Just Say It

Does Discipline makes you Deserving

2015-05-28T23:13:00.000+05:30

This is a post from my other blog. It was written on 21-Aug-2006; almost a decade ago! Republishing it here -

Deserve, as I understand the word, means something that you believe should happen. It only expresses a strong desire. Ravana deserved to die – because you think he was wrong and therefore, must be punished. I deserved a promotion because I did so much work. Deserve however, should not be mistaken for somebody’s definitive right over something – moral right, emotional right, social right etc.

When I had left my seat at NITIE, it was because I believed I deserved an IIM. I believed that I have the capabilities of being a good leader and simply because I am naturally gifted in it, it makes enormously more sense for me to go to only the top institute so that I don’t dilute my ability. It makes sense for Arjuna to be trained only by Drona. Nobody else would give each of them what they deserved.

However, the closest I came to IIM was a call at IIM-K. It wasn’t that I was bad. I believe I had reached the position where I was a very strong contender. But I was not consistent. On the day of the exam, I was not good enough. Not once but twice, I did not perform to my capabilities on the day of the exam.

If I get down to analyzing why it happened that I could not perform when it mattered, it was because I was operating in a range. 94% to 99%. It could have been any of them and on those two days – it was 98% once and 95% the other. What I lacked was consistency.

And why did I lack consistency – because I lacked discipline.

To think of it, I lost out on something that I deserved because of lack of discipline. And today, I run that risk again, unless I learn from my mistake.

Here is what I think of it now, on 28-May-2015

Do not agree with this anymore! I did pursue my entrepreneurial venture in a fairly disciplined manner. But discipline alone does not guarantee success either. And therefore the failure above should not be attributed to a perceived lack of discipline alone either!

Discipline is what helps you get through the execution bit! If you are disciplined, you'd execute better but the strategy, the idea, the environment; everything matters!

In the case above, the strategy was wrong! I never really understood the art and science of writing exams!

Don't marry or Don't work

2015-01-06T02:20:00.002+05:30

Gandhi devoted his life to the freedom movement. Between all the politicos and the political activities, he had little time for his family.

Aching legs and blocked noses

2015-01-04T22:51:00.000+05:30

Yesterday was horrible! New-born's blocked nose ensured he couldn't sleep for more than 15 min at a stretch and older kiddo's aching legs caused her severe discomfort. Nobody was sleeping; nobody was going to sleep either!

Eventually, Everybody did! Around 2:15AM.

The important thing to remember is that during the first few years of the new born, he/she would demand your time. Its time to set the priorities right. We will not be able to do all the things that we were able to do earlier. Working late, reading books, watching movies, going out..

Its time to drop what is not essential and focus on what's important. And even though I know it and understand it, doesn't make it any easy.

Today was much better! A pillow beneath him and all the sleep deprivation from yesterday had new-born returning to his usual sleeping patterns. Wife cooked Chowmein, Mum made Gajar ka halva and kiddo is back to jumping and climbing (on my back)!

For me, the website took some more shape and I managed to read the first few pages of "People's history of the United States". Not complaining!

2015 - The year of the Habit

2015-01-03T15:19:00.002+05:30

'N' had said it and though I can't remember the quote verbatim, it was something to the tune of -

"You can go about doing things and if you are lucky, what you'll do may help you achieve success. But if you don't want to leave your success to chance, build the right set of habits. You'll achieve your success and it'll be a lot smoother"

And while we can debate what constitute the "right set of habits", I have deferred that answer for a while. I'll just focus on building a habit and let's see where that takes me.

Habit 1: I'll try and reach office by 9:30AM

This one did not last at all. The first day itself, I was delayed. And once I realised that I won't make it to office by 9:30AM, I was irritated for the rest of the day. It ruined my day at the office, it ruined my time at home and the first half of Jan 2nd ruffled my feathers a little.

Peter Banner introduced me to the fascinating concept of "keystone habit". Reaching office at 9:30AM can't be a keystone habit, he says! Its too complex, too big, too interdependent and therefore designed for failure. Amidst traffic, the baby, the travel, the older kid, the wife, the laziness, its bound to fail. And by fail, he means, it can't be done everyday with 100% certainty.

(Keystone) Habit 2: Write a blog entry everyday

I had resolved to do this everyday since my 35th birthday! It never happened. Hopefully now it will! This post is the first of the many posts of what would be my daily habit of 2015. This was supposed to be written yesterday and I missed it.

