AOL Advance Course..

I spent this weekend doing nothing. I was online for almost whole day and i dont know why. I wanted to spend this weekend without purpose and i decided not to go out. This was good eye opener to me. There are so many things i realized just because i had time to think about them. I realized that i have to visit home, that there was so much work pending in terms of cleaning my almirah which was left unattended for a week now and then i realized among everything else that i do, i am missing me. I need some peace and more time for me. I know i cant keep quite for even a minute, but then this was missing from my life. I have heard so much about the advanced course that i just took a decision to go ahead with it. It did not take me more than 5 minutes in morning to decide to take a leave and enrol for the course. I did the basic course while at ISB and i quite liked it, but what i really like is the ashram near Bangalore. I have been there as visitor many a times and always had the desire to stay there for sometime, away from city, away from work and just think good, eat good and be happy. One of the decisions i feel happy about. I know when i come back on monday, i will find the whole world new and peaceful. Somethings i must do because they just get a better me out of me. :)

Just a thought!!

As simple as this might sound, the question just left me speechless. I happened to enter into online web discussion with 5 of my closest friends. I have a panja club which exists since i was a kid. We all are the best of friends and by God's grace, all of us have completed our education from best of places. Our circle consists of five of us from INSEAD, LBS, Harvard, ISB and Wharton and today when we look back at things, we just smile at our childhood stories. Lots of things have changed, but through all of these we have remained together. We just thought we should talk and see what is the final take on life now that we have the neccessary tools to take it heads on. Among all of us, i have always been the least ambitious and follow my heart kind of person. I never topped my class, never tried to do anything which my heart did not approve of. Rest everyone is pretty much focused, ambitious and i must say that they have done best in whatever they have done, so have i. It was time to take the account on life.
Everyone had lots to tell. As the discussion turned to me, i was speechless, i just knew that i was happy or may be i have always been happy and i never thought why. I said i am happy and everyone started laughing, tell us something new Gary. I was like this is all i know about life. I just do what i feel like doing, i went to ISB coz i wanted to, i studied marketing and strategy coz i wanted to, i just took the time heads on when it came to job and adjusted with somethings, but then still i am happy because there are so many other things which cover up. And what else can i think?? If i am being asked what will i do 2 years down the line, i dont know or rather i dont care. I just know whatever i do, i will do in style and live life to its fullest. So, the news is that i flunked in one of those internal certification in my company coz i dint feel like reading 210 pages at the cost of movie or may be a walk with friend. People laugh, they think i cleared ISB and failed in internal certi, but yaar thats me. I never did anything i did not like to do, whats new, i dont care. With a loud laugh, everyone said you are just you and sometimes we wonder what makes you do everything so well in life despite your attitude to take things light. I dont know if i will do well in life or not, frankly it dsnt matter, in the end i must sleep peacefully and must have time to enjoy life.
Incidentally, all of us feel the same way. A friend of mine has now taken up social venture after working in high profile Ibanking job, another is a free lance consultant, other one has left job to do some free lance writing and yes we do have a fighter who owns a venture. In the end, what did we all do? We followed our heart. I just happened to ask the venture guy, so how many times did you use excel? Almost always, but in the end i follow my heart and it works, rather every time i do that, i think of you and smile. :)..
Sometimes, we all just wonder, whats so complicated about life. If you think something is right and if your heart thinks it is, your mind will put everything in it to make it right. Most of the decisions in life are not as complicated as we make them. I always feel that a decision taken with open eyes is as good as decision taken with closed eyes, in the end its all about how you work towards making it right. So, the thumb rule is- there are no plans in life, no one knows tomorrow, do what you think is best today and be open to face what comes next. I used to think a lot, but now i just know that anything that comes around me has to be good else it cant come this far. I know here is an element of arrogance that i carry, but then i just know that everything even remotely related to me has to be good else it could not have managed to find me. :)

Innocence at its best!!

So, this his how Noni looked every afternoon during the two months i spent at home before joining my new job. Needless to say, he is the best!! :)

The Hampi trip!! :)

One of the weekend getaways of mine. This time with Shravan and gang and yes Shravan did not create a DDLJ scene on the station, he was before time for the train. :) So, we had this new set of people, DPS, Malik, Baily, Trupti, Shravan, GB and me. We became freinds in train and rest is a history. From playing Uno in the top berth of train to distilled water and crazy jokes, the whole journey was fun. I slept soon, only to wake up in mrng and reach the destination. We headed for tungabhadra dam with crazy heavy bags , but the whole ascent was some fun. Then we moved towards hampi and stayed near the famous temple. Afternoon was dedicated to Mango tree restaurant. This place is a beauty, you are made to sit on stair case facing the river and food is served. The calmness and serenity of the place just leaves you enamoured. Next, we headed for the remains near temple. These were some rocky mountains with small temple and water body up there. We came back and Shravan treated us to the local Mandekari. :). We had our dinner in an equally exotic place called Garden paradise. The cuisines availabe at this place is Israeli, English, South India and North Indian.
Next day we took a guide and took some 3-4 kinetics to travel around hampi with a guide. The remains are spread over 25 kms and as you wade through the roads, you get the feel of old city and you feel you are relving the era. Huge stony architecture, large markets and water bodies, everything is so ancient and speaks of old times. We were fortunate to see the shooting of some serial which was being shot in one of the temples. After whole long day of discovering the magnificience, we guys decided to move back. We were dead tired and we reached station just in time. Please dont forget to buy some handicraft from this place, they are really exclusive and cheap.
I will call hampi river side goa. Lots of foreigners, care free life, variety in food, its all there to stay. The color of life is all so visible and it does not come at huge cost. :)

ISB class of 2009 ... Moments Lived! :)