A world of roles and job descriptions....

In my company, every now and then we all get into what we call as "Cross functional meetings".. a bunch from US, some from France, some India, some Israel... and lot of discussion... dialects, "pardon me"s ...

My first time-s:
1. Work with a person and NOT see him/her AT ALL and is a non-Indian
2. Work to plan a release with people who can easily say "I don't care a damn" .. :)
3. Extensively discuss some intricate strategies with someone who is a matrixed manager to me .. and again not seen him AT ALL..

I get uncomfortable at time to live in world of roles and JDs, but the good part is I have nothing to judge the person on other than his thoughts! I guess that creates an intellectual relationship... But then sometimes talking to a phone can become slightly non-interesting...

All knowledge is within oneself - 2

This post will be a continuation of what I started pondering over while I was in ISB. I sometimes feel this need to write things down at my whim and as they occur to me. So this will be one that sort of post.

The driving factor
What is the driving factor behind the working of anything including humans? Its a set of parameters that exist in our environment, that our brain processes based on its property to absorb or grasp those parameters which drive our actions. To extrapolate, everything in universe ultimately is driven by some parameters. Heating always increases energy level of electrons, hot air always rises up, cells in our body repair themselves etc are some basic laws that are never violated or are not dependent on ability. But as things become more complex with interaction of the basic building blocks, only dominating property rules. This is exemplified in almost every sphere. Fire can either overcome water or vice versa depending on which has more mass. But this is straight forward or logical. Let us add some twist to the already very abstract tale, the gene angle!
My mom loves to talk, my dad loves to be silent. Coincidentally, I 'like' to be silent, but don't want to be left out of a crowd! Ultimately, though I remain silent and let it become my nature. So what is this showing? That when things become complex like emotions our brain becomes the basic building block of what property our body shows. A mob running with stones in hand makes (a) a common man run for refuge (b) a policeman more aggressive to hit anyone in the mob with lathi. How does this happen? That's the miracle of this "property" thing in our brain. A couple of highly charged atoms switching on some chemical reaction that creates an emotion termed as "outrage" or "fear" depending on which one you allow yourself to take over.
So if we abstract ourselves out of this situation, its just this brain, our thinking machine in combination with our genome that is deciding what route we take in our life. Can't we master these folks? Yes we can! and how?
Think of 2 basic properties in yourself -One that allows you to observe with total silence, and one that makes you react. Now think of them as 2 kinds of atoms that are kept on a heater. One of them depending on where he is in the space above heater will get charged and will probably become vapor or something before the other. Similarly depending on your genome you will choose either. But just imagine if you don't have the heater below! then the choice isn't essentially a choice. then the parameters no longer bother you. then there is no domination or recession.

This state is bliss. I am not saying that you won't get burnt if you touch the hot vessel, I am saying understand that its the nature of your skin to burn, the nerves to trasmit pain signal, the brain to process it, the genes to decide how tolerant you are to pain and then your mouth to give out the sigh. Once this is clear, you will realize that you are not master of you, but something else is. Because when you will be the master of your own, you will realize all this equations and just enjoy the fun that is this universe. :-)

Good night!!

Start of something interesting

I ve heard it somewhere that whenever you are not sure whether to say "Nice" or "Ughh" you can always say "Interesting". So this will be that topic which to some is nice and to others 'not their cup of tea'.

It all began with a discussion with my father who nowadays is writing about Patanjali Yoga Sutra. Wiki has more of it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga_Sutras_of_Patanjali

Being an avid reader and now a budding writer, I poke my Dad a lot on the foundation of Hindu philosophy and way of thinking etc. Its been one of my favorite topics since childhood, since I always thought that there is more to me than I think there is. And so the discussion begun which I will try to detail out as far as possible.

The topic started with why Hindus do all the rituals when someone passes away. The easy answer and one that appeals to masses is that we need to pacify the dead person's soul and for him to get Moksha, which is like this ultimate resting place. An entirely different discussion started on the Vedic hymns that are chanted in this ritual. By a research done, it was said that the hymns have sound notes that create vibration causing purification of atmosphere. So is there a soul angle to these rites or scientific angle?
So I wondered what exactly does Veda says, which is what I asked my father. Here is what he said: "The Universe is filled with Chaitanya. We have some Chaitanya in us, which is our true self (not our body). This is Vivek. Once we realize this we attain Mukti/Moksha."
Heavy!!

