A year that was!!

He looked at the mirror and saw a different person. A year had passed.

People say “The more the things changed, the more they remain the same”. He looked and acted the same but he knew a lot had changed. It was a year that was very different compared to its predecessors. For one he now had experienced something which led him to feel great compunction, which was the first in all the years that he had known. But he knew this was by far a very special year, memories of which won’t easily fade away…It made him wiser and more confident…A year where there was never dearth of activities, a year that was filled with highs and lows, a year where he had no time to look back and contemplate, a year that made him more nocturnal than ever before…A year had passed, and it passed which such a pace!!! A year that was and what a year it was!!!

Kiki

In Japanese there is a small word, Kiki, which means Crisis. The first Ki actually stands for “risk, danger; fear; uneasy”, but the second Ki stands for “opportunity”.

Right from pre-historic days, people recognized what crisis had to offer. No wonder the Japanese came up with that word. This reminds us that a crisis has not only a component of danger but also of opportunity. This word reminds us that crisis situations present us with both obstacles and also with an opportunity to accomplish something new.

The current financial crisis is once in a life time opportunity. It offers a wide range of avenues to a generation that had missed the previous revolution. As you can see every change results not only risks but also opportunities. It’s up to us how we want to look at a situation. Whether we want to be at the sidelines and watch the movie running or to be part of the movie and take the bull by its horns…Ancient oriental wisdom is applicable even more in today’s dynamic and constantly changing world. And we should not miss the boat again.

Emulate US???

After the recent terrorist attacks, people have finally woken up and are demanding action? But what is action?? What is the right path that one has to take during these trying times? Is there something called a right path?

It’s a topic where everyone has an opinion on. Most would want to emulate US of A in the way they handled the situation after 9/11. People say, “Look how well they have protected their citizens. Not one incident of terrorism in more than half a decade after 9/11…”!!!

Though what they say is true, do we really want to emulate the US? Do we really want to follow their footsteps as far a strategy against terrorism is concerned? Even though they did a credible job in protecting their shores against perpetrators of crime, in protecting their citizens against terrorists, not all that they did was right!!!

Around 3,000 people lost their lives in the dreadful attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York on 9 /11. America’s typical response was to go to war. It launched two wars. The first one was against a country that was already on its path to devastation. The Americans bombarded Afganistan day after day, month after month and as we now know year after year!! The only people who gained from the whole exercise (of course, other than America) is the Taliban. It got easier for them to recruit more people and raise millions in funds. This not only in places like Afganistan, Pakistan but also in places like United Kingdom!!!  Nearly 1,000 American solders lost their lives in Afghanistan. Countless Afghans die each month, as one of the world’s poorest states sinks deeper into devastation.

We all know how America gained from the other war, but was it worth it? It stimulates their economy but does it really help in the long run?

America fought the second war with a country that had not a single link to the events of 9/11. Close to a million human beings have lost their lives in that response. That includes 4,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. That is apart from several hundred thousand Iraqis losing their lives. Millions have suffered dislocation and deprivation in the region. It was more than a $ 3 trillion-war. Just imagine that kind of money? I mean how well we could have used that money. Every month more than $ 10 billion is being spent in Iraq. Imagine what we could have done with that money. When the auto industry asks for a $ 30 billion package the senators take weeks to decide. (And when they do, they decide to provide $15 billion package. Anyway I Digress.. It’s a nice discussion to have whether the auto corporations deserved it in the first place. Will take up this bail-out story some other time!!). But the point is no one took enough time to see whether the war would be worth it…It’s pathetic!!!

In a little over three years after that “response” began, over 650,000 Iraqis were estimated to have lost their lives. Now the US has suddenly started focusing on Pakistan. Almost every week now, the U.S. bombs some part of Pakistan — its firm ally of decades. Being an Indian I can only admire their courage for doing something that we would never do unless Pakistan “officially” attacks us (But again Kargil happens only once a decade!!). So we will never respond the way US can…Does that mean I am ‘for’ a war against Pakistan? Definitely NOT!!! That’s one mistake that we should never commit unless the situation asks for it. War only feeds terror and there is no way we can completely wipe terror out with a war (that’s what the US is finding out the hard way!). There are other lessons in the U.S. debacle. Civilians are routinely killed by this, and if Mr. Obama’s campaign promises are to be kept, this will go up. So will the appeal of fundamentalism amongst the affected. It will become a vicious cycle which can only harm the mankind.

Also, the resultant undermining of Pakistan, can only be bad news for India. More fundamentalisms, more militancy, and worse, both sides of the border.

Having said all this, there are some things which are worth noting, which are worth learning from US…

US has done quite well in terms of preventing attacks within their shores…The intense security arrangements everywhere, the strengthening of their borders and investing heavily on internal security through federal agencies is something that we MUST DO…Nothing should be taken lightly even if it means regular harassment to people, it must be done! For example not one complained about the heightened security at the airports immediately after the Mumbai attacks…It requires the will of the people, the will of the politicians.

