Rajat Mishra aka rajat_nda

A cute little princess has arrived....

2012-01-17T17:06:00.000+05:30

It’s a great…

It’s a great feeling…

It’s a great feeling to be…

It’s a great feeling to be a Dad…

It sure feels great to be a Dad and I thank God for bringing our darling princess into this world on 02-01-2012. The feeling that the two of us and everyone around here have, can’t really be described in words. Yeah well nevertheless, this is the first blog post about herJ. Life’s changing for good, lot of responsibilities, lot of dreams, lot of sleepless nights (more so for the mom of course), lot of sweet smiles, looks of absolute surprise, and lot of cries. After considerable amount of discussions we've decided upon her name- Rishika.

We thank everyone for all the blessings and best wishes. Here’s to you, our precious, the first few words dedicated to you:

The moment you came into being on January the second,

The life changing milestone, struck a conspicuous melodious note;

From then you’ve been the cynosure every minute every second,

There’s none beautiful than thou our baby, ‘The One’ we’ll always dote.

There was a gust of adrenalin rush in our body aplenty,

The first time you looked straight at us, with those beauteous eyes;

The first smile you ever smiled inadvertently,

Was like a thousand rainbows splashing across the sweet blue skies.

Rishika, thine is this life to live to the fullest,

May you flow like musical notes off a humming guitar;

May you soar high in the sky, through Life’s troughs and crests,

And have the sheen of the shiniest star.

- - God bless you

Stuck on first page, second chapter- My Book

2011-05-04T18:59:00.003+05:30

It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged and seems like I’m saying this way too often. But then that’s the way the cookie crumbles. I started penning down the structure of ‘My book’ quite some time back and the post on Facebook stating – ‘completed the first chapter of my book’, came up three months back. I guess I’ve mentioned it earlier that the book is based on my life’s sine curve itself; hopefully more interesting than that though ;). It’s designed on a story model- present tense majorly. The plan is there, thoughts are there, key points are there and characters are there. What is messing it up is- ‘Lack of Time’ and the good old ‘external influencers’. Figuratively speaking I have a bow and set of 7 arrows laid out. I shot the first one few months back, but the target kept shifting and the wind kept on moving it haywire; finally letting the target hit head-on three months back. Two weeks back I shot the second arrow, but this time the external influences are way stronger; there are too many distracters.

But then again if there are additional distracters in life that keep moving our arrows away from the target, we also have arrows enabled with boosters now (and let’s not talk about guided missiles). The major distracters are of course the big issues and obligations; ‘job’, ‘personal problems’ being just one of those. If this is not distracting enough, there are all these minor distractions- some good, some bad. Yesterday I tweeted my first tweet and linked the twitter account to my Galaxy S android 2.2 phone, blackberry phone, Linkedin profile, FB profile and Yahoo. I mean, how many different ways does one need to be connected; funny Huh !

Anyway, it’s on me to make sure that the boosters are sent out to my second arrow at the right time and right place. It might pass through the pressure of an underwater current at times, but the aim is to hit the target as soon as possible. Wishing luck to myself...

Ciao ppl !! Ciao life !!

Some more lines for my...

2010-12-21T13:22:00.002+05:30

Penned down a few lines for my better half on her b’day- Dec 17th :

When I look back at the days gone by,
I wonder what it is, that always gives me a high;
What makes me laugh at times, or partway smile a smile,
What makes me sad at times, but makes the ‘making-up’ worthwhile

The mot juste answer as we all know,
Is not hidden away from thy eyes to see;
It’s my “someone special”, beautiful as ever,
Beautiful than anyone else, could ever be;

I love you my honey, and you too know,
That this ‘love’ divine, is only to grow;
I adore the fact, that you love me so,
And to this precious ‘love’, I do bow;

God must have spent hours and hours,
Perfecting his magnum opus, going crazy;
When he was thinking about true ‘beauty’,
And the varied elements of my beautiful lady;

With you, every day of my life is a lucky day,
To you, I’ll make all happiness in the world befall;
I need not even say, but I still will say,
You’ll always be- MY belle of the ball.

