The Bigger Picture

Has it ever occurred to you that what you believed, to the best of your knowledge, to be the correct picture eventually turned out to be very different? Yes, I am sure would have been your answer. I was reading the newspaper yesterday when I stumbled upon this picture of the elephant and the six blind men.
(While this article was about the National Pension Scheme and what the general investors thought about it, I took the opportunity to pen down some of my thoughts around this)
While each one describes what he felt about the elephant the complete picture turns out to be only partially correct. Slight extrapolation of the story here, would it be possible to imagine how different their answer would have been if they could speak within themselves sharing their experiences (remember they were only blind). The answer would have been different if only they were able to accept the bigger picture than what they personally experienced. That is what my blog is about today.

I am sure some of us would have heard this following joke.

There was an old couple happily married. Every time the husband would ask his wife what was for dinner, his wife wouldn't reply. The husband realised that his wife had developed some hearing problem and as a good husband decided to take her to the doctor. When the doctor examined the wife, he found her hearing powers in good condition. It was the husband who required the treatment...!


Though we might have had a good laugh at this joke but there's a bigger message in it. Is it that the problem is with someone else only? Are we willing to even explore the possibility of something else? At times we feel we know everything until something shocking hits us on the face.

Ever felt that in a relationship that the other person never understood you or listened to you? I am sure you would have understood what I am hinting at.

I am not saying that all of us might be feeling the same way and if we tried just enough, we would get the clues from our own surroundings to figure it out before it blows out of proportion. What we make out of this blog depends entirely on us.

I leave you all with one of the best forwarded messages (thanks to Aniket Acharekar from Mumbai) I came across so far..

A group of highly educated students visited their old university professor.
Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering them coffee, Professor returned from kitchen with a pot of coffee and an assortment of cups- porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to hot coffee. When all had a cup of coffee in hand,
The professor said: "If U noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain ones. While it's but normal for U to want only the best, that's also the source of Ur stress. What U really wanted was coffee, not the cup, But U still went for the best cups nd were eyeing each other's cups!"

If life is coffee, Then jobs, money and status in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life.
Don't let the cups drive U..

Enjoy the coffee...!

Hope you enjoyed reading this one and would love you to know your views / comments on this one. Also do check out my earlier blog Big Picture I wrote in Dec2010. 

What is a Problem?

"What is darkness? Darkness does not exist but is really the absence of light…"

A powerful thought, I was reminded of during this week's power grid failures. That too not just once, but twice.

However, the first time it happened on a Monday morning before most of us were awake and the second time in the afternoon when the sun was still few hours before setting out the nadir. So actually we were not reeling quite so literally in the darkness. The very thought of it happening in the evening gives me shivers.

For a moment everyone felt so hapless for this impacted not just a part of the city but more than 50% population of the country. I read that this was probably the worst outage in the world impacting almost 10% of the world population. Everything is so dependent on electricity. This fact was evident when railways, Metro, traffic lights, offices went off. Airports were least affected as they were managed by their back-up.

When asked about this situation, our minister said that we need to appreciate that this was restored in the shortest possible time. He quoted that when a similar thing happened in the U.S they took just about 4 DAYS to restore the situation.

Can you imagine how life would be without electricity? Well to sum it up in one word, it would be DIFFICULT…not that we would not be able to survive it.

Well, to set the right perspective of this blog, this is not about the Power Grid Collapse. This is more to do with the lessons it reminded me during that period.

Lessons learnt

1)       Don’t take anything for granted.
2)    Respect it and use it judiciously.

3)       Don’t depend on one thing only and ensure that you have all possible back-up plans.

4)       Remember that things could and would go wrong when you least expect them too.

I would like to share one of the many jokes that did rounds while we were enduring the outage.

Power Grid Failure:  India is the first country to invent a time-machine. It was tested successfully for 2 days. The North Indians were the privileged ones to travel twice to "Dark Ages" and back.

I leave you all with the second part of the opening quote….Problem is nothing but  just the absence of a Solution.

Do remember to leave your thoughts / comments on this one on my blog.

Have you got your Plan B yet?

When life is going as per plan, seldom do we stop and check for Plan B. It is when we are hit with a sudden crisis, that we look for alternatives plans. This blog is my attempt to figure out the when, why and how of Plan B.  Maybe its called “B” because of two plausible reasons …firstly it comes after A, representing the next option & secondly maybe because Back-up begins with ‘B’

I take the example of you getting stranded on the road with a flat tyre, no mobile, no money and an important meeting. (incase you haven’t read it already, I urge you to read my blog “ can you handle this?” ( <-----just click here)

Preventive actions for above scenario could be some of these – Spare money kept somewhere in the car’s dashboard, car charger, registration with car break-down helpline etc etc.

