It has been raining in Delhi

Hi,

It has been the rainiest Jun-July-Aug for Delhi in recent years. I don't recall when did we get as much rain as this year, more importantly - for three consecutive months. Anyone who knows me well, would also know my love for rains. They completely drive me up the wall...

Well, it started in the year 2003 - when I drove dad's car in a water pool and got stuck! Back then we used to get knee-high water pools everytime it rained. One morning, it was raining hard and I decided to take dad's car. On my return, I was welcomed by water pools and I didn't want to enter it. But then, as it is said "vinash kale, viprit bhuddhi"...I saw a Maruti Van going steady through this pool. I had driven through such pools earlier as well, everytime driving in the first gear with the acceperator touching the floor.

With my past experince and the confidence of seeing another car managing its way steadily - I decided to venture in this pool! But that was a BIG mistake, as it tunred out within minutes...

Being slightly immature (that's what I would call it for lack of experience) and in hurry - I didn't wait to see how the Maruti Van manages the entire struggle. The fact that she was going steady, but was still just half way through - should have rung some alarm bells - telling me to see how she manages to get out safely. Since I didn't wait - I entered right after her...soon I was met with terror.

Being in a Maruti Esteen, I was going faster than the Van through the pool and soon I was about to catch up with her. It was right then, the Van decided enough is enough and broke down...right in the middle of the pool....errr, the road! With me just behind her - seeing that she had come to a halt almost abruptly - I braked...and that was the end of my journey inside my car through the pool.

My house was just a few hundred meters from that spot where I was getting soaked in rain - trying to push a very heavy car all by myself. But those few hundred meters seemed longer than any distance I have travelled so far. The damage to the car was way beyond I could anticipate...the engine got jammed as somehow water entered some God-for-saken pipe...whew! This cost my dad loads...and I didn't drive his car for many months to come.

Since then rains and I have had a love-hate relationship...

But seriously, guys tell me - what is it that you like about the rains that you would want it to rain more than necessary. By 'necessary' I mean - the amount of rains that our agriculture requires, or our health requires...but anything more than that is just trouble to me. The roads go from bad to worse, the traffic becomes pain in the a** from pain in the neck and there is just too much of muck all over.

Well - that is just me...I am sure one amongst rare to feel so about one of the better liked phenomenon - Rains! There still could be a healthy divide on how many like / dislike other seasons like summer, winter - but for rains - I feel most would like to love rains. Please tell me why???

That's it from me...do leave your comments and feedback. Thanks...take care, keep smiling and drive very carefully when it rains.

My latest purchase - writer's block!

Hi,

I come back to writing after a really long break...in last 30 days, I could manage just one post. Well - after all I am one of the few who bought Calvin's invention - the Writer's Block!!! Anyhow, now I am back and first would like to fill in with what has been happening in my life...

Last month has not just seen me buy the block, but also some hectic schedules along with some real fun times. It has been an exciting month for more than one reason...

It is sort of difficult to start here...what should I set the ball rolling...hmmm...let me just start...

Okay - after ages...and I actually mean ages did I read two novels in a month (by that I mean, from start to finish). Yes - that used to be regular when I was in college, but in recent years - I manage to complete one (or two at the max) in a year. But July saw me finish two...the good part is that I am on with my third now.

I first took up "Deception Point' by Dan Brown. This was a fast paced political drama - very enthralling. I would probably not rate it better than The Da Vinci Code - but it was good enough for me to burn the midnight oil for three consecutive nights and finish the novel. It was yet another 'unputdownable' from this author (first being TDVC).

My second novel of the month was Chetan Bhagat's 'The 3 mistakes of my life'. "Wow" is all that I can say for this story...truth and fiction have been blended beautifully by Bhagat in this story. I am tempted to call this one yet another 'unputdownable' that I got my hands on. I don't think comparng Dan Brown and Chetan Bhagat makes any sense - both are in different leagues and are leaders in their respective leagues.

Now, in August - I have recently (last night that is) started reading yet another bestseller from Dan Brown - Angels & Demons. It certainly promises to keep me up for couple of more nights - that's all that I can say about what I think of this novel.