And I missed it because I wanted to do it differently (perfectly). There were open questions that need to be sorted out -

Should these posts be open to everyone or just for my own readership?
If I leave them open, can I be honest about the day?
Which platform should I use? Blogger or Medium or Wordpress or something else?
What should be the name of the blog?
Should I instead just code a blogging software? Have it password protected wherein you can simply put in the password to read the blog post.

If there is a learning from Yavvy, its this - Perfect is the enemy! Good is great!

Just Ship it!

This blog entry took over 4 hours! It started but it was interrupted, repeatedly! Definite indication that this habit is moving towards its own demise! So here are the ground rules -

I should be able to get these posts out in 10 minutes max.
So that I don't waste time thinking about the topic or subject,

I will remember to put the topic of my next post in the previous post OR
If I don't put any topic, the post will be about the events of the day

There will be no more rules because if I add anymore, this activity won't remain fun anymore!

Final - Habit for 2015

Write a blog entry everyday for max 15 minutes about the events of the day

Oh prime minister

2014-03-30T13:09:00.000+05:30

Wife points to the photograph of Arvind Kejriwal in the newspaper and asks kiddo.
"Who is this man in white cap"
"Arvind Kejriwal", replies kiddo.

"Who is the woman in saree"
"Sonia Gandhi", kiddo points out.

"And this man in the blue turban"
Kiddo thinks for a while and then replies matter of factly "A Sardar"

Indisciplined Perfectionist

2014-03-14T22:25:00.004+05:30

This post may sound a little vain, but I couldn't find any way to make it sound less so. I wrote this here because I wanted to capture a certain realisation about myself and remember it (and share it with you).

On a casual conversation with "the-better-half", I remarked that my achievements don't quite measure up to my aptitude. I mean, considering my general capabilities, I should have been more successful. She was quick to attribute this to my general indiscipline.

According to wife, if I slept earlier and woke up earlier, I would have been much more successful.

I don't think that's the case. I think my bigger flaw here is my perfectionist nature, a general desire to achieve a perfect solution! This coupled with my indiscipline is probably the biggest reason for most of my failures. I end up setting a really lofty goal and then botch up the execution.

Notes to self

Perfect is the enemy, Good is great! Don't try to maximise your benefit.
When you execute a plan, make realistic timelines and stick to them no matter what!

When you get punched in the face, don't think about the gold medal or the glory! Think about how you'll duck the next punch.

The Universal conspiracy to get you what you want

2014-03-04T16:40:00.000+05:30

A gentleman, I met yesterday, quoted the alchemist repeatedly. “When you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires to help you achieve it.”

He was upbeat, excited and clueless!

Would I be a cynic if I told him that the universe doesn’t give a rat’s ass! I mean have you ever seen a rat’s ass? The Universe probably made it just to tell us what it thinks of us and how insignificant we really are to it.

Which is why I think we should shove this indifference back into the universe’s face! Sounds good but how do we do it?

Well the only currency you and universe transact in, is your time on earth! Make that time count. Don't spend it on the universe! Do what you think is the most important thing to do! Do it because you want to do it. Not for some greater good or to change the world or to make your name count! Not for religion, or money, or fame or love! But because it makes you happy!

Strong Advise: Try not to make anybody else unhappy! Sooner or later people you made unhappy during your happiness-endeavors would come back to make you unhappy!

There. Now my advise is totally fool-proof and can not be used by terrorists, rapist, murderers and govt bureaucrats!

Eat More, Win More, Love More

2010-09-18T01:13:00.002+05:30

I don’t know if it happens to everyone but it sure does happen to me. If I cut down on my food, my hunger itself begins to contract. By the seventh day, I am quite full at half of my original intake.

Strangely, I never really realized, but it is exactly the same behavior with a lot of other things too.

Love, you miss them a lot then you miss them little.

Dreams, if you don’t taste success, the hunger slowly dwindles.

Eat more to keep eating more; win more to keep winning more; love more to keep loving more!

Really Disparaging Review of Kurbaan

2009-12-04T01:47:00.002+05:30

Cutting a long story short, this is a really really disparaging review of Kurbaan! This has been done to ensure that Messenger Baba shows his true potential and opens his fourth eye!

About time we had some fun on this blog! ..err space! ..umm sphere!

Fitness of the Darwinian Survivor

2009-10-10T00:59:00.002+05:30

I don’t believe in luck. The simple argument is that if there is something called luck; somebody should be lucky enough to live forever (physically).

I do however believe in probability. It’s easier to explain the randomness through probability; it’s impartial, it’s unemotional; it’s less distressing if most things don’t happen the way you planned them.