This would be incomplete, not exhaustive and hence my request to all readers to add their thoughts in the comments section.

Some of the more extreme situations were handled by the protagonists in Mel Gibson’s “Apocalypto” & Danny Boyles’ “127 hours”. I am sure most of you would have already seen either of them.

There would be many such stories but allow me to share with you a story I had read earlier. I am unable to remember  where I had read it, hence there might be a slight change in the story. Here it goes…

Once there used to be an oasis in the middle of a big, vast desert. In it was a kingdom where they had quite a peculiar way to elect the king. After the end of 4 years, the king had to be either executed in the palace or left somewhere in the desert to die. However, for the 4 years when he was the king, he had everything under his control. It had been quite some time now that the kingdom was sans a king. One day, a young man approached the ministers to claim the king’s throne. Everyone was quite surprised by this move of the young man. Soon, he was a crowned the king of that kingdom. He was a very able king and within months he was able to win the confidence of the people. Under his regime, the kingdom’s wealth had increased manifolds. Everyone loved the king. He was a very just ruler. He lowered the taxes for the common man and provided all necessary support to his people. Time was just passing by too quickly. Already 3 years had passed; suddenly the thought had 4 years been soon to be over crossed everyone’s mind.

Rule was rule, after all. Was there any way that this rule could be changed….it was the first time everyone was praying for that…..the meeting of the minister’s was called for. It was decided not to change the rule and the king could only rule for the next 1 year. The king took the decision in his stride.

The ministers were curious to see the calm with which the king was ruling the kingdom, until the second last day of his rule. The prosperity the kingdom had seen under his regime was simply unparalleled. One night they decided to spy on the king and see what he was up to. To their utmost surprise they found out from the sentry of the kingdom, that every night ever since he became the king, some of his men would travel in the middle of the night, seated on camels. They carried some luggage stuffed with them. When they used to come back, mostly after 3 days, they came empty handed. The ministers smelled a rat. They called for an important meeting early next morning.

It was a beautiful morning, the last day of the king’s rule as the stipulated 4 years had come to an end. As per the rule, the king was to step down and choose between the desert and the executioner. The ministers accused the king of theft of royal jewellery and gold. The king kept his calm and responded stating that the wealth of the kingdom had increased manifold under his regime. He was correct. The ministers didn’t have any further question to ask. The king spoke to his folks from the throne for the very last time. He said that he was indeed proud to have been a king of such a wonderful kingdom. He wished everyone happiness and success in their lives and announced his decision to sent to exile for the rest of his life.

There was a wave of sadness between the folks to hear this announcement. So it was the end of the 4 years of his kingdom and probably his death in the next 2 days. The deserts would not be able to give life to the king any further.

As he was about to leave the boundary of the kingdom, one of the ministers asked him to tell what was he smuggling out of the kingdom every night for the last 4 years. The king smiled back and responded that during the first 1 year he took the bulls and heavy equipments for levelling out the barren land about 2 days walking distance away from the kingdom.  The next year he took the best diggers to dig wells and water the grounds. The next year he took seeds and cattle stock to build up a huge poultry farm. In his last year he took the best craftsmen to build for him a magnificent palace having the best facilities. Also, during these years he had been regularly practising to walk in the desert for 2 days at a stretch and had familiarised his way from the kingdom to his new “OASIS”. With that, he moved out of the kingdom with a big smile on his face.

So, my friends this is what I wanted to share with you…PLAN B

I hope you enjoyed reading this short story which has indeed been insightful. Do remember to share your comments if you like to share them with me.

I leave you all with this thought:-

Rome was not built in one day. Every journey, no matter how long it is, starts with the first step!

Where's your remote?

Life is beautiful ( and short too!)….I was surrounded by a number of situations highlighting the same. Apparently, all in one day.

I am sure some of you would have read my last blog “Serendipity” which was around how uncertain things are at times and we don’t always end up getting what we want. What is more important is what we make out of what we get.

Earlier in the morning, I picked up this book by the same name and read this quote.

“For a long time it seemed to me that real life was about to begin, but there was always some obstacle in the way. Something had to be got through first, some unfinished business; time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned to me that these obstacles were my life.” ~ Bette Howland.