We should do whatever it takes to strengthen our security forces, our police, our intelligence network, set up federal agency meant to tackle only terror!! We should make people accountable for their responsibilities and appoint people who deliver.

Applying diplomatic pressures is one thing, taking actual actions on the ground is another thing altogether. Diplomacy doesn’t do much. Pakistan will “house arrest” some terrorists and the terrorists will continue their dirty work under different ‘e-toeba’s’. If it is Laksher this time, next time it will be something else. They will never run out of names. So all we will be doing is asking Pakistan to ban another organization…It’s such a farce!!!

We should take strong measures from within, only then we can try defeating terrorism. Its good to be on a high alert always. You are dealing with people who have nothing to lose. They don’t mind dying. If a person looses the fear of death, what will you threaten him with? Its time we guard our shores. Its time we invest on security!!!

Update: One of the co-blogger wrote - "Pakistan puts Jaish-e-Mohammad chief, Masood Azar, under house arrest. Guess he'll be working from home now..." ;)

The Midnight Marathon!!!

 

 

      "We are different, in essence, from other men.

      If you want to win something, run 100 meter.

      If you want to experience something, run a marathon."

      -Emil Zatopek, 1952 Olympic Marathon gold medalist

 

This famous quote aptly describes the spirit of a marathon run. Most runners aspire to complete a full marathon someday; many end up doing it several times over the years. Some do it to prove it to themselves and others run for a cause. While the marathon is a grueling and competitive race, it has over the years become a popular sport among urban communities to promote a cause, spread awareness and raise funds for a variety of charitable activities. A marathon today is not so much about winning or losing but more about a socially conscious city and its concerned citizens coming together for a common cause.

Read the entire thing.. here…

 

This is scheduled to be held on 10^th of Jan…The half-marathon is going to start at 12.00 midnight and is 21.95Kms.

RUN and Experience something!!!

 

 

I did it..!!!

I believe many of us maintain this ‘wish’ list or ‘To-Do’ list. A list that will have items from the entire spectra of our lives…Whether we do anything about it or not, we keep this list updated…Anyway atleast I do have one and one of the items in it was to run a marathon and here I am at the brink of ticking one major item from that list..:)

Yes, today I was able to achieve what I missed the last time…I ran/jogged/walked/crawled more than 21 kms.

I followed the same route as last time but instead of turning back at Yeshwanthpur I continued towards IISC and then to Mekhri Circle. That’s about 11 kms from my place (Couple of days back my friend had come down from US and I had taken this route to go to the airport. So this time I was sure about the distance!!) The return journey was the same. So I covered more than 21 kms in 2 Hours and 25 minutes flat. I was a tad disappointed for the extra minutes taken since I wanted to achieve this feat within 2 hours.

I could easily cut down the time by 10 minutes because today I had to wade through a lot of traffic and also there was this problem of a flyover under construction between Yeshwanthpur and IISC. Having said that cutting down on the entire 25 minutes to make it under 2 hours is a different matter altogether…Anyway I am still extremely happy with my timing, considering that I am not a regular marathon runner..:) Further having done this, I have realized that this was quite a ask as the ‘task’ involved enduring both physical and mental pain/pressures…Sustaining the ambition of completing this for the entire 21kms was definitely the most difficult part!!!

Especially the last 40 minutes was extremely hard. My legs started to disobey my mind and it was as if I was carrying a huge boulder on each of my leg. There was several occasions when I wanted to sit and take rest, but I knew better…There was no way I would have got up again if I had taken rest…So the last couple of kilometers took almost half an hour!!!

But the fact of the matter is I made it through and the feeling was equivalent to crossing the finish line…It gave immense pleasure that I could do this. Now I want to take part in the Times Of India Midnight Marathon and successfully end this crazy idea of running marathons..:) This event was scheduled to be held on 13^th Dec at Bangalore, but due to security reasons it got postponed by a few days. I want to take part in the half-marathon which is 21.1 kms and it’s at midnight!!! Can you imagine the atmosphere there and that too at the middle of the night!!! I am sure I will thoroughly enjoy the experience…Though, equally important is the fact that I will have this item ticked off from my “list”..:)

SoulMates!!!