And now even the probability theory is beginning to look so useless. If it’s so random, what is the point of associating probability with it? Even if I calculate the probability of something to be 99.9999% and yet the thing that had a probability of less than 0.0001% happens, what’s the use of chasing the 99% activity? The other point of view is that since that can happen, even if you had a 0.0001% chance of success, you can still emerge on top of those who had 99% chance.

So what does it mean, should we strive for everything? Or should we strive for nothing? Or should we simply espouse the chance game and chase the activity that has a higher probability of happening.

I think success is simply about survival. If you survive, you succeed. Its not about survival of the fittest; its about whoever survived must be the fittest.
PS: Sorry for the rambling; I'd surely edit this post and add some perspective.

Congress' Masterpiece

2009-05-02T22:01:00.007+05:30

They cordon off a part of the pavement, the place where the common man walks, blocking his way, forcing him to detour down on the motor infested roads of New Delhi, to put a poster saying "Aam aadmi ke badhte kadam"

We'v indeed matured as a democracy. Now they don't even try to comouflage their utter disregard for what they promise during elections.

Don't just laugh it off. Please go and vote!!

Recycling plant - the desi way

2009-05-02T21:41:00.005+05:30

Say No to plastic. Just go for glass. Save the environment.

Issued in public interest by "Cup Crushers" and "Slumdog Recycling Enterprise".

ICICI Lombard - We don't pay claims for cars which are four-five year old (PS: we don't pay claims at all)

2009-04-20T13:01:00.013+05:30

A recent article by Indian Express shows that the maximum number of complaints come against Insurance companies.

Guess it wasn't going to take too long for me to get a piece of their BS. The worst part is that its already a lost battle for any of us to fight an Insurance company, since my cost of commute is way more than the 50% of the damages that the Insurance company pays anyway. But as NarayanMurthy said, fighting for the right cause is always a costly affair, more cost intensive than the easier way out.

My car has been in the garage for well over 20 days, and I am chasing ICICI Lombard to pay the claim; the 50% of the total claim value that they would pay anyway. And in the process, I have been screamed at, have had phones slammed upon me, made to wait endlessly on the "you are our privileged customer but please wait while we screw somebody else" customer support line and obviously denied on major part of my claim.

And if you are wondering about the title, thats what I heard from the surveyor, all of those whom I spoke to. "The car is 5 years old, we can't keep paying claims for it"

" Keep paying??? This was the first time I had gone to an insurance company for this car. I wasn't in the country to drive it.

The best thing is this telecaller tells me, that ICICI Lombard has recently been found to be the company with the highest claim paying capacity. Obviously. If you don't pay any claims, your capacity to pay them is going to be the highest.

Anyways, if I have to take it, I'll take it to consumer court and beyond. Atleast one fight, before we lose our faith in the system. We are the next generation of India, the educated, liberated intelligentia who can fight, who must fight. We can't take the easy way out, we must not.

Will keep you guys posted.

Strictly Random

2009-04-03T01:55:00.005+05:30

Just so that you know - new-borns, new ventures and blog entries don't go along very well. The former two take so much time and precedence that the latter, the bastion of your cherished literary ambitions, is left mal-new-writ-ioned, to say the least. Paradoxically though, the former two leave your life so eventful that, you can easily fill entries, if you find the time to do so.

To quote one, the other night, I was up most of the night (couldn't sleep so ended up doing some work in amidst a lot of surfing and slept at 6:00 AM). At around 6:30 AM, when kiddo woke up and was crying, I (allegedly, as per wife) murmured in my sleep something to the tune of "I have coded her so well, why is she crying ?" Gets you thinking doesn't it. A pilot after an exhausting flight in a similar situation would probably say "I landed her so well, why is she crying". A lawyer - "I filed her so well", P Chidambran "I GPLed the IPL so well", Sanjay Dutt "I got GPLed by SC so well", Mamta Banerjee "I screwed half of bengal so well", CPI(M) "We screwed the whole of Bengal so well", Arjun Singh "I screwed the next generation of India so well", Manmohan Singh "Sonia ji would know why she is crying, Let me go ask her"

Seriously, the election scene is so dismal and disappointing that I am worried for my country. I guess you are too, and to make matters worse, I believe that post election scenario would be a worse nightmare. I am ofcourse going to vote for I know the power of my vote very well. Every single time, without fail, the guy I voted for has lost the elections.