The axis of Ataraxis: Peace of mind

2010-09-27T11:41:00.008+05:30

I’ve been trying for really long, to write something on the unending quest for ‘Peace of Mind’ (PoM) that we all have. We define it in different ways depending on what we’re striving for, and the path that we’re walking on. It’s that state of eternal bliss, even if it’s for five minutes, when everything’s going right and you have no worries- at all. In our daily lives, where there is something or the other that’s waiting to be a cause of worry, it’s important to get your own PoM. There have been innumerable times when I’ve literally shouted at the top of a muted voice- “I want my Peace of Mind”. All that I’ve got in response is- “Chill buddy, so does everyone” :). I’m referring by ‘we/us’ to all of us going about our day-to-day lives, not those who have already traversed over to the path of spirituality. They already are at the ataraxis, and don’t need to endure life’s tribulations. One obviously cannot get PoM by earning more, or getting what you want; because as we all know, human desires have no end. When I come to think of it, a few years back when I made the decision of IIM A vs. ISB, I got my PoM at the moment the decision was taken. That was because the source of tension itself was removed. Now that doesn’t happen always that we get what we want, does it :)?

Practically speaking, all said and done it is not difficult to get your ‘Peace of Mind’, as long as we are aware that this is just a ‘state’ of being and being there for even a short period of time can do wonders. We cannot straightaway ‘sign out’ from our life with all its paraphernalia of relationships, responsibilities, joy and pain. What we can do is to have the ability of pressing the ‘pause’ button on life. When everything is going wrong and you feel like saying out loud- “I want my Peace of Mind”, just press ‘Pause’. Go out of the immediate surroundings to the balcony or another room and close your eyes; most importantly- ‘shut down’ your thoughts on what’s happening (be it an argument, a fight, or any other source of tension). Stop thinking about it, and think of nothingness- the space beyond space- what we call 'meditation'. For some this is when they think about God and find peace there. The aim is to stop thinking about all the tensions that you’re having and be mentally at peace. This will not solve the problem/ finish of the argument with your spouse ;)/ resolve your issues. But what this will do, is to take you to that place of eternal bliss, give you Peace of Mind for those 5-10mins, and give you the energy to handle all the disquiets. It will also give you the ability to look at your problems/ arguments/ issues and make you think whether they’re really worth fretting so much over, and wasting precious moments of your life brooding over it. This is not the only way ofcourse, once you’ve pressed the ‘Pause’ button- some get to this state by listening to their favourite songs, some by listening to the chant of ‘Om’, and yet others by sitting on the beach and looking at the ocean (and the likes). What matters is that we should realize that the means to the end of getting PoM need not only be by fulfilling desires/ ambitions. Even when things are going wrong all around, we can get to the axis of ataraxis by pressing ‘Pause’ on Life.

Ciao ppl !!
Ciao life !!

Two cents on Life- Never giving up: 'The Attitude'

2010-05-28T20:17:00.004+05:30

Dear Life,

You took me up, you brought me down,
When the ship broke up, you said- “Don’t drown”;

I carried on, I swam along,
Evinced tenacity, made up an imbuing song;

I won’t give up ‘Life’, I won’t let go,
You taught me so, and for that, I do bow;

You may again raze my ship ‘Life’, or becloud every dawn,
All I would say is- “Sh*t happens and Life goes on”.

I penned down these lines some time back during my MBA days at IIM A (one of the blogs below), when my ‘ship’ was on the upper wave of the sine curve. From the days of training during the dark hours at the National Defence Academy, to leading men in operations in the Army, to lying on the hospital bed badly mutilated after coming back from the dead, to joining a premier league B-school; this ship has ‘been there-done that’. The one thing that has fuelled this ship all along is the attitude towards life. We have heard this phrase so many times in our daily lives- ‘Never give up’, or going up a further level- ‘Never Never Never - Ever Give Up’. It so happens that many of us don’t get a chance to say this often, and these lines mean nothing more than a very powerful phrase. Some people test the waters flowing in their system by going through strenuous experiences like mountain climbing, and the likes. It does not matter when and how you get to test this attitude, what matters is- having the attitude of not letting go. Experiences might vary in terms of degree of intensity, duration or importance vis-à-vis the big picture. The big test comes when one encounters the unexpected and needs to live out the word- ‘perseverance’. All said and done, ‘Life’ is iffy. It starts by welcoming you onboard the ship with other passengers and your journey of life begins. At times, all of you go through a tempestuous weather, wherein you think that this is it and things cannot get worse than this. Next day things are back to normal and you sail along the journey, happy as (you) can be. Life then takes you up a level further and throws you overboard. You may know how to swim or you may not, whatever be the case you keep struggling. At this juncture there are some of us, who think that- I don’t know how to swim; I’m far away from the ship; I’m totally fatigued and there’s no use of trying any further. This is where people who have the attitude of ‘Never say die’, keep trying. They might have similar thoughts- I don’t know how to swim; I’m far away from the ship and I’m totally fatigued. However, their next thought is- I am still alive and as long as I have the last drop of energy in me, I’ll keep trying. These are the people who live the never give up attitude for as long as, and as much as they can. Life then throws a lifeboat for both categories of people, but both the lifeboats lead you to different ships that are on different routes of life. The journey begins again, and some time down the line, ‘life’ rocks the boat again, and the cycle goes on until you get to the end of the journey. One’s attitude defines the actions and the thought process defines the attitude – It's ALL in the mind. What matters is the way you handle the situation when everything seems to be going wrong, and it looks as though the universe has turned against you. This is where one needs to keep holding on to that log of wood (if you find one), say to yourself- “This too shall pass...”, and carry on. There is no limit to human endurance; it’s all in the mind.....

