalore had lost in mad run. We wanted to enable village economy, we wanted to let more and more people visit villages as tourists and we saw that there is still a lot of Indian future growing under the shadow of ignorance and no education.
We were taken by kids to a clean, small house. A lady prepared sweet sugared coffee for all of us. We sat in a room while the kids around jumped and played. The village was open and generous. Smiles here and smiles there. The intelligent girl from village who could read english came to the house. I tried explaining some things to her, but could just figure out that she is a very good singer. I came out of the house and was attracted by a beautiful rangoli infront of an angan. A pretty girl came out of the house and welcomed me in. The house was clean and well kept. It had a TV and cable connection. She smiled and i smiled, i knew there isnt more we could have expressed given that words were a limitation. I tried to tell her that i loved the art that lay at her doorstep. I knew that i wanted to tell her that you are the powers to keep these kids happy with whatever little you have, but words were a limitation. She put her hand on my head and let me go. Choolha is still a fate for women in villages. India enables big automation, but gas cylinder is still a far seen luxury. Despite all these non existent marks of necessities for a life today, there was a smile, a power and innocence. There were dreams, but satisfaction was bigger. And i saw the future of India dancing on streets, unaware of GDP, growth and economy.
We moved out of those muddy gullies to talk to the tall man. We asked him if he will be willing to host travellers on weekends. We wanted people to visit villages, befriend with them and hence open a source of income to villagers. This will also help them build awareness of outside world and their rights to get educated. The tall man looked happy. He assured that he will plan and co ordinate with us.
We headed towards our cars with hope and sheer joy of being loved. Kids followed us to the car. We bid them good bye and moved on for our search for Village#2........................
Outcome:
-Village has immense scope for promoting education
-Mechanized farming can help unleash a lot of potential from this land
-Rural Homestay could be a good option to generate ready income and build village network
-More people visit villages, more it features on maps, better gets its voting visibility and hence roads and infrastructure :)

Love at first sight with Noni..........

Noni is a soft and pink, little baby. He was born on 6th dec, 2005. He has papa, mummy, dadi, bua and half a room full of toys.His favourite toys are Winnie the Pooh, Crying doll and Gajju- the elephant. A naughty baby who loves one and all.

Noni was my love at first site. When i saw him, he was 30 mins old and innocent and sweet. He did not know how to speak or even open his eyes. It was an amazing feeling to see such a tiny life. Noni was born premature , so was taken to ICU within moments. I had been the youngest in my home for years, so was extremely excited to see someone younger than me. 5 mins of glance of such a beauty was not enough for me. I got greedy, i sneaked into ICU and stood next to his incubator, waiting for him to open his eyes and see me. He was wearing a little red frock, which was supposed to be my frock when i was as little as him. After 20 mins of faking to be Noni's mother and standing next to his incubator, he finally decided to open his eyes to see me. They were tiny little shining bulbs. The feeling can not be expressed in words. I knew i was hooked for lifetime. I got more greedy, i wanted to hold him in my arms now, but nurse refused to take him out. Noni moved his hands and legs and yawned after looking at me. I jumped out of sheer joy. This is going to be exciting. A little baby to play with and that too 24 hours. :)... I was detected to be an illegitimate entry in ICU and a trainee doctor came to me and told me that i had to go out before senior doctor comes for next round. I was a little sad, till he told me that i could come and sit with my nephew after 10 at night, provided i dont tell anyone about the privilege. He made me even happier by telling that Noni was a very cute baby and that even he liked to look at him after every half an hour.

Noni came back home after 15 days. Now he was completely my property. He was turning out to be nasty. He did not sleep, played 24 hours and dont even talk about the mess that he made each one of clean. BUT, his smile was priceless. I was always in double mind before leaving for office. Bhaiya asked me to take a 7 days leave and stay with him, so that i could concentrate on work. I took leaves, but Noni was an excitement every minute. 7 days were not enough. I would come back from office to see Noni lying on sofa and smiling. He was innocent and dependent. He knew how to express. He would throw his hands and legs in air out of joy. I can never forget the kind of reception he gave me when i came back home. It was fun to see a little baby drinking milk from bottle. I used to ask mum if he dsnt get bored of drinking white cow milk every day. Doesnt he feel like eating ice creams and chocolate. Everyone jumped at my question and asked me to not to give him ice creams as he is too young. BUT, noni threw his legs in the air. I knew he wanted ice cream. One fine day when eone was asleep, i took some icecream, heated it and gave a spoon to Noni. Since then, Noni and me are best pals. Noni knows that he can ask his bua for a pram ride or ask her to crawl on her legs and play with him.

Noni........ Part-2.. to be written..

Madhushala

The beauty of this poem is in the way poet has captured each and every element of life by drawing synergy with liquor. He has mentioned life as a journey to madhushala. His description of bringing out illusionary state called "Life" is something which strikes me everytime i read it. I like the fact that this poem has so much hidden in it that it unfolds with every reading. And as far as i know, the poet had never drunk ever in his life. I find his imagination amazingly beautiful.