What is it about soulmates that make writers go gaga over it..?? Why is that people always want to talk about soulmates, be it fiction or non-fiction, the story generally revolves around a “couple” that the author somehow wants to bring out - with a made-for-each-other tag or a soulmates tag…

SoulMate? What is it? Is it true love or just a buzz word being tossed around by New agers and publishers in order to increase sales? There is plethora of books on this subject – books written by Richard Bach, Edgar Cayce, Paul Coelho and the list goes on and on…

Anyway this subject cropped up after I read one of the books gifted by my friends on my b’day - “Brida” (Deals with the story of Brida, her pursuit of wisdom, and her quest for knowledge - written by Paul Coelho). I not trying to write a book review here nor the intention was to write my take on the subject…It’s just that it stirred a hornet’s nest… So here I am trying to do what I said I wouldn’t be doing..:)

Well, a belief in reincarnation is not necessary for a belief in soul mates although a great deal of literature on soulmates does presume this. Perhaps I'm just a reincarnation skeptic, but I just cannot believe something like that.

Anyway the real question is do you think you have/had met your soul mate? Have you given this a thought? I am sure all of us would have given this a thought sometime or the other…So how do you make a decision whether he/she is your soulmate? On what parameters does one take this call?

There have been times when we've been convinced that, "This is the one. This is my One True Love, my Soulmate." However, often in many cases, for one reason or another, the relationship hasn't worked out. Were we mistaken? Was that person not our soulmate? Or, was the person our soulmate, and, for one reason or another, we just weren't able to make things work?

By the way another interesting thought is how many times have you met your soulmates in your lifetime? I mean how many times have you thought about a person, that “He/She is the one!!”? A lot of literature on this subject actually makes you happy by saying that one can meet innumerable number of soulmates during one’s lifetime…Maybe if they hadn’t said that, the books wouldn’t sell…:)

Ok, so what is this concept of a soulmate? A soulmate is the ‘one’ whom you can be with by being yourself...A simple definition from yours truly…:) You don’t have to pretend, don’t have to lie and more importantly you don’t have to be someone you are not!!!

Anyway having given some free gyann from my side, if you want to explore more on such topics just read the books written by authors that I quoted above. Not everything will be about this, but mostly will revolve around it… But beware, there will be repetition about mysticism and other aspects of the ’unknown’ in all the books…Having read some, the concepts - though are not new - do make me stop and think. 

For those who haven’t read such books but are still interested, as Paulo Coelho says “Whenever you have to find about something, Plunge right in! The moment we stop doubting is the moment we stop moving forward..” When you eventually read them, read them with an open mind coz “Nothing in the world is ever completely wrong, even a stopped clock is right twice a day..”

Warning: If you are not keen on the subject or it brings pain rather than joy, just skip reading the post…;-) ;-) ;-)

Disclaimer: The post is just my flow of thoughts…Doesn’t imply anything. So don’t read in between lines. Here goes my disclaimer.....;-)

Here I am, Ready!!!

Today I committed two crimes, crimes never to be committed by a “techie”!!. The first, I got up at 5.30AM on a Sunday, and the other, I went for a marathon run early in the morning.

I had always dreamed of running full marathons, but was never sure I could do it…I used to jog for a few kilometers every morning, but that stopped more than a year back. Now I mostly jog on a treadmill at the gym. Everyday I constantly try to increase the distance covered, for the same time spent. Now I run more than 4 kilometers in less than 23 minutes (that’s almost 11Kmph!!).

But still running a marathon is completely different or should I say more difficult than running on a treadmill, or so I thought!!! Because when I actually ran this mini-marathon of mine I realized that it’s much simpler and more interesting, as compared to running on your treadmill (which I promise, is the most boring thing that one can do)…

The thoughts of running got germinated yesterday. It was Saturday night and I went out to have my dinner. The weather was beautiful and I suddenly felt this urge for jogging. I had just finished my dinner and it was close to 10.30PM, but I wanted to run. I went for a long walk and reached home late. But the drive to run hadn’t subsided. I slept pretty late at around 2.00AM but kept an alarm at 6.00, so that I could go for a long run the next morning…

I guess I was pretty excited at the thought of running, coz the next day I was up by 5.30. I changed to my track suit. Made sure to carry my mobile and wallet (coz, I was not too sure I could come back walking. In the worst case I thought I should carry enough money for the auto fare!!). I wore my shoe and there I was ready to go. My mobile displayed the time as 5.45…

I started from my home. There was no specific plan with respect to the route or the distance to be covered. The plan was to cover as much distance as possible in the least time…

My onward route was something like this..

My home à Basaweshwanagar Circle à Shankar Matt à Navarang à (Was running towards Malleshwaram. Suddenly thought of going towards Iskon, so took a U turn and came back to Chord road) à Iskon Temple à Yeshwanthpur Circle…

A distance of approximately 9 Kilometers and I had covered this in 46 minutes!!!!

The return Journey was..

Yeshwanthpur Circle à Iskon Temple à Chord road till NPS à Basaweshwanagar Circle à Home sweet home..

A distance of approximately 8 Kilometers and I had covered this in 40 minutes!!!!

