Mirror mirror on the wall, tell me the truth once and for all.

2011-03-08T21:16:00.002+05:30

ढग आले तरी उदास व्हायचे कारण नसते,
ढग तर चंदेरी झालर दाखवत असते
तू समोर नसलीस तरी काय झाले,
तुझे ते हासणे मात्र माझ्या मनात कोरलेले असते।

कोण म्हणतो मी पीत नाही
मी तर रोज पीत असतो
तुझ्या गालावरच्या ख़ळी साठी तर मी दिवस रात्र तडफ़ड्त असतो

Quotes

2010-11-27T20:18:00.002+05:30

One of the best quotes I have found on the internet:
"Never explain yourself to anyone, because the person who believes it does not need it and the person who dislikes you will never believe it".

-----Anon

Long time no blog...

2010-11-14T19:14:00.003+05:30

Getting a promotion in any IT company is compared to the following as far as my experience goes:
0. Getting promoted is like starting from Symbi and reaching nal stop via law college road.
1. The whole appraisal process is like a choked and clogged law college road on a weekday at 7 PM.
2. The one who is a the right time on right vehicle at the right signal gets to Nal stop and eventually means gets promoted.
3. The navigation that the person does in that process is called mentoring....

Any more ideas?

Change

2010-06-06T16:23:00.002+05:30

Somewhere I read, "Change is the law of life" and then I decided to change.

My first laptop

2010-05-02T19:21:00.002+05:30

So after a lot of thinking and research I finally zeroed on Lenovo-Ideapad Y550. For a 53000 INR it was a cool buy given its features:
1. HD Support
2. Dolby Hometheatre
3. Win 7 64 bit preinstalled
4. Camera
5. TV TUner card
....many more
It has a leather finish case and a fine sleek appearance..

The time has come again...

2010-03-20T18:05:00.001+05:30

Yo, it is March end and it is again the time for the lions to roar !

When the man has to bow down....

2010-02-07T19:59:00.002+05:30

स्त्री हट्ट अणि बाल हट्ट यांच्या समोर कोणाचे ही काही चालत नाही
मला हे आता पटले आहे ।
आमच्या कड़े love birds हवेत असा हट्ट माज्ह्या better half अणि मुलांनी केला । मी त्यांना विरोध केला तर सगल्यानि अबोला धरला।
मला शेवटी आज love birds खरेदी करावेच लागले।

Back in time.....

2010-02-06T16:13:00.003+05:30

I travelled back in time today, back to 1988 A.D.
I purchased a new bicycle for me. This is about 20 years since i have used a bicycle.
However, I chose to be safe and spent only 4500 INR.
I bought a Hercules ultima 6 speed bike. Planning to take it to office 3 days a week.
New year resolution ?
:)

Give me some sunshine, give me some rain...

2010-01-31T13:00:00.004+05:30

Remember Joy Lobo in the movie 3 idiots? Well in case not then he was the victim of virus sahasrabuddhe's atrociuos ways of managing engineering students. In fact when i saw the scene where he drops an egg on the floor and says "life beings with a murder for these birds"....I was shocked. I was simply shocked. I do believe in Darwin's theory and that has been my central idea of this blog for last so many posts, but is this the way to express that theory ?
Virus Sahasrabuddhe, is a symbol of what our society contains. He is an exact rendering of the tendancies we have been carrying within us. He is what we are, and that makes my LION-DEER theory more solid. In case you are wondering what a LION-DEER theory is, you need to read all of my posts starting from the first one........NO :) I am not marketing my blog out here...

The 2009 recharge

2009-12-28T17:59:00.002+05:30

As usual we decided to travel to mahabaleshwar, on this weekend. This time it was hotel Girivihar in Mahabaleshwar, at the recommendation of a friend.
Hotel Girivihar is owned by a local marathi family. The hotel is good and clean and nice, but has that typical marathi cultural spark....
1. They expect guests to adhere to time lines laid down by them for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.
2. When they see kids they choose to server less quantity of food, and while charging for kids they do full 900 INR billing :)
I found this amazing. The marathi man in that owner was visible every where..no touch of professionalism what so ever.
However there are some good points about the hotel too..
1. The hotel is purely veg.
2. They have a small temple in campus and that creates a soothing ambience.
3. They use dhoop sticks and essence to create a nice atmosphere in evenings.
Other than that I would not recommend this hotel, very strongly to any one. In case you are budget constrainted then you can choose this hotel. They charge about 4000 INR per couple per night and 900 INR per kid (4 - 10 yrs) per night inclusive of all charges.

Mantra for 2010+

2009-12-13T20:38:00.003+05:30

Recently I had a chat with a conventional lion, who has succeeded the game of competition (of course all lions do). On a long chat, and a long introspection there after, I realized a few things about life. I have decided to name them as "mantra for 2010".
Here they go....
1. Life is not about reaching somewhere.
2. No one has actually ever "arrived" anywhere, anytime in life. They only feel so.
3. Life is actually about the journey towards the ultimate common destination for all.
4. Life is then about the enjoyment during that journey.
So, what I propose is that we do what we want to do, what our inner voice tells us to do and what the dead men speak to us.
That is the mantra for 2010+, which I am going to follow.....

Long drive ...though not so long...

