Ideas

Play n Learn

2010-09-21T11:41:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up, what if....

History was taught using visuals

Tests were in the form of games

Scores were assigned based on number of clues unravelled

Grades were based on number of levels crossed

What if....

Science, Maths, Geography, Civics and even Literature were taught the same way as above

What if....

Engineering could be converted in to fun games

Accounting and Finance learnt through online Apps

How much more would i learn?! How much more would we all learn??!! How much better would the world be, where people who actually knew the subject did well, versus people who were able to mindlessly memorize facts.

Could we create such a world for future generations at least?

Anyone out there who would be willing to invest in such an idea?

Which direction do I set sail?

2009-07-30T10:25:00.000-07:00

Out at sea; strong winds blowing in all directions; which way do I set sail?

I am at a point in life where I am trying to figure out what next? What is my true passion? Where do I see myself in 5 years time?

I have spoken to many and all of them tell me that what I am going through is perfectly normal, and that more than half the people out there have no idea why they are doing what they are doing, so in some ways at least I am better off as I am now trying to figure out what is it that I really want to do.

One moment its reassuring to hear them say this, but the next moment the question comes back - so, what next?

I want to be a creator, want to leave a legacy; I want to influence public policy, help contribute to the improvement of peoples lives in some form; I want to earn enough money to fund my desire to travel around the world, not just alone but with friends and family - With so many I-wants, now the challenge in front of me is to figure out the next step that will make all of this happen.

The problem in some ways is that this can happen through many routes - a job in an existing big firm, entrepreneurship, social service, even politics! However which one of this is best suited for me? Should I think short term or long term? In either case, how do I evaluate what is best?

Am trying to answer these questions for myself. Felt like sharing it out there....now will get back to my thoughts, and keep the world posted on how things pan out.

Wish me luck and chao!

Good times at Home!

2009-01-05T13:52:00.000-08:00

Squinting in the bright light, I tried to read the sign on the road, trying to figure out whether I turn here or at the next traffic signal. Unable to figure out the words till the last second, I ended up swerving sharp to make the right turn, barely missing the car behind me who was trying to get ahead thinking I was headed straight. A cacophony of horns blasted all around me, suddenly there was a blinding flash and I found myself falling, flailing and falling further. I tried to scream, all I heard was a feeble splutter. I flailed my arms wildly hoping to grab on to something that would arrest my fall, all I could grasp was thin air. A sudden yank, another blinding flash of light and I had found my voice, and my flailing arms had found something to grasp on to. Just that my mom wasnt too happy to see me throwing off her precious duvet with its new cover and mathcing sheets, screaming my head off in the process. The blinding flash I realized was the Sun shining mercilessly through my window which had just been thrown open by my even more merciless mother. Who on earth gets out of bed before 10am on a Saturday?! Geez, parents just dont get it, do they?!

Misty sunshine, peeks of blue sky, tingling chilly breeze....

2008-11-24T10:10:00.001-08:00

Thats how I would describe the weather in Hillsboro on Saturday.

I woke up at 7am unable to go back to sleep. Unlike the normal moping-lazy self I am on weekends who continues to wallow in bed no matter how miserable it feels, this time I decided to snap up and zip out for a drive. One of the first times I have had such an inspiration I would say, but was totally worth it.

A quick stop at the nearest Starbucks to grab a cup of tea (with 8 packets of honey :P) and I was on my way exploring 26 West the freeway that runs from Portland to the coast. The scenery was beautiful..rolling meadows, dotted with farmhouses, a few horses gambolling around in the early morning sun, white picket fences..brought back memories of Enid Blyton's books. The Famous Five series in particular always described scenes similar to these when the five went off biking or caravanning during holidays. Imagination had made those descriptions vivid in my mind and I found myself reminescing on those very memories. How I used to long for such adventures..for being allowed to go off in a caravan for a week with friends/cousins..hopefully solve a mystery on the way..even without which it would still have been an adventure!

Over the last 3 years, I have been on countless holidays with friends, with family, all have been fun and have had elements of adventure, but I realize that as much fun as they have been, I would still give a lot to go back to being 12 and off on a caravan holiday with a few of my closest buddies. I guess the magnitude of the adventure that it would seem like at that age would be many times more valuable than it seems like today. But then truly speaking my desire for such adventures was so strong that I probably have lived through such adventures vividly enough through my active imagination. And I guess oftentimes, imagination is more exciting than reality. Surreal as we call it..

Multiplemnas and Pendulums

2007-10-24T20:49:00.000-07:00

Should I follow my dreams or should I do what is the norm?? Knowing myself, 'the norm' usually gets ruled out, unless 'the' norm is 'my' norm too, not often this happens though. So now that invariably leads me to 'dreams'. What should one do when they have so many dreams!! Aah!! Yes, thats my biggest dilemna or should I say, multiplemna now.

List my dreams, (not in the order of preference)
Indian Air Force Pilot (Yes, I have gotten a few laughs for this from people who see my height. But I have checked and 5'2" qualifies by a full 2"!! So everyone can switch off their sly smiles)
Adventure Travel show host, say for Discovery or Nat Geo
Professional dancer, from Bharatnatyam to Swing, from Garbha to Flamingo
Indian Administrative Service officer
Indian Police Service officer
Central Bureau of Investigation officer
Business person (Ah talk about business ideas here, it ranges from Bubble-Tea places to Educational Institutions. Actually it might help to list them - B-T, Eng Sch Ch, Reg Sch Ch, W Fin for SBs, Eco Tou Ch, Tou n Tr Ch, Ru Dev Pr, the list keeps getting appended to)

Hmm..though this list wasnt per say in order of preference, it does strike me that business person features at the fag end..what can I say but - :P

Studying my list, a definite common theme is India. Another common theme is public service - be it direct in a Govt. service or indirect by creating employment and preserving local peoples & heritage. Another common theme is fun. Yes, enjoyement with what I do is a major ingredient that goes into the satisfaction that I will derive from these.

Now making a more realiztic analyzis of my list, there are a few that have timed out (just one actually) - Air Force Pilot, the age limit was 22 :'( (This has the additional effect of making me realize how old I am!! Well, atleast I dont look so (Smug smile on face) ); a few that can be cultivated in hobby form - Danseuse; and a few that can be implemented with time - Businesses. Hmm..then what is my multiplemna in this case..It is what should I do right away? Should I start off on a stable income path or should I take a riskier venture route? Another embedded question is, if I do the stable income route, should I embark on it here in my country or outside in another country? Another embedded question is, if I go the risky venture route, should I work on my own venture or should I get experience first by working for another? It is hard to find answers for these. I have been battling with these questions for a while now. Each option seems to shout out its upsides and downsides, without the foresight into the future it is hard to tell which will take me where I want to go, especially when it is not even clear to me myself as to where it is that I want to go!! Oh dear God! I am all muddled. But, hey! As I am writing this a thought comes to me, probably the very fact that I dont know where I want to go means whatever path I take will lead me to a place where I will eventually develop the want to go. Ah, it does makes sense. It helps to blog once in while! It seems to be helping me think clearer, though of course the waters are still murky, however even the slightest patch of clarity caused by the bursting of a rising bubble does help.

I shall stop here. Take things as they come and learn to be happy with whatever I do. (Psst, though it surely is hard to let go of the 'what's the best pat' question even after all these semi-philosophical musings). Well I guess 50 years from now I will laugh at this....Will I?? (Or will I think, why the hell didnt I think and analyze more as to the 'right' path?!) Oh dear! No no, I wont..Hopefully..clearly I am in a highly oscillating and unstable mood right now. So shall stop my pendulum (atleast from writing further, cause I cant stop it swinging in my mind can I?! Sigh.. :) )

Prayers

2007-07-16T03:36:00.000-07:00

2 years: A long time.

The business school has been a bubble. Life away from life. But still very real.

It has been a roller coaster ride - personally and academically. I have had my highs and lows. The academic part was good no doubt, but what completes the experience and makes it unbeatably valuable for the rest of my life is the personal growth I have experienced in the last 2 years. Personal growth includes - family, friends, relationships and even profession.

I had heard many elders and learned people say, life is a continuous process of learning. These 2 years have reinforced it. I have learnt to keep myself open for learning always from all quarters. Many people say this theoretically. I have learnt that it is very hard to do the same practically. I havent mastered it, no way, no where near, but the good news is that I am aware of the difficulty of implementation and so am on the first step to implementation.

Learning is required on all fronts, most importantly on how to handle people and situations. I have begun to understand that be it business, be it personal life, this ability is key to everything. And the key to this is to be empathetic and sympathetic not just to others, but to myself! Yes, to myself :) I had forgotten myself in the whole scheme of empathy and sympathy and in the process I realized it was affecting my epmpathy and sympathy towards others. God! Its all linked and so convoluted, yet so delinked and so simple.