Later in the day, I got this beautiful message from my colleague Santosh

2^nd Week of June

It is the time when few years back the most exciting thing used to happen...
The school used to re-open...the excitement of new bag, new books,

smell from the pages of new books, new subjects, new sitting positions in the class...
welcome our best friends in d class..
and the best moment is to c ur crush ur sweetheart back in front of ur eyes and the pouring rains outside,

everything around us freshened up, lush green, cold and pleasant...
all dis is lost somewhere...just close ur eyes and revive it for d moment.. Soo miss it!
Miss my school days ...

Then in the evening, I got a message from my colleague and uber cool Ankur Kapoor to share a blog around this. I was driving on my way back and I try to put these things together in this blog.

Just when I got home, I was informed by my wife that a close relative of her friend expired at the age of 30 today. She was suffering from cancer which got undetected till last month. I pray for her soul to rest in peace.

Moving on, I remembered watching this movie “Click” in which the protagonist Adam Sandler stumbles upon a remote control by which he can fast forward , rewind his life at the click of a button. What had started off as a fun movie, by the end of it, there was a very deep message to it. I seriously recommend everyone to watch it once. Also, it wouldn’t change life much but surely would make you think once about where you are in your life today. We need to enjoy every moment of life with our near and dear ones because who everyone knows there’s a tomorrow but you might not be in it! We do sometimes need to sit back and take a fresh look at life. Do the small things you always wanted to do, share it with the ones you love. Fact is that we get only one life. You can’t wait for tomorrow to start living.

I leave you all with this thought –

The real question is not whether life exists after death. The real question is - Whether you are alive before death. ~ Osho

P.S – What you draw from this blog is entirely upto your own imagination. Life would continue to exist as it was before reading this blog or any other thing…don’t forget the remote of your life is in your hands.  Take the right decision NOW!. And as a matter of fact, so is the keyboard of the blackberry or the laptop on which you are reading this. Do share your comments on this! (else I would never know how or what you felt reading this)

Serendipity

Considering the lucrative tariffs and freebies on your mobile phone, it is virtually impossible to imagine that anybody would have been spared from the reach of the forwarded message through SMS, Facebook or BBM. It could be a short quote or a joke which brings a smile on your face. I, for one, am definitely one of the senders of such messages on numerous occasions. We like some of them more than the others and feel this urge to share it with our friends.

Why is it that at times we feel good by reading such messages? This thought reminded me of the word "Serendipity" Simply put its either the accidental discovery of something pleasant, valuable, or useful or a natural gift for making pleasant, valuable, or useful discoveries by accident.

There was a movie with a same name released more than a decade ago about a couple who decide to part ways to see if destiny had any plans for them to meet again. Well I don't think I need to tell what happened in the end...hmmm.

Coming back to the subject of this blog, the very fact that I am blogging is an example of the subject. Well to some of you, who accidentally clicked on the link I forwarded you....well how this experience turns out, I leave that to you. Actually, the remaining who chose to click, my endeavor would be to make this worthwhile of your precious time and effort. For all the readers who read till the end, I promise to share the secret of how you could double your money without any risk. This is 100% fool proof given the uncertain economic state of affairs. So do stick on till the end.

I am sure I would have shared this story of how I ended up where I am today with most of you.

This is how it went...

During my last years at school, I wanted to be a doctor. I had in fact joined some prestigious coaching institute for improving my chances of making it through the entrance exams. However, unable to clear it in my first attempt I landed up in Hindu College to at least save a year and complete my graduation. After the first six months, the thought of being a doctor had already deserted me. I never attempted the entrance exam again. I joined NIS Sparta for a part time diploma in Sales & Marketing to try out my chances in the field of Sales. I wasn't too happy with the course content and dropped out mid way. Two years into college, nothing really great to look forward to and I was stuck doing Botany Honours. I joined the RAT race..oops CAT race for being a MBA from a premier institute. So again I joined another prestigious institute for coaching.

Well, I did get as far as an interview call to XLRI Bhuvanshwar. Well, as things would have it, I completed my graduation with First Division (only I know those sleepless nights I had just before the exam day) with nothing concrete yet in sight. Immediately after graduation, I applied Law School through an entrance exam and yes I cleared it in my first attempt. So was I going to be a lawyer now? Meanwhile before my law results were out, I took up the first job I got in a small internet start up company as a Business Development Executive. I was in two minds in what to continue and what to leave. I decided to carry on both simultaneously for some time. As luck would have it, this company I had joined decided to close down after four months of joining. And there I was with just one option of completing my Law course.