Coming back to apni life, our new product is coming along well. Its a SaaS based Sales Management/Accounting/CRM suite which should see the light of day in another month's time or so. The past week was left searching for a good domain name, and that was quite something in itself. Imagine, almost every single four letter word .com domain has been booked. At one time, I was typing without looking at keyboard and the site (LCFX.com, LCFK.com PIWO.com) was already registered. We are still looking and in case you've got a suggestion for a domain that's available, do let us know.

Another product currently under development is based around PDF forms based surveys and origination. That's still in development but should see pre-alpha fairly soon.

The best thing is that when you are running your own venture, you can run it as per your ideology. Its not something that you follow just because it came from headquarters 7500 miles away from you, from a set of guys you never met, never had a chance to discuss things with; even if you don't agree with it.

For example, help me understand this. Most companies have punished the hapless fresher. Offers were withdrawn, joining dates have been deferred and recruitment has been frozen for those without experience. And this is happening because the smart assess who are currently in the industry screwed up the economy. So the lame idiot, good for nothing, who got picked up during the high times, remains in the job with a hefty pay package but the new kid with significantly more talent, IQ and significantly less pay is left high and dry. I am not talking about it being unfair or fair, I am simply talking from a very practical viewpoint.

In any case, this year, we are only going to recruit freshers, fresh off the campus, no experience - mandatory.

And I shall very soon be back to showcase the amazing work these talented set of freshers would be doing, so watch out for this space.

Teaser Campaign

2009-01-07T19:12:00.008+05:30

We have just developed and rolled out a technology that allows a website to change its look and feel and adapt to different surrounding, scenarios & features.

Was creating a brochure to promote this new product offering, and came up with this. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be using it. Might hurt sensibilities (or sensitivities).

So here it is, just here, as a teaser for all those who would never know what they didn't see. My first product and its first teaser campaign :)

Ihaana

2008-12-02T18:47:00.003+05:30

Ihaana, in Finnish means Wonderful or Delightful.

It has an obscure meaning in Pali-Prakrit (contemperory to Sanskrit) where it symbolises the most perfect condition a mind can be in.

There was some article which suggested that the word dhyana in Sanskrit comes from Ihana (spelled jhana where j is pronouned with a ihya) . In buddhism, there are four stages in which a distracted mind can be controlled and concentrated. These four stages are reffered to as Ihaanas.

The Spineless State

2008-11-27T18:20:00.005+05:30

They tell me what happened in Mumbai is shocking. The shock is an epilogue to the numerous ocassions when we did not quite express our shock at the ease with which the government brushed aside these repeated threats.

I live in a spineless state. Everytime we try to wriggle back up, another merciless blow knocks us out; and a knocked out person does not express shock!

I am ofcourse saddened by my goverment - by my leaders - those spineless old hags who have insulted me and my country. This could have been prevented, had our politicos not been this engrossed in vote-bank considerations. There has never been any detterent, any that could have been put across gets shrugged out of consideration because one small tiny group makes some noise and decides for the rest of us. Spineless Spineless Spineless!!

Deepest condolences to the family of those brave soldiers and those innocent civilians who paid the price for the ineptitude of a spineless state. I am so sorry for you and your families.

Its time to stop talking and do something. And yet, eventhough I am seething with anger, I can't think of anything that I can do to make sure that things change.

I promise I shall get into politics because we can't let the Amar Singhs and Shivraj Patils to run the country. And by entering into politics, I mean I shall vote at every single election. I shall make it a point to educate people about their political rights and how the politicos used their religion, their caste, their diversity to divide them.

I shall not pay bribes but I'll take it a step further that I shall actively expose those who take bribe or don't do their jobs well. Lets make our system more accountable because MC Sharma and Hemant Karkares lost their lives because of ineptitude of some coast guard staff or the laxity of a cop against the underworld which helped them setup or the greed of some intelligence guy who was bribed into not passing on the information.

Mumbai! I respect your spirit but don't let your spirit become a cover for governmental callousness. 125 is a number but everyone of those men,women and children were just like you or me. 125 families which have been scarred for life. Its a loss which can not be supplanted.

NameStorming

2008-11-23T16:32:00.008+05:30

Post my return to homeland, It took me sometime to settle back into a routine. And hence this return to normalcy included spending sometime on this blog so that all my sundry creditors, know that I am still alive and they do not need to harass some-guy-who-took-my-number after I changed mine. However, recent happenings have again prevented me from spending anytime in penning (typing!) my thoughts on the life and times in which we live. Not that I did not wish to express my opinion on global warming or slowdown/recession or US elections or looming India/Delhi elections; its just that our little one decided to spring out of the comforts of Wife's lower abdomen and express herself in flesh, blood and sound.