Well, anyone reading this might be confused by now as to what I am saying or why I am saying what I am saying (There you go, another confusing line); Dont worry, you will, if and when you run into me.

Essentially, I am grateful to God, to all the elders blessings and wellwishers best wishes that have gotten me this far, given me this wonderful experience. I humbly request continuation of these blessings and best wishes as I continue to learn going through what life has in store in years ahead. I hope and pray sincerely that my aspirations are fulfilled and I hope and pray sincerely that my family and friends expectations are fulfilled and I hope and pray sincerely that everyone of our lives is filled with love, hope and joy. Tathaastu! Inshahallah! Amen!

Stanford GSB and the Rat Race

2007-05-28T23:40:00.000-07:00

The business school is probably the best place to observe the rat race at its craziest best. Stanford might be the only anamoly to this. This is probably the only top school that has a lot of non-conformism associated with it. A good third of my class (including myself) doesnt yet know what they are doing post school. Dont get me wrong here, I am not saying its not good to find a job before you graduate. I am saying this is one place where people are willing to wait and explore avenues that excite and enthuse them truly to pursue as careers. Whether they get them right away or a little later, the fact is they are brave enough to take the risk. Are they foolish to wait..I would say no. But, thats my school of thought. Many people in the world would probably say "what i really like" is a Utopian concept, no one really knows, so its best to get the best money-lifestyle job. Its their opinion. Theirs is theirs and mine is mine. To each his own.

This is one place where you will find a girl building the world's first unique online one-to-one microfinance platform; a guy starting a company that manufactures low cost efficient lights for rural populations; a girl who is working on starting a plus size clothing line for teenagers; a guy who is starting an emerging markets investment fund; the list goes on and on. Even those who take the so-called tried and tested MBA path have a spirit in them that eventually drives most of them to do something different, to make a difference in this world. This entrepreneurial, non-conformist spirit is what pulled me to this great institution and this is what has made my experience so fulfilling. Now as I come close to within three weeks of graduating from this premiere institution a myriad of emotions going through my head, one consistent thought is that of thankfullness - thankfullness to God, my parents, elders, family members for blessing me and giving me this opportunity to experience this unique experience. It has been a most fulfilling, a most humbling, a most energizing, a most introspective experience, compared to any other I have had in the last 27 years of my existence. I once again humbly thank God, my parents, elders, family, friends and wellwishers for their blessings and good wishes that have kept me going. I pray such opportunities are given to everyone who desires them. I pray for continued support. I pray for humbleness, strength and perseverance going forward.

My friends here, I am surely going to miss big time. Each one is going to a different country almost. I get attached to my close friends soon and it is sad when they move away. With family I know I will be with them always, meaning there is a link for sure, so i dont feel sad if i have to move to a different place for a short period because I know its temporary.
Whereas with close friends, I am not sure when I will see them again..where our life will take us..whether we will be able to sustain the friendship at the same intensity..what kind of people will I meet later..these uncertainties weigh me down. Plus it is a reminder that life moves on..time and tide wait for none.

But again I guess thats the beauty of life!

It moves on, you meet new people and you make new relationships. Its fun for sure..though periods of transition can be heavy..but then there is the beautiful concept of Hope. Hope to relive old times, hope to have more good times, and that is truly a beautiful concept which keeps us going through life.

All this is right, but the feelings continue to well up.

Sad, happy, dull, excited, anxious, anticipatory - a mixture of feelings in my heart. As of now heavy is the right word to describe how I feel when I think of graduation.

Live-in Relationships Are a Sign of Progress....(?)

2007-05-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

In a random conversation with a few friends (an international group) on cultures, norms and beliefs across countries, one of my Indian friends made a comment which stayed with me for a while and got me thinking. The comment was "India is making progress. Today you can see many more live-in relationships in the major cities."

I was silent. A strong proponent of individuals making their own choices on a life-partner, even having argued with my mother on many an occassion that live-in relationships are great, I was suddenly, strangely, in doubt. The more I thought about it the more stongly I felt the opposite. Live-in relationships were NOT a sign of "progress". They were, if anything, a sign of movement from a 'family-based' society to an 'individualistic' society.

For quality of life in general, having lived most of my life in the former and having spent almost two years in the latter, I strongly prefer the former - 'family-based' society. I look back at my parents lives, at my aunts and uncles, neighbours, everyone. Most of them went in for the so-called 'arranged marriage' route. Yes most were arranged, but its still self-selection, there was no force. They entered their lives marrying someone they had not really known. In the case that it was not arranged, still they went in with relatively lower expectations to today's generation. They had their dreams and their fears. However they came in ready to compromise. They came in believing that they have to keep the boat rocking till the end. They came in knowing that no matter how long you live with a person you will always have to make adjustments and compromises. As long as one has love for the other, for kids, for the family, one will be willing to make compromises to keep the institution of marriage secure. Why? Because instability in a marriage not only affects the two individuals concerned, but society at large. Starting highest from the individuals, to the kids, to the parents, to the siblings, to the friends, to society at large, the effect is felt.

Hence, in their journey of life, they made many adjustments, compromised with many of each other's quirks, lowered expectations when necessary. The primary objective was to keep the boat sailing. What was the result? The kids had a better life than otherwise. They had both their parents there for them together. They had their ups and down too, but they had a stable home to come back to. In the process they were taught to compromise, to learn to accept, to be tolerant. A very valuable lesson. Life throws googlies at us (sorry for the cricket jargon). We need to be mentally prepared to face them, catch them and live with it when we cant catch. We need support, however strong we are, we need to be loved and love and feel that there are people who care for us. The system that I grew up in gave me that feeling. Gave me that sense of belonging. I asked multiple people, my mom, dad, aunt, uncle, neighbour, cousin, friend. They all said the same. Yes, it has its downsides, but at the end of the day the upsides, the satisfaction, the fulfillment and the joy of seeing your family together makes up for all the pain and individual gains one gave up. Again this is a matter of personal choice. So I dont say one is better than the other. The 'individualistic' society has it upsides too. However my choice lies with the former.

Thus to me, 'live-in' relationships signify a lowering of the tolerance levels, a movement towards the 'individualistic' form of society, which is good for some, but for me its a little scary. I question my own desire of going into a marriage 'fully-knowing' my partner. I question whether that is realistically possible. I question whether I should give up individual wants for my parents preferences. Though I feel very grateful for my parents not imposing their beliefs on me. Then I wonder if I am losing out on benefitting from their experienced judgement and foresight of who's good or bad for me by taking up the task myself. I wonder if I am brave enough, self-less enough to say yes, I am ready to keep the institution of marriage, the boat, giving up some of my own strong wants. I wonder....

With many individualistic people like me today, I wonder if the future generation, our kids, will have the same security, the feeling of oneness, the so-many-people-care-for-me feeling that I grew up with, that I so took for granted until I came to the US where for the first time in my life I felt all alone........

Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani!

2007-04-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

I love my country! More so than ever, every single day! The more I learn about her flaws, the more I love her. The more I learn about her strides in the world, the more I love her. Yes, I am an obsessive lover! Who cares! Its my country, I can do what I please!

India: The name sends a tingle through me everytime its mentioned. Call me a fanatic. I dont care. I love my country and all that it is and is not. Why? Why am I so obsessed with my country? She doesnt have the GDP of Americas, the roads of Europe, the efficiencies of Japan, the unilateral economic progress of China. Yet, why do I love my country?

I guess I love my country because we are the craziest country in the world! And those who know me know that I love craziness :)

More seriously, what is India all about? If one had to describe India in two words, what would they be?

Here are my two words,

TOLERANCE and ACCOMODATION

A population of 1.1 Billion, 1/6th of the world's population, some of her cities are as populated as entire European nations!

A land where you see a dialect or language change every 100km

A land where you see the attire changing every 250km

A land of more than 2000 ethnic groups

A land that has representation from every major religion of the world

A land that has more than 200 distinct languages and more than 2000 dialects

Essentially a land of diversity that goes beyond anyone's comprehension!

A country of contrasts like none other. A country that has rampant poverty, illiteracy, hunger and homelessnes. Yet, a country that has made progress like none other in the world. Where would you find a country like this? A people like this?

It sends an electric wave down my spine to even think about this!

No doubt I am proud about my country. I am not whatever we are doing is the best. I am not saying we do not have to change. I am not saying we are getting everything right. No I am not.

But I am sayin, we have the ability to progress, we have the ability to pull ourselves back; we have the ability to change, we have the ability to hang onto 1000 year old norms; we have the ability to build a super computer, we have the ability to not finish construction of a 180 km road for 10 odd years.