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the time!!! When I stepped into my home the time read 7.11…I had covered a total distance of 17 kilometers in 1 Hr 26 minutes flat!!!!!

It was not a walk in the park. It was not simple and was not easy…More than a few occasions I had stopped and almost gone back. But this was something that I really wanted to do, wanted to prove myself. There were numerous voices in my head telling me to quit and return. Telling me I was not up to the mark...Telling me that I was not fit enough...But there were few which edged me on…Making me imagine my destination and making me imagine how happy I would feel at the end of it and so I listened to it…

Its more than 16 hours since I returned home and I do not feel any pain nor do I have any cramps. I feel I could have gone on and on...It feels really good and I am proud of it..

Here I am, Ready!!!

Ready for the next Bangalore Marathon and my target would be to complete the half marathon (generally 21 Kilometers) within 2 hours…And I know I can do it…

:( (Updated)

I am feeling soooo helpless and restless..:(

And for the first time i am at a loss for words..:(

http://indiauncut.com/iublog/article/a-night-out-in-mumbai/

Update:

Some more articles which i thought were worth reading..

http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/379988.html

How the media helped the terrorists..

http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php?/site/end_game/

The humor behind all of it..

http://www.rameshsrivats.net/2008/11/it-would-be-funny-if-it-werent-scary.html

To continue…?

I knew the road as soon as I saw it,

It was a perfect fit to what I was,

To what I could be,

It looked so familiar, as if it was built for me,

It had lots of twists and turns,

With pitfalls and exit points all over,

But I wanted to continue…

 

I still remember the first few steps,

Familiar faces filled the road,

As days became years, people disappeared,

Some found what they wanted

While most settled for what they didn’t get

Some others continued,

The road ahead became longer and tougher,

But I wanted to continue…

 

One fine day as I looked around,

Everyone had been replaced,

The familiar faces were gone,

But I was still there representing the old,

Trying to hold onto the lost legacy,

Never had I imagined the road to be this long,

Gained a few things but lost more,

But I wanted to continue…

 

Sometimes I wonder,

Whether the universe was trying to conspire against me,

Or it had better plans than what I could imagine,

Whether this is madness personified,

Or a show of perseverance and relentlessness,

Whether I am losing out,

Or gaining in the long run,

Thoughts that never came before,

Is this what ‘time’ does to you?

Do I want to continue…?

 

OhMama!!!

Did you listen to the speech that President-Elect Barack Obama gave yesterday??

 http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=Jll5baCAaQU

WoW…Now that’s called oratory skills…!!! I was totally hooked to the TV until the commercials started boring me…I don’t remember when was the last time I had listened to a complete speech from a politician..To be honest I don’t think I have ever done it before…

But this guy is different…He has changed the way the world perceives democracy…His skills are so good that even Non-Americans around the world have rooted for him!!!

Like he said, he has a long road ahead and the climb would be steep…But even if can deliver half his promised “changes”, then the world would be a better place to live…

Let’s just hope "he can"!!! Amen!!!

Thank You!!! Thank You!!!

Thanks for all your wishes and congratulations...

It was because of me that Aravind "Adiga" won the booker!!!

The Big Bang…

Very rarely do I leave office late in the night…But sometimes you just have to give in…It was one of those days and had to stay back pretty late! I left office at 1.30 AM and was actually looking forward to a long drive home, in spite of knowing that I would have to come back in another 5 hours. Driving at night is absolute mirth, the lack of traffic, the loud music and the cold wind hitting your face makes it all memorable.

Within 10 min I was on Mysore Road flyover driving at 90kmph. It’s an understatement to say that driving at that speed on Bangalore roads was reckless to say the least. But today I didn’t care…All I wished was to have a roofless sports car driving like I know best…Maybe if I continue to drive like this I might end up with a roofless car..:) lol

The flyover provided the perfect gateway for all this. With the speakers blaring at full volume, I floored the accelerator. Within few seconds I was driving at 100kmph then 120kmph and the speedometer kept pushing. It was as if the speedometer was running a race of its own, trying to check its own resilience. When I try speeding in my car, there is always moments when I feel I could soon lose control of it. At this precise moment I have always slowed down to gain back control. Never have I liked to lose control. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I don’t get drunk…:) But obviously today was different and I didn’t want to stop myself. I wanted to indulge myself. So instead of letting go I continued to floor the accelerator.

There I was traveling at more than 140Kmph, not caring about what might happen. I was taking the entire stretch of the double lane road to take turns and at one of those turns I suddenly saw a truck laden with sharp iron railings moving with such a speed that I could have overtaken it while sleepwalking!!! There was no way I could have stopped and I knew the next 2 seconds would be my last…Now when you are alive you never think of such moments and you never ever imagine that these things will even happen to you.

I mean how many of you have wondered how you would die? And if you had few moments before you die how would you spend it? What would be your last thoughts seconds before you die?