2009-10-20T17:15:00.004+05:30

Sunday 18 October 2009 was a day memorable for me. It was my longest drive since I started driving. I drove my parents to Satara about 120 kms from Pune, with a 15 minute break in the journey. Though people have driven as far as chennai to pune in Maruti 800s, for me it was a memorable experience any way.
Saturday on 17th I tuned up my Zen Estilo VXi, filled up the tank to its capacity, checked tyre pressures and was very excited whole day to drive the estilo on the now good NH4.
On Sunday morning we started at 8:30 from our house and soon in 20 mins were on the bypass to NH4 via the warje exit. We bypassed the katraj ghat and drove though the beautiful katraj tunnels to khed shivapur in much less time as compared to the drive via the ghat. We were actually planning to visit the Balaji temple in narayanpur on NH4, but on the way we missed the exit as we were too busy chatting and enjoying the cool morning breeze with some nostalgic marathi songs in background. We decided to move ahead and went on. At about 9:50 we stopped for some tea and vada - pav at a local dhaba. 15 minutes and we were on wheels again, this time only to stop at satara. I was enjoying the drive as it as heaven for a city driver like me. No gear shifts, no honking, no speed changes, pure speed ... 60-80 ocassionaly 90 kmph.
I was not going to go in my 5th overdrive as I was too scared of loosing control. So I managed only 80-90 KMPH, but even then it was a magical and a nice experience.
We reached my grand parents house in Satara at about 11:15 after negotiating the Satara city traffic which is equally as bad as Pune.
Over all considering my driving exposure, this was a beautiful drive for me.
Now planning to do Pune - Mahaby....sometime in Dec last week...

The band stand

2009-10-13T20:11:00.010+05:30

I happen to get stuck in this game of competition all the time. This time it was with a new lion.
The rules have not changed, neither has any lion. All are pretty much the same. The difference is that the individual lions behave differently depending on their personalities.
More or less the game has not changed afterall. This time it is the BAND which screws up. It has become a law : "You will always land up in a band not recommended for promotions".
I have had a series of instances where each lion has shown a different excuse for not promoting a deer like me. And each one says it in different flavours, some say it directly, some cook up a story and some take help of the bloody system cracks themselves.... :D
This is amazing, I have started believing that people management is actually simply nothing but managing the system cracks better !
The more cracks the system has the more easy to manage it.
I have also observed one thing : The success of the game lies in the ambuigity of rules. I have often said this, but this time it got proved. Simply put, just go on creating rules as the game shapes up and you will have a beautiful picture of a feudal system where power resides in the hands of a few.
Another new aspect has emerged though which was not earlier. It is that of the "ecosystem" of the game where rules are made by the feudal lords and bent easily when the ecosystem resonates.
Lions seem to be obsessed with the need of a "vow" factor while treating the deers. In fact I feel that is the only thing they look even while granting the BANDS. The band stand is a result of a vow factor of 1.

Finally..

2009-09-19T21:51:00.004+05:30

The day arrived in my life when I could take a decision to own a property, a house for myself.
On the auspicious occassion of "navaratri" today I booked a bunglow plot about 17 kms from the city limits, in Pirangut, a quiet village adjacent to Pune city.
I do not know whether my decision is good or not so good, but it is important that I have taken one. Ever since I sold my 1BHK flat in 2004, I was missing every opporunity to buy a house and then when the prices soared high, I lost the chance altogether. But recently I got to know about this plot colony about 17 kms from pune, just 5 mins from Manas lake. I immediately seized the opportunity. Will post the pics of the place soon...

My first loaded handset

2009-08-09T09:39:00.002+05:30

After years 0f using basic handsets, today I got my first "loaded" handset. MP3 player, FM Radio, Bluetooth, Camera, etc etc...
I bought a Nokia 3110 Classic for 5500 INR (including screen guard and cable). Of course there are better handsets than this one, but considering my awareness about mobile handsets, I think I have a "big buy" over here....
Will soon update my first pic taken through the new mobile camera.

Organizational Failure

2009-06-30T20:05:00.005+05:30

I talked about my excellence award recently and now is the another great news...
I happen to find out what managers feel about the whole stuff of examinations and what a surprise..many of them simply hate it. One guy happened to say what good are exams when they do not ask questions on work he does, another happens to simply glorify his project work so much that he denies study time to his juniors...
And the another sad news is managers are empowered to do anything...right from denying study time to juniors to even denying credit to toppers like me..!
More than the fact that lot of people failed the exams, I feel this is a bigger org failure, that the managers representing the orgs, themselves are not willing to adapt to the new exam based assessment.

Excellence Award

2009-06-27T20:27:00.004+05:30

It feels very nice when you are rewarded. It certainly does.

Back when I was a student, I was rewarded many times, but ever since I have graduated in 1994, this is my first ever professional award, excluding any promotions at work. Recently I was awarded for scoring in top 3 percentile in assessment exams taken in my company. I was felicitated by a gold medal at the hands of our CEO. It was a huge achivement for me given the fact that I have never managed to obtain even a B band at work appraisals. (A and B bands are considered to be top performers in the company on a yearly basis).

This was also a nice experience to meet the CEO in such a close and informal way.

The 10 X 12 dream

2009-05-02T19:09:00.010+05:30

Last whole month I spent searching a nice dream home. The efforts made me even more frustrated, than what I was earlier. I saw my dream home morphe into a nightmare of home loan trap. The 25+ Lac INR home loan would mean no fun in life, for the next 15 years.
I was wondering who is responsible for this. On one hand I feel it is the IT revolution and on the other hand I feel it is the land shortage. Both are not in my control but both are redefining the way I should live my life. What a shame, I claim I control my own life.
I have spent my entire childhood in a spacious indian-maharashtrian style palatial "wada", and now at 36 here as I write this blog I am cramped into a 10 x 14 feet bedroom with the TV shouting in the next room and kids into another.
I wonder what people mean when they say "I define my destiny". I feel like laughing. Unless you are a filthy rich guy who can afford anything anywhere, I call everyone else as the "puppet" of the system. What good is a life where your basic needs are defined and controlled by someone else other than you.
I must have seen at least 8-10 different "sites" in the last month. The cost ranged from 25 Lacs in remote city outskirts to 60 Lacs in the heart of the city. No matter what you see, it is always a set of stupid 10 x 14 feet rooms. They call it the house. I am staying on one such and I feel I am jailed. I share the kitchen with my lord ganesha. !
It is never going to the same again, the system has defined our lives the way it wants. They want us to live in 10 x 14 dreams, spend in malls and retire.
And the funny thing is that these dimensions have lived across the cycles. When costs were in range and affordable, the rooms were still 10 x 14 and now when costs have become exhorbitant and out of range, the rooms are still 10 X 14.
I wonder what are we really paying for?