Have you heard the song from the Shahrukh & Juhi Chawla movie, Phir bhi dil hai Hindustani? "Hum logon ko samajh sako to samjho dilbar jaani". That sing reflects the personality of our country pretty accurately.

BUT THE POINT IS, we are a country that is tolerant towards all this and more! We are a country that is accomodative of all this and more! For the better or for the worse we accept, accomodate and move on in our own uneven fashion. How else can you imagine the existence of a 6000 year old civilization in the same region?! We have neither expanded our boundaries significantly, nor shrunk our boundaries significantly. We are stagnant in size I can say, but the most dynamic in civilization.

The spiritual leaders we have given to the world are innumerable. Everyone of these spiritual leaders has preached peace to humanity. In an area of 1sq km, you will find atleast 3 different religions, 5 different languages and 15 different castes. We resist inter-caste marriages yet we celebrate each other festivals. We have different eating habits, yet we share sweets and savouries with each other. We con our rich tourists into paying more, yet we return their bags and purses if they leave them behind. We are as strange as strange can be, yet we act as one when the need arises. We have our own prejudices, biases and beliefs, but in a second we let them go and stand up for one another when faced with adversity. There is a sublime current of unity that flows through our diversity, that unites us together. The essense of this unity is RESPECT. Indians might not accept and agree with each other's religions, castes, practices and beliefs. But they respect them. They do not try to impose their beliefs and norms on the others. "Personal Space" is respected not at the usperficial physical level (where it is blatantly violated), but at the more sublime spiritual, religious, customary level.

RESPECT towards another is the essence of the TOLERANCE and ACCOMODATION that are the strength of India.

She has more than her fair share of double-headed politicians, corrupt bureaucrats, terrorists, criminals, negative elements. Try as they may to destabilize her, she is such a good shock absorber that she just swallow's everything and moves on like nothing ever happened. You might call it complacency, I call it thousands of years of learning. Learning that in the grand scheme of things, life is over and beyond these little occurences caused by a few Satans of the world. Godliness continues to exist. Its all part of the yin and yang of life. Life moves on and so does she and so do we.

We are Indians. The most complex to understand race in this world, yet the most simple race in the world.

P.S.:

A link that lists the 300 odd languages in India,

http://www.kamat.com/indica/diversity/languages.htm

A link that gives the mind boggling demographics of India,

http://www.answers.com/topic/demographics-of-india

Practice of the art of Procrastination

2007-03-16T03:41:00.000-07:00

3.41am: Working on Corp Fin paper..well, atleast trying to.

I am actually confused now..do I want to run away from finance or do I want to master it? Maybe I should do neither..Just hire someone who knows all about finance and I do everything else but it. Because at a high level I understand the concepts, when it comes to the nitty grittys of building a model thats when the 'ruaway-bride' syndrome sets in.

Gobblywobblyzillywanks! There is more to life than finance! (Grapes are sour syndrome actually).

I am just writing here to procrastinate writing there (know what i mean? here = blog, there = corp fin paper).

So pretty much what I am saying here is a lot of blubbergubbermombazoo.

As you can tell if you saw my previous post, I seem to have decided to take after Captain Haddock, with the difference that he used real words and I am using gibberish.

This clearly is the most no-substance post on this blog. Not to mention the shortest. Which actually might make this more appealing to some of my readers than my other yard long posts.

Allrighty..better get back to the other writing.

Chao soon!

Oh btw, am off to Brazil in two days! :)

I love Captain Haddock!

2007-03-16T02:57:00.000-07:00

My favourite Captain Haddock insults!
- "Billions of Bilious Blue Blistering Barnacles"
- "Lily-levered Landlubbers"
- "Fancy dress Freebooters"
- "Impersonations of Abominable Snowmen"
- "Second-rate Son of a Sword-swallower"
- " Ceryified Ignoramus"
- "Pithecanthropic Mountebanks"
- "Tin-hatted Tyrant"
- "Nitwitted Ninepin"
- "Ectoplasmic Byproduct"
- "Certified Diplodocuses"
- "Two-timing Tartar Twisters"
- "Addle-pated Lumps of Anthracites"
- "Dunderheaded Coconuts"
- "Pithecanthropic Pickpocket"
- "Oddtoed Ungulate"
- "Macrocephalic Baboon"
- "Antediluvian Bulldozer"
- "Pestilential Parakeet"
- "Miserable Molecule of Mildew"
- "Cachinnatin Cockatoo"
- "Dictatorial Duck-billed Diplodocus"
- "Puffed-up Puchinello"
- "Miserable Blundering Barbecued Blister"
- "Subtropical Sea-louse"
- Troglodytes Tramps and Toffee-noses
- Bashi-bazouks Disgraceful Pick-pockets
- Anthracite Anthropithecus Anacoluthon
- Slubberdegullions Weevils Filibusters

Touchy Feely

2007-03-01T23:21:00.000-08:00

Touchy Feely alias Interpersonal Dynamics.

This course is one of the highlights of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. The course is all about, as it says, interpersonal dynamics. The aim to help you understand how you come across to others in your dealings with them. The idea is to be in a position to give, receive and process feedback in a conducive manner.

The premise that the class is based on is that very often in our dealings with others there is a gap in what we think we are perceived as and what we are actually perceived as. This comes down again from a difference that often times exists in what we intend in our words and actions, and what we come across to the other person as. Meaning, I say something with a particular intention in mind, but the other person takes it differently. This happens most often and we dont even realize it. All the times it is not diametrically different, and so things go fine. However, in the rare cases where we mean something and the person takes it in the exact opposite sense, thats when problems arise.

Touchy Feely aims to sensitise you to how you are perceived by the rest of the world. The best part though is that the rest of the world again is not common in its perceptions too. Each individual has his/her own perceptions about you - given the same input! Surprised eh? It is very true. A person's background, personality, feelings at the moment, idiosyncracies, everything go into these reactions. Hence each one is different. Touchy Feely makes you aware of this.

The class is primarily made up of T-Groups. Each T-Group has 14 members - 12 students and 2 facilitators. It is historically known to rake up strong emotions often times leading to tears and emotionally charged and intense moments during the course of the group meetings. T-Groups have their norms - whatever is discussed in a T-Group, stays in a T-Group. Some groups even decide not to disclose the names of the members to their other classmates. The idea is to create an environment that is safe and secure, that encourages individuals to come out, speak up, express their feelings and experiment with interpersonal dynamics. A T-Group is a sort of lab for interpersonal dynamics.

All my friends who have gone through it loved it..it has drained them emotionally, left them raw on the emotional front, but nevertheless they stand by it. Say that they have learnt a lot about themselves in the process. I guess the dynamics of the group provides a setting for you to explore yourself and experiment with others. Even without having taken the course yet, I have been strongly influenced by the spirit of T-Group and have begun to express what I feel much more frankly and openly to others (atleast people really close to me). Unfortunately, it hasnt worked particularly well always. For one, the other person doesnt understand the cause for this sudden brazen frankness. Plus the things I said didnt go down well ;)
Well, all is well as long as the intentions are good. However I did learn that with non-GSB people who have no idea about this touchy-feely business, I do have to be more delicate while laying out my honest thoughts and feelings.

The classic Touchy Feely line is, "When you do/say this, it makes me feel....". Get it?

Another main theme is "Staying on your side of the net". Tennis?

Well, heres what they mean. You should always stay on your side of the net. Meaning you are entitled to feel a certain way due to a person's actions. You are entitled to express your feelings to that person. But you have to stop there. Meaning, you are not allowed to 'cross the net' or pass judgements on the person based on his/her actions or words. For Ex: If when you are talking to a friend, and she abruptly says she has to go and hangs up, next time you speak to her you are allowed to say (assuming you felt so), "When you hung up abruptly on me yesterday, it made me feel like I was unimportant, taken for granted types." You just say what that person's actions made YOU FEEL. You cannot say "You are a person who takes people for granted and does not give your friends any importance". This would be "crossing the net" the former would be "staying on your side of the net". Get the idea now?

The idea is that a person's actions can trigger reactions from you in a certain way because of what you feel as a result of the action. You have the right to feel. But based on the feeling alone you cannot judge the person, because your information is half-baked, one-sided (your-sided). So you can tell the person what you felt and that gives the person a chance to explain his/her side of the matter, which might very well be the exact opposite of what you thought and might make you change your entire perspective on the matter! Say in our previous example, the person says "I am so sorry you felt that way. I didnt mean it to be so at all. My son was jumping off the compound wall and I had to rush to prevent him from falling (Or something like that)" Wouldnt you then take back your prior feeling and develop a new one completely different from the previous? Yes, thats the idea. You can feel, but not conclude based on feeling alone.