In retrospect I see that I didn’t have the time to even ask myself all these unnecessary questions!!…There was absolutely no time to do all that…So I realized that when one is alive its better to live a life to its fullest rather than ask oneself such questions and waste ones time…

Anyway before I diverge and go off in another tangent, let me tell you what thoughts I had those few seconds before the impact. At that precise movement when I knew I was going to die, all I wanted was a roofless Ferrari and dark goggles so that I could really die with a bang!!

I mean if given a choice I would have asked for a lot more. Who wouldn’t? But again like I said you don’t think about all that when you are about to die…Its not as if a genie has given you three wishes and you have all the time in the world to come up with fool proof wishes which will keep you happy ever after..

Anyway if I had hoped for some divine intervention I saw no signs of it…I was about to hit the truck in front and there was no stopping that…The speedometer was now reading 160Kmph and I made no attempt at neither reducing nor increasing my speed. But surprisingly the distance between the truck and the car remained. The speedometer touched its maximum limit and I could feel the speed. Everything around me was also moving at great speed and no wonder I was not dead yet.

I could hardly explain what was happening…Even in my wildest dreams I hadn’t imagined anything like this…I wondered whether this was a perpetual state of death, whether I was being made to experience the greatest drive of my life. But still was unable to explain what was happening around me…Everything was moving at great speeds towards a focal point…Everything was converging and I knew I if I don’t hit the railing soon I would anyway be compressed by other things around me…It was complete dark now…It was more than darkness and I felt along with the lights, life was getting sucked out…It was a unique experience and no words would explain it..I thought maybe this was the pathway to heaven or hell..

Suddenly as fast as the entire thing started, it all slowed down…In an instant I could see all the lights back, I could see things around me coming back to normal..The truck in front of me slowing down and me in turn slowing down…The speedometer had come back to 90Kmph and I barely missed hitting the truck…I wondered whether the entire thing really happened…

I go home in another 10 minutes or so I thought!!! Because as soon as I landed at my house and switched on the TV, I realized I had lost more than a month with no accountability!!!

Now how could that have happened? How could only I have gone through this experience? How could only I have lost a months time in 2 seconds? I opened my blog and I see it has not been updated for more than a month and I realize that I did really lose out on a month with no way to account for it…All the news channels tells me that the CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) experiment “successfully” took off at the same time as I went through this experience…There was always rumors that it might result in the creation of the black hole destroying everything around it…Maybe I was at the epicenter of the blackhole and fortunately for me the experiment faced glitches and was stopped immediately…Now its been decided that there will be no more experiments until it gets repaired…This accident though made me lose about a month of my life in 2 second…

I don’t know how many of you believe this, but I truly do…The last month (oops rather the last few seconds) has been truly an enriching experience and I continue to live to tell you the tale…I went through a plethora of emotions and experiences that many wont even go through their entire lifetime…Maybe life is trying to tell me something and all along I wasn’t listening…Now it has truly made me listen…

The Big Bang saved my life and maybe an experience like that happens once in a lifetime…Maybe that was indeed the divine intervention that I was looking for…

The fall and The Rise…

I jumped, intending to fly,
But God had different ideas, which were sly,
Plunging to the bottom in full speed,
Using my strength to remain afloat was the need.

The fall helped me gain a tremendous force,
That became my strength in due course,
In a mighty swing, moved from the abyss to the skies above,
Making it all worth it, the view below.

A Gold at last!

After more than 100 years we have won our first Olympic Gold in an individual event. Abhinav Bindra has indeed made us proud!!!

“It has been a tale of sweat, extremely hard work and keeping himself going in pressure conditions that has made Abhinav a real champion today” was what his father said…

All I can say is for someone who missed out on two previous Olympics and each time had to wait for 4 years to get another shot at glory is something that very few people can go through without losing heart…Going to the finals of previous edition of Olympics and finishing seventh must have been truly heartbreaking. Imagine the kind of determination, grit, hard work and sacrifices that he had to make to achieve this feat. A truly laudable effort!!!

Live!!!

There is no point in asking how it feels,
One does what one wants, as the world reels,
Fun, friends, food, misplaced fears & tears,
All part of the world, our own dear.

Days seem dark, brightness only in corners,
Until one realizes that one is wearing goggles,
Whether one is happy or sad, on goes life,
But remember, others around you get influenced by how one lives.

Fire!

All hell broke loose. There was fire everywhere. He knew how to dowse them but he wasn’t even trying. It was engulfing him through and through…There was smoke coming from every miniscule opening that one could find. The fire raged on, ubiquitously bringing in peace…

A joke called “security”…

“The truth is security in India is a joke. Unfortunately, it is on you.”