Come December 2001, my ex-colleague at NIS and a very good friend of mine, Rajesh Kandari told me about a campus interview by a MNC Bank at NIS. I was not interested in the same initially and politely declined the offer. At his insistence, I agreed to accompany him and in the process got short listed for another interview next day. Sadly though my colleague wasn't to come next day, and I came all decked up for my final interview. And yes, I did get an offer letter to join immediately.

And here I am till today in the banking line after changing three jobs. I just ensure that I do my best in whatever role I get. I have got this important breakthrough by serendipity so I always try and back it up with my efforts. The one thing which mattered most, according to me, was the fact that I love to talk to lot of people, make new friends and was a good listener. Probably something this job required the most.

So that's my story so far....from not being a doctor, lawyer, sales guy to be heading  the collections support unit and yet nowhere near half way of my professional career, I am sure to find myself at cross roads very soon where nothing seems to be concrete. I too have sleepless nights at timely pondering what would be the best thing to happen in the future. But, it is just these small forwarded messages at times which re-iterates my belief in myself that I will overcome whatever the situation might be tomorrow. And yes while I look forward to what future has in store for me, I strive to accomplish the current given task to the best of my ability.

Moral of the story - When opportunity knocks at your door, make the most

of it !!! :)

I leave you all with one such forwarded message which I had stumbled upon yesterday....

If you want something you never had, do something you have never done.

Don't go the way life takes you; take life the way you go.

Remember you are born to live & not living because you were born..

Do share your comments on this....

P.S – As promised, I share this secret of doubling your money. Here it comes..

“The quickest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it back in your pocket.” ;)

Howzzat - 2

I start from where I had stopped on my last blog “Howzzat” about my IPL experience of watching the game live at the stadium. (You can click on hyperlinks to read my previous blog)

Finally the IPL 5 frenzy came to an end last night with SRK’s Kolkata Knight Riders thwarting Chennai Super Kings chances of making it thrice in a row for the top spot. This was the maiden victory for KKR in the five years of playing for the IPL trophy.‪Though there have been numerous rumours of match fixing, the match was worthy of being a grand Final. There were twists and turns of a typical Bollywood thriller with the match going down to the wire. The tension and pressure was evident on everyone’s faces during the dying overs of the match.

‪I was up till well past midnight watching the live presentation ceremony. There were a few things which I really liked and thought of sharing the same with you.

‪Just a couple of overs left in the match, the video zoomed in on SRK’s  daughter clinging to him, there was too much pressure of the match which was evident on the little girl’s face. Harsha Bhogle, who was doing the commentary at the time, he said that no matter what the result, it is just a game after all. She would definitely remember this night and would share it with her kids when she grows up.

‪How true! After all, this is just a cricket match with only two possible results – either victory or a loss. Life will continue to go on irrespective of the result. The levels of commitment are phenomenally high and passion to win brings out the very best of the player.

‪MSD was cool as a cucumber even in the face of a defeat. They had come heart-breakingly close to within sniffing distance from victory. He taught us...even if you loose, loose gracefully. He really tried his level best to do everything possible to win. He had won quite a few close nail biters on previous nights. However, the opponent were a better playing team on that night and they deserved to win. Once the match is over, its over. Get ready for the next match!

Similiarly in life, we do come across situations where everything seems to be going our way but then doesn't. Live each day as it comes and take your failures in your stride. If yesterday wasn't good, it doesnt mean your tomorrow would be bad. We need to try and give our 100% in our efforts to achieve success.

‪At the prize distribution, the winning team was awarded the prize money cheque of 10 Crore. Such was the excitement in the team to be able to win this so unpredictable format of the game that this huge sum of money actually seemed inconsequential. There is nothing sweeter than the taste of victory.

The feeling of victory is pure adreline rush in the body which money can't replace. You should have seen the body language of the winning team. They were beaming with joy and excitement. I am sure a lot of you reading wouldn't agree because even the players get a lot of money for playing those matches. Infact they get 'auctioned' at the start of the season.