Words..

2009-04-02T09:36:00.002+05:30

Some poems do touch our hearts. Here is one which I simply love. I do not know who has written it, but I heard the song on youtube once by Bee Gees and then recently by the band BoyZone.

It goes...

Smile, an everlasting smile,
A Smile can bring you near to me,
Don't ever let me find you gone,
Cause that will bring a tear to me.

This world has lost its glory,
Let's start a brand new story, now my love..

You think that I don't even mean,
A single word I say.....

It's only words, words that all I have, to take your heart away...

----------

काही गोष्टी....

2009-03-23T19:39:00.004+05:30

काही गोष्टी कधीच बदलत नसतात,
त्या उन्हाळ्या संध्याकाळी तू घातलेला तो मोग्र्याचा गजरा,
आणि तो गार उसाचा रस,
ते मंतरलेले दिवस अन ती मनातली हूरहूर,
तुला भेटायला जाण्यासाठी काढलेले ते बसचे तिकीट,
तुला दिलेला पहिला कटाक्ष,

कवि : इन्टरनेट

ढग...

2009-03-19T18:09:00.003+05:30

ढग आले तरी डोळ्यात पाणी आणायचे नसते
ढग तर चंदेरी झालर दाखवत असते
कवी : इन्टरनेट

Miss Under Standing Unlimited...

2009-03-19T17:55:00.002+05:30

Over a reasonable steady relationship with my wife, I have now learnt the typical areas where women tend to miss understand. The list is long but one important area is when we men say "sorry" in any context. They would never believe how sorry we are when we are really sorry about anything. They feel it is their birth right to get sad, depressed and agitated. I hate to see that. I hate to see people i like, in the mood which i have been for last 13 odd years. I want people to be happy, and not sad, come what may.
It is difficult to get out of bad mood and even more difficult if we are not responsible for our bad mood.
But what if someone is really sorry !!!

Miss Under Standing.

2009-03-16T19:47:00.003+05:30

A lot of times we create conflict and stress in our mind just because of some misunderstandings. A lot can be achieved and accomplished if we release ourselves from the bias that we have about others. This is the one of the basic principles of people management.
Keep the past in the past, forget the future and live in the present time. At least I believe in it.

कधी कधी

2009-03-16T14:29:00.000+05:30

कधी कधी चरोळ्या जीवनचा अर्थ साँगतात
आणि त्याच अनर्थ पण ....................

मनाचे का?

2009-03-16T12:59:00.025+05:30

आपण आपलया मेँदूचें ऐकावे की ? मानाचे ?
माला तर मनाची हाक जवळची वाटते.

मराठी लेखन

2009-03-14T21:01:00.002+05:30

आपल्या मातृभाषेतून विचार मांडायला किती छान वाटते पण टाईप करायला फार त्रास पडतो , अर्थात कषटाशीवाय फळ थोडीच मीळते !

हाक

2009-03-14T20:52:00.002+05:30

तू हाक मारलीस तर माला मागे परतायला जमेल
पण प्रश्न हा आहे की तुला हाक मारायला जमेल ?
कवी : इन्टरनेट

The Protocol

2009-03-14T20:27:00.006+05:30

The main reason for me failing the compliancy test is my inability to comprehend the protocol. Mere knowing the syllabus does not help, you gotto learn the protocol. I have failed to do that, many times now, but this time I am going to make it. I am not angry over it, I just feel sad at my state of mind and get even more sadder. It feels empty in the mind now.
But there is a ray of hope!

What exactly is challenging..

2009-03-10T21:22:00.003+05:30

There is a serious difference between challenging work and challenging boss who assigns normal work. But often the difference is not seen and both are mixed. Especially in the indian context where slavery is prevalent and "management by influence" is also prevalent. Often when we work and become complacent the boss would suddenly make the environment more complex and claim he has challenging work for you. Complacency is another issue and we would take it up later, but making the environment complex and claiming it is "challenging" work is a bit too much, or "three" much !!!

The work never changes in any way, it is just packed in a different wrapper, or we can say a gift wrapper. Then why should we say that I have more work and challenging responsibilities? It is the boss that is challenging to manage and handle and not the work !!!!!!

Man proposes and god...

2009-03-08T19:14:00.004+05:30

I do not know whether this saying is true or not: "Man proposes and god disposes". But I feel in my case it has been partially true. The thing which I stood by in my college days, the principles which I followed back then are now haunting me. They are nagging me day after day and saying to me that I was wrong back then. Was I ? No. I believe nothing is absolutely wrong or right. The decisions are circumstantial and in that context are right or wrong. Am I saying this just for the sake of a psyco satisfaction? or is that the reality. Time will tell...but for now, I am happy that I took right decisions at right time at the right place.
Perhaps god disposes just to see the how much we are really standing by our beliefs. !
My decision to reenter the compliancy has been drive by this same fact. I want to retry the decision which I took back then and see for me whether I really get my life on a next plane or not ?

Compliancy..

2009-03-07T22:36:00.003+05:30

The game essentially starts with a compliancy test, which I think I have failed many times now. :D. However from the spectators point of view this test is simple. It is only tough when you are into it and playing. I say it is tough, not impossible altogether. The toughness is not in the setting of the test, but rather it lies in the implications of taking the test. You are slaved for life, once you take the test. Of course this is my perspective and may not be true. My thinking has always been rather wierd when it comes to standard social benchmarks.
But I have decided I would or I may like to take another compliancy test now..may be I might just pass and get accepted. !

To err is human...

2009-03-03T19:37:00.002+05:30

I have seen over a time period that many lions without the substance would play same games showing total lack of creativity. In fact the entire blue print of the game has not changed a bit !
I have decided to call such lions as veggie lions, a breed that has risen fast but only to fall hard and never rise again. I know politics is a part of competition, at least in some contexts, but then a seasoned politician would never repeat his moves and a real poitician would never let others know a move at all !!!!!.