Ciao ppl..
Ciao Life..

The Lifeboats: 'Hope' and 'Determination'

2009-09-15T19:59:00.005+05:30

After a really long time, returned today to pen down a few thoughts here. I was just looking back at those times yesterday; trying to understand what saw me through the storm and brought me to where I am today. There were many factors that I can attribute this to. I’d penned down a few lines on this blog sometime back (Link)- ‘When the ship broke down, you said don’t drown; I carried on…’. The fact is that when I survived that ship wreck (figuratively speaking) and decided to swim along, it wasn’t just the will power or luck, or blessings alone; it was in mathematical terms, a ‘union’ of all the factors. The two key factors that constitute ‘will power’, when things all around you are going wrong, are: ‘hope’ and ‘determination’. All other factors either depend on these, or contribute to strengthen these.

‘Hope’ per se is not sufficient for anyone to sail through, because for all you know, one can hope for anything and everything. It has to be supported by ‘determination’ to actually believe in it. This determination might come from one’s understanding of the situation (what went wrong/ what next), the options available, mental and psychological support one has, etc. and most importantly the faith one has in his/ her own capability. In those days while I was on the hospital bed, there were several thoughts of ‘what next, where do I go from here’. I was totally new to the world outside the green uniform and it was the environment around me (sister, mother, friends...) that showed me the choices I had. The route I decided to take had a high element of risk; and was one of the toughest ones to take. This was where the ‘determination’ came in. It didn’t come JLT as they say (Just Like That), but after a lot of due diligence on what was required out of me and knowing that come what may,- ‘I could and have to do it’.

It is the combined force of these two factors that can help one sail through troubled waters. It’s the ‘Hope’ that you will ‘get’ through and ‘determination’ that you ‘will’ get through, that combine and make sure that you ‘will get’ through...

Ciao ppl !!
Ciao Life !!

Married...and on Cloud 9

2009-07-21T22:14:00.009+05:30

Coming back to blog on the blog after a long time, really long time…. Had my one month anniversary recently and life couldn’t have been better….. The entire ‘marriage process’ was exciting and interesting.… From the pre-pre marriage preparations to pre-marriage…. to the ‘marriage’ and post marriage celebrations…. Very tiring yes, but it was something we’d been waiting for a long time….It’s a great feeling to know that that someone is there and will be there for you, no matter what; just as you will be there for her…..These days no one blinks an eye the moment I leave office (dot on time or even before), even if that means taking calls from home…home has got altogether a new meaning now :) …. So many things have changed…for the good that is…

All married men keep saying that this is only the beginning, slowly things fade away… I don’t plan to walk that road though…. I still believe that keeping a relationship alive and fresh is in the hands of the people holding it…..Thanks everyone for the good wishes. Here are some of my marriage pics:

http://picasaweb.google.co.in/rajat.the.one/ReceptionMrgPics#

Got Engaged !! :)