I, ofcourse was not expecting her (kiddo!) to come out earlier than the expected date. Infact I had my wager on her taking atleast a week more. It made sense; From the size of wife's tummy, she had more per capita space at her disposal than do urban dwellers in Delhi. City driving ensured adrenaline-rushing-roller-coaster fun while swimming inside; and "Bladder Kung-fu" was a very effective way of ensuring compliance to her demands. But with little consideration towards any and more of such logical arguments, kiddo did arrive a good 5 odd days earlier.

A newspaper quiz had acquainted me to a novel, life changing concept (used extensively in rocket science and software engineering) called JIT (Just In Time). Essentially it meant what can be done later should never be done now. However, even though, this revelation and discovery could have got me a Nobel, I am for the benefit of my reader putting it forth for him/her to use - new borns are technological atheists. They are hard to convince on the benefits of technology and science, especially that of JIT.

As empirically expected kiddo didn't agree and hence, all that was to be done in the next 5 days suddenly got a lot preponed. I am not getting into the details, for they are meaty enough to constitute another post; but lets say, I was kept fairly busy haggling with mothercare executives and baby shop service staff. And so the list of things to be bought, tasks to be done grew shorter, with some items stricken off, some crossed, some delegated, some substituted, some procrastinated, some borrowed, some stolen.

One item that however still remains on the list is thinking of the name. I would argue that I have had little time but quality pre-natal care in Dubai and the several Ultrasound examinations therein meant we knew whether my brother is going to be an uncle or an aunt. And hence we had narrowed on a small list (of exactly one name). The argument to postpone the name thinking process (and get back to web surfing in general) was that you can't keep a name without looking at the face. The baby tells her/his own name. Think what the world would have been if we had Vimla Sharawat or Kamla Rai Bacchhan or Mahalaxmi Zinta or Harbhajan Singh.

Well, it is just another crusade where the reluctance of the reluctant warrior shall be reluctantly relucted and a name shall emerge. You ofcourse can contribute - just vote on any of the name mentioned on the left panel and make your opinion count. Polls end very shortly - Don't be a pappu - Vote!

Return to InNoSense

2008-10-24T13:20:00.003+05:30

Long hiatus in your social life(read blogging) are indicative of special circumstances. Physical conditions like illness (Thankfully No!), accident (Thankfully not yet!), imprisonment (ahum! ahum! ummm No!) could pose as possibilities. Mental circumstances like anxiety (due to death threats from your neighbours chowkidaar), shock (yaaawwnn!! I have been vaccinated - News24 and Aaj Tak Booster dose) or blogger's block (nnnope!!) or special conditions like MTNL internet not working(been there), searching for the guy who parked his car infront of my door (done that!!), resending 200 reminders to banks and customer service centres to undo the error (got it tattooed!) could well be appended to those possibilities.

I could go on listing all of those endless possibilities or I could sum it up with a single statement - I re-located back (bori! bistra!! biwi!! et al) to India. Quit my job, sold my stuff, cargoed my kapdey and headed towards des. And this post, after more than 2 months of the relocation are the first signs of re-settling into a new life in a new place called New Delhi. I had done that before a couple of years ago, when I had moved back from Sam uncleji ka Des but moving back then was a cake-walk compared to now. I can't put a finger on it, I can't tell you how but there are very few things which have remained what they were.

I guess beneath this perceptible change is the enormous strengthening of an ideology, which is that the individual is nothing and the individual is everything. The utter disregard for human life yet its passionate strife to gather any importance. India is a power struggle between multiple power centres, none of which are really strong. It’s a value chain that starts with dogs and ends with dogs and there are no lions. And since its all dogs, its simply a case of numbers, of who is part of the biggest pack, and who can gather the mob. The worst bit is that this struggle has left the country so utterly divided, so fragmented that I find it difficult to relate to it. What I called my own no longer calls me his own.

But that's okay. I love this place for the potential it offers. It's not a comfortable place to stay in, but then you need a war to be a hero. This is our time to dream and this is the place where we shall realise that dream. It’s a place where we can matter and that is all that matters.