‪SRK came for a post match interview where he said that he was a successful film star and he had made this team to teach the young people how to win. The fact that it took him 5 years to do that taught him something more. He talked about "Patience & Resilience”. Those to me are very powerful words. It does make a difference if your team owner is a successful man but the team still has to perform on the field to make it really count. His presence does boost the morale of the guys. You got to stick to your beliefs when things aren't going right and make the hard decisions and carry on...only then can you be successful. Life is full of possibilities but after something happens it is in hindsight that we realise what went behind the scenes. Any team could have won the match but still only one team does...that team is the Champion.

‪When it was the winning captain Gautam Gambhir’s turn for the interview, he said the first 2 words which came to his mind were “Mission Accomplished”. The in-form captain was modest enough to admit that the captain is as good as team and not that the team was as good as the captain. He emphasised that the team was bigger than any individual player and it was the joint effort of the team to win the cup this season.

I simply loved the passion with which he spoke about how they had come together as a team and everyone performed at the right time for this fantastic victory. He sure looks ready for leading the country in the Test Matches.

Do share your feelings about this and remember to post your comments below. Would be looking forward to them...

Thanks for taking out time to read this! :)

‪P.S – I had got my talking clock (click on link if you haven’t read the story yet) to office today, my colleague Vinay fixed the issue of changing the display of temp from degress F to degress C in just 5 minutes, something I took over 2 years to do.

‪Moral of the story: Sometimes when you get stuck while doing something, don’t hesitate to go to your friends / relatives / elders for suggestions.

Howzzat!

 

The last few weeks have been quite so filled with IPL that it is imperative for me to pen down a couple of thoughts I had on this. It so happened that I went to see it live at the Ferozshah Stadium, Kotla, Delhi on three occasions this season.

This was the first time I had got the experience of watching the players live from the stadium instead of seeing them on the idiot box. To begin with, thirty seven thousand other people to watch the same match...loud & peppy hits on the stadium's audio systems to pump up the atmosphere...cheering & making noise to cheer the players...not to forget the cheer leaders dancing away to glory.....the stadium made to believe it is still day under the huge floodlights...beaming with so much energy that it is almost impossible for 2 people to have any kind of conversations...

Seats aren't too homely, but who cares. In fact, on all three occasions I saw a lot of people watching the match standing only. Fortunately for them, it’s only a three and half hour affair.

Soon enough (actually after 2 hours, as we were in the stadium way before the start of the match to get the seats with the best view) the match begins...

LIGHTS, MUSIC…CRICKET….!!!

It is a treat for the spectators when the batsmen start playing the big shots and score boundaries...even the levels of fielding were truly international.

Its while watching this, this thought came in my mind...

The weight of the expectations of the team members, management and crowd is so much on the players that they have to perform under whatever be the given situations. While I haven't played too much cricket and have no experience of the same at any level of playing (state level or higher), I still understand that it requires a lot of mental strength and you need to push yourself aggressively to mentally demolish the opposition. I am sure you all agree (considering Indians are a cricket crazy nation and each Indian is a born commentator). Stares, harsh words all flow on both sides in the heat of the moment. 

Look at Viru (Virender Sehwag). Come what may, he doesn't change his natural aggressive style of playing..whether is a T20, one day or a test match. He misses out on almost 50% of the occasions but to me he is a hero. His mere presence rocks the confidence of the opposition. He plays his natural game not to be bogged down by any kind of pressure of failure. Now that is ability and attitude. Some of us might feel that he needs to change (we all are living in a democratic country and are free to express our opinion)

I am not going into too many examples but look at Sachin Tendulkar..he is the epitome of endurance and discipline. He’s been playing for 23 years…sometimes his co-players are younger than his experience! Every time he comes to bat, the country prays for him to score another cricketing feat. Will someone ever be able to break his records….ONLY TIME WILL TELL!

And I happen to witness the ‘Gayle” storm hit Delhi with 14 Sixes…it was phenomenal. It just blew away the bowlers. Gosh, cant imagine what would have been going through the fielding captain’s team. He had only two options….either to curse his luck or to enjoy this wonderful batting by the Carribean Maestro. Ironically, this Orange Cap wearer doesn’t play for his national team in West Indies. Irony of sorts….I am sure that this would be a big loss to West Indian Cricket team. He's a true ambassador of the IPL...their motto...when Talent meets Opportunity!

I leave you all this message…i am sure a lot of us would have already read it earlier but it's worth going through again.

Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them – work, family, health, friends and spirit and you’re keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls – family, health, friends and spirit are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life.

·  Don’t undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special.·  Don’t set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you.·  Don’t take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.

Howzzat!!!

Can you handle this?