Tell me the difference once for all...

2009-02-28T22:38:00.001+05:30

How does one differentiate between an agressive lion and a reckless lion?
This question is bothering me.

Wannapreneur

2009-02-25T21:09:00.002+05:30

What does one do when the mind is flooded with ideas? and there is no outgo? no execution of any of them?. I call it pregnant pause of the mind :D waiting to deliver something.

The surprise...

2009-02-22T16:34:00.003+05:30

To continue with the "theory of preset choices", I have also seen one more aspect of life, which I find very surprising. Often we choose some choices which we might have rejected or "not-chosen" in the past !. I find this very surprising and at the same time very profound. I think there is a process running somewhere deep in the cosmos which keeps us busy by putting forth in front of us the choices, and then also evaluating them. What I mean is that if some particular choice is meant for you and you do not choose it, it would not be discarded altogether, but it would be just suspended for the time being. When times change these old choices come back in the front, or fore ground and we are asked to choose them once again.
I remember as a college passedout grad with a bright academic record and a fancy 60K job (in 1994 of course) I had the choice of becoming an entrepreneur, but with that kind of salary at the age of 22, I flatly rejected that chioce. There were lots of other reasons too, those are not so relevant here now. The important point is that this choice has come back in my life again and this time it is going to get some of its due attention...cause who knows what is right for one?

Acidity for Lions...

2009-02-01T19:38:00.003+05:30

It is big time acidity for the lions.
I have noticed this often, lions keep on eating greedily, even when they are not supposed to eat ! and then acidity hits in. Why does a lion eat when it is not supposed to eat ?
1. Because of greed.
2. Because of peer pressure from other lions ! who are in same mode.
They call this mode, " growth", I call it "malignant growth" which leads to big time acidity.
So is growth bad, no !, I am not saying that.
I am saying that "regulated" growth is good.
Has anyone seen a "trampolin"? A spring board on which kids enjoy jumping?. I want to compare our life with the trampolin. Each one's journey is about jumping on it. Now if we jump according to our capacity, we enjoy it. The moment we start pushing ourselves, under no matter what reason, we are going to get results accordingly. The hard we jump, the higher we go, but then the larger we fall !
So should we not jump? No ! we gotta jump only as much as we enjoy, rather than compel ourselves under the name of the bloody game.

My first piano lesson

2009-01-11T19:02:00.002+05:30

I have been fascinated by the piano for a long time now. Last few years I have just wasted in the thought of learning piano. But 2009 started on a different "note". Today was my first piano class. I learnt a bit of theory, like Bass Clef, Treble Clef, measure, note etc and a bit of playing around with the keys.
I plan to learn piano for next five years now! so as to make arrangements for post retirement income. !
After all, who wants to play the game anymore?

Control

2008-12-31T18:53:00.007+05:30

I have come to a conclusion that our life is really a set of preset choices. The only thing random about it is the way choices are presented to us. There is no way to control "generation" of choices, they exist from the very start. When I make a choice between n options given to me, I am really actually doing nothing but walking a fixed path. I am given a pseudo feeling that I am charting my course, but that is more of a kiddy satisfaction !
Then what is the purpose of everyone's life? That is the question and the answer lies on that same fixed path, but we fail to see it !!!

Some findings...

2008-12-25T18:00:00.002+05:30

A few things emerged out strongly over our dinner conversation,
1. Any kind of management follows jungle laws, i.e survival of the fittest.
2. Any kind of management is all about benchmarking, classifying and ultimately labelling people.
3. Any kind of management only survies if they follow laws of the jungle.
4. Why should one swim against the flow?
5. Money is power and money is everything.

I raised objections over all of them.

1. If there is no "human" value in day to day life and work, I think it is terrible.
2. This is sheer lack of creativity.
3. It means deers cannot manage :D good news for me.
4. Why should one swim "with" the flow?
5. For me money is a "tool" with which I shape my life. I need to concentrate on the creation and not the tool !. Someone argued, "wealth" is a creation, I do not agree. Don't we build new tools from old ones, say better new tools? but again that is with some better purpose in mind. We do not simply run for "tools" !.
Money is something, but certainly not everything.

The cycle...

2008-12-24T17:51:00.003+05:30

Yes there is a difference between a lion and deer and man !. The man can think. I understand that. But then the game gets even worse when politics and thinking comes into picture. It gets even more ruthless. A cycle of battles start and never ends, it would end only when you are deerED or lionED. I hate politics, no matter whether it is for good or for bad. That is the reason I chose to be a spectator in the first place, an intelligent one of course. Playing the game isn't easy as I have observed. Once you are in the damn cycle, it gets tougher. The funny aspect is spectators are considered deers by default !

My first kitchen control...

2008-12-19T21:42:00.005+05:30

Last sunday, happend to be a special one for me. It was not neither my birthday nor my aniversarry. It was my first cooking experience, though a short one.
My mother and wife were away for some function and I was alone with my son. We had plans to make idli-sambar but my wife did not anticipate the delay she took in travelling. I had to feed my son so I took over the kitchen and made fabulous idli sambar. !!! Much of the technical consultancy came from the book "swayampak" by Sindhutai sathe !. This book is amazing. It has every single recepie you can imagine in a maharashtrian house. Hats off to her !

The benchmark

2008-12-19T21:28:00.003+05:30

I have observed one thing very often. The image of a player is directly linked to how high he rises in the game. The lower the position of the player, worse is the image. I see sheer mockery in th eyes of the lions when they refer a deer, nothing else. It is as if the higher the player, better is his thinking and lower the player, worse is his thinking. Why is this benchmarking the way it is ? Why can't people be judged on a different scale which is not linked to their socioeconomic status? Is having the M vitamin a sign of success? I have no answers to these questions, does the mirror have them?