2009-04-01T22:10:00.006+05:30

So finally, here comes the post I’ve been waiting to write for so long… status on Orkut became committed on April 27th, got engaged on 29th and getting married in June. Everything happened so fast, hardly any time to enjoy the news as it came… So here goes the update of the when and how. We first came to know each other around one and a half years back . In the mid of the first year, I was a part of the hospitality cell of Chaos Nasha 2008 (our cultural festival at IIM A), I had to flood my 'colleges of responsibility' with scraps on Orkut for contact information for the fest. She happened to be an alum of one of those colleges and that was the beginning of an era, so to say. And the interaction moved from scraps…to chats…to calls…to the first meet and meets thereafter...to the first exchange of the three words and the proposal...so that’s how (in a few words)...
A day prior to the convocation, on April 27th, went to meet my in-laws with mom and sis. There was that inherent tension/ uneasiness before reaching, but it slowly melted away and we ended up fixing the month of the marriage as June. Flew back to Ahmedabad the next day for convocation on April 28th and the same day it was decided that we should get engaged right now itself (of-course, both of us didn’t mind that at all…), So off we were back the next day and the ring ceremony was performed on April 29th. Here are the pics (Link)…
Feels great…after a long and patient wait… with uncertainty forming a noose…. with God's grace and everyone's well wishes, it happened very smoothly. As my course (Army batch) completes 6yrs after commissioning (14 June 2003) and all of them get the rank of a Major, I’d also be moving on to my next stage of life in the same month…
Long way to go….
Ciao ppl
Ciao life

An Alum again... IIM A

2009-04-01T22:04:00.002+05:30

So I’m an alum now (Pics)...the student life is technically over. When I’d joined the NDA, had thought- ‘Goodbye to studies’…and I just passed out of the most studies-oriented institute I know of, in the country. It has been quite an experience, for the lack of words. I had seen myself stretch to the limit of physical endurance in the NDA days and knew that there is actually no such limit. It’s all in the mind, as they say. The same rigor happened in a different way in the first year at IIM A and a different set of skills were required to swim through the same. In both the places, when things became really impossible (1^st&2^nd term at NDA, 1^st semester at IIM A), seniors built up the morale by just saying that so many people have got through…you will also survive…just keep your head above the water, keep swimming and don’t give up. A few countable numbers did give up both the times, but rest of the batch sailed through and went on to become smart officers and good managers respectively.

I made a great number of life-long friends in both the schools of learning. In NDA there were endless nights and days that we spent together…helping each other in tough times, enjoying punishments and living through them by giving mutual support, having parties, socials and great fun in spite of all circumstances. Even at IIM A we spent endless nights having group meets, presentations, great fun, endless movies on the LAN…The bondage that was developed in these two institutes is so strong that one would go out of his way to help another coursemate.

I would really cherish the moments spent in this institute…those 0100hrs group meets that actually began at 0200hrs after yapping around and finishing off the work in the last 1 hour…ordering maggi in the midnight and rambhai’s midnight chai…those 23:59:59 deadlines and WAC run…the rem sessions of MANAC& the lunch time MANAC quiz notice….the experience of T-nite and d section bonding….the God-level professors and the die-hard sleepers of section B…helping out each other in times of stress…watching movies in parts every day in spite of the routine…the list goes on and on and on to the day we stood in the LKP with the degree in hand watching each of our batchmate walking past us…Those were the fleet of ships that fleeted right through the storm and came out in flying colours…

This is the beginning of an end…another beginning to another end…whereupon I step into a new pair of shoes, dawning on another role…

Ciao ppl

Ciao life

All the world's a stage... & spilled milk...

2009-03-21T13:27:00.003+05:30

Read a science fiction yesterday and it reinforced the stand I have towards fretting over spilled milk. The novel was ‘To say nothing of the Dog’ by Connie Willis (Download link). It’s based on time travel into the past, and how the protagonists try to undo a change that causes an imbalance in the working of the space-time continuum. The system self corrected the incongruity by changing a few minor events but keeping the major events constant. As per the storyline the concept of even freewill was questioned. Nevertheless, I believe that all big things in life are predestined and one cannot go about thinking of what If ‘A’ hadn’t happened, and ‘B’ had happened instead. That’s not the way life works. Probably what the novel also talks about in a way is that the script (All the world’s a stage...) is already written and one can’t go about changing the theme that is the heart of the story for a character. Some time back I used to think- what If the driver of that fateful tractor had become late due to whatever reasons, what If I had left the place earlier by say 5 minutes or what If I had stayed put inside the cantonment and not have been driving in the first place, and the likes. However, as many movies based on the theme (like the ‘Final Destination’ series) have tried to state, you can’t change your script. Everyone plays his part in the grand design. It’s something like you have to go from A to Z in your life. On an average, everyone’s B, C, D... comes at various points of time and also to a different extent. What is left to freewill is how you go about going from B to C, C to D etc.