Hello everyone…

I am really glad to read the wonderful comments you all have posted on my previous blogs…that’s the only way I get to know your reactions. I request everyone reading my blog to post their comments as it adds value to the blog and the bigger truth that without readers there would be no writers. This is especially true for a novice blogger like me. Your encouragement, suggestions & views are truly solicited.

This blog is about something everyone would have faced once in a while when driving on your way to office. I  would not be disclosing any further on this and without much ado urge you to read this at one stretch…..

Imagine a sultry Monday morning, you are on the way to office in your car. Apparently the a/c seems to be non-operational due to the extreme temperature outside.The newspaper said today was going to be the hottest day of the month.  You check your fuel gauge, happy to see that it is well above the half way mark… the radio plays your favourite song by Shaggy “in the summer time”....so far so good.

There’s a meeting with an important client at 10.30 am in your office but the traffic seems to have taken a vow to not let you reach even an hour after that.  Still, slow and steady you continue to wriggle through the jam…You are running out of time and cannot afford to be late for this meeting for which your client has agreed after for after six months of continuous follow up. The traffic isn't opening up yet...Can anything worse happen than this?

You are mentally preparing for the important meeting…suddenly you see your car wobbling vigorously. Oops, the front tyre on the driver’s side has gone flat.

You are in the middle of the road blocking the traffic. People have already started honking and staring at you intensely for a crime you haven’t really intended to commit.  You finally reached to one side of the road by pushing the car alone in the sweltering heat.  Your clothes are already in a mess and truly unworthy of being worn for any meeting.  You are sweating profusely in the humid Delhi Summer cursing your luck thinking can anything worse than this happen?

No sign of shade, still in the sun, you try and fix the flat tyre yourself…half way through, the last of the 4 nuts refuses to give way…palms greased, forehead sweating..stuck in the middle of nowhere....can something worse than this happen?

You search for your mobile to find the number of the car breakdown helpline. The line happens to be continuously engaged…and then, without any warning, your mobile goes off….You had forgotten to charge your mobile last evening and now the battery is dead….hello, you still haven’t called your client to tell him regarding the delay of your arrival. Can anything worse than this happen?

Your agony doesn’t seem to be ending…you left your wallet at home today. You were in a hurry to reach office and in the rush forget to pick it up. Can anything worse than this happen?

You tell yourself to “keep cool’….how is it possible? Nothing seems to be going your way…what to do now?

You try and get your thoughts together….you go through your laptop bag to find your mobile charger. Fortunately your laptop is charged today….so first things first…you put your mobile on charging and call up your client to postpone the meeting. 

One headache less, but still you have a flat tyre to deal with. You rummage through your coat pockets and find some loose change in your coat pockets….Now your mind has started working….you remember crossing a petrol pump just 100m behind…so you lock your car,  walk to the petrol pump, get hold of a helper to change the flat tyre..

Ten minutes later, you are back on your own….the traffic is nowhere to be found. You quickly take an U-turn to rush back home to change your attire into something cleaner.

Even after all these roadblocks, you manage to reach office 1 hour late…..considering what you underwent to reach office today, things look pretty much on track and you are ready to handle the next big problem…

I am sure by the time you are reading this, there would be hundred questions in your mind…what if the charger wasn’t there, what if you didn’t have some money in your coat pocket…what if the client didn’t agree to postpone the meeting….I don’t know how but I am sure we would have still managed from that situation somehow…I leave those options for your imagination…

I leave you with this beautiful short story shared with me by my dear friend Amitesh Arun. This one’s titled “Life is like a cup of coffee”. You are drinking coffee and there’s nobody at home…you find the coffee bitter and out of sheer laziness continue sipping into your bitter coffee…..while you are about to take the last sip, you see a lump of sugar nicely settled at the base of the cup….how do you feel then? The sugar was always there in the cup….That’s how life is sometimes…all it requires is to just stir it enough once.

Do share your thoughts, comments, reactions on this....

Sharing links of some of my earlier blogs, incase your would like to read them as well

Is it hot enough yet?  The Talking Clock   The Big Picture

Is it hot enough yet?

It is an eerie feeling to board a flight just a fortnight after watching the movie 'Final Destination'...friends who have seen the first part of the pentalogy series would appreciate what I felt like...!! I wouldn't be disclosing any further on this subject..