Well then - reading novels apart, there were other exciting things that I was a part of. One of them being my trying out food at Varq - before its official launch. Wells thanks a ton S&S...Food at Varq was not just delectable - but it was food's presentation that completely awed me. It is an Indian cuisine restaurant - but completely the only one of its kind - AMAZING!

One of the most special occasion for the month of July was coming together of Tina and my dear friends - Arif and Shriya as husband & wife. They got married on 17th, 18th and 18th of July. If you are thinking what does this mean...well that is the exciting part. On the 17th - these two got married legally, in court that is. Then on the morning of 18th - they got married with Hindu rituals and later in the day - had a Nikah as well. Yeah - got married thrice within 24 hours!!! Well - I wish both of them the best and all the happiness they deserve...it has been long over-due.

With all this excitement - consider this that I work in an environment where each moment could bring in something to excite, trouble, push me down or pull me up...that is the brilliance of working on your own and owning a start-up! Guys - do visit Grehom - tell me what you think of it, give me suggestions on what you think can / should improve...your inputs shall be greatly appreciated!

All right then - that is all for now. Will try and be more regular with my posts this month. Take care and keep smiling...

Smile please...

Hi,

This post is going to be short and is intended to make a few people smile, since they don't do that much these days!

I hope they see this post and realise that no matter what - there isn't anything worth frowning about and that there is always something that could bring a smile...it is just up to us to see things.

I will sign-off with my trademark signature - take care and keep smiling!

Are we doing enough - if at all?

Hi,

Last evening I met an old friend, Pradeep. We were in college together and hadn't even met in the last 3-4 years but somehow remained in touch all this while. All that we knew always was - what is the other person doing these days...nothing beyond!

I knew that after completing BSc Statistics, he joined MSc Statistics (a brave one) and then joined Institute of Economic Growth, which for information sake, is not just an academic institute but a professional research and analysis organization as well. Pradeep, after spending sometime at IEG, shifted to Planning Commission and then eventually came back to IEG.

Since all this he had done in the last 3-4 years, the period when we hadn't even met - we had much to catch up on. He first tried to explain what IEG does and how do they operate - this I will not elaborate as it is available on their website. Then he went on to explain what he does at IEG and how.

Pradeep is a part of a four-member unit that manages research projects that IEG gets on Health. Under this umbrella, Health - there are various streams that are worked upon. Pradeep was talking about the latest project that he worked on - Human Development and HIV in Bellary district, Karnataka. This project was commissioned by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

To be honest, I hadn't heard of this district - Bellary. Then, I didn't even know that Bellary had one of the highest number of HIV cases amongst some 610 odd districts of India. And then Pradeep told me the most astonishing thing - Bellary is one of the most flourishing and well to do (financially) districts as well, in the state. It happens to be a big market for luxury items - choppers (as in private helicopters) and Bentleys are the norm for business lords. Point to note here is the term 'business lords' - it has been used to indicate that this sort of glossy image is restricted to the few who own up business there. Bellary is an iron-mining hub of India and China is a big customer. Even though Bellary is a mining hub - but there is a large portion of it that has fallen to illegal hands.

Anyhow - coming to the facts that actually lead to a high number of HIV cases in this town. From a Human Development and other general Health related research specialist's eyes - prostitution and truck drivers are normal scenarios. But the prevalence of locally acceptable bigamy and / or mistresses along with still-enforced 'Devdasi' custom - most of them practicing unsafe sex - are the major contributors to a steep growth in HIV+ cases there.

I was getting more and more interested in Pradeep's first hand story as I wanted to reach to its end and understand - "so, after studying all this, after seeing all this - what do you guys propose and what do you guys think will happen for and in Bellary?"

This is where I sensed the first signs of frustration showing up in Pradeep's voice and words. Till now - he sounded excited about his line of work, he sounded concerned about what he saw and observed in Bellary - but now - another emotion...FRUSTRATION!

He was honest enough to say, "look, all that IEG is supposed to do is conduct a research, analyse data - set it against a hypothesis and prepare a report with suggestions for improvement. Beyond this, it upto the commissioning body (UNDP in this case) and the policy makers (local and central governments) to do anything with this report." This statement in itself told me that in his not-so-long career he's already seen this happen on more occasions than he would like to.