What one can do is to firstly live the part one’s playing, that is- enjoy doing what one does. Secondly, there are choices that one makes: there’s always a choice (Link). Once you make that choice weighing the situation, stand by it and don’t have any regrets (even if you have any). If the choice was right, good for you and if it was wrong, it’s a sunk cost. As the adage goes, ‘don’t cry over spilled milk’...taking it forward, we needn’t even keep thinking what we would have done had it not been spilled.
Ciao ppl !!
Ciao Life !!

A few lines....

2009-02-14T00:19:00.005+05:30

Few lines dedicated on this valentine, to that someone....

I was walking a lonely path, aloof and alone;

Bliss was the next stop, I hadn’t known.

Then came an angel, brighter than thy eyes could see;

I asked of myself, could this be ‘The one’ for me?

Side by side we walked along;

Nights seemed shorter, days seemed long.

Time whizzed by and distances began to pare;

Sure enough, there was something in the air.

One fine day, the momentous moment came;

When cupid struck, the dude and the dame.

Sweet words flew across, that beauteous night;

Those starry skies had never been so bright.

A voice from the sky, smiled on me-

“All that is beautiful is thine to be”.

Walking on the path, no more alone;

Bliss is all around, love has only grown.

I have an angel, brighter than thy eyes could see;

She is the one, ‘The one’ for me.

ciao life...

My Autobiography

2009-01-07T02:55:00.007+05:30

I finally wrote my autobiography (as a part of a course here, though)...spent quite some time in reminiscing, pondering over things, a few thoughts from this blog.... published it in a new blog, since it was usuriously long - Link

Tangibles let go.....Intangibles let go not !

2008-11-30T21:47:00.001+05:30

Long time no blogging…I was just wondering on the way back on the last term break to my home, 2 days back…most of the times we give importance to wrong things in life. It is the intangibles which we should value and always remember and not the tangibles which come and go. What do I mean by this statement? Well, nothing in this life that has a form is permanent. Be it your friends, your job, your family, money, etc. What remains once everything goes through its life cycle is the love you had for your loved ones, the way you utilised the money when you had it, the friendship you had when people were there, etc. If one tries to hold on to the tangible aspects of life, then there would only be sorrow once it goes.

This does not mean that you be a spendthrift or be frugal, but to be savvy enough to utilise that money while you have it on something which has a high utility value for you. For some this might be buying a top notch branded product, for others it might be buying something for their family, for still others it might be saving up for that house they want to buy. The emphasis is on the fact that we should not give importance to money per se. It comes and goes, but what’s important is how you use it when you have it. Even Gita says- “Kya le ke aye ho, jo le ke jaoge” (What did you bring with you when you were born, that you would take back when you go)

The same goes for relationships…people keep coming n going out of one’s life….If we turn over the pages of our lives by say a decade….we mightn’t remember the faces of people we knew, friends we had but what we do remember is the good times we had…Life keeps giving examples of how uncertain things can be, what with all these blasts happening in most unlikely of the places… It always helps to have a mental attitude of holding on only to the intangibles….what something represents- be it a person or a thing…If we give more value to what it represents and not to that ‘something’, it would always be easier to let go, when time comes…

Ciao ppl !!
Ciao life !!

Never Give up: A story

2008-09-20T18:35:00.003+05:30

Had a communication class yesterday….told the class an inspiring story about an Army offr. Felt like it penning it down, so here goes. The facts of the story are more or less true, with minor modifications. As a backdrop, Siachen glacier is the world’s highest battlefield with temperatures ranging from -15⁰C on a pleasant summer afternoon to -50⁰C on a chilly winter evening. Soldiers get posted on a rotation basis for 3 months. The enemy there is no human, no country, but the inhospitable weather.

There is this Army officer, Capt Amit (name changed): 28yrs old, happily married, 3yr old son. He gets posted to glacier and the routine begins. In the first few weeks, no major incidences happen. One day while on a routine patrolling activity, his party gets stuck in a blizzard. On returning, they realise that the officer has a bad case of frostbite. The message for evacuation is sent immediately to base camp. Unfortunately, due to bad weather the helicopter evacuation party gets delayed by 4 days. The delay worsens the situation as the gangrene spreads further.