Today a bomb was diffused opposite to a building where I had worked for 3 years and a few meters away from where I currently work!!!
What a joke, security has turned out to be…A joke being felt by the people in Bangalore and Ahmedabad…Where next??

http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jul/25kp.htm

http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/jul/19spec1.htm

The state of affairs...

I have good news and bad news....
Which one do you want to hear first???


The good news is that I have no bad news, and bad the news is that I have no good news!!!

Wowwaaa!!!

What a beauty!!!…I stand outside in the balcony of my house admiring the beauty of it all…I have no words to express, but still I try…The sheer pleasure of watching it among the canopy of trees in the background, is something beyond imagination…The cold wind blowing against your face, the sight of it all makes me feel I am in the middle of some forest with nothing but trees and fresh water around…I watch to my hearts content…



PS: Its raining heavily in Bangalore after a looong time..:) A heavenly sight!!!

A call spree…

Yesterday, 14 of my good friends called! Some of them I hadn’t spoken to for years!!! Now how often do 14 of your friends, remember you on the same day and actually take the trouble of calling you?

And...

And…Only during adversity does one find out how good one really is…And the situation made him realize how good he was…He rose from the ashes like a phoenix and the ‘strike’ was nullified in a jiffy…He had passed the test and now had the confidence that he could handle anything and everything…The ego was not misplaced. It was an invaluable lesson and he never regretted it…

‘It’ strikes…

There was a bolt of lightening in the middle of the night…It doddered him so hard that he was taken aback…He thought he had taken all precautions…He thought he had placed innumerable layers of protection around him…He thought he was invincible…He thought he could handle anything…He thought his ego was justified. But then ‘reality’ struck…And…

He Lived On...!

He stands there as the lonely rock,
Knowing everything he can block,
But he soon got a shock,
That it held him in a lock,
It was no longer a walk in his dream park...


He felt being corroded,
Vanishing, never to be traced,
He resisted by having himself fenced,
Little did he realize he was being cleansed.


He prayed to live,
Eyes closed within a seal,
Failing to njoy the beauty and the sight,
Thinking it was only plight...


Very few actually reach the shore,
Rest whither away in deserts, a chore,
Reaching there he failed to realize, what was actually going on,
Everyday tiny new grains were born,
He was getting smaller, but he lived on.


PS: I wrote this as a comment to a post in one of my good friends blog…Couldn’t resist the temptation of posting it a bogie in Dilip’s train..;)

A toast!!!

How I wish i was on a beach,
The world looking like a peach,
Me holding its hands,
Talking as if we were eachother fans....

Life!!!

As I walk the memory lane,
I see more joys, than pain,
Thankful for all the fame,
But still striving for more gain.

Lucky that some long term dreams have come true,
While others still on their way to prove,
None of them giving me blues,
Making me stick to them like a glue.

Been bestowed most things by the divine,
Some really fast, others painfully slow, almost a crime,
See a very bright light at the end of the tunnel,
And Its definitely not that of a train..:)

HERO

There he was standing in the middle of the stadium harking to the cheers! Basking on the new conferred glory!! People were chanting his name… He had dreamed of this so much…And at last it had come true!!! It was as if the entire world had united, come together to applaud his efforts, but for him the “world” meant something else and he continued to search…...

Did you see it coming?

Assume you have come up with an excellent search algorithm which does better searches than Google, how do you compete with it? How do you acquire the market that has already been taken? How do you maintain the loyalty of your acquired customers so that you don’t loose out on the lucrative “internet advertising” space?

- Faced by Microsoft…

If you are a leader in a printing business and you slowly start realizing that people rarely print their digital photographs unlike earlier days, what would you do? People are happier uploading, sharing the snaps and using networking sites…
How do you continue to sell your product? What’s your plan for the future?

- Faced by HP printing business…

You ignore that gas prices will never touch $200 per barrel. You continue to manufacture guzzlers and expect people to continue to buy them. Suddenly you realize you are losing market share. You realize that people are going for fuel efficient and economy cars. You start losing profits, forcing you to sell brands, forcing you concede the top spots to Japanese manufacturers, coz they foresaw it coming!!!. What do you do next? How do you do damage control?

- Faced by US Auto manufacturers…

So what about YOU?? Are YOU doing things that will make sure that you are not caught napping? Are YOU willing to go that extra mile so that you are ahead of the competition? Do YOU fear change or do YOU relish change? Do YOU want to react or act? Are YOU doing the right things? Are YOU?

- Faced by Tom, Dick & Harry, Rita, Sita & Geeta…:)

U wanna be a writer?