Let's break it. First thing is to realize that our body is not us. Our body is just a medium for us to understand the ultimate truth, mentioned in Vedas. It is difficult to comprehend because we are how we grow up and how we are nurtured. But there is an something in our nature that leads to the ultimate truth.
Secondly, its an evolutionary process, since if as humans we don't realize this, we need to take another birth.
Lastly, its a process defined by you, but driven by surroundings. The one who detaches is the one to understands and attains the final truth.

The scientific angle? The concept of energy.

Vague? Yes. But more to come as I tread my path on the journey to understand Chaitanya.

A theory...

Almost every HR theory says that motivation works better than incentives. Well I guess if I had to write about marriage, this would be the right time... :-)

Ok getting to the point. We have all this len den going on in the wedding, you know like the guy's side gives out whole lot of gifts to whole lot of people. Then something struck me. If the wedding rituals of Hindu system are so relevant, and simple why all this paraphernalia?

*********************************************************************************
Time: long long time ago, lets say when people used to follow rituals as they were meant to be.
Its a small village, very typical of those times. The groom's father is a popular person owing to his following his Dharma in proper way and earned his righteous place in the society. He arranges for a Brahmin to get the wedding ceremony done. Obviously he invites people from the village too to see the function. These people will bless the couple. Everything is smooth. There is no elaborate dinner/lunch, no gift giving, no camera flashes and other blah. Just plain smooth and pure wedding that took a little more that couple of hours to finish. The couple took vows and took to their own livelihood from thereon.

In the same village, there is another groom's father. He does the same thing. Though unlike our earlier described father, this person is not that popular. The reason is left to one's own imagination. Now he realizes that just by inviting, he won't get a lot of people to the wedding. Somehow being a human and still an integral part of society, he has to get as much people as he saw in that other wedding. So he calls for all the people of the village and gives them gifts a day prior to the wedding. Though he sugarcoats the entire thing as something else, the motive is the same. Now this wedding, almost everyone comes!

Do you see what this second person is doing?

***********************************************************************************

Years later, here I am. Probably cursing that "other" person. The guy, who thought that giving gifts more important than building reputation by fairer means. And here I am, managing the entire bandwagon that surrounds wedding.

Ultimately, what is important? That I give a lavish party to a 500 people ensemble or that I say that I want to spend the rest of my life with someone keeping 500 people as witnesses? What is giving me more accountability? What is keeping me in the true fabric of society? What is giving me a better purpose of life?

Unspoken..

Observations... again... yah... I think the more proactive I try to become, the more I end up observing things...

1. Its NEVER "what" you say, its always "how" you put it. And in any form of communication.
2. Never mind what people say, think, or gossip, being yourself gives you the most sound sleep.
3. Rumors turn out to be true if your surroundings flourish on them
4. Everyone has his or her own agenda; being altruistic is also an agenda
5. If you say the truth slowly, its overheard; and if you lie assertively, its executed!

What I think to be ultimate truth is that - Genes behave just the way humans do and if you are not the one living by #5 above, your gene will be extinct!!

a first cut at corporate ...

I might just be enjoying the most exciting stint of my career right now! Post-MBA very few people get to stay in an action zone as vibrant as this. Ha! its almost evil but its right there, and man! Is it exciting!

Every day its like a drama that unfolds itself in front of me. Words like 'restructuring','re-org' are order of the day. Remember the guy who planned the entire product architecture, well he just got laid off. And did you hear about the dame you never heard of (in a small company you do hear about almost everyone who has a designation-suffix - 'manager') well she's become the VP and may kill you by auditing the entire product line. Hell! I sometimes feel why didn't I learn chess?? Remember all those words in ISB... re-aligning**business processes**, **streamlining operations**, **Business process redesign** ... Hell I am doing it!!

By Jove! every single day is just too much adrenaline to handle. And in between all these games I need to work, imagine the drudgery. I kind of got reminded of roller coaster, one minute you are up another minute you are down but when you come out of it, you laugh so hard because you are alive... I guess I can't have that laugh right now... But hey, roller coasters do give me a kick :)

-n

Smitten....