Open and honest communication is the key to healthy interpersonal dynamics. However, both the parties involved should understand and appreciate this to be able to derive full benefit. What say? Worth practising eh?

Hope I get into the class next quarter and experience this intense experience first hand!

India..musings

2007-02-28T19:22:00.000-08:00

Excerpts: "India was one of the earliest of the great civilizations. It defined the goals of civilized life very differently from the west. The west raised individualism, materialism, rationality, masculinity as its ideals. India’s great tradition insisted on non-violence, renunciation, being alive, the female as pillars of civilization. And through all the triumphs and disasters of her history she hung on to that ideal; an eternal quest to identify humanity with the whole of creation; a unity in diversity."

Mark Twain: The Indians may seem poor to we rich westerners, but in matters of the spirit it’s we who are the poor person and they who are the millionaires. History is full of empires of the soul but India alone created an empire of the spirit.

I loved hearing these. Felt my chest swell with pride. That Indianness in me was stroked pleasantly.

Then, I just paused..To be my own devil's advocate, I just took a step back and thought for a while.

All that is said above is true. I do feel proud about it as an Indian. But I question myself, do these grand beliefs apply to this day? I hesitate..I cannot get myself to say a honest 'Yes'. I sense that the ideals we hung on to as a nation for thousands of years are now slowly dissolving and moving more towards the ideals of the west - individuality, materialism, rationality and masculinity. Good or bad, each one might have different opinions. If we think it is good, we should stop talking about ourselves as if we still continue to embody non-violence, renunciation and the others as our ideals. We should come out and accept that we like the ideals of the west and so are going to embrace them proudly. We like materialism. We like individualism. We like rationality. We like masculinity. Can we say that, true to ourselves? I think most of us feel conflicted here. Ofcourse there are people who can cross the bridge and go over the the other side. But a good majority of us are caught in a place where we like some but not all the ideals of the west and we do not want to let go of our ideals either because we see their value too. So we choose to live in this false notion - basking in the past glory, telling ourselves our ideals havent changed, when in reality we are just deluding ourselves.

Knowing this makes me feel very uncomfortable. I suddenly feel myself stripped of that protective shield that I had in front of me - my defense against any attack against me or my country - that we have a rich heritage, a rich culture, we value life, we value spirituality, we know, we are Indians, we were once the most powerful country in the world, even when you westerners were hunting and gathering we had flourishin civilizations, we wrote the vedas, we knew all about astronomy, stars, planets, positions, galaxys thousands of years before Copernicus, we knew all about surgery, we were the masters! But isnt that all what it is..just history? What is gone, is just what it is, its gone. We cannot continue to delude ourselves with that and forget about the present.

With India rising and shining again, it puts so much more pressure on us as a country to remind ourselves of our true values, ideals, capabilities and most importantly, our limitations, which are many! Thankfully for us, our rich culture and heritage has given us the resilience and the power to surge forward. But in order to sustain the surge we should make sure we are critical about ourselves in all respects.

There are glaring defects in us -
We need to come out of Indian Standard Time (First this applies to me)
We need to stop aping the west
We need to start practising what we preach
We need to start appreciating and valuing what is ours
We need to start taking ownership for our follies and those of our countrymen
We need to stop blaming the government
We need to start respecting our fellow countrymen as much as ourselves
Small things - civic sense, helping a blind person cross a road, giving up our seat for an old man, standing up for justice if you see injustice being meted out, these are a few of our true values, what we claim to stand for as a nation.

The other day I heard a friend say that we are beginning to be more progressive in our thinking as a nation. The example s/he gave was that there are more and more youngsters getting into live-in relationships before marriage. I was shocked! Shocked not because I am against live-in relationships, but because such a thing was seen as a sign of progressive thinking! More premarital live-in relationships, more free sex, more divorce on the name of independence - these are not signs of progress! These are just manifestations of free will! These will not do us any good..we will just go down the path paved for us by the West.

As a society we need to change many things - we need to rebel against the vertically structured caste system that says one caste is below or above another, we need to rebel against corruption which is against every fundamental belief in our heritage, we need to truly see humanity as one and stop drawing lines based on caste, creed language and nationality - that doesnt mean blatantly opposing our parents and family and moving out to live with someone we love who belongs to a different caste/religion or speaks a different language or whatever. That is brash and doesnt lead anywhere. No, instead before even going there, we should first clean our system of the corruption, of the lack of ownership, of the lack of civic sense, of the mindless violence, of the deep-rooted inefficiencies. First these should be tackled. Once these start getting set right we automatically build a platform for transformation and change. As a next step we should make a concerted effort to remove the basic underlying bias in society against people 'different' from us just because of 'birth'. However this is a gradual change. And it can be effective only when done gradually. We have seen in the past revolutionaries - Lord Basaveshwara, Gautama Buddha, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, and many such others - go down in history making their mark but not being able to institute permanent change in the entire society. Such is the resistance this deep rooted system offers to even such strong revolutionaries. These people are the Bhagat Singhs of societal reforms. But it takes a Gandhi to get freedom. Bhagat Singhs are necessary to shake up the system too. But to achieve the end goal, the patient and concerted effort of a Gandhi is what is needed.

When I started writing I had no idea where this will lead. But now I know where it has led me. To our very own dear Munnabhai! :D Yes, Gandhigiri as preached by Munna is what we need to practice today as a nation! :)

We want to be a developed nation, not another America. Do you see the difference? The way society is moving today seems to me that we will be another America with all the bads and some of the goods. Instead we should aim to be a developed India, with all the goods of America and all the goods of India and if any, the bads of India and not of America!

Forgive me here - I have nothing against the West or against America. I myself am studying here right now and benefiting from all the great things this country has to offer. But living here also makes me see more of the great things our country has to offer and how as a nation we seem to be giving those up for the superficial attractions of the West, which the West itself is now trying to shed.

I am not saying India is no longer spiritual, no longer united in diversity, no longer believes in the pillars of civilization as mentioned earlier. India does, but not Indians. We like to delude ourselves into believing this to be true that we have this rich culture and tradition and energy and what not and hence are superior beings in this world. We can beat the US to death, give China the run for the money, etc., etc.. We like to live in the glory of the past and have a tendency to ignore the ignominy of the present. I am one of those people myself. Ofcourse, here I am taking an extreme stance, which most people will push back on, call me delusive even, but I would rather take a pessimistic approach when it comes to working towards improvement, than be an optimist who overlooks the glaring lacunae of India's modern society.

Home is where home is :)

2007-02-10T15:36:00.000-08:00

My summer in LA, where I was working for 9 weeks and living in a sub-let apartment, sharing the house with 3 other undergrad girls gave me first real feel of life in the US.

Both in terms of the 'real' American's life and also in terms of my real life in America if I were to work here.

Life gets pretty isolated here even if you are living with 4 other high energy 20 odd year olds. I am not very sure why..

Cars whizzing past, everything so clean and orderly, everyone following rules, everyone restpectful of each others personal space, everything so prim and proper. Maybe thats what it is. Its the chaos in my country that I miss the most here. It is that crazy noisy honking, the curious eyes of my neighbour 'aunty' watching me get off my friend's bike, it is the incessant questions from the 'aunty' sitting next to me in the city bus, it is the insane driving of the autorikshaws, it is the loud music blaring from the Ganesh pandal two blocks away (even 3 months after Ganesh Chaturthi), it is the always-in-a-hurry crowd of vehicles nudging through any little space to get ahead of the others at the signal, it is the 'madam, jeans madam; madam, imported purse madam' of the Alankar plaza vendors, it is the crowded majestic bus stand, it is the little panipuri-bhelpuri carts, it is all this and so much more that I miss so terribly in this orderly, prim and proper, organized, clean country of America!

I miss my friends, nightouts with Shu, boat rides with Chitti, Praveen's complaints about making him wait all the time, Suppu's refusals to cater to my whims any more, Madhu's silence, Sarvesh's jokes, long conversations with Archu, Kavya's 'what da, stupid', bumming around in Prav's room doing 'combined study', treks with the group, our yearly trips, long bike rides, long phone conversations with all friends and getting scolded by appaji and amma for the same, going out with cousins, Ramesh anna's double entendres, arguments with Anal, miss everything here.