I recently read Shashi Tharoor's “The Elephant, the Tiger and the Cellphone” thanks to my jeeju (read BIL- Brother In Law)…This is definitely not a book review nor am i trying to advocate the book…On the contrary, more than his style of writing and the book itself, I was amazed by the range of articles that someone could write…Yes, its an unusual kind of book which has a collection of columns that he had written on diverse topics based on India. Of-course when you write anything about India it naturally becomes diverse…One of his famous line "anything you can say about India, the opposite is also true"…

Writing books may require talent, loads of research and maybe sometimes wild imagination, and churning out columns may seem a minor or I should say easier cousin in comparison but it is nevertheless a demanding art form. It’s not easy to write in limited words on a subject and yet delight and provoke readers not only with the command over the subject but also with the flair for the lucidity of the language.

So what does it take to be a good writer…You should either have very good imagination (like J.K Rowling and some of the bloggers who write very imaginative and hilarious articles..:)) or you should have done some good amount of traveling, gain experience, and should have done some thorough research to write stuff, and be proud of it too… A combination of both the above characteristics would be deadly..:)

Now I was wondering if I have to write stuff that people would pay for reading than the only way I could achieve it is through travel, travel and more travel, soak in the experience to get enough material and then may be use my literary skills to write stuff that jantha would enjoy reading…:) This given the fact that my imagination is never my strong point…

So the question is firstly, do you wanna be a writer? And secondly, if you wanna write how would you go about achieving it??

Tagged!!!

I was forced into writing this, and then I thought why not?? All because of this guy who expected me to write..:)

1. Last movie you saw in a theater?

Theater?? What’s that?? :P I am still thinking…

2. What book are you reading

Games Indians play - Raghunathan, Losing my Virginity – Richard Brason.

3. Favorite board game?

“Chaukabara”..hehe Scrabble, Chess, Carrom etc.

4. Favorite magazine?

Blogs man…no other substitute for free entertainment and “knowledge”..:D

5. Favorite smells?
Ha….that smell which I cant disclose..:)

6. Favorite sounds?

The list is long, but I would love to hear myself playing the guitar again..:(

7. Worst feeling in the world?

Not getting what you want inspite of ALL YOUR efforts!! Who cares a Damm, I don’t give up that easily..Lets see who wins in the end...

8. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?

Let me sleep for 5 more min..!!!

9. Favorite fast food place?

My home…:)

10. Future child’s name?
Hmmmmm…Hmmmmm…No its not “Hmmmmm” :P

11. Finish this statement. “If I had lot of money I’d….?”
I would buy a Ferrari. Start my own company. Gobble up companies. Buy an island. Go around the world. Do philanthropy and do more than talk about how the world has to be improved to make it a better place to live..:)

12. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?

I sleep alone!!

13. Storms - cool or scary?

Cool..

14. Favorite drink?

Alcoholic or Non-Alcoholic?? :)

15. Finish this statement, “If I had the time I would….”?

Go hitchhiking around the world…

16. Do you eat the stems on broccoli?

Again, what’s broccoli? ;).

17. If you could dye your hair any color, what would be your choice?

Blond..:)

18. Name all the different cities/towns you’ve lived in?

Wonderland, Dreamland, Garland...I think I should stop here..

19. Favorite sports to watch?

Football, F1, Badminton etc…

20. One nice thing about the person who sent this to you?

Karthik – Hmmmmmm It will take me years to answer this.. :).

21. What’s under your bed?

It’s a mini library out there…Sometimes some monsters also hide there whom I have to duel with..

22. Would you like to be born as yourself again?

Definitely, all over again with some changes in the script though..:)

23. Morning person, or night owl?

Depending on the “motivation”, I can be what I want..

24. Over easy, or sunny side up?

Is there a choice as none of the above?

25. Favorite place to relax?

Anywhere with friend around..:).

26. Favorite pie?

yuppie..:)

27. Favorite ice cream flavor?

Scotch-ButterScotch…:)

28. Of all the people you tagged this to, who’s most likely to respond first?

I don’t want to trouble anyone like someone did to me..hehe..Unless of course this too comes with those threats which are part and parcel of those dreaded FWDs, in which we are forced to FWD it to 10 others within the next 10 min…otherwise we will burn in hell until eternity…:)
Anyway let me take the risk...
People who read this can Tag themselves if interested..:))

A Day that was - A roller coaster ride…

What a day it has been…:(
Had to work from home for reasons not in my control…
More work came in as e-mails, first thing in the morning…
More crashes reported…
Enough time spent pondering…
Slept for sometime in the afternoon…
Felt really really down in the evening…
Depths I had never explored before…
I see what I have to do staring on my desk…
For the first time ever, there is no motivation to go near it…
Went for my usual 4 km jog…
Other than the calories burnt nothing much was achieved…
Came back, My desk and everything around it was mocking at me…
Even after all this time the task was unfinished…
It was something that I always WANTED to do…
But……..hmmm…Why is the But then???
Silently started conquering…
Surprisingly sleep eluded me…
Watched the last half an hr of ManU vs Barcelona at 2.30 AM…
Win dodges either of them…
Wrote this post at 3.30 AM, still not satisfied…
Long way to go…
AND GO I WILL…

Revived passion!!!