This would be a personal blog... Please ignore in case the reader is looking forward to some interesting stuff... ;-)

I guess, for me, its that time of my life when
(1)
--> "Ishq to ek jaaveda zindagi hai"
--> "Chalte chalte yunhi ruk jaata hun main, baithe baithe kahin kho jaata hun main, kehte kehte hi chup reh jaata hun main"
--> "Koi ladki hai, jab woh hansti hai"
and host of these kinds of songs start sounding very relevant...

(2)
I can smile endlessly for no rhyme or reason...

(3)
wait can become almost as painful as death (though i have not experience latter,still)

(4)
all you want to do is feel the presence... few words, sometimes just silence...

(5)
Suddenly all actresses look like someone very familiar... :) :)

(6)
Ghazals start makin a lot of sense...

(7)
you feel what the heck were you doing all this while... and you realize the value of those 4 letter that spell L-O-V-E

Here is to life and what is in store for me in the future!! :)

Social networking via web - a reality or a myth??

I feel that the word "Social networking website" is an oxymoron. If I am on a website, I am not interacting with any human being (please don't tell me that having "friendly" chat with anonymous people over net is networking!). Then how can I have a social networking website. Ah! So you get to meet a lot of old friends, lost crushes, etc. But frankly speaking, save those couple of conversations you will have with him or her about good old days, are you really networking?

So what are basic elements of an interaction?
1. Verbal communication (can be proxied by chats or orkut scraps)
2. Non-verbal communication (an impossibility on virtual world)
Statistically, the opinions we form about a person are not based on "what" she spoke, but "how" she said it. Are you going to base a network just on the fact that you met someone over net?

Ok, so you might say, "well at least you are getting to know a lot of people". Hmm!! but then why sit silent in a bus, train, flight, cafeterias, govt offices etc etc. Start talking... you will get to "know" a lot of people this way too! and what more, the earlier elements of interaction come to your help a LOT faster..

The next argument: "well all of those on net are surely a certain educated mass". Wake up! They are as average (on an average) as any sample of people can be, sometimes worse! (net stalking isnt unheard of).

A very strong argument can be in favor of sites like Linked in. I think till the time I can be assured that its not made to make recruitment easier, I will not take Linked in as a social networking site at all.

Basically social networking is possible only in one way - get out there and talk. It definitely doesn't work the orkut way.

One of the most amazing Hindi poems

http://www.geeta-kavita.com/article.asp?article=list_poems



This poem gives the conversation between Krishna and Duryodhana. No wonder Dinkar is the "Rashtrakavi"

-n

Nostalgia...

Nowadays, when mind has nowhere to wander, its transported to Nashua, NH. I distinctly remember my first day in Nashua. From Manchester airport, I got a taxi. The driver asked me which exit, and that was the first time I had heard that word. Curse you A, I was all alone in the night in a totally foreign nation.

But in US things work exactly by the book. I read somewhere that the taxi cab takes $40 and whoa it was exactly the same amount he asked me. I was totally surprised. :-)

I had a bit of snow-darshan in Detroit while stop-over, so snow didn't remain as much a fancy. And I thought how big could it get until I saw the kind of snow that Nashua had to give me. It was too much, and for too long. Driving used to get so messy, my entire body was shivering one day as my muscles had totally tensed up after driving what felt like an age on 3-North.

We saw Rt 3N-S building up. We saw how, after the traffic increased, the highway was reshaped to accommodate Rt 495 traffic.

US is all about its highways. I still remember my way to
1. Bollywood grill (our fav restaurant, thanks to S) - Rt 3 South -> Rt 495 N (Exit for Lawrence)
2. Boston Airport - Rt 3 S -> Rt 93 N -> Rt 95 S (Airport exit, and TOLL while coming back)
3. Alewife T station (red line) - Rt 3 S -> Rt 95 S -> Rt 2E ("Yaatriyon se nivedan hai ki...") :)

Crazy days... We used to be so afraid of getting lost 'coz the time delay was just too much. And then every town in America looks the same... :)
I got lost in Boston every single time I went, every single time.. Can you beat that?

Fall colors were highlight of New Hampshire. They were, as one would put it, the very essence of NH. Without fall colors, I probably cannot imagine Nashua, Manchester and the entire Mountains region.

White mountain: I never ever got tired travelling to White Mountains. Never. Mom and Dad were happy to be there too. We had coffee by the foot of a hill. Mt Washington was a terror to reach but was a sort of heaven up there. Hot chocolate, fog, record breaking winds....