More than anything else I miss coming back home and plonking on my divan, asking amma to come and sit down so that I can lie with my head on her lap and watch the TV Serial on ETV Kannada, appaji getting me a glass of water and telling amma to hurry up because putti is hungry, ajji feeding me anna mosuru saaru and uppinkai my favourite combo, dancing with appaji to a radio city number, my brother lifting a screaming me and plonking me on the sofa, appaji scolding me for coming back home later than 9.00pm, amma telling me to spend my time better by reading a good biography rather than a silly Sidney Sheldon book, gangakka pampering me with my favourite dishes and scolding me for my bad habit of staying up late into the nights, my lill sister so ready to help me with anything, but grudgingly opening a book to read and hoping akka forgets to ask for an update, dancing (jumping) around the living room for those peppy radio city songs putting up a show for the opposite-house occupants, all this and so much much more.

Home is where home is! Hope life, jobs and careers take me back to where I want to be - Home!

Marriage-Friendship

2007-02-06T15:30:00.000-08:00

Marriage, as I have always envisioned it:
Two best friends living together. Only additional factor being that they share a sexual relationship.

Over the last few years I had begun to think that that was a very utopian idea..maybe my vision was too idealistic..such things never happen in real life. I was beginning to get disappointed and disillusioned a little even. Thought I would pen my thoughts down before they go away completely.

How would life be with two best friends living together?

They respect and love each other.
There is equality in the relationship - Equality in decision making, equality in responsibility sharing.
They are accountable to each other.
They each have their own dreams, passions, career aspirations and life ambitions.
They motivate and push each other towards achieving these dreams.
They support each other when in need of support.
Finances are split equally - But they are never a point of contention.
Household chores are split equally - Again there is no fixed rule, but it automatically is split equally because each person feels its their responsibility (Unlike in most marriages I know where a man contributing to household chores is seen as a 'help' by everyone including the wife, and a wife doing the same is seen as doing her 'duty'. Ofcourse when it comes to earning it works the other way around)
They respect each other's families and make sure they get along well with each other's parents and families and usually do a good job with it.
They share every detail of their life, thoughts and ideas with each other, however small, silly, major or crucial.
Very importantly they trust each other about everything mentioned above and are there for each other when in need!

Now why cant this be replicated in a marriage?! Why have I heard many people say, friendships go down when converted to relationships. That is not because friends should not become husband-wife, but just because various external and internal factors come into play to disrupt the previously harmonic co-existence of the same two inividuals. Sound complicated eh? Basically to put it in simple terms, as soon as the word marriage is associated with them, some things start changing, start moving around. What are these 'some things'? They are nothing but expectations. Expectations of what is expected of the two individuals in their new roles. These changes are influenced by society, by family, by the two individuals themselves. Both the guy and girl involved see a change in expectations and routines around them. Societal expectations also play a significant role here. However if the individuals are strong enough, this doesnt have to happen! They can continue to share that wonderful supportive relationship and transition from friendship to marriage smoothly and amicably. Today I saw an example of a couple who seemed to have made this work. They were guest speakers in one of my classes. Both doing very well in their respective careers, with two kids and a 10 year marriage going strong. (May God keep them thus!)

Seeing them reminded me of my old ideas about marriage that I had started letting go. Maybe I shouldnt let go. Maybe I can work it out that way with whoever it is that enters my life. It is afterall all about setting expectations right at the offset and maintaining open and honest communication throughout. Add to this willingness to be objective and compromise when needed (exactly like how you would with that best friend of yours). And finally not taking the other person for granted. These together build a sense of almost unshakeable trust in the relationship and with the mutual respect that already exists, thats the formula for happiness with your life-partner!!

Simple, isnt it! ;D

Easier said than done of course!! Execution is the HARDEST part here. But it CAN be done. Thats where it matters to find a person who you would be willing to make this work for. Not who you think will do this for you, but who you think you could do it for!

It is not easy to defy 'norms'. But if the end goal is one that does something good to society, sets a better example for others to follow, changes a norm that existed because people werent brave enough to defy it and more than anything else makes you happy, then it surely is worth the initial standing-up to what you believe in. Especially when you can see that your stance is not wrong, is not harmful. It worked for these two individuals who came to my class because they made the effort to make it work. They started on a clean slate. They did not let society write the slate for them. They wrote their own rules. They agreed on some, agreed to disagree on some. But it was all theirs. It wasnt imposed by what 'norms' already existed. It doesnt come easy. It needs a lot of strength and conviction and hanging in there. In the end everyone else will see things your way and the overall happiness will be greater than what it would have been had you gone down the tried and tested path.

Ultimately however, the caveat to all I just said is that Marriage is a gamble! You can only do everything possible from your side to make it less risky. But there are so many more factors not in your control that can dictate terms and so you need to learn to accept, forgive and move on and continue to live life by your convictions. Beliefs change, values change, priorities change, however the spirit of enthusiasm should never fade!

Its all in the game of life!! :D Whats life without a little adventure!! ;D

"I KNOW this person". Do you, really? (How the "know" word governs marriages and relationships in general)

2007-01-27T17:06:00.000-08:00

I over head this conversation between my friend and her dad.
Dad: Have you thought about marriage, now that you are well settled in your career and have had a good 5 years of being on your own, travelling, studying and working..I was thinking of starting to look for a good son-in-law for myself. What do you think?
Daughter: Dad!! Are you kidding me!! "Look for" a son-in-law, you mean an "arranged" marriage! No way! I cannot get married to some random stranger I dont even know!
Dad: Who is asking you to get married to a random stranger my dear. I am just saying I will start looking for suitable grooms for you and then you can meet, talk, understand the other person and then decide.
Daughter: No dad! The thought still gives me the creeps! Today we are in the 21st century. I am an independent career oriented individual and would like to marry someone of my choice, someone I like and can love. Not someone you set me up with! It is so unnatural!
Dad: My dear, why are you getting so agitated? That is exactly what I am asking you to do - marry someone of your choice, someone you like and can love. All I am offering is to help you meet such a person. Think of it as your friends sending you on a blind date with a guy who they think you may like. It is as simple as that. Dont you think so?
Daughter: (A little softened up) Well, I guess..but still..I dont know..I am still not comfortable going out on a blind date, a date with someone I dont know..

This conversation got me thinking. All of us today when we talk about marriage, relationships, etc. scorn at the so called "arranged marriage" system in the middle and south eastern world. Why? We claim that in a "love marriage" (I hate the term..I prefer to call it self-select marriage") we KNOW the person and hence it is better. Is it really? How much of a person can you really know? Parents bring up their kids, feed them, play with them, shape and mould their personalities, but how much of their children do they really know? Can they even imagine that their kid would be capable of not caring for them during their old ages..can they anticipate that their kid might take or offer a bribe and have no qualms about it..can they be sure that their kid will be the most affectionate and caring child, parent and spouse..does that mean they dont "know" their child?

Well, the answer is yes and no. We do "know" the individuals around us, their traits, their behavioural nuances, their likes and dislikes, their many many things. But then what we know is the current snapshot of what that person is. Now what am I saying..snapshot??

Yes..I mean a personality-snapshot. Every individual I believe, at any given point in time is what he is because of what he has gone through in the past, what he is going through in the present and what he anticipates to go through tomorrow. If you give this a mathematical representation what you get will be a complex algebraic equation with multiple unknown variables and complex terms..remeber the a+ib..In this case there will be many terms with "i"s and variables from "a" to "z" and maybe "alpha" to "zeta" and more! I am sure you get the point I am trying to make.

Thus any normal human being not obsessed with the individual in question, cannot claim to "know" the person. Because the person though very often anchored around a base point, moves around a lot, often over a huge radius.

No this helped me in a way to understand why historically "arranged marriages" have worked well over "self-selected marriages". The culprit is the complex algebraic equation "know-a-person".

How?? What rubbish is this girl talking! Well, here is how. Happiness in a person's life is governed by another term called "expectations". We have expectations about everything. What salary we want to feel successful, what level of education to feel good, how many presents we should get on our birthday, how many phone calls, how our parents should treat us, how our kids should behave with us, how our spouses should adjust with us, etc etc etc. If these expectations are met we feel happy, set new (often higher) expectations and move on hoping these will be met. If these are not met we feel sad, set new (often lower or same) expectations and move on hoping atleast these will be met.

So how does "expectations" tie into marital stability?? It is the KEY not just to marital stability but to the stability of any relationship in this world!! Personal, professional, corporate or stock market!! Dont you see that? All around us in our daily life everything revolves around expectations. If a company fulfills the expectations of the stock market, its stock prices go up (happiness), if not they plummet (sadness..even bankruptcy); If the wife agrees to stay at home support the family and the husband's career needs as she is "expected" to by society then the family does well, kids are bright and beautiful, parents and in-laws are happy, if not she is seen as a cold hearted, unsupportive woman and everyone is unhappy (even the woman unless she had her "expectations" right to expect this and prepared herself to face it); I can go on. I am sure you get the point now.