The great disconnect.

2008-12-13T18:53:00.003+05:30

Another aspect in the game is the material one, and that also plays an important part in the game. Money is linked to success for most lions, at least in the indian game context. Deers are pushed in the game by showing them money.
I understand money is important, as one lion has said "Money is a tool". I, for an exception, agree with the lion. But then I want to disconnect the possessor of the tool and his success, and that is where I beg to disagree with the lions. If a tool itself is a success then what about the creation? If a chisel itself is success for a sculptor, then what is the masterpiece ? There is ambiguity here.

How much enough is enough?

2008-12-13T18:40:00.003+05:30

This is the question that answers another question, when do you decide you are successful?.
At least I am of that opinion.
Success has many definitions, as many, as there are individuals on this planet and that makes the whole game worth playing for the lions and at the same time useless for deers.
I happen to watch closely the way lions think about the game and about deers in general and i have reached a conclusion that most lions would go ahead and define success for deers, even when they do not have a right to do so. That is a strategy in the game which is termed as "motivating deers".
I am not against the game, as such. I am against the way it is played and made to play by the lions for the deers. I don't understand why deers cannot define success the way they want it. Why should a deer be benchmarked against a lion. Why is running so much important? why is greed so important?

The joke of the day ! Competition among slaves.

2008-12-06T19:22:00.002+05:30

I have noticed one more thing amongst the slaves, mostly among the super machines. They get offended by mere presence of observers like me. They feel insecure probably or may be they want everybody to run the bloody rat race and do not like observers, whatever may be the reason. This was funny. I failed to understand that why should one progress only in upward direction ? Is that the only way to progress in life? Isn't lateral movement a progress?
The machines do not feel this way. Their asset is the weak mind of the slave and for them slaves are not supposed to think at all. The machine would pump the greed into the slave and the slave has to generate currency. That works best for the machines. I also could not digest another fact that the machines kindle a competition amongst the slaves themselves. This was the biggest joke, given the fact that slaves do not have much choice. It is a readonly competition for slaves.

Having a daughter - Its different

2008-11-05T20:04:00.004+05:30

I have a 5 year old daughter and about a week back, I was thinking about her on the same lines as I would think about my son, who is 8 years now. But last week end I happened to visit my kids who were having a fun filled vacation at their grandparents home. I called my wife on friday night and went there saturday morning. The kids were happy, everyone was enjoying life and we had a nice time for 2 days. But I noticed that since sunday evening my daughter would not speak much. She was quiet. I just ignored, thought may be she has fought with her brother. As I had my dinner and was about to leave, she just came from no where and hugged me and started crying. I was surprised. This was the first time in her life of 5 years and my life of 35 years that I had seen this. She cried a lot and begged that I should not leave her and go. I was emotional by then. I hugged her too and assured her that I would call her monday morning. I left them and on my journery back home was thinking about the attachment kids have to their fathers. My son never cried when I left him, nor he was any emotional sort in any of such circumstances. My wife is also a pretty strong woman, who would never cry. But my daughter seemed to be very sensitive. I was thinking about the warmth and kindness such little ones bring in our lives. When I called my mother and narrated her the whole incident, she smiled and simply said, "Mandar, u know now why u shd always have a baby daughter". !
Man ! it is amazing to have being cared by a baby daughter ! To all couples who are praying for kids, I would pray to them to ask god for a cute baby daughter.

IL - Pallazzo - Panchgani

2008-10-25T23:27:00.002+05:30

Out of family pressure, recently I had a chance to visit panchgani instead of standard mahabaleshwar trip which we do annually.
This time, we stayed at a hotel called IL - Pallazzo, the same place where a leading star had got married. Here is what I feel about the hotel:
Situated on about an acre of hilly plot, this hotel was a parsi residence, built in 1926. Now it is a hotel. The location is not very attractive. The only advantge being that it is about 5 mins from tableland and 2 mins from Panchgani central market. Other wise there is no breathtaking view or something like that. However the fun lies in its construction. It has a colonial feel. The rooms are large and double the standard height. They have all wooden furniture carefully maintained and decorated by polish, paint etc. There is a private dining for each room. The bathrooms are also large and have all modern fittings, a fusion with the colonial construction. The private dining is not actually a dining but a makeshift dining in the rooms verandah. But it does feel like a private dining. There is a large well maintained garden opposite the main wing of the hotel and a common dining area too. There is a swimming pool, skating area, badminton court, table tennis table, gym etc, but personally i feel it was a bit overkill on these facilities since in a 3 day visit no one is really going to use all of these facilities.
The food is not very good, though my family members liked it. It had a peculiar parsi taste, was different. As I said, I did not like it but my wife and kids did. The desserts were awesome though, especially the mava cake ( a cake stuffed with sweet fillings and topped with chocolate).
For 13980 INR for all 4 (2 adults and 2 kids) of us for 2 nights and 3 days, I think it was a ok deal, if not best.
I would recommend it to anyone who loves to stay in old houses and wants to just chillax in the pleasant climate.

A greedy farmer I knew...

2008-09-12T19:58:00.003+05:30

This is a story of a farmer that I know. Rather we all see such farmers in the modern world.

He was very ambitious and intelligent. He thought may be I should plant a sapling that would one day grow into a tall, handsome tree and would bear delicious fruits. He did so. He carefully watered the plant, took care of it like a father and made the sapling grow. Days and years passed by and after many years the sapling grew into a mammoth tree which stood tall up and bore delicious fruits. The farmer was happy and satisfied, but little did he knew what was happening. The tree no more needed the farmer, it was growing day by day and its large branches started eating into the walls of the farmers house. The farmer was not going to let this happen. After all it was his house and the only house he had. Without much thought he started cutting down the beautiful branches of the tree. The tree was cut down to a small size fair enough not to eat into the walls of the farmers house.

What is the whole point in growing a tree and then cutting it down to your own to fit your own narrow, dirty and greedy mind?