His supervisor - a seasoned economist and research specialist tells him to cool down. Explains that this is the fault of 'your-generation' as you guys want things to happen quickly and the results to come out even quicker. In all this, Pradeep puts up a brave front and believes that if people and organizations working on such projects - all start questioning the reason and result of any such research, then probably there wouldn't be any progress. It is a question of someone doing something, even if that effort doesn't bring out the best possible solution(s).

I, in some sense, agree with him. It is after all the easiest for me to do. I can agree that yes, IEG and other such research bodies or even organizations like the UN should conduct such programmes and think about how to improve the situation. But - the question that has been troubling me is - can I do something?

After pondering over it for one full night - another question cropped up - DO I WANT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT???

The answer is a feeble YES!

Well, honestly - it is a yes but I use the adjective 'feeble' to it because that's what it is. I want to do something - there is no doubt about it. But is this feeling strong enough to make me get up - book tickets to Bellary and actually go there to experience what Pradeep had told me. No, it is not. This yes is true only to the extent that 'doing-something'about-it' does not upset my daily routine in any manner, it does not make my mind run away from my regular responsibilities and does not pose a hinderance in my personal growth and development.

So - here I am doing my bit...I have tried to bring this issue out through this post as I could not see any quicker way of spreading the word, than this. Just as the cartoon you see at the start of this post - I am doing community service on the Internet!

I thank Pradeep to have exposed me to a scenario that I had kept a blind eye towards, believing that ignorance is bliss!

Kiss and Make-up

Hi,

In his latest book, Chetan Bhagat has touched upon an interesting piece of information that I think is worth sharing. It is about chimpanzees, but makes a lot of sense for us, humans, as well.

As Bhagat writes, in a group of chimps - male of the species would fight amongst each other over food, women, wine (that's my contribution) and anything else worth fighting for...but at the end of it, no matter who wins or loses - they would kiss each other on the lips and make-up...yeah, kiss and make-up! Well, Bhagat also mentions that this is done to ensure that no matter what reason was for this fight, in the end - they all belong to the same group and this should not get in the way of their otherwise loving relationship!

I came across this and thought that if chimps are clever enough not to carry on their grudges, why can't we try and do the same. It may sound weird at first - because reader's mind is still stuck on the aspect that male chimps kiss each other on the lips...but try and read more into it. Think about it - would it not make a difference if we could just kiss (the person we are allowed to kiss) after any fight / skirmish - if we could just manage to tell that look let's move on...would this not make a difference immediately.

The point here is simple, please decide - are chimps smarter than us or are humble enough to forgive!

Ever increasing fuel prices...

Hi,

I should start by accepting that fuel prices in Delhi are still cheaper than in other metros of the country. I should also mention that roads are much better here than most of the other metros of the country. Both these realities point towards relatively cheaper travel-by-car lifestyle...but is that really so!

Even if that is so - does it matter to me that I am paying less than some other guy in Bombay or Madras (btw, I still like the older names of these cities). The point is - I am paying more than what I used to. The point is my entire lifestyle is travel-by-car dependant and now it has started to pinch (a little more than that actually).

I just hope that the fuel prices come down sooner than later, or else I would surely be on a two-wheeler!

My weight loss program continues...

Hi,

This is in continuation of my previous post "I have lost some weight..." and unlike the woman in cartoon above, I have lost a few kilos!

Its been a little over three months that I was first made to realise what a heavy (and big) frame I had become and that I had to do something about it. This something about it was also served to me on a platter, with booking receipts to a gym membership.

I joined the gym, which was for the first time in my life and did take a fancy to the treadmill and the cross-trainer machine. Coming back from office, changing hurriedly and rushing to the gym to sweat it out was great fun - I must admit. In a few weeks itself - I could see that there is some improvement and I mentioned this in my last post on the topic. That time I had lost about 2-2.5 kgs.

But then, unfortunately the gym got sealed out by the sealing authorities (it was apparently illegal to run a gym from the basement house of a residential colony). Along with this closure - came the end of my exercise regime as well. But to my surprise, today I stand 6 kgs lighter than the day I first went to the gym.