I was in my fourth year of engineering when my cousin decided to bestow his bike to me for “safekeeping”… He was traveling for a year and wanted someone to ‘take care’ of his bike…It was a Bullet and how could I have refused? :)

What a bike!!! If you want the real experience of riding a bike, then this ONE you should never miss!!!

It was an experience that I would never forget. I still remember how many of my friends used to come to the college parking-lot to watch me ride this 350cc behemoth. You just have to ride this once and you will see why people go gaga over it. People spend a fortune to have one of these machines and it’s worth every penny.

Thanks to my friends who arranged for a bike ride to Nandi hills, I got an opportunity to ride this bike again. I didn’t want to miss this opportunity even though, it’s been more than 3 years since I had driven a two wheeler. My cousin readily agreed to give the bike again.

I have no words to describe the experience that you would go through…Especially when you are riding long distances, there can be no better bike…It was one hell of a great ride all the way, reigniting the lost love…The company of my friends made it even more memorable…

What’s Cooking??

Tell me what do you want to do in life?? I meant professionally…:) Are you happy with what you are doing? If you are not then it’s never too late to change…Is it a case of simply getting bored with what you are currently doing or is there really something that you want to do in life?? If it’s the former then you will pretty soon get bored with the next one too…So know what you want from life and work towards it…

Being in a product company in India and that too in the networking field its very difficult for someone to get to see the combination of development of a product and actually selling it to a customer from the same location in your lifetime of the project..:)

If being part of the development of a new product gives you a kick, just imagine how it might be actually selling these products…I am lucky to be part of a company which does a lot of sales and marketing…When I interact with a group of sales and marketing folks I see a different kind of energy level…It’s a great feeling just to be amidst these guys with all the tensions, temptations and killing competition from within and from the competitors. The stakes involved are very high, everyone trying to exceed their targets, please their managers and inturn keep the shareholders happy every quarter with outstanding performances quarter on quarter beating your own previous record…Wooowaahh!!! Imagine the adrenaline flow…

Every time I walk past my floor, I see these guys always running around the floor talking through their handsfree. Half the people don’t use their seats and the other half will be preparing some kind of presentation…I have hardly seen anyone without an handsfree and believe me they use it to the maximum. I mean they don’t even spare the loo…Its an absolute contrast when I compare this team with the rest of the folks on the floor.

Do you think you have it in you to be part of such a team? Do you dream of being part ofsomething that is unique, dynamic and constantly on the move? Do you have it in you to be innovative almost as a norm rather than as an exception? Do you want to be “There”???
Imagine the expectations, the returns, the achievements, the tension… If your answer is Wooowaahh!!!
Then you know your next move…..

My Love

There I was in the middle of the night,
Holding her hand, lost in her alluring sight.
The stars above, rain below, the amazing spectacle fades,
When her beauty strikes like spades.

The purity of her voice gives her the fame,
Her agility and grace puts any model to shame.
I had dreamed of her, fantasized her,
The time I set sight on her, loved her.

She stands tall amidst most,
Going on long drives titillate me utmost.
One day I will say she is mine,
And the world will witness how we get along, very fine…




PS: Dedicated to my would-be Red “Ferrari” car..;)

A special message

A special message....Very aptly sent on the given day...
Thanks to you...

Misc...

1) Do you always have a plan B?? If you do then don’t you think you will never give your 100% to plan A??
2) Have you wondered ever, “What’s next??”
3) Where do you see yourself five years from now??
Oops, now where did that come from!!!
4) When you close your eyes and try to sleep, what do you think??
(we all know what happens after we sleep…Absolute bliss!!..:))
5) When was the last time you played your favorite sport - badminton, TT…hmmm…what’s that? :)
6) When was the last time you had a vacation or traveled with your friends??
Is reciprocation the necessary and sufficient bond in a relationship??
7) Soooo…Did you become the “cat” that you wanted to be in the “rat race”?
8) Now that I am writing this post at this hour…when was the last time you slept early??
9) Hmmm…how can this be possible?? Am I already running out of questions..:)


PS: This was just a way to get back to prose..Though I had to prove a point to myself regarding my poetry(My previous take on prose & poetry!!) ..;-)

Chase Your Dreams

Sometimes our dreams brew our world
Othertimes the world spawn our dreams
Its the former that we always crave for
Making both match is what one strives for

Conviction and Courage, Passion and perseverance
You are born with some, others you hone,
The will to win is all that it takes,
Separating us from the rest of the souls

Lets take action, Lets take measures
Every small step leading us to our treasures
Lets chase our dreams, living life to its fullest
Coz its this lifetime and this one alone is all we will get…