Two months down the line, the officer is lying on the bed, surrounded by his wife, son and others. Due to the severe infection and primarily because of delay in evacuation, he has lost his entire right leg, half his left leg and half his left hand. His commanding officer finally gets a chance to visit him and asks him how his morale was. The officer says (with a smile that makes everyone in the room so proud), “Sir, my morale is as high as that cloud I can see from the window. I’m alive…It could have been much worse…” With family support and his never-give-up attitude, Capt Amit goes on to recuperate fully, joins back and always maintains- “Don’t give up on life, and Life will never give up on you”.

The message being, life is very iffy….very uncertain….and as I keep saying (Tom Hank’s disclaimer)… "Shit happens"…and more importantly, "Life goes on.."

Ciao ppl !!
Ciao Life !!

Basket of Problems

2008-08-26T15:33:00.000+05:30

There goes an old fable which talks about how everyone has their own set of problems and how it is wrong to go about thinking – “I have so many problems…look at them…they are so happy, have everything, etc.” Here goes the story. There was once a kingdom with people from all walks of life. It so happened that each one of them was so troubled with their woes, cribbing that other people were so lucky & happy that God decided to make them an offer. It went like this- “Each individual, from the poorest poor to the king, can write up each of his problems on small paper sheets, put them in a basket with his name and hang it in the kingdom’s biggest temple by midnight. Next day morning anyone can exchange their basket for anyone else’s basket and the problems will be exchanged by noon”. Almost everyone was happy because as far as they were concerned, no one could have had the problems that they face. The night came and everyone hung their baskets in the temple. In the morning when they went for the exchange, each one of them came back with their own basket. Each of the baskets turned out to be of the same size and no one wanted to bear with someone else’s troubles.

The moral of the story is that everyone in this world has their own basket of problems. If we do not see it in other people’s eyes, it doesn’t mean that they don’t have any. How often do we look at someone and think, he/she is so lucky….has money, nice job, good looking….so lucky in life? One might not want to believe, but it happens and it’s human to have that feeling. We choose to see only the fairer side of the coin for others and ignore/ refuse to see the other side….tip of the ice berg, as they say. Be it the person sitting on a sidewalk, the one sitting on a machine gun post on the border, or the one presiding the meeting of all CEOs. The balance of nature is always maintained; size of the basket remains the same, only the contents vary.

Ciao ppl !!
Ciao Life !!

Life & Comfort Zone

2008-07-28T01:27:00.006+05:30

Events in the past couple of days (multiple blasts- Bangalore, Ahmedabad) has shook people from their well entrenched comfort zones of “We are normal….such things don’t happen to us”. As they say, ‘Nothing could be further from the truth’. These events are just one way of ‘Life’ per se reminding everyone of the uncertainties surrounding it. There was an insightful dialogue in the movie ‘Matrix’- “Every Life has a purpose”. Sadly, this is also what many of the terrorist groups teach their disciples in a distorted fashion. The way these people are brought up sets up the wheel in motion such that when the seeds grow into a tree (or even before) a ‘purpose of life’ is drilled into them. Unfortunately this ‘purpose’ is the root cause which is difficult to eliminate because ultimately the end of all such events will come only when the root is destroyed.

The reason the panic has exponentially increased in the last 48 hours is that 80% of the world believes that injuries because of bomb blasts, riots, vehicle accidents, etc. happen only to “Others”. For them it’s like another article in the newspaper about somebody else's woes. Every other day there is a write-up on some blast that took place in J&K where men in the olive green died and no one flashes an eye-lid. When such news flashes (like yesterday) on the TV, people start thinking- “It could have been one of our dear ones”; within a couple of days they forget everything and life is back to normal. The standard belief being-“We are in our comfort zone…nothing can happen to us…we are normal”. In fact I’d say a decade-plus back, before my family had the first shock, even we were a so called “normal” family and apparently such kinds of misfortune fell only upon the ‘Others’. However so wasn’t the case and it was confirmed again by my accident that such incidents were a random case of probability with everyone having equal chances. It was so sudden, out of the blue….as if ‘Life’ decided to press the ‘pause’ button and instead of replaying the movie, changed the movie altogether. Now when I meet new people, some of them try to empathize, others look at me with pride, and most of them with ‘hope’. Nevertheless, it’s not easy for many of them to imagine that life was once ‘normal’ for me too. It’s rather unfortunate that some of the people who make important decisions in other’s lives subscribe to this school of thought and refuse to think big. Only one sentence for them- ‘You & your loved ones might be standing in your comfort zone right now, but this zone is highly prone to the vagaries of ‘Life’. Please appreciate this and think big’. It always helps, not to take ‘Life for granted'.