What caused this continued loss of weight - well I don't know...just that my wife had ensured that we eat a little less fatty stuff and manage to go out for evening walks a little more regularly than otherwise...

It is such a great feeling to have all my jeans loose enough to fall down unless worn with a belt. But, the supreme happiness comes when people start telling you that you have slimmed down. And I have not been told by one or two - but a plenty!

Now - even though the gym remains closed (despite being un-sealed) I have started doing Yoga. This does not make me sweat just as much as I used to in the gym - but it certainly tires me out completely...let's see if I can manage to lose some more kgs in the coming weeks and come closer to my target weight.

Is A Business Owner the Only One Responsible

Hi,

I came across an interesting question that someone had posted - what is it that a business owner understands and not his employees?

This question immediately struck me - as I have been on both sides with being an employee for much longer than a business owner. I still feel that most of me works, thinks, functions like an employee - but this part of me is fading, slowly but surely.

I have not been able to truly pin-point what is the difference between an employee and an employer - but in my understanding, it is the sense of ownership.

I think the biggest challenge that one faces when the 'cross-over' happens, is the fact that now ownership is all yours. And I don't mean ownership as just who owns a business, but ownership of thoughts, ideas, results, drive, motivation, learning, speed, finances (or the lack of it) - well, just about everything is your own. That means, the-buck-stops-at-you!

As an employee, whether in a large-scale organization of a small one, there is always someone else who was supposed to deliver something - and since that didn't happen, I didn't do what I was supposed to. When one has his / her own business, then these things don't matter. Work not done means lost opportunity and time-wasted.

Having said that, I think it is not only the business owners who can actually feel the pressure of ownership - there are many employees who would take complete ownership of their set of responsibilities and when these responsibilities grow - sense of ownership grows as well.

What it all comes down to is this, if all employees start taking complete ownership of their responsibilities, then their relationship with the employer would improve and thus the employer shall not look like a scary halloween character! This shall improve the overall work culture and atmosphere - thus the results, for one and all!

Cheers...Happy Working!

You Never Know What You Are Capable Of

Hi,

I no longer am as regular with reading books as I once used to be. But still want to get my hands on to something interesting once in a while. The latest I am reading is "The Education of an Accidental CEO" by David Novak, CEO of Yum Brands - owners of Pizza Hut, KFC, Taco Bell.

I found the title interesting..."an accidental ceo" - wow! How cool is that / How lucky / How did he fall upon the CEO's chair??? Since the moment I came across this title, my mind was racing with such questions and I had to pick up the book for me to read. Also, this title had the word education in it, which made me wonder can this book really share something.

To be honest, this book was bought at-least three weeks back and I have not gone past the third chapter. This is purely because of my procrastication and need to spend sometime watching TV, instead of reading interesting books. Anyhow, even though I am still at the first 5% of books contents, but I have already come across the essence of it (thanks to the author). This post is about the essence:

"You Never Know What You Are Capable Of..."

What I take from this statement is - I know my current strengths and weaknesses but probably don't know what else can I do or what is it that I can do better. Let me give an example for this - I am a sales professional and have been in channel sales throughout...but am not sure how would I be in personal sales, how would I be in corporate sales or how bad would I be in finance. The last point being, I know I would be bad in finance but how bad - whether impossible or still manageable.

To develope this thought further, Mr. Novak explains his learnings over the years that led him to the CEO's chair. But in my view what is more important is the attitude, with which he welcomed each change and took on each challenge, that allowed him to have all these learnings in the first place. Starting with life in a trailer, entering a journalism course, becoming an advertising professional and then becoming a CEO - during all this, Mr. Novak was not only open to new ideas but also bigger challenges. Some of these had the potential to wipe him out and he didn't know whether he had all the solutions with him - all that he had was self-belief!

After M. Novak managed to tackle each of such 'difficult' issues, he looked back and thought - would I have believed ten years back that I am capable of doing this. And that my friends, I think is the essence of this book.

Do tell me what is your opinion on it...take care and be open to challenges!

So True!!!

Hi,

Is there more that I need to write to convey what this post is supposed to say...

Happy blogging fellow bloggers...Cheers!