The second movie I was reminded of was "Up in the air" starring George Clooney...not that I had been assigned any such job, atleast not on today's flight. But by observing people who seemed so much at home for those 2 hours in the aeroplane. Monday mornings...most of the passengers seemed to be travelling for work purposes...the not-too-happy-to-be-there look gave it all away.
I too learned a trick or two regarding keeping the luggage handy for quick check in and check outs...web check-ins to beat the queue and to take a seat which is closed to the exit so that you are the first one to get  down off the plane..

I was an early bird today ...so I still had around 40 minutes before we actually took off....I was looking out of the window and there was the right span of the wings...beautiful they looked...

Then, this thought passed my mind...its the same set of wings but they perform almost the opposite functions while taking off against while landing.

Since speed is of essence during a take off, the wings don't provide any resistance and are aligned for aerodynamics flow. However, when it comes to landing, slowing down requires them to open up and offer such tremendous resistance which brings down the speed from a few hundred km per hour to a standstill...

We too sometimes are like those pair of wings when it comes to our kids..just like holding the back of the cycle of my daughter while she pedals and then release it ever so suddenly to see her pedal on her own...

It's just quarter past 8'o clock in the morning...the temperature is sweltering 38 degrees C...fortunately I am writing this blog at 34000 ft up in the sky (as annouced by the flight captain shortly after take off.) where the temperature was a pleasant 24 degrees C...I am off to Mumbai for a couple of days...

My thanks to all the wonderful people who took out time to read my last blog and more so for people who shared their comments with me. I did get a few calls which were only due to my blogs.

It was during one such call that this blog was born....Professionally, where I work, we are hard hit by recession and on the verge of a business ramp down. Things aren't too bright and motivation levels are not really where they were used to be.

My colleague Joydip called me to say that I was not meant to be doing the work I was doing. Of course, he didn't mean I was not fit for my job but that I should focus more on my blogging skills as an alternate career option.

During our conversation, we chatted that we were like the elephant with the chain (as mentioned in blog "The Talking Clock"). All of us had given up on trying something new professionally. Industry trends weren't too encouraging but more importantly we weren't trying as much so.

I referred to the story about how the frog would react if thrown in the pot of boiling water (something I recall having read in the book 'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coelho.) At the very instant of touching the hot water, the frog would leap out from the boiling pot and be saved yet scarred. However, if the same frog was put in cold water and then the fire would be lit, the frog would at first start feeling cosier when the water temperature changing from cold to warm. Even, when the it turned from warm to hot...the frog would stay there hoping it would change for better...and finally it dies there without a struggle...

Some moral of the story it had....the bigger question life is asking us everyday...is it hot enough yet? Maybe it is already or maybe it is not. The answer would be unique and to each one his own...Whatever stage we are in life, we need to ask ourselves this question regularly to avoid having the frog's fate of dying without a struggle.

I leave you with this thought...no matter how cloudy or dark it may seem in your part of the world, always remember that the sun is still out there somewhere...

Have a great time...you only live once, make the most of it!

Just sharing the links of a few earlier blogs, incase you would like to read them too....

Where's your compass?   The law of the garbage truck    Its ok to fail sometimes

Talking Clock - 2

Hello everyone,

My last blog “The Talking Clock” brought me back to the world of blogging something I was really missing for the last one year. I am thankful to everyone who took out time to read my blog and share their views with me. Would like to have a special word of appreciation for Gaurav Narula who just opened a totally new paradigm with his practical approach on this subject. This blog is in continuation to the last blog (incase you haven't read it already, I urge you to click on the link to read it first) and an attempt to answer Gaurav’s query. I would appreciate if you posted your comments for everyone’s viewing.

Would like to share the story about the big elephant being chained by the small iron chain. A gentle shrug from the giant beast would be enough to be free him forever. Why doesn’t he try…..not because he cant but because he’s given up.. !!! Ever wondered why he gave up? Because no matter how hard he tried to break the chain when he was small, it wouldn't break. This is the best example of a mind-set I have come across so far. So believe in yourself and just give it one real try before you finally give it up.

So why in the first place did I feel being able to fix the clock was so important to share with you all. Here’s some background to it. I am an avid electronic freak...you give me anything and I would want to know what all options are there etc etc... Day one when I got the clock, I tried really hard and long to figure out the way to change the display...it was such a trivial thing that I didn't feel like going to the shop keeper to seek how it functions....so this urge began from that day....it grew over time as I saw it every day for almost 2 years... . It was an over story for me, I had been used to watching the temp in degrees F for 2 years...so why even try to change it...but yesterday my inner urge still wanted me to try.  So I tried again and fixed it in 2 minutes this time.