Manchester: It all started at 80 Dunbarton Road.. :-) And it seemed endless.. Thanks P and M for making our trip memorable.. P's Patties, M's chai , our barging in at un-earthly hours, T's surprise, A-G's xmas party, U-J's newport trip, S's tripping over the covered swimming pool and the trip to Big Apple.... :)

Niagara: :-) :-) .. "Suno no suno na sun lo na".. Chalte Chalte got attached so badly to our 400 mile journey that I don't think Dada, A, S and I can ever erase this memory...
Rain, rest areas, NY thruway - Massachussets Turnpike, Buffalo, upstate NY, Lighthouse..

San Jose, CA. Seattle, WA. Raleigh, NC. Lawrence, MA. Lowell, MA. Stamford, Ct.

Innumerable airports, bus stops, people, souvenirs of memories...

I couldn't believe that I would treasure so much in 2 years!! Really life is too short to experience everything... including first seat adventure of world's deadliest roller coaster!! :-)

Musings

3 thoughts

1. Religious tolerance is on rise. Jama Masjid and Baroda will be remembered as sad incidents, but the news channel conveyed a positive outlook - that a terrorist does not belong to any religion.

2. I spent 8 hours y'day on case study. Never in my freaking life have I been so involved with something. Though frankly half of the things flew past making a whoosh, still it was a good KT.

3. Darn good females around.. I guess grades are going to be a mess up... ;-)

After a long time

Blogging after a long time, seriously... It feels as if I was missing something.. OK enough for the guilt conscious,... ;-)

Basically wasn't feeling well for past 3 days, missed the last ISB meet... Let's see who all I will see anew at ISB.

Jessica Lal case is re-opened by the DP. No Comments
The lady who was key witness in Best Bakery case was herself accused of false testimony. No comments.

I am unsure if this leads to something, but its all filmi. The media (my favorite people of topic) works both to our advantage and to our agony at the same time. This time, thankfully, we got to know a lot about all such politically motivated cases where people tampered with evidence to stop the justice from happening.

Good that things are coming out... This way at least people with no comments can have some comments. :)

Education et al

I have been an above average kid from beginning. What it means that while I knew I could study better, I chose not to. I am guilty as charged and therefore, really try to make up by various ways. Its my nature, if I do it, I just become smug that I can do it and then focus myself on something else, than excelling in it. In school I once topped the class and came 3rd in section. Afterwards, I seized to be a studious person, and started quizzing full time. So much so that we won 3rd prize in an inter-school. After that I started to play tennis. Pinnacle came when I was chosen for states, but it was 12th. Even in college, I appeared in top 10 once, and that was that.

What I have observed though from the beginning was that the way we are taught in schools makes us the kind of person we are. It is not an honest attempt to learn, but a futile attempt to pass exams. We just pass exams after exams and come out as totally disoriented people. If you are better, there are 3 avenues you can take, if you are not, you spend your entire life thinking what should be done. Fortunately I was in the first bracket, but many of my friends from school fall under second. Ultimately they come to terms with life, understand what they should do and then accept it as fact.

The bitter things happen to the first bracket. They choose their paths, because others with same credentials have done so, more than their own choice. Believe me, given a choice, I'd have never done engineering! But that was what everyone else was doing at that time. So I did it. The disorientation starts here and it just continues. I pursued my hobbies to some extent, played casio, tennis, and was involved in arts activities too, but the college was a secondary. I was in bottom 20 during the first 3 sems. I knew I'd do it (read the earlier part), but this disorientation was always present.

Then job in Infy was another milestone. I was happy that I'd at last see the real world (I never considered academics real. Somehow they never teach you in context with outside world, but some hypothetical scenarios, or perhaps I never got to understand the practical implications). It was good but I used to think that this was not what my education was meant to be. I survived 4.5 years, and now am about to embark in another journey. MBA at ISB. This is another milestone. Another education I am looking forward to. This time I think I will understand theory applied to real world. In fact now I can make it that way, since I have a 4.5 years of corporate experience.

I am giving a background for my next post. I think it'd be everyone's guess. It won't be negative, but it'd definitely be an eye opener.

Know thyself

The most important fact in life that remains a total mystery is to discover oneself. I have found this to be of paramount importance mainly because I think once a person knows what he or she is, the more s/he becomes content.