Sir Callus Anonymous

2008-08-09T15:34:00.004+05:30

Goku is a hardworking person who's work requires him to chase up with the sales staff. He is just one rung above the entry level grade and his boss, who is a team leader, asked him to chase up with the feet-on-street sales staff about the dwindling numbers. Goku looked up the employee directory and calls on a person called Jerome. Unfortunately he dials the number of John, who is the topmost guy, head of the region, next only to the managing board members. This is how the conversation flows -

Goku: Hello.
John: Yes.
Goku: Jerome, I was expecting an update yesterday but you didn't have the courtesy to call.
John: Excuse Me.
Goku: No excuses please! I am getting sick of your sloppy attitude; Do you know how much pressure is coming from the top? ***** (Goku's boss' boss) wants the numbers delivered else you can pretty much start looking out. I have already. So tell me how many ***** got sold today?
John: Do you know, whom you are speaking to? This is John Fairwater.
Goku: (after a few seconds of silence) Do you know whom you are talking to?
John: No.
Goku: Good. Click!!

Flair hostess

2008-07-23T20:43:00.007+05:30

Was reading this post by Jabberwock which reminded me of my own similar episode when I was travelling on an Air-Tran flight from Florida to NC. I was sitting right behind the emergency exit seat when this American flight attendant came over and addressed the passengers sitting on the emergency exit seats -

FA (in an deep baritone to the people on the emergency exit seats): "Sir, do you realise that you are sitting on the emergency exit".

Docile looking Chini/Jap passenger: looks alarmingly around and after realising that its okay, nods.

FA: Do you realise that sitting on this seat may require you to carry out emergency duties which are honorable among all men; and therefore – is not by any – to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly – but reverently, discreetly, advisedly and solemnly.

Chini/Jap passenger looking even more alarmed nods again.

FA : Do you agree that in the situation of an emergency landing, you would in sleepiness or in shock, with assistance or without bestow upon this door your deepest devotion by opening it while forsaking all others, luggage or baggage.

Jap/Chinese passenger : I do.

FA: And so, by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and door. You may please kiss the door.

And while you think that this was one witty flight attendant, I met another one like him on my way back.

I was waiting at the airport terminal (mine was gate 33) to board my flight when I heard an announcement for one Mr. Jones to board the flight at gate 34. "Mr. Stephen Jones is requested to report immediately at gate 34 to board the flight from Durham to New York" And the announcement was repeated quite a few times (in that air-hostess announcement tone) but for some reason, Mr. Jones did not show up.

A few seconds later, a voice boomed out of the PA system in a sport commentary tone - "Mr Stephennnnn Jones isss requested toooo report immediatelyyyy at gate thirrrrtttyyyyyyy fffooooouuuuurrrrrrhh. Sirrrr the flight is waiting for youuuu."

The next announcement was in a Macho-man-Randy-Savage (remember WWF) style tone " Misterrr Steeeeephanah Jonessssah! Listen Mannnnah! Yoooooouh gottaah reportt to gatehh thirtttttty fourah! Weeeeah are waitingah for youah to boardah the flightah".

By the third announcement, all the passengers of all the neighbouring gates including myself were looking at gate 34. By the fourth announcement, there was a small crowd of onlookers (from neighbouring McDonalds & Taco Bells). And when Mr. Jones, finally made it to the gate in the middle of the fifth announcement (which sounded something like Sachin Tendulkar in the Gillette ad), he was greeted with a thunderous applause of a 100 odd onlookers.

What all should I shop for in Dubai?

2008-07-19T15:55:00.003+05:30

What should I buy from Dubai? or What is the speaciality of Dubai that I should definitely buy? I have been asked this question innumerable times by visitors, tourists, even residents and I have never found the answer to be simple. No, not that Dubai (the shopper's paradise) has nothing to offer, but because of all the the covert assumptions that accompany the question.

Here are some of the the laws of shoppibility of products -

Whatever you can shop must be small enough so that you can carry it easily within your 20 kg checked baggage limit.
There should be substantial difference between the price here and the price back at home.
It should ideally be small so that it goes unnoticed by customs,
should ideally have an international warranty;
should not be prone to piracy or counterfieting and all the others.

Till a few years ago, the unanimous choice was gold. The purity of gold here was found to be much more trustworthy as compared to India. However, gold does not find huge favours anymore. You see pure gold was available as biscuits, which people could carry without having to pay exorbitant making charges. But custom restrictions etc saw that you really can't carry too many biscuits (you can but then that would constitute smuggling). You could carry gold as ornaments but since the making charges are so much here that the 2nd law is conflicted.