Madhushaala

madira meiN jaane ko ghar se chaltaa hai peenewaala
kis path se jaaooN asmanjas meiN hai wo bhola bhaala
alag alag pathu batalaathi sab paR maiN ye bataata hooN
raah pakaD tu ek chalaa-chal paa jaayega madhushaala

sun kal-kal chal-chal madhu-ghaT se girti pyalOn meiN haala
sun run Jhun-Jhun chal witran karti madhusa ki baala
bas aa pahunche door nahiN kuch chaar kadam aur chalna hai
chahak rahe sun peene waale mehak rahi le madhushaala


naal sura kee dhaar lapaT see keh na dena ise jwaaLa
madira hai math isko keh dena uRR ka chaala
dard nasha hai is madira ka wigat smritiyaN saaqi haiN
peeDa meiN anand jise ho aaye meri madhushaala

dharm-grandh sab jala chuki hai jiske antar kee jwaala
mandir masjid girje sab ko toD chuka jo matwaala
panDit momin paadriyoN ke fandoN ko jo kaat chuka
kar sakti hai aaj usee ka swaagat meri madhushaala


laalayeet adhRoN se jisne haaye nahiN choomi haala
harshit kampit kar se jisne haay madhu ka chooaa pyaala
haath pakaD kar lajjit saaqi ko paas nahiN jisne kheencha
wyarth sukha Daali jeewan kee usne mahdumay madhushaala


bane pujaari premi saaqi ganga jal paawan haala
rahe ferta awirat gati se madhu ke pyaaloN kee maala
aur leeye jaa aur peeye jaa isi mantr ka jaap keeye jaa
maiN shiv ki pratima ban baiThooN mandir ho ye madhushaala

ek baras meiN ek baar hee jagti holi kee jwaala
ek baar hee lagti baaji jalti deepoN kee maala
duniya waaloN kintu kisi din aa madiraalay meiN dekho
din meiN holi raat diwaali roz manaati madhushaala

adharon par ho koee bhi ras jiwha par lagti haalaa
han jag ho koee haathon mein lagta rakkha hae pyaalaa
har surat saaqi ki surat mein parivartit ho jaati
aankhon ke aage ho kuchh bhi aankhon mein hae Madhushaalaa.


sumukhi tumhara sundar mukh hi mujh ko kanchan kaa pyaalaa
chhalak rahi hai jisme maNik roop madhur maadak haalaa
maiN hi saaqi banta maiN hi peene waala banta hoon
jahan kahin mil baithe hum tum wahiN gaee ho madhushaala

do din hee madhu muJhe pilaa kar oob uthi saaqi baalaa
bhar kar ab khiska detee hai woh mere aage pyaalaa
naaz-o-adaa andaazon se ab haaye pilaanaa door hua
ab to kar detee hai kewal farz-adaaee madhushaalaa

choTe se jeewaN meiN kitna pyaar karooN peelooN haala
aane ke hee saath jagat meiN kehlaaya jaane-waala
swaagat ke hee saath wida ki hothi dekhi tayyaari
band lagi hone khulte hee meri jeewan madhushaala


saant saki ho ab taq saaqi peekar kis uRR kee jwaala
aur aur ki raTan lagaata jaata har peene-waala
kitni iKsha ek har jaaNe-waala yahaN choD jaata
kitne aRmaanoN kee bankar qaBr khaDi hai madhushaala

yam aayega saaqi bankar saath liye kaali haala
pee na hosh meiN phir aayega sura wisudh yeh matwaala
yeh antim behoshi antim saaqi antim pyaala hai
pathiK pyaar se peena isko fir na milegee madhushaala


girti jaati hai din-pratidin pRanayani pRaanoN kee haala
maGn hua jaata din-pratidin deen subhge mera tan pyaala
rooth raha hai muJhse roop si din-din yauwan ka saaqi
sookh rahi hai din-din sundari meri jeewan madhushaala

Dhalak rahee ho tan ke ghaT se sangini jab jeewanhaala
paaTr garal ka le ab antiM saaqi ho aanewaala
haath paras bhoole pyaale ka swaad sura jiWha bhoole
kaanoN meiN tum kehti rehna madhuKaNN pyaala madhushaala


mere aDharoN par ho na antiM wastu na tulsi-jal pyaala
mere JiWha par ho antiM wastu na ganga-jal haala
mere shaV ke peeche chalne-waaloN yaad ise rakhna
ram-naam hai satya na kehna kehna sachchi madhushaala


mere shaV par wah roYe ho jiske aaNsoo meiN haala
aaH bhare wah jo ho surbhit madeera peekar matwaala
de muJhko wo kaandha jinke pad-mad dag-mag hoNte ho
aur jalooN uss Thaur jahaN par kabhi rahee ho madhushaala

aur chitha par jaaye unDela paatR na ghRith ka par pyaala
GhanT bandhe angoor latha meiN madhya na jal ho par haala
praan-priye yadi SHraadH karO tum mera to aise karna
peene-waaloN ko bulwa kar khulwa dena madhushaala


naam agar pooche koi to kehna bas peene-waala
kaam garal na aur dhaalna sab ke madiroN ka pyaala
jaati priYe pooche yadi koi keh dena deewanoN kee
dharM batana pyaaloN ki le maala japna madhushaala

pitR paKsh meiN putR uThana araGYan na kar meiN par pyaala
baiTh kahiN par jaana ganga sagar meiN bharkar haala
kisi jagaH kee miTTi bheege tRipti muJhe mil jaaYegee
darpan arpan karna muJhko paDh paDh karke "madhushaala"

Shankar and Tony..