Going fast but nowhere......

2008-09-07T09:33:00.001+05:30

Hota Asa Kadhi Kadhi

life is not only about rising high but also being grounded firmly.

Watch this movie on 12th September.

Compete for a better cause...

2008-09-03T20:12:00.007+05:30

I believe that you need to compete with yourself rather than run the rat race. Everyday or at whatever frequency you may choose, you should close your eyes and scan yourself. This scan should be based on individual parameters which inturn should be defined on what one wants in life.

And you should compare all such your scans and fight to achieve the ideal one.

This makes you a better individual and that is success to me. However in the most ideal case this cannot be achieved and we can only be close to ideal.

I have also started believing that investing into your next generation, in terms of time, is far better than investing your time in your office laptop and client VPN.

Your kids are your reflection on the time axis, so it makes a lot of sense to compete with your ownself and clear any such distortions in this reflection. It proves better in the long run.

Human Ships

2008-08-30T16:48:00.008+05:30

As a college going teenager, once I remember watching the great movie. It was about a armed revolt done by a "slave" against the then great indestructible roman empire. If I am not wrong, then there was a scene in the movie where a pirate is shown with his ship and guess what, the ship is powered by a set of "human slaves". They have in fact shown that "human slaves" bound to a wooden bench by a chain, actually row the ship and are guided by a "master" captain who yells and depending on his command they either row fast or slow down. The scene clearly depicts the then prevailing social structure.
I remembered it today because I feel I am one of the slaves who is rowing the mighty ship (god knows where !!). I follow hinduism so I do not have christmas holidays. Our ship works for a client who does not follow hinduism so I do not have Diwali \ Ganapati holidays. As a slave I feel I cannot have holidays. I am allowed to only earn my holidays !!! Now I feel I am the slave with a huge difference that I cannot even rebel !!. There is another difference though. The chains which bound us to our work are made of gold !. They are called magic chains, since they offer us lunch, snacks and a good pay packet.
But what is the use? when you know all your life is controlled by the master of the ship !

Customer care... "Gone with the wind"

2008-08-24T17:11:00.004+05:30

Today morning the Hathway line maintainence guy visits our house. He asks to see the terrace and does something over there. We are unaware what he does, because we think he is there for some maintainence work. He leaves. I realize after an hour that my Internet connection is down. !! And I have to login because I have to work from home.
I call up the guy, he plainly says "Sahab (Sir), I disconnected your cable and gave someone else the connection because, I was short of number of connection points into the splitter on our terrace"... Man ! This was amazing. I was speechless over the state of affairs... :)

Crib and curse all the time...

2008-08-21T10:21:00.002+05:30

Over a period of 7-8 years now I have noticed one thing. The more you crib and curse about something, the more you like to do it and it becomes your habit. I have some interesting experiences about some fellows who curse my city people, and my city culture. It has been my constant observation that these fellows would go ahead and curse / crib about any damn thing in the world. Basically they are now habituated to it. It becomes a way of life for them to now crib and curse anything. This is a harmful situation becasue you never know when habits can conquer your character. !!!!
There is an interesting quote from Mark Twain about habits:
"Nothing so needs reforming as other people’s habits."

When people help you...

2008-08-13T20:09:00.002+05:30

It becomes mandatory on your part that you reciprocate and return back what you have got. Have you ever been in a situation where suddenly the environment around you turns conducive for you? Well, I am currently in that kind of environment. All around people are helping me towards my MS Maths. No one knew me before and I knew no one before, but still they are helping me and guess what? This is the time when I need to return back their obligations by studying hard.!

My first number theory proof.

2008-08-01T20:29:00.003+05:30

Prove that if GCD (a, b) = LCM (a,b) then a is b or -b. This was my first every academic assignment in last 14 years !. It was an amazing and equally painful experience. I had no clue as to where to start. I searched the net and found some hints which led me to prove the statement. The courses I have taken are
1. Number Theory
2. Real Analysis
3. Ordinary Differential Equations
4. Advanced Calculus
5. Linear Algebra.
It is going to be a tough job studying these subjects after a gap of 14 long years.

Another Rule

2008-07-29T13:21:00.003+05:30

The list of the rules of the game gets richer as time passes by. I have learnt a new rule today. It says : Your failure is my success.
Just as a "lethal combination" works, this rule also works in favour of most of seasoned players who would even go at the heights of marketing fellow players' failures for their own success. And the gamers are blind about it. In fact the gamers are blind, deaf and mute about every thing. They are insterested in end results ! The grep on certain patterns until then they are simply waiting......

Part 2 or second innnings shall I say ?

2008-07-29T12:02:00.003+05:30

There is a great need of an alternate life. Otherwise the game is going to take away all your resources and give you nothing. The obstacles are severe, but the need is predominant.I have been thinking about it for last so many years now and I have come to a conclusion that "sooner the better". I have taken the first step already. There has been an issue of a magazine which talks about the same issue of alternate life and it explains a methodical way to transit. Here are some excerpts:
1. Ask yourself the fundamental question. What do you want to really do after the decision?
2. Get an idea of the impact, you may have to reload yourself with new skills.
3. Work out your goals and plan for them before hand so that there are minimal surprises.
4. Accept the fact that such a decision would mean certain levels of fixed life style.
5. Then have a Plan B ready.
6. Then take the decision and you have a new life.

RDB

2008-07-27T21:17:00.002+05:30

One of the best movies I have seen !... I am not going to write a review over here, that is the job of an expert. I am just writing my opinion. Today I saw it for the third time. It is amazing. It is awesome. It is wonderful. It is mind blowing. The script, the flow, everything !!!
I just loved the way it is done ! Hats off !.

The only law of life

2008-07-20T15:12:00.001+05:30

ABILITY will get u at the top. CHARACTER will retain u at the top.