Of course, being content and civilization don't go hand in hand. Being content is to find out why nature has made you, what is your purpose in life, what is your dharma. To deny these facts is denying the very fabric that makes life on earth possible. After all we need to remember that however far we progress, we still are limited by nature. We are nature's beings, we were not created by us, but by nature.

I am also not in favor of saying that we just sit tight. Human by nature are born with brain that has capacities higher than any other animal on earth. You cannot be not chewing if you have teeth. The tact is to chew the right thing. Humans have every right to know how nature plays its games to control the earth, and universe. And that right we have exercised. Forensic experts can now put a face to a killer whose blood stains are found on the spot of murder by studying the DNA. I can write this article and put it for virtually anyone, who has telephone and modem, to read. Science and scientists, Engineers and Doctors have opened up whole avenues of doing things that only lead to conclude that we are knowing the nature better and better.

As is with everything, even this coin has a flipside. The side that shows that Internet crimes are a cause of panic to everyone, that animals are getting killed everywhere, that we are using up natural resources, and that this year the world has seen such weather conditions, it never had before. Why?

To learn and to know are 2 different things. History shows that while we invented our first petrol(gas) run car, we never imagined that we will be running short of gas, that they can pollute too. When we developed injections for protection from diseases, we will make ourselves so populous that we will start hogging in all the natural resources. And while we continue inventing more things for our convenience we always conveniently overlook its long term implications. I need not explain more, but in a nutshell, by learning about nature, we have made ourselves more vulnerable than becoming more adaptable to the nature. Ha! What a paradox! I think what we forget, and what I already mentioned earlier, is that we have not created earth. It was a creation by natural factors, it was a chaos that made it, it was right combination of chemicals. If we mess it up, rather than gelling with it, someday its going to go really awry.

So where does it all start? It all starts by knowing oneself, knowing one's own dharma and finding a role that suits us in the world.

In the end, I know I am opening another argument - the inventors dharma was to invent things. And that is where conscious comes into picture, that is where education comes into picture and that is where culture comes into picture. That will be next part though.

Knowledge is within

I read this a while ago. All knowledge is within. We just have to discover it from our own. So we take help of teacher(s) to make us aware of all that infinite knowledge that lies within us.

To corroborate with the theory that every person has a property (dharma) implies that we can only enlighten ourselves with the knowledge that lies within the bounds of our senses, that are a function of our dharma.

I have been thinking about this ever since I have decided to do an MBA. Why? Let us assume for the scope of this reading that any human is a function of his nature (DNA/Genes etc) and his nurture (surroundings, family etc). Let us give slightly larger weightage to nurture as is proved by Time Magazine's survey ("What makes you special" - November '03). To quantify, assume 70-30 for nurture-nature combo. Last 25 years of my life decided that MBA proves good to me. I have a good work experience, I have a degree from an acclaimed technical school in India, I read, I play, I am interested in people and what else, I can bore someone to death by writing!! I thought "heck! Let us give it a shot". So there I was writing my essays for all those coveted B-schools people aspire for. And then I went all awry with one question -
"Can leadership be taught?"

I thought negative. Leadership cannot be taught. I am either a leader or follower. I cannot be born a follower and be taught a leader, can I? Or vice versa! And then someone asked me this question in one of the interviews too. It was strange what ensued after the discussion, one of the interviewers asked me "So if you don't think leadership can be taught, why do an MBA?". Was I having a dream or is this the state of educationists or was he testing me? I told respectfully, "Sir, I think Leadership is inborn. MBA in my opinion educates people to take a scientific approach to their managerial roles, so they do not reinvent the wheel."

And then it set me thinking in another direction, not during the interview of course but later. Do people seriously think that they can be leaders because they have more knowledge? Can someone do THAT to me? I'd give more weightage to a person's opinion in case he is learned, but does that mean I give him the lead role? Manmohan Singh was a great Finance Minister(was because now he is PM). He changed the destiny of India in 1991 with liberalization. He is an amazing leader of Finance department, but is he a good leader of the nation? Does more knowledge lead people to believe that he is a great leader. On the contrary, Sonia, who is NOT a great knowledge person, has worked on her image so much that she score even above Vajpayee this time when poll was done about leadership. (India Today, Jan 30 '06). While knowledge is needed, but that alone cannot make a person leader.