Life is big, but Life can be very small,
The only way to live, is to "Live" it all.

Ciao ppl !!

Ciao life !!

2nd year in full flow......

2008-06-16T12:00:00.002+05:30

Five days into the second year and things are back to the way they were….had heard that second year would be 'chill' comparatively....so much for that comment !!... had two ‘deliverables’ (assignments for submission) on Monday. Enjoyed the Sunday thoroughly…..started work in the evening….went for a surprise treat at night…..broke sweat as the realisation drew upon ;-) , lot of work to do….worked through the night….slept 0510hrs….put an alarm to wake up well in time for the 0845hrs class….actually woke up at 0842hrs…in class by 0847hrs…..n life is back to normal !!

Welcome to 2^nd year @WIMWI… ;-)

ciao ppl !
ciao life !

Success & Significance

2008-05-30T10:53:00.003+05:30

I’m at the fag-end of the internship process now. The experience was not very different from what I had had in the Army, enjoyed the same…learnt a lot. I guess it all boils down to your approach towards life...You can start the day cribbing about everything under the sun or choose to make every minute of yours worth the time. Had a VC with the CEO yesterday and he gave out some Golden thoughts to ponder, to all d interns. The most important of which, was to the effect of saying:
Be humble…If you get success...congrats…but it’s of no use if you don’t make a significant impact on others through it, in terms of what/how you contribute to the overall betterment.

It’s something like success & failure can be pictured as a sine curve…with crests & troughs….the crests come…so do the troughs….but then the crests come again…what you do when you're at the crest, is what's most important....whether you want to spend that time living in a mirage, or doing something worthwhile. I hope, till now I've contributed in whatever little way I could to everyone around in terms of the approach towards life...
I would like to quote from a poem by Rudyard Kipling which is ingrained into us since academy days(NDA, IMA)…the “If Song”......quoting a few lines of relevancve....

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch.....

If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,But make allowance for their doubting too;
.......
If you can fill the unforgiving minuteWith sixty seconds' worth of distance run
-Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

ciao ppl
ciao life

First talk in the C’ world

2008-05-12T22:28:00.000+05:30

Gave my first formal talk in the corporate world on invitation 2 days back....on values ingrained from the forces and the mapping into this world. Again, I name no names..…it was a well known company….. got to hear about my story from one of my friends at PG. Was a great experience, sharing my 2 cents on what should ideally be the scenario n how things can be worked upon…..Hope I added some value to my audience in whatever small way it was.

First experience of life out of Army (summer internship) is going on really fine…guess it’s as good as the one I had (d army life that is)…. Maybe not the same as wearing the uniform and commanding respect; but to the same effect, in a different way….Another month, and then back to Ahmedabad for the 2^nd year....Feels great to know that people know me better as "rajat_nda" :) :)...lolzzz

ciao ppl
ciao life

Priorities....Decisions....The 'Call'

2008-03-17T21:34:00.004+05:30

"Decision making"- 2 words that seem to be pretty simple by the look of it. But it entails a combination of patience, clear priorities, trade-off know-how and risk taking capability. Got a whiff of it once again in the "4th term course bidding process" today. Essentially we were given points based on our grades and were supposed to bid for whatever courses we wanted to take next term onwards. In the last few minutes it all came down to how much you can give.....what are you willing to trade-off to get that something.....what do you value more...at times the heart skipped a beat (last 5-6 seconds, maybe a couple of beats.....)....clear priorities n all...

One can draw a parallel with what happens around us. There are moments where you get the momentous question- Yes or No....To go or Not to Go...At times you have to take decisions that may be against your heart, at times against logical thinking.... and this is where the famous dialogue comes in "You gotta do what you gotta do"....Given a set of {A,B,C,.....}You might like A, and also like B...in fact you may like A & B more than anything else....but it's not an ideal world....this is when you need to take "that call"....the priorities come into picture....you know what you gotta do....and that's when you switch off your heart, switch off your brain and go ahead...NQA....No turning back..... Some people might be able to correlate with such situations- relationships, career, et al.....just need to remember..keep your priorities clear, and once they are....Nothing else matters !!

ciao ppl !!
ciao life !!