Amazing change

2008-07-17T18:00:00.002+05:30

Today I finally got that chance to fill up the admission form for MS Maths. The change is amazing, I have to admit. From pointless paperwork to a sleek 5 min process. Thanks to the internet or to the web whatever !
The process is simple. You just carry your qualifying exam marksheet and fill in the web based form with all details, personal, academic etc. Then print the form, stick your foto, attach fees, required docs and hurray ! it is done !
Isn't this change amazing? Well if not you better travel with a time machine back to 1990 and try applying.

Budding artists

2008-07-14T19:39:00.003+05:30

Pseudo worth

2008-07-14T19:37:00.003+05:30

The game gets in so addictive that players often keep on playing till a point of no return. Each player, no matter how junior or senior he is, starts realizing his true scope and area of influence in the game very early. This moment would define his tenure in the game. Some players however keep onplaying even though their infuence is reduced to almost nil. What do you call them? I call them the veggie lions. :) or the v-lions.These v-lions would use the game to rise and manipulate their worthto such an extent that it becomes harmful to the game and to the fellow players.But unfortunately, no one has enough time to stop the v-lions. Rather no one is bothered. Viewed from another angle it seems that decisions in the game are taken first and then a plot is hatched to arrive at that decision.This pseudo worth has disturbed the game, the sanctity of the game.

The lethal combination

2008-07-11T19:50:00.003+05:30

One of the corner stones of success in the game is a combination of information and confidence. The players who have it make it real big, those who don't are left behind, well to be frank..junked.
Now whether a player is genuine is a million dollar question, which cannot be answered so easily, but the info+conf combination really takes him for the ride of life. This sole combination shows a player as proactive and aggressive, the two key requirements of the game. The whole chain of players in the heirarchy, at some point in their game life, have to have this combination otherwise it is fatal. Some players with substance have this combination as a result of their inherent qualities, but majority of the others just have a facade and rest is utter rubbish. Those with substance do not remain in the game for long as they overgrow it or run too fast to be overtaken. The mediocre ones keep on playing, playing and getting junked or deered.

A long wait for freedom

2008-07-10T20:22:00.002+05:30

The dice, the d-lions, deers, machines, players, games; all this is going to stay for a while. Whether you like it or not and whether you care or not. The otherwise normal human being is chained and victimized by these. Take a simple example of a machine. It is expected to slog, slog and slog for years doing the same job, same stupid task which earns value to the gamers. Oh ! Yes the game is important than the players, so what if the game is useless without the players !, it has been made important by design and by the inherent greed to make it big. The machines are rewarded by upgrading them. Those who stay put in that monotonous, mundane and 12th grade -pass-can-do-jobs are rewarded ! . The fascinating aspect is that no player is bothered. How much money is made in a lifetime any ways? 20L, 50L ? and what happens when you are junked? Is 50 L gonna help you?

Manzil se behetar hai yeh raste

2008-07-10T20:14:00.002+05:30

I happened to hear a song on radio mirchi just now and one of the lines in the song said, "Manzil se behetar lagne lage hai yeh raste".... (What it means is that : The road is beautiful than the destination).
I was simply fascniated by the idea and thought how true it was !
There is no reaching anywhere, it is the road and travel that matters !.

How to please your better half...

2008-07-07T19:33:00.003+05:30

I have learnt this over ten years of a beautiful relation ship, that I have.
You can buy anything, from a bunch or red roses to a INR 2.2k tagged salwar kurta. Or may be even a diamond ring. What they love is not the gift (0f course they like it) itself but they way you give it to them. Believe me, it works.

Dice

2008-07-07T19:00:00.006+05:30

Rolling the dice is not that easy as it may seem. The dice are rolled no doubt. But then the mapping of numbers on the dice to the machines is pretty much done in closed door manner. It is shown to be a eleventh hour task but it is a important thing to notice that it is predecided, premeditated, prefixed. Now you may ask why ? Simple answer. There is simply no other fair manner to categorize machines... !. The ambition to be "fair" is soaring high, but the lack of ideas is overriding human values and then comes in the greed to succeed, thereby giving rise to the deadly game.
Some machines want to quit, they are quietly allowed to do so and there you see the degradation of values. The game is valued more than the player. The game should carry on ! players will come.

Prayer answered...

2008-07-06T17:26:00.004+05:30

In my college days I had always seen myself as a highly educated guy. Never imagined that however I would never be able to do higher studies for a long time. Life had been harsh. For 15 long years, it was a long wait finally to know that I can do MS Maths from university externally without having to leave my job.
This is a prayer answered for me.

Constructors

2008-07-06T10:21:00.000+05:30

Another area worth mentioning in the game is that of a "constructor".
It is designed to prepare a player for the next levels of the game. It "casts" a player into a mould required by the gamers. Designed by serious players this is the most important part of the game, where in if you fail you are junked !! Not even DEERed, only junked ! The recent generation who has grown up doing homework by using google.com would not really understand what i am saying, but a slightly older generation would certainly do.
These constructors have certain rules, and one important is that : There are no friends in the game, only players. You can befriend players but they still remain as players and you have to remember this. Trust no one is another important rule. Convince or get convinced is yet another one. There are so many. The list would never end, it will only get enriched by experience.
In some cases constructors have mini games designed to let players get insight into the main game. Those who pass the constructors are LIONed and those who fail are junked for life. They remain machines meeting the expectations, never exceeding them.
Mirror mirror on the wall, have you ever been casted at all ?

The characteristics

2008-07-05T19:51:00.000+05:30

Competition makes man work for the best and that acts as a fuel for progress. It works !, really, I am not disagreeing. Students work hard when in schools, professionals work hard in organizations, businessmen burn midnight oil in this exciting game. I have seen people doing all this. I have done this too..

But then there is a point where things start getting ugly !. What is that point? It is when greed steps in and when does greed step in? It is when you have lost your roots to your core. It is when ambitions take precedence over values.
Some one just now argued with me that how to build communities, societies, organizations, states and nations with values alone? For creating something you need to destroy something. My point was to sense worthiness while destroying that something. Is it really worth it?