So what I I was trying to do for such a long time was achieved in such a short period of only 2 minutes. Where was the difference? Attitude for persistence, a brush of luck and the willingness to try one more chance.  That's what my blog was all about...the inner urge should never be ignored. I knew it was possible and I solved the puzzle or war as I mentioned in my first blog. This happiness was heart felt...sometimes they refresh your own belief in yourself...maybe its the little spark you require sometimes...the small sense of victory ...sense of achievement...it may mean nothing to anybody but you feel great and emphatic about it...that was the underlying emphasis of my blog.

"...CUT TO REALITY, & BANG - with the ever changing scenarios of today is it really worth banging your head on the same thing over and over again. In this fast paced world full of options and opportunities should one really be looking at attempting things again and again. Is this achievement really worth the efforts..." (excerpt from Gaurav's comment)

Life will always be fast and full of choices…..The point raised by Gaurav was that is it really worth for someone to really bang his head on the same thing again . My answer is yes till the time he believes he can achieve it. I am talking of personal confidence of achieving the given target.  For eg. you dont study for an exam and keep sitting in the examination every year, that wouldn't help at all. Preparation and dedication are essential ingredients for success. I am only talking about things that you really want to achieve, that badly that you are willing to put your everything into ensuring you achieve it.There cannot be options for people who don’t know what they want or want everything they can think of.  What if there was no option and getting it was the only option.....we should try to give it our best! Nobody can guarantee success and we can only attempt with confidence. I did earlier write a blog on the Luck factor. Do take out time to go through it as well.

Also by not sticking to what we originally wanted, we should ensure that we don’t regret the decision later on thinking that sticking on would have been much better.

Changing the clock (as suggested by Gaurav) was never an option for me because I never thought about it. Maybe all talking clock don't have same the simple option for changing display. ..Fixing the clock was just a symbolic expression of victory of mind over matter. Maybe that was my FOOD FOR THOUGHT!

A problem once solved always looks easier. There would be some many other incomplete jobs I would have left...is it worth giving them a fresh try....I will only know if I try

Thanks for actually reading the article and sharing your views...blogging is meant for that...it takes the subject to newer heights and brings out the difference in opinions beautifully

I leave you all with this thought ... few lines from Don’t Quit poem. I am sure if you read them aloud in your mind, you are going to like it even better!)

Success is failure turned inside out

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt

And you never can tell how close you are

It may be near when it seems so far:

So stick to the fight when you are hardest hit

It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

P.S - Gaurav, thanks once again and hope you find your answer somewhere in the above blog...Regards, Bhupesh

The Talking Clock

Well...hi...I start this blog as abruptly as I had stopped writing them almost an year back. This one is about a personal victory over a very trivial matter but what was more important was the learning it gave me.

This battle, if I may pronounce it, started almost 2 years ago when my daughter insisted me on buying her a talking clock. So, a good father with the intent of teaching her time, I went to the shop and as instructed by my daughter picked up this talking digital clock. By default, the temperature was been shown in degrees Fahrenheit. I tried out all permutations and combinations by fiddling with all the buttons on the clock. No matter how hard I tried, I wasn't able to change it into degrees Celsius. I had a couple of other digital clocks in which there was a seperate button for display change of temperature. This was critically missing here. I went to the extent of literally opening a few screws but Alas to no avail..

The thing with the digital clock is that when you put the battery in it, it displays all the fields...and yes indeed it had the now all important degrees Celsius sign on it as well. Time moved on...everyday I used to see the clock and think what would be the way to convert the display of the temperature...

Fast forward to 9.30 am today morning...I just picked up the clock again...my mind told me that every time I pressed the 'mode' button, there as a corresponding action and so this time I went very slowly..one by one...and Bingo!!! There it was...the battle had been won...it now proudly displays the temperature in degrees Celsius. I was so excited that I even took a picture of it ( have attached it, just see the temperature, it was getting hot already!)

What this small incident taught me was that I knew what I wanted was always right in front of me and all it required was the right frame of mind to solve it....

That's what life has in store for all of us...if you know it is achievable and it is a matter of the right attitude, victory is just a matter of time..

Moral of the story: Even if you fail in your attempts, don't fail to attempt again..


Well, if you liked it, then I would be happy to know your comments...(Well, in case you didn't, then more so)

I leave you all with a small quote by legendary Bruce Lee...Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one..

click on below link to read ---> Talking Clock 2