Electronic items rode the popular wave after gold's shoppibility index diminished. LCD TVs caught the most fancy for their was a substantial price difference betwen India and Dubai. However, LCD TVs scored very poorly on law #1, #3 and #4. The 32" Samsung LCD 32R81 is around 18.4 kgs. They come with a UAE warranty only and they always get caught up at the customs. A camera or a handycam (if you don't have it already) is more doable but these days everybody has one (brought by some one who went abroad). In any case if you wish to take along a LCD TV, here's the howto guide. Also, electronics these days are available at pretty much the same price in India too. I mean if you want a cell phone with no India warranty, you would get it cheaper in India (Subhiksha with its warranty is cheaper) than in Dubai. Similarly, if you want an Omega or a Rolex, you can got to any of those shops in a plush west delhi mall and bargain for a 35% discount on the listed price. If you have concerns about genuinity of goods sold in India, I have heard it from shops sales staff itself that the genuinity of the stuff (counterfiets) is no longer guaranteed at any place in Dubai, where you think you are getting a bargain price.

Another thing is that Dubai still can't compete with US when its comes to electronics. USA takes the cake for being the best place for electronics shopping. LCD TVs in US are a good 30% cheaper if you look for an online deal.

However, don't despair. Dubai is still a shopper's paradise if you only know what to look for. The saffron at Spice Souq in Deira is a must buy for the gourmet kinds. Similarly, if you have a liking for exotic fragrances (Itrr), Dubai is the place for you. Itrr, is essentially a perfume made of natural ingredients. No spirit or alcohol is used. Even designer perfumes are cheaper in Dubai. Ratan's in Meena Bazaar offers some amazing discounts on Davidoffs and Nina Riccis. You can get some great glassware (at Ikea) at really economical prices if you can carry them back.

So go ahead, have a ball. And sooner or later you would realise that shopping in Dubai can not be done with rules and laws. You would invariably end up buying stuff that you can't carry or which was available cheaper at home or which conked off after some time with no warranty. Thats just the way it goes... in Dubai.

Would you stay in a slum?

2008-07-17T01:51:00.004+05:30

I do not know if you know the story of Sarath Parthasarathy but it has many precedents in this world. He was born to a very poor woman, who washed utensils and swept floors at people's homes so that she could feed herself and her son. They lived in a small room in a slum with a roof that leaked.

Eventually ofcourse, Sarath studied hard, went to IIT Madras and thereafter to IIM Ahmedabad. He also secured a job with a big multinational consultancy and a multi figure salary.
He bought a house in a plush locality with all the amenities of a good life. He had a car, a LCD TV everything.

However, after spending sometime there, he returned back to stay in the same slums. He ofcourse managed to get a house built at the same place where he used to stay earlier, and managed to get a generator for electricity. People would often come and ask him, why did he return to the slums when he had the means and the opportunity to stay in a good house in a plush locality with all the amenities available to him. His response was simply that he missed his friends and his uncles and aunts who had raised him when he was young. Since he could not stay away from them, he came back to stay with them.
"But he could have taken them along with himself, to stay with him in his plush house; he had the means for that". However, to this remark, Sarath would respond saying that those friends etc were not willing to stay out of that slum for they felt an attachment, possibly a familiarity with it, and therefore since they were not willing to move, he decided to come there.

Now the problem was that the MNC's office was in another city from that slum and therefore Sarath left his MNC job. He instead joined another company, with significantly lesser pay and perks and lesser growth potential, but in the same city as his slums.

What is your opinion of Sarath's actions?

This was the question that Grumpy Baba asked me when we were discussing relocating back to India. Until that time ofcourse I did not think that the events and characters were metaphorical, but as you must have understood, the slum here denotes India and the plush locality is a western country with significantly better lifestyle.

The discussion that ensued was a good one, and arguments switched from the metaphorical scenario to the real and back. But before I sprawl the contents of that discussion, I'd like to hear from you what do you think of Sarath's actions in the metaphorical scenario and the intended one? Would you think it wise for an IIT IIM with means to stay in a plush condo to actually stay in a slum? And is the slum metaphor correct to describe India vis-a-vis say US or UK?

I'd put my points in the comments.

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye

2008-07-15T02:15:00.004+05:30

A farewell letter is also like a speech after an award. Everytime you hear somebody else say it, you picture yourself in the same place and then wonder what would you say when its time for you to say it. And then when you actually get down to doing it, its absolutely different from what you had pictured

And these days, a lot of those are flying across in our company. Hardly a days passes by without us getting one of those farewell mails, wherein somebody who you have never met, who probably never met you is thanking you (profusely) for being such a wonderful guiding influence on him. Everytime one of these mails has this line in it - I have learnt so much from you I am almost expecting it to complete with but now you must learn from me.