Coming back to the marriage scenario. Let us take the "self-selected marriage" case first. The two individuals "know" each other for a while and identify certain traits that appeal to them in each other, think that the other person will not "change", everything will be as smooth and nice as now and decide to tie the knot. Then what happens? Everything is smooth in the honeymoon phase. As they start living with each other, as they start going through life, its stages, choices, offerings, they start feeling that the other person is after all not the same. He/she is "changing" and is no longer the person they knew. Is it the person who has changed or the circumstance that has changed which has caused the person to behave differently from before? Remember that complex equation I was talking about earlier, that is what governs a persons personality I said right? The variables in the complex equation are what have changed, not the person. He/she is rooted around the same location they were previously rooted to. Just that the movement made away from the previous position is not in the same direction of our "expectations", we feel the pinch. If it was in the same or what we see as even more favourable direction, we would be thrilled thinking 'Oh! This person hasnt changed at all or oh he/she has changed for the better!" etc. If it is for the better we fall more deeply in love and the relationship is on a high. If it is away from our line of expectations we are disappointed and there is a strain that builds up in the relationship. We start thinking 'I thought I knew her, she has changed'.

Remember I am making a broad generalization of the extreme cases here. Most cases fall between the extremes I am talking about above and below.

Now consider an "arranged marriage" scenario. The individual who goes into it most often doesnt know what to expect. It is like walking into a dark tunnel. First you dont see anything and tread extremely cautiously. The gradually your eyes adjust to the darkness and you start moving more and more confidently. However, it is still a tunnel and there are fluctations in the brightness as you move. But since you "expect" that you not only tread cautiously but do not get surprised by surprises. Your reactions are moderated. If you feel happy about something, or you feel bad, the optimism or the disappointment is moderate. And you move on again cautiously peering through the tunnel.

You might be now thinking - This girl looks like she is completely against "self-selected" marriages. How primitive can one get!

Well, no, thankfully I am not against anything. In fact nothing like a self-selected marriage if you can keep it going well. Like I said self-select or arranged, most marriages fall in between the extreme cases mentioned above. Whichever it is, marriage is a game of expectations and adjustments. You have to adjust your expectations, learn not to expect and learn to adjust when the unexpected happens. Then you will be fine in your marriage. This applies to all relationships. Just that marriage is probably the one relationship that involves the maximum interaction and intimacy and intertwinement of two individuals and hence is the one that is talked about the most.

Take aways - Remember, its the complex formula that governs a person's personality at any given time. So if things dont go your way dont accuse and penalize the person for it. Help change the variables affecting the formula and you will see how positive the outcomes will be. There will be times at which the variables cannot be changed. In such times, learn to readjust your expectations. Also remember some expectations cannot be readjusted (again because you dont want to) in such cases let go and move on. Remember it is not the individual but the formula at work. Dont penalize yourself or the other person for the fault of the variables working the complex formula. Life is beautiful with many beautiful variables :)

Japan: A summary

2006-12-04T10:57:00.000-08:00

Everything happened in less than a weeks time!
There I was trying to get a GMIX in South Africa in a game reserve. That ofcourse would have been phenomenal if I had secured it, but then, what I managed to get turned out to be no less exciting either!
An internship with Sony Corp.'s PSBG group in Japan.
Reached Japan’s Narita airport in the evening. As fate would have it, my plane landing timed exactly with a minor earthquake 4 to 5 Richter. Talk about shaky starts! Great people start with a bang, I started with a shudder..close enough!
I was very excited about the prospect of working in Japan, but the earthquake (contrary to expectations) triggered a greater sense of excitement and anticipation over the adventure that lay ahead. Adventure in a new country, different from any other I had been to before; with new people, speaking a different tongue, different from any I had seen before.
I was in Tokyo at last..but ahead of me lay the arduous task of reaching my destination, Hotel Princess Garden in Meguro. With two massive pieces of luggage there was no way I could follow the instructions given to me – change two trains to get to Meguro and walk to the Hotel ‘just outside’ the station.
Thankfully for me, and for a reason (taxis being unreasonably expensive), I discovered that Tokyo airports have a luggage delivery system where for $20 to $50 depending on your destination the luggage will reach your apartment the next day. In comparison Taxi would have cost $250 to $400!Thus started my Tokyo experience. My first impressions of Japan were – very clean, highly efficient, diligent, vibrant, colourful, small and neatly packaged – from people to food to houses. Everything I saw and experienced going forward went to strengthen these first impressions.
The hotel room..simple, sparse, efficient, with every amenity needed..including slippers, bathrobe, toothbrush, paste and even disposable razors. The highlight though was the toilet. Yes..the toilet! My first experience of an electronic toilet. The toilet had an electric panel with a heater to heat the seat, a deodorizer and of course button-press-flush....but the highlight though was a water jet/spray to actually wash the user’s 'undersides' (or whatever you want to call it)..The facility has two options - jet and spray - to clean the respective part of your undersides depending on what you used the toilet for. Cant get myself to be more elaborate than this..I apologize.That toilet panel made me realize I had arrived at the gadget capital of the world - Tokyo! My weekend visit to Akihabara, the Electronics mecca, confirmed the same.
Akihabara is this crazy place full of all sorts of gidgets and gadgets (Hmm..these words remind me of our strategy exams last quarter). A gadgetiers paradise, this place filled with shops of all conceivable sizes and layouts each displaying entire walls lined with myriad variety of plug points, hundreds of portable hard-disks, all sorts of digital cameras, DVD players interspersed with Japanese kimono dolls, hundreds of little photo printers, thousands of watches, high-end laptops, MP3s players, flexible floppy keyboards, knockoff PDAs, infrared nightvision binoculars..name it and it was there! To me it was a super sophisticated, few hundred times scaled-up version of Bangalore’s local ‘National Market’. There was this one store called Yodobashi Akiba which is what I call ‘7 floors of electronic ecstacy’. The highlights of this store to me were the massage chairs on the 5th floor. For less than the cost of a Plasma flat screen television these massage chairs are the closest to human-massages (for lack of a better word) I have ever found to date. They immediately went to the top of my purchase list after that first pay check out of school. J

No, I did not spend every day of my 4 weeks in Akihabara’s massage chairs. Though I was highly tempted to do so, the non-electronic world of Japan lured me away. A sharp contrast to the craziness of Akihabara was the tranquility of Kyoto’s shrines. And a sharp contrast to the neon signs and vibrant colors of Tokyo was the natural splendor of the sunrise on Mt. Fuji.

Kyoto, is the ancient capital of Japan. My image of the place was an old-fashioned, traditional, narrow, crowded town. I guess the theme of my trip was ‘surprises’ (pleasant ones) and Kyoto did not fail the theme. Kyoto turned out to be a big, sprawling city, roads wider than those in Tokyo, modern in every aspect, yet with a magical tranquility attributed probably to the lovely shrines. Kyoto boasts of some of the best Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples and Zen gardens in the world.
The beautiful Kinkaku-ji, the golden pavilion; the simple yet impressive Nijo Castle; the amazingly tranquil Ryoan-ji temple, famous for its zen garden known to be the quintessence of Zen art, with its simple but profound 4 letter inscription that translated to “I learn only to be contented”; the Ginkakuji, the silver pavilion, with its zen garden and beautiful moss gardens; the colorful and vibrant Gion (where we caught a brief glimpse of a lovely Geisha scurrying through the Yasaka shrine); The Yasaka shrine with its impressive display of lanterns – were a few of the highlights of Kyoto. The tall Kyoto Tower overlooking the urban sprawl and the ultra-modern glass and steel Kyoto Station brought us back to the modernity of the 21st century on our return journey.
The next highlight of my stay in Japan was the Mt. Fuji trek. Towering at 3776 metres above sea level, a perfectly symmetrical volcanic cone, Mt.Fuji is a near mythical national symbol immortalized in countless works of Japanese art. It had been my long time desire to climb Mt. Fuji and I achieved it over the summer. The climb was by far one of the most challenging I have ever been on so far, thanks to the continuously uphill 8 hour climb (shorter for the ‘fit’). The Kawaguchiko trail, the most popular trail to the top, is lined with ‘stations’ where trekkers can break their climb for a few hours of rest over night (half the night) and resume climbing early in the morning around 2am to reach the summit before sunrise, ‘go-raiko’. The climb was close to torturous at points. As I climbed, the clouds blocked my view as I was pretty much walking through clouds. Visibility at times was about 10 to 20 feet in all directions. At one point, all of a sudden the cloud moved (or maybe I moved out of it) and the view it offered was just amazing! Golden light from the setting sun illuminated the endless expanse of snowwhite clouds..the blackish brown bare mountain sloping down into the clouds..patches of bright green standing out on the black volcanic slope..people climbing up silhoutted against the blue sky with the clouds beneath them seemed like they were walking on a bed of clouds. Many times I felt I could take a running leap into the fluffy snowy bed and bounce around happily on it J
The sunrise at the peak was the next highlight of the climb. Hundreds of people milled the peak trying to find cozy spots to protect against the biting cold, waiting for the Sun God to rise from his slumber. When he did come what a glorious entrance he made on his golden chariot drawn by twelve white horses, each one distinctly silhouetted against the golden glow of the morning sky. What a sight!! Well, everything true here, except the horses ;)
It was divine indeed. I bowed to the glory of nature. I felt humbled, felt insignificant, a non-entity in front of the powerful force called nature, called God, called by any name you want, the effect was the same.
From the magnificent Buddha temple in Nara to the volcanic hot springs of Hakone; from the tame deer eating out of your hands in the gardens of Nara to the crazy rush in the subway stations of Tokyo; from the tranquil shrines of Kyoto to the color and frenzy of the teenage haunt Shibuya, Japan is a land of amazing contrasts; a country where modernity wedded to ancient culture, live in perfect harmony, each enriching the other; a perfect amalgamation of the old and the new; a nation that retains the richness of centuries of history while continuing to make tremendous progress as a modern civilization of the 21st century.