With this I come to the point I made earlier. All knowledge is within. And I feel even more powerful when I say that statement, because one cannot be taught what one cannot understand. Not everyone can be APJ Abdul Kalam who joins ISRO as a Junior Scientist. We need to find that ourselves, i.e. where does our core competency lie. Once that is found we have discovered our Dharma, and then we can channelize our brain to acquire all the knowledge within.

For me, well I am still thinking. Action speak louder than words, but action often makes a lot of mess too... :-)

See beyond surface

One of my friends uses this term to tell my characteristic feature. Something I really used to take as complement. But no longer. No longer I consider this as a compliment or a quality to be proud about. Why? I will try to explain with some examples but believe me it will be difficult unless you have felt it yourself. I will first try put a scope to the people who have felt this at some point in time or the other -

1. An argument is going on, say, about whether US is a better to place to live and work, than India. Let's say you are a patriot, and your first thought is "No". But then you have actually visited US, and you think, "why not?". And then you come to a different plane, where you think that this argument is so person-oriented.

2. You are seeing a documentary on Animal planet about how new born mammals like elephants, zebras learn to walk. Several emotions flood your mind, including the vulnerability of those calves as against the protection we human give to our babies. From there your chain of thought goes on to a place where you think how humans, after learning (to small extent) the rules of nature is all up to play against it. Then you again think, how one person must have thought about doing it, and how he has changed the world.

If above thoughts come to you, please feel free to read on, else please be aware that you are going to have to think a lot.

Getting back to where I was, i.e. to see beyond surface. There is a certain sense that every person has which makes him compassionate about other humans. This feeling comes with his learning from his surroundings. Depending on his dominant genes, the person then builds his own sense of seeing the world. This sense, though largely is his own view, and therefore is bound to be biased, finds him make his way in life. Let us call this a person's Dharma or property.

It is evident that this dharma or property defines his or her Karma or deeds. In same conditions, an irate person might do something else and a calm person something very different.

But what if a person's Dharma is to understand other people's dharma? I am not calling this person compassionate, or even sympathetic. This person just has a tendency to learn what the other person is thinking. You might be tempted to call such a person passive and coward. Passive because such a person is incapable of action and coward as a result. Although both these words have a negative connotation, to this person it really does not matter. Because even if he thinks in a certain way, he cannot really say it out loud. He questions his own thoughts, weighs them if they are going to make any impact to anyone, and then takes his course.
If such a person is amongst a group of people his ideas do not match with, he feels out of place, but he also does not say it out, since he thinks what difference would it make to the people. None, and therefore, he shuts up and tries to comprehend what people are saying.
If such a person is amongst people of same thinking, he still would not be voluble. Simply because all of them know what each person thinks.
Such a person is incapable of thought, of action, simply because he/she does not understand the motives of the action or thought. They are unable to have a conviction because they are not convinced that the conviction would help others or not. They are individual to the core. If any actions or thoughts they are capable of are the ones that they truly believe will make their life better without compromising on any other person's life.

As is evident such people are also not capable to be in a relationship. Yes, any relationship, because they cannot experience things that go for making a relation. They can analyze like a neutral person, and probably be content to understand one person more.

And then again I do not speak of any other than me, because as I put this thought across I thought 'Hell, why am I even bothered?'....

Something Stupid - Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman

I know I stand in line
until you think you have the time
to spend an evening with me.

And if we go some place to dance
I know that there's a chance
you won't be leaving with me.

Then afterwards we drop into a quiet little place
and have a drink or two.
And then I go and spoil it all
by saying something stupid like "I love you"

I can see it in your eyes
that you despise the same old lies
you heard the night before.
And though it's just a line to you,
for me it's true and never felt so right before.

I practice every day to find some clever lines
to say to make the meaning come true,
But then I think I'll wait
until the evening gets late
and I'm alone with you.

The time is right,
your perfume fills my head,
the stars get red
and oh the night so blue.
And then I go
and spoil it all
by saying something stupid like "I love you"

The time is right,
your perfume fills my head,
the stars get red
and oh the night so blue.
And then I go
and spoil it all
by saying something stupid like "I love you"

"I love you""I love you""I love you"

We, the people of India - contd.