There is a story about a great palace. It is said that the emporer who built the great palace then went and ordered amputation of its creators. He had their hands cut so that they do not repeat their creation. My view of the game is similar, in the sense that this game is cutting our basic skills and abiliites due to our unending quest (read Greed) for money. We will never be able to create anything by our own henceforth. We will always remain machines !...waiting for a outsourced workpacket !

Greed

2008-07-05T19:38:00.000+05:30

Greed, I think is one of the seven sins and yet it is so prevalent amongst the senior players of the game. In fact the more senior you become the more greed is generated within; be it money, power, food, possession etc.
As an observer I see, greed works for most of the players. The moment it is planted, it changes you into a different person altogether. The secret is to make one greedy, rest follows.
Deep down into the very core, you will find a small engine running for the super machine, it is called the GreedEngine !!

Mama, I am scared....!

2008-07-04T17:38:00.000+05:30

When the machines are being DEERed, LIONed or junked, the end result is always kept a well guarded secret. The super machines or the d-lions (read Darwinian Lions) claim that they have a fool proof system for Lioning or Deering, but then they still do not make the end result public. If the super machines are so smart as they claim, what are they scared of? Especially when they have a unquestioned power base to supress all criticism and post event chaos. !
How very typical of a dictatorship !!

The machines, the lions and the dice

2008-07-03T13:44:00.000+05:30

Guess what happens in the month of April. Dice are rolled.
Einstein had once said: "God never rolls dice". But you know what? In our game precisely that is done. One fine morning, the machines would be asked to report their conditions, their current abilities. Then overnight a team of super machines would roll the dice. You -> 3, You -> 4, You-> 6 and so on..
The machines are then junked, DEERed or LIONed, whatever the super machine says.
So tell me what do you see in a mirror, a lion or a deer?.

Impression

2008-07-03T13:31:00.000+05:30

Whom are the machines impressing any way? and what do they achieve by doing this?
As long as I remember, I have always thought money as a tool and not as a goal. So I feel if you get the tool that is sufficient. Out here in the game however, players seem to be having that as the goal ! So you forget your job and run for the tool ! I wonder if a sculptor would like to do that..forget sculpting and run for more and more tools. What is the use of a golden chisel if he were not to use it ever? or let me put it this way, a golden chisel and a iron chisel are going to have same effect on the stone being cut..so what is the real fun in having a golden chisel?
And believe me, the lions are passing on the message, make money deer (read dear), make money.
How far the players are going to run ? I wonder. How far the machines are going to generate? Mirror mirror on the wall, tell me the truth once and for all.

Namakaran

2008-07-03T13:20:00.000+05:30

A good idea was to change the title of my blog to the punch question i was using in my blogs.
Thanks to a reader.

Being Average

2008-07-01T18:00:00.002+05:30

The clips on national geographic or discovery always show some poor deer being chased by a bunch of arrogant lions and ultimately being killed for a afternoon feast.
Is being deer a fault in the game? Lions argue and take shelter under the name of darwin. Where can deers go?Is being weak and average a fault of a player in the game?
My observation is that even rules of the game are biased towards the lions, Am I correct? I am not speaking on behalf of lions or on behalf of deers, I am, as I said, a spectator. I am curious as to why only deers are falling prey to lions. Whose fault it is that the deer is falling prey? Are the lions at fault? Whose fault it is?
Each moment the players of the game seem to be desparate to "impress", god knows whom, I guess the "superset"of machines (or let me call them the darwinian lions) that I mentioned in the morning. Those who are not desparate are DEERed and labelled as average machines, they are supposed to be junk.
I guess the first rule of the game says, "Believe in Darwin, rest will follow". I would want to say that this is the first "axiom" of the game and not a rule.
There is a theory that nature always strives for balance. Hence the weak deers and strong lions.
So does it give the lions a senseof "acomplishment"? to kill a deer and feed itself?
I guess the second axiom of the game says, "Don't think, just try to be a lion, as long and as soon as you can".
Mirror mirror on the wall, tell me the truth once and for all.

Machines

2008-06-30T19:59:00.000+05:30

Ever wondered why machines were made? To make life easier of course. To do tasks that are monotonus, repetitive, mundane, etc etc .
That is right. We have outsourced our lives to machines and we think that by doing so we can concentrate on something better.
So I guess that "better" means building more machines?
Some machines however need appraisals, salary revisions, promotions, increments etc. What do you call such machines?
And what if the salary revisions, appraisals, increments and promotions are decided by another set of machines?
Mirror mirror on the wall, tell me the truth once and for all.

Mirror mirror on the wall.....

2008-06-29T20:22:00.000+05:30

I want to modify the famous question "Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?".
My version would say, "Mirror mirror on the wall, tell me the truth once and for all".
Am I really controlling my life? I don't really feel I am in control, though I am a spectator by choice for the game. Once, long time back as a player, I felt the same. Then who controls me? who decides I should be driving a Zen Estilo or a Honda City? Because When I buy a honda city I start getting a question, who decides whether I should drive a honda city or a Honda Accord, for that matter?
"Mirror mirror on the wall, tell me the truth once and for all", who is the master of all?

Still counting...

2008-06-29T19:56:00.000+05:30

I have been a quiet observer to this whole stuff called "competition". Believe me, it is fun to watch this game where players are infinite, rules are non existent and duration is eternal.
You have a choice whether you want to play or just watch. I chose to watch and I am enjoying. Are you? There is a price to pay for this game however, both for the players and for spectators. I have paid mine. Have you? Well, it isn't so simple, that you go to a grocery and buy a bunch of apples.
The pricing out here is complex, takes years to understand and when you understand, believe me you would like to be a spectator..... Do you believe me?

The Launch

2008-06-29T19:52:00.000+05:30

I see everybody has been blogging for a while now, so I thought why should i remain aloof.