Japan II: Mt. Fuji

2006-09-14T21:57:00.000-07:00

Mt. Fuji:

My admiration for the Japanese will never cease to increase! I told my manager at work that I want to climb Mt.Fuji..bingo! Next thing I know he has the entire itinerary planned for me..charted out in an excel sheet with colour coding!! wow!! beat that!!

Divya, had to leave to India on a short business trip, in any case she said she had vertigo and so wouldnt be able to climb with me. Two of her friends were to go with me and thanks to my manager we had everything arranged and charted out :)

Left Tokyo, Shinjuku station, by regular train and reached Kawaguchiko. Kawaguchiko is one of the 5 big lakes at the base of Mt. Fuji. Quaint town, couldnt see much of it though. We had purchased passes that were supposed to cover all travel from Shinjuku to Fuji and back. However for whatever reason the bus driver from Kawaguchiko to Fuji refused to accept the tickets. Ran back to the station got tickets and ran back thankfully the guy was waiting for us..something unusual given their punctuality routines.

The idea was to take this bus to the 5th station on Mt. Fuji (The last by road) and start trekking from there, reach 8th station, stay for the night, wake up early the next morning (3 ish) and trek the last portion to the summit to watch the sunrise.

The 5th station is at approximately 2000 metres elevation, about 50% up the mountain. Similarly the 8th is about 80% high up the mountain. If you did a little bit of math you would have guessed the peak is approx 4000 metres above sea level..about half the height of Mt.Everest.

While at the 5th station I couldnt resist buying Japanese mochi icecream..an acquired taste that I acquired back at Stanford :)

Started the climb at 2pm approximately. Luckily for us the weather was co-operative. Clouds sheltered us from the sun's heat while at the same time refraining from pouring water down on us (meaning rain). The sights were awesome..beautiful..lava slide zones (for lack of a better name) of black sandy volcanic soil, interspersed with lovely green strips of windswept trees..gorgeous.

As I climbed, the clouds blocked my view as I was pretty much walking through clouds. Visibility at times was about 10 to 20 feet in all directions. At one point, all of a sudden the cloud moved (or maybe I moved out of it) and the view it offered was amazing! Golden light from the setting sun illuminated the endless expanse of snowwhite clouds..the blackish brown bare mountain sloping down into the clouds..patches of bright green standing out on the black slope..people climbing up silhoutted against the blue sky with the clouds beneath them looked like they were walking on the bed of clouds! I wish! Many times I felt like I could take a running leap into the fluffy snowy bed and bounce around happily on it :)

Anyways, with nature flashing these beautiful sights at me once again I felt humbled, insignificant - a non-entity in front of the powerful force called nature, called God, called by any name you want, the effect is the same.

The climb was very challenging, as I got closer to the 8th station, for the first time in my life I started feeling the effects of alititude (When in Peru, on the Inca trek, I was at 4,200 metres and had felt nothing except maybe more than normal bouts of breathlessness as I had climbed). Here I could actually feel slight grogginess, slowed circulation, reduced blood supply to all the far parts of the body - brain, hands, feet. I had to keep opening and closing my palms to boost circulation, to get rid of thepins and needles effect. Might sound weird but I was happy..I was happy I was experiencing this new funny phenomenon which I had missed out on in Peru :)

Took many pictures on the way..all sorts of poses, trying to capture all sorts if effects..Divya's friend Suhas had an awesom camera (a lot like Praveen's) and that helped. I didnt have to fish out mine every time ;)

Kept remembering family and friends and how much each one of them would have liked to see and be a part of the sights..I pray to God and wish sincerely that I can redo and do many more travels with all of them! Please God!

Got to the 8th station at about 8.00pm and was ready to collapse!

The concept of the stations works like this - Each station has a few "huts" or "cottages" all lined along the path leading to the peak. We stopped at the last hut of the 8th station which we had reservations for. I was super happy to get rid of the load on my back, get off my shoes and bend over double backwards stretching every cramped muscle! I had taken some Indian ready-to-eat baingan bharta with me with a few tortillas (mexican chappatis), all of which I had gotten with me from the US. Shared it around, had a good meal and rested my back for a few hours.

Started trekking again at 2.00am the next day. A relentless stream of trekkers spanned the trail all the way up to the peak. Some of who were trekking non-stop to the peak! God bless them! This was the toughest portion of the climb. Packed in warm fleeces, two trousers on, a pair of gloves, two pairs of socks it was not the easiest attire to climb wearing. Only relief was that the backpack felt a little lighter in comparison to the previous day. After climbing for a short distance (stopping every 10 steps) I decided to strip down to my thin comfortable shirt, tied the jacket and fleece around my waist and started climbing. People were surprised if not shocked to see me in a sleeveless top climbing with cold clouds swirling around me. But surprisingly this step improved my progress I found myself walking double the distance (not much just 20 steps maybe) before feeling like a rest. I even came up with an explanation for the same - Exposing my body to the cold drove the blood supply to the inner organs, away from the surface. That gave them more oxygen and my heart pumped better too, so I could climb more without getting breathless so often. But there came a point when oxygen or no-oxygen the sorroundings became so cold i had to get back into my jacket atleast. So I did.

The last 20 minutes or so of the approximately 3 hr climb were the most agonizing. My mp3 player helped though..Had only one earphone in place, the other year was reserved to hear the sounds of the mountain :) I must have stopped God knows how many times in that brief period..few times I thought maybe I wont make it..but still I kept going..reaching the peak was a super duper relief!!

Next step was to find a good spot to settle down and wait for Suryadeva to provide darshana. Climbed a few more metres to get to a good spot and settled down for good. Man, was it cold!! No one wanted to get the camera out as it meant taking hands out of their warm pocket-nests.

When he did come Suryadeva made a glorious entrance on his chariot drawn by 12 white horses, each one distinctly silhoutted against the morning sky!! What a sight!!

Hehe..Everything true except for the chariot and the horses :)

It was divine indeed! I bowed to the glory of nature, to suryadeva the harbinger of another beautiful day on planet earth and started back down to the base, or rather to the 5th station.

The walk, or I should say slide, back took about 4 hours. It was amazingly hard on my legs. The track was just a steep zig-zagging line of loose volcanic soil and gravel. Slipped and fell a couple times before reaching flat ground.

5th station was a super duper welcome sight!!

I was so sore all over, I couldnt wait to get to the hot springs!!

So next in the story is the Japanese hot spring.

Japan being a volcanic island has multitudes of natural hot springs all over the island. They come is all sizes, shapes and with varying views. The one I took was indoors, though I would have preferred one with a lovely view (Hopefully next time).

The hot spring culture is very unique in Japan. The water from the springs is tempered (cooled) and fed to the baths (like public roman baths). The visitor to the spring first has to wash herself in the shower (japanese style shower) and then enter the steaming bath (more than 40 degrees Celcius). Soak for about 20 minutes, visit the steam and the suana if she wants. Go back and have a shower, clean herself with soap shampoo and whatever she wants. Get back into the hot water bath and soak for 20 minutes again. Get out, dry herself and get dressed. Thus the minerals and salts from the bath will not be washed away.

The highlight though is that most traditional baths require you to be naked!!!!

Luckily for me I was alone and that made things a lot easier :)

The springs have high medicinal value, they soothe your body, relax your muscles, improve complexion and heal skin cracks.

I was surprised to see the next day that my heel which had been uber-rough (not cracked, but rough) was completely smooth!! So was my skin!! Wow! I have to make another trip before I leave Japan!