I am not against this churning of people. It happens everywhere, every company; but whats important is the frequency of this churning. If it happens once every 4 - 6 years; its fine, depending upon the kind of industry you are in, but if the guy joined you day before yesterday and is leaving you today; its something to get worried about.

In any case, while I am on the subject, here is an excerpt from my first farewell mail. Enjoy!

There are times when we are faced with what we call tough decisions in our lives. Essentially, these are the decisions that push us out of our well settled comfort zones. But at the end of the day, if we stand by our own convictions, our priorities and our responsibilities, it is satisfactory to have undergone that change.I run through a similar change in my life today when I bid farewell to you all. Today is my last working day in K***** and a journey which started with a serendipitous turn of events directs itself again into another path. It has been an enriching experience to have moved in the company of you fine people. I have learnt through my interactions with you and revel in the idea of having imbibed those values which has been the cornerstone of this group.

I would be joining my family back in ***** and intend to take some time off while dabbling with ideas and applications in field of Blah, Blah & Blah. I would urge all of you to keep in touch and I can be reached on ******.

And finally as I wave my goodbye, let me run you through the first few words that I heard when I entered K***** almost 4 years ago. It was as I entered through the gates when, this guy, from the group of 20 of us who joined on that same day, shook my hand and chuckled "Are you looking at what I am looking? Isn't she hot?” I had four ladies in my view so I asked him which one. “I meant the building”, he said.

Wishing you all the very best in all your endeavors.
Farewell!

Why should I get married?

2008-07-02T00:15:00.005+05:30

Somebody around has been asking me why should we get married and inspite of some lengthy discussion wherein I had enumerated quite a few reasons why getting married may be a good idea, it didn't seem to actually make a dent. So I dug out this note that I had written a few months before I myself was warming up to the idea.

This one is dedicated to SJ, the guy who does not take it lightly. The guy is intelligent, witty, smart, hard working and extremely patient. The most important thing is, he is also devoted towards getting himself a wife. The characteristic defined in the last 6 words evoke the most different set of emotions in most youths and largely similar emotion in most non youths. The fact that I am now bridging the emotional gap from the former to the latter is hopefully not an indication of my own declining youth status :). In any case, the gentleman in question has been lampooned beyond tolerence, has endured the most trifling remarks and yet has been steadfast on his quest. The result, where he did not turn lucky, he worked hard. Hail! Shaadi.com :) I am not aware of the eventuality but since he has lost 10.30 microns of his finger length chatting with one of the prospectives, the general scenario looks encouraging.

Then again, on a recent visit to Singapore, Lala seemed preoccupied with the thought of getting married. "The most important decision of my life, and we take 15 minutes to make it" and then he asks me to put him through the shutter on to the CCD and eventually into a few KBs which would circulate around to determine his life (partner:)).

I have had my set of relationships in the past and I can assure you there are certain subtleties that comes up in those furtive glances; those free willing laughter; those wise-cracks. There is time, there is attraction and there is a spoonful of turbulent tummy syndrome. Okay, I am getting poetic (poetic??? oh well!!) but thats just so that you get the picture. What I intend to convey is, that, to put a guy who is used to these subtleties into an arena where you meet a damsel, with a set agenda of getting married, with little time to understand the other and in company of three thousand seven hundred fifty nine relatives staring at you, is, putting it euphemistically, scary as hell! The process begins with denial "I dont want to get married right now!!". It proceeds to enormous embarrasment when you actually meet the girl (I never really looked around in restaurants, now when I do - its a jungle out there :)). And then I suppose after you've seen a few, you start to get familiar with the process. The embarrasment reduces, the turbulent tummy syndrome is mitigated to where you can touch your liver and not expect to hear a pulsating "dhak-dhak dhak-dhak".

And from there onwards, I suppose it'll be business as usual, where in, the entire activity is just like another entrance exam or a job search. Pardon my disheartening, disaffectionate cold-blooded portrayel but then who said job search or entrance exam is not a passionate activity. Ask a guy who missed the last seat in that institution and he'll tell you - Leave no stone unturned :)

So there SJ, Lala, I get the point fellas! Its an enterprise, a very important activity in your life with far reaching effects. One that is not to be taken lightly - but again - jaan pe khelney ki zaroorat nahin hai. Just keep working on it - like your goals, like your life. Oh Yes! and then again - Wouldnt be able to complete this without the note of thanks to the persistant mom and rest of the family. You need that push, to over come stage I and then stage II till you are propelled safely out of the gravitating pull of your own fear of the unknown :).