The NDA acronyms.....

2008-03-17T01:53:00.005+05:30

Here are a few acronyms that we used to use in d golden NDA days (with usage....):

Disclaimer: This post may not be very clear as to the value attached to these words for most of the people, please humor me :)...would be clear to Ex NDAs n other officers why I wrote it....

JLT: Just Like That: Was mostly used when there was no reason for giving a punishment....general happiness :) ....just like that
DWL: Disgusted With Life: For people who often tended to go into the above mentioned mode :) :) n actually disgusted with life....
JTB: Just Too Bad: People's way of sympathizing with you for getting caught, et al :) :)
DLTGH: Days Left To Go Home: The ultimate countdown, used to start at DLTGH-45
NQA: No Questions Asked : When there's an order (almost all orders) which you necessarily have to follow without questions...
MIA: Missing In Action: An official term that goes as KIA, used for the smart-boys who used to miss the punishment reports... :)
JIC: Just In Case: for d tendency to carry a lot of stuff in camps...just in case....
NMB: No Move Before: Again, an official term...essentially to cap the start time of something
LIC: Locked In Cabin: Describes the smart-act of locking your door from outside, entering your room again from the window and making the seniors think that you're out....while you sleep in peace (implemented on Sundays :):):) )

Met a junior of mine today....fond memories...a totally different life...a life of respect, honor & integrity... Time to get back to the real life :)

ciao ppl
ciao life

Life is beautiful again (Iffy too though)...

2008-02-27T23:10:00.007+05:30

Well….this post did take some time to come out in black and white :)….

Life has taken an interesting turn…..a new perspective now….I think I was already lookin’ at life with rose coloured spectacles, now I’ll b having 2 of them…..the plane has found an airport, the day has found the night, the wristwatch has found a wrist, the river has found the ocean,.....the rifle has found the ammunition [Oops !! not a good example I guess...but then, thtz me:)]
Cutting out the figurative talk and simply put, there is someone very important in my life now …n shez here to stay…..I name no names n won’t explicate further….. [dn’t wanna face the music later: ) ]....Let me just say....a "value add" of Chaos Nasha 2008 (refer d blog below) :)

The biggest challenge now: Maintaining the perfect balance.....Will b investing time in the perfect market portfolio with high risks associated (with a "beta" >> 1 : for finance ppl).....Iffy life....interesting life....

ciao ppl
ciao Life

Chaos Nasha @ IIM A

2008-02-03T23:47:00.000+05:30

The “iffy” life struck again….on a positive note….witnessed my first cultural festival, “Chaos-Nasha”.....finished tonight….awesome experience, what with having KK sing his numbers 2 metres away from me…..in the NDA times, we weren’t exposed to this stuff….but then that was the best experience in its own way...First experience of what college life is like….Finally!!....I guess life outside Army ain’t that bad at all….may not have all the pride n respect that comes with uniform, but it sure rocks !!

Two and Two gives Thirteen

2008-01-24T13:21:00.000+05:30

While going thru a cartoon strip, came across the wonky question of “What is 2 & 2”…..depends on d connotation actually….So I just assigned probabilities of 0.5 to each of 22 and 4 to get the expected values.....
Expected value of “two and two” is….0.5 x 22 + 0.5 x 4 = 13 !!
Lolzzz..wonky mathematics !! Hence proved !!

ciao ppl !!
ciao life !!

The "4 Knows"

2008-01-18T03:21:00.000+05:30

There is so much of info in this world and the process of storing it in our memory (given the capacity constraints) is an imprtnt issue per se….Herez how we were taught to deal with the same in the academies…. All the information can b broken down into 4 type of knows:

Must-Know
Should- Know
Could-Know
Don’t-need-to-Know….

I for one, have found the “4- Knows” formula to be very handy while scouring through articles, plethora of info in the newspaper, dealing with subordinates and best-of-all handle situations when you’re not sure of something...

I remember saying words to that effect to someone…he asked me something about the Army…not a Top Secret, but still…I replied: ”You see, there is something called “4 type of knows: Must-know….and so on….” :) :) obviously for him it was a “Don’t need to know”.

Again someone asked: “Hasn’t ur life become public this way?” The answer for tht was… “Well….You see, there is something called……” and the rest of me comes under “Don’t need to know” !!

Ciao ppl
Ciao Life