"If i were to walk on that path, i would have known that life drifts at every mile."
This is something which strikes to me day in and day out.
I have been staying in this house for over an year now. Shankar and his dog Tony visit my house to deliver water and grocery as and when needed. Tony is a fat, happy go lucky dog who is loved by one and all in my apartments. I like Tony for i find him to be a bindaas doggie who loves to live and play. He is always smiling and when he wants to be pampered, he will jump on you to get his head scratched. So, he has kind of managed his life well and built an extensive network of people he loves to be with.
Shankar is a proud owner of a small shop near my house. A 14 year old boy with oodles of confidence that capability to earn brings to most of us. Shankar considers me to be like his elder sister whom he can ask 200 questions. He is happy and progressive. He came to my house to deliver water container on sunday. Tony followed him inside house jumping and hopping. I was working on my laptop. Shankar asked me to show how laptop works. I told him abut keyboard and started explaining him some basic features. He looked happy and excited. Suddenly he turned and asked me a question," Didi, ye button dabane ke aapko log paise dete hai, mein saare din kaam karta hun, phir bhi mere bimar papa ki dawai nahi la sakta. Kya mein mehenti nahi hun? Jab mein sadak pe dhakke kha sakta hun to aapki tarah padh bhi sakta hun. Kyun nahi hai meri kismat mein ye sab."
I saw an expression of deep rooted sadness on his face. I knew he had questioned the strategy of the world created by God. After thiking for sometime i told him that life has its own balance. Those who are unlucky get everything on platter and dont even realize the importance of what they have. Those who are lucky struggle to get what they want and know what getting that means. I told him that degree and education creates mediocres. It makes people who just know limits. Its the real grass root struggle that takes out the best out of person. And then i knew, its a fact. Bill Gates, Ambanis were the guys who did not know that 2 Billion is needed to run the kind of business they dreamt of. Shankar looked happy, he expressed his desire to learn english. He went back to his world, with a happy Tony following him.
I knew he had brought out the vanity in my existence by talking about this. I knew, i wanted to attach to people and remove some hurdles from their lives. I want to share my happiness and growth with people who have not been fortunate to experience it. And then i knew that i bow my head infront of the bravery with which he is fighting with life everyday, with that smile. I want to bring economic prosperity to grass roots. I want them to know that improving GDP is a right of one and all. I will work towards improving village economy. I have a vision and i want to make it a sight.

Conscience.......

It's a rainy day. Bangalore is literally stranded. Water clogged road, standing vehicles and frustration on faces. This is something, i have been seeing for almost three years now. Looking out of window, i had a thought, "A prograssive nation with a population of one billion plus[ me being one of them ] is on standstill for a reason. " What is the reason? Am i talking about a nation which supports a large percentage of cynical youths like me or about a nation that boasts about its growing educated middle class. There is nothing eductaed about this. We are reaping the benefits that fate has bestowed upon us. We are still royal slaves to nations which ruled us 100 years back. We still have a crimpling econmy which is dependent on big players of this world. Education is about turning the world, about differentiating, its not about servicing. Why do i have a feeling that we have done nothing. Why do i have a feeling that i am living in a castle of sand whose foundations are non existent. We do not even have a road to walk on. What are we claiming to be? Years back Gandhi raised a slogan in air to boycott foreign made goods and hence re generate economy. Years later, do we need to boycott our own government to create a pool out of our taxes and work on bettering infrastructure? I think, its high time we wake up and take control in our hands. We carry our weak spines of being ignorant citizens to office everyday. Today's two hour journey told me that i have to do more in life because i am creating nothing out of my prosperity for generations to come. If we can not strengthen the foundation of this nation with the kind of education we have, anyone can make or break it in years to come.

Happiness..

Why do i have this mad state of mind in life. What keeps me happy and motivated to live? I have no clue. But, there is something within me which is very strong and unique. I love the life in its full glory. I think thats the beauty of life, its challenging yet charming. A day full of work and some fun. Whats on my mind now?

Just a day ...

I filed my app for B school yesterday. A process which was in my mind for more than a month now. I interacted with multiple people, got it reviewed and finally took a call on putting myself on paper. Did i know myself so well before this? Never knew writing about yourself can be so difficult. As usual, i found it difficult to express myself, but still did it finally. :)