In my last post I highlighted the failure of law enforcement. What seems unimportant to me after days of observing this failure is that its ultimately us who have led India to such a pathetic state. The scope I am giving to "us" is all the people who, when they saw the failure, thought that it is happening, and did nothing but just stood there watching it. This also was my last post's conclusion.

After over a month's pondering over the answer to our inclination towards inaction, I observed a great vice of human psyche - the one that's impatient. These days Times of India Hyderabad runs a kind of column, where irate citizens pen down their ire in the most lucid manner. I found it an interesting read. I have found myself doing a similar thing at various instances, driving being the most common-est of them all. People complained about (a) Policemen not regulating traffic (b) Municipality not paying their due diligence to the roads (c) The way autowallas take children to schools; and so on. Ultimately, someone also quoted that its because of sheer lack of accountability that is causing the issue. Of course, since no one feels accountable for their inability to take any constructive action, nothing happens to prevent these things.

So what causes this accountability to vanish? Or was it there at the first place? Picture this, one window where bills have to be paid, and 10 people. And people don't bother about others, but to push their bills inside the window. I have seen this happening everywhere. Aren't we accountable for our actions? Aren't we doing something that we are not supposed to? If we are patient for just 5 more minutes, the guy on the other side of the window will also be less frustrated and we can get our work done in a more professional way. But we never learnt that. I heard this a lot when I was child "C'mon man go ahead, if you just stand there, you will be standing there for your life!!".

Why this lack of patience in everything? Aren't we at that place in the queue because we came late? Aren't we behind the truck, because the truck got there earlier? I know there will be a lot of arguments to counter this, lot of things will be said about infrastructure and other stuff. But its true that we cannot wait on red lights, we cannot maintain lanes, we cannot stand in queues, till we become slightly more patient.

In conclusion, self-restraint was the mantra our ancestors lived by. And I consider this greatest paradox of Indian society!!!

I can see clearly - Bob Marley

Bob Marley - I Can See Clearly Now

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)Sun-Shiny day
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)Sun-Shiny day

Oh yes I can make it now, the pain is gone
All of the bad feelings have disappeared
Here is the rainbow I've been prayin' for
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)Sun-Shiny day

Look all around, there's nothin' but blue skies
Look straight ahead, nothin' but blue skies
I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way
Here is the rainbow I've been prayin' for
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)Sun-Shiny day
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)Sun-Shiny day
bright (bright), bright (bright)Sun-Shiny day

It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)Sun-Shiny day
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)Sun-Shiny day

Musings

Life is something worth experiencing, worth living and worth observing. I don't think many of us do that. So what do we do. In my minuscule years of existence on earth, following is what people do most of the time with their lives -
1. " SO WHAT AM I GOING TO DO NOW???"
2. "OK, THATS WHAT HE MEANS, HUH IDIOT"
3. "WOW THATS SO LOVELY, I WISH I HAD IT"
4. "NOW LETS SEE HOW I GET TO RISE THE LADDER"
And there are infinite such similar things coming to our minds. Why? Oh of course, that is how we are nurtured, probably natured too. But is this all worthwhile? Is this making us better?

Ok, but the alternative life to this is pretty boring, dont you say? I mean you do not desire anything, you do no want anything, you probably are just screwing up big time of what God has created for you (via Mr.Edison, and other such noble people).

And then there are people who understand that a majority is the latter, the ones who really want to live life and experience everything that can possibly come their way. How do you make this life better? Bring more things their way!! Almost all the civilized world runs on the fundamental concept of "increase the hunger". What is this principle? Ok, you take medicine to improve your apetite, and with improved apetite you eat more that screws your apetite big time, and you take medicine again. Long back, Oscar Wilde called this thing a vicious circle..

As you have observed I have become pretty serious now. So where are we going with all this greed for material goods? We are striving for means to acquire those. Introducing, Ladies and Gentleman, our friend of about 2000 years now, MONEY!! Ok, I have my apetitite increased how can I get something to eat? Here my love, have some delicious goodies. Oh! and did I mention that you will have to give me some of those green things in your pocket. What you dont want me to give those? Ok, I am not asking it right now, here sign these papers and you can give it to me anytime in next 5 years. What if you don't give? You dirty pig you will rot in a jail.

Money, the thing that causes everything to run around us except nature. Money, for which I spend about 12 hours of my wakeful time in a place called office, and without which I could not have been writing this.

Just so readers don't misjudge, I didn't particularly like writing this!!