Congratulations to those of you who have stayed with me till the end of this long story :)

Japan

2006-09-06T02:15:00.000-07:00

Everything happened in less than a weeks time!

There I was trying to get a GMIX (Global Immersion Experience - A short 4 week internship in a country other than the US and my home country, India) in South Africa in a game reserve. That ofcourse would have been phenomenal if I had secured it, but then, what I managed to get is no less either!

So getting back to my story. There I was trying to figure out what to do for the last 4 weeks of my holidays - GMIX, backpacking, nation-hopping. Of course the secondary aspect was money..theoritically those 3 were my grand plans :D

Somehow..no, not somehow..by God's grace, things worked, and worked well, in a manner conducive to my needs - academic and otherwise - and I managed to land myself an internship with Sony Corp.'s PSBG group in Japan. Mind you, there are many un-sorted elements of this internship still pounding me, but then I am here and thats what matters for now!

So back to my story again..Thursday morning I got approval from all quarters - Sony Japan - Management and team, Sony Pictures USA - Management and HR. By afternoon I had to get my documents in order, book tickets and apply for a visa. I did all of that and then came the waiting and sorting period. Waiting for my visa while simulatenously sorting logistics of my stay in Tokyo and my winding up from LA. Come Tuesday I got my visa, come Wednesday I was supposed to fly out of LA!

Unlike the real myself I had packed most of my stuff well in advance on Friday itself and over the weekend (when I was supposed to drop some stuff off at anna's in SF) I even managed a trip to Yosemite! (Ofcourse this was the only option as anna and co were all going to Yosemite for the weekend). Anyways that done, back Monday I realize I am out of luggage space and need a big duffel bag or something for the rest of my stuff. Monday and Tuesday were so busy at work, not to mention laden with crucial meetings and a farewell dinner, that despite a visit to the local Target enroute to one of the meetings, I wasnt successful in finding myself a bag! Sup and Prav became my walky-talky GPSes and helped me locate the nearest Target and Walmart stores which I was supposed to visit first thing Wednesday morning to buy whatever they had to offer or say goodbye to some of my belongings!

Anyways Wednesday..8 I was in the nearest Target (managed to read reviews, select two target Targets (one for backup), note directions and drive all the way)..got whatever bag was available..drove back in rush hour traffic (reached 9.15)..dumped everything into my new bag..rushed to the car rental place(10.10)..the nice man there had agreed to give me a ride to the airport..exercised great restraint from urging my spanish speaking driver to whiz through traffic and signals..finally, slowly and steadily (my driver's style) reached the airport(10.45)..not bad time eh..but flight was at 1.15 and international flights i was told required me to check in 3 hrs before departure. With 2.5hrs left I was positive I will be sent back! Somehow I wasnt..one suitacase was over the limit by 6 kilos..the other was below limit by 4 kilos..i was checked in with a warning to be withing limits next time..meanwhile the man at the counter obligingly helped me get a last minute asian vegetarian meal option..coz it was only at the counter i realized i was flying Japan airlines and chances of a veggie meal were close to nil unless on prior request! Thankfully the sweet man didnt want me to starve on the plane, though secretly he might have thought that would do me some good. Got to the gate..got some dollars exchanged for yen..boarded the plane and whew! whew! whew! My first bit of relaxation in almost a week!

Uneventful plane journey..JAL TV options were boring, thankfully I had my Dan Brown to keep me company. Oh! Yes! The seat next to me was empty..wow! That meant extra room extra comfort, less clastrophobic :)

Reached Japan with my two mostrosities (suitcase and duffel bag)..apparently my plane landing timed exactly with a minor earthquake 4 to 5 Richter..maybe I should have starved on the plane. Anyways there I was in Tokyo at last..but then I realized I was asked to take the local train to my hotel in Tokyo and there was no way in hell I could get on and off two trains with my monstrosities!

Thankfully for me, and for a reason (taxis being unreasonably expensive), Tokyo airports have a luggage delivery system where for $20 to $50 depending on your destination the luggage will reach your apartment the next day. In comparison Taxi would have cost $250 to $300!

Thus, I started Tokyo experience. People here are super helpful..few speak fluent English, but mime and desperate gestures help convey messages. People are super polite and super rule abiding! Man! They are the ideal race! A lady at the final destination actually walked me 5min to my hotel, which was totally in the opposite direction to where she was headed, just because she couldnt give me directions in English! I was impressed and thankful of course!

The hotel room..simple, sparse, efficient, with every amenity needed..including slippers, bathrobe, toothbrush, paste and even disposable razors!! The highlight though was the toilet!! Yes..the toilet!! My first experience of an electronic toilet!! The toilet had an electric panel with a heater to heat the seat, a deodorizer and of course button-press-flush....but the highlight though was a water jet/spray to actually was your 'undersides' (or whatever you want to call it)..The facility has two options - jet and spray - to clean the respective part of your undersides depending on what you used the toilet for!! Cant get myself to be more elaborate than this..I apologize.

Man that toilet panel made me realize I had arrived at the gadget capital of the world!! Japan!! My visit to Akihabara the Electronics mecca, confirmed the same!!

Amazing country. Working here is a fantastic experience! Living and travelling are added priceless bonuses!

More on Japan to follow..

BTW..I forgot to mention..Monday, I attended my first ever live concert, Beyonce - from Destiny's Child, her birthday concert, for free, through Sony Music :) It was grand! :)

Grand Canyon

2006-09-06T01:55:00.000-07:00

Grand Canyon:

My first glimpse - unforgettable, magical, mind numbing, made me speechless, most importantly made me feel insignificant!! Yes, insignificant, totally!! I was a mere fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a blink in the life of the Grand Canyon. If I am so with the Grand Canyon, just imagine what I am in relation to this universe..nothing..not even worth these last few words!!

Nature..magic..awe..beauty..splendour!!

Here we are strutting around the surface of this planet proclaiming ourselves to be the most precious entities in this universe. Every thing in the world exists to meet our needs. We have the power to bend and tame nature. Man the inventor, is the dictator of this universe!

Hah!! Man if anything, is a mere discoverer. And the biggest discovery he is yet to make, the eternal truth, is that he is a complete non-entity in the grand scheme of the cosmos!

I can only imagine what amusement it would be to watch us human beings from a level above..see us behaving like we run the universe..when in reality we probably do not even run our own lives!!

The thought brings a smile to my face :)

But nevertheless this very attitude of man is probably what is keeping him going. Because it is that feeling of supremacy that gives man a sense of purpose in life..without which the desire to live might be lost..leading eventually to a failure of the design of the cosmos itself.

Hmm...confusing eh.. Yeah, I guess it is. I know I might be sounding like a crazy philosopher..but then this blog is my little attempt to lay out my own thoughts..so that I can see them clearly myself and try to make sense out of them. How much sense they make, I do not know yet..but eventually I am sure they will. Until then..my blog has a purpose and it shall exist..:)

Gentle reminders..

2006-07-22T01:58:00.000-07:00

* No one can make you feel inferior without your consent
* No one can quit from what they are, not even a princess
* Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear
* The courageous might not live forever but the cautious do not live at all
* From now on you will be traveling the road between who you think you are and who you can be. The key is to allow yourself to make the journey

Life..Mystic Ecstacy (Contd.)

2006-06-26T11:37:00.000-07:00

As a follow up to my last blog....
I have been thinking more about "Life" and the big scheme of things.
Two big 'truths' of life karma vs. destiny.
Look at the two..from one viewpoint they seem hand in hand and from another they seem contradictory to each other. If everything is pre-destined then the "karma" philosophy doesnt make sense, because then your very "actions" are not really in your control. That beats the whole "Karmanyevaadhikaraste maa phaleshu kadaachana.." - the essence of the BhagavadGita. Because if you never have control over your actions in reality and you will end up doing exactly what you should, be it right or wrong, then the whole "Arjuna dilemna" situation becomes a farce. Would God really want us to live in such a farce..?!
What do I think..?..hmm....again I dont have one right answer in my head but I can make a guess.
My guess is that Karma and Destiny are both true as a package together, not as individual entities.
Destiny: A very high level definition of how things will work.
Karma : A more day to day method of defining things at the granular level.
To elaborate more there might be a pre-defined grand scheme of things..the ice age, the dinosaurs, the meteor strikes, volcanoes etc. But there are many phenomenon that arise from man's "karma" (foolish karma in this case) like earthquakes caused by dams and reservoirs or other man-created high pressure zones, climatic disruption caused by pollution, hurricanes, tidal waves and other manifestations of nature's fury in response to man's foolish doings or karma!
This is still at a higher level, where the actions of a specific group of individuals affects the entire planet or even the universe at large. At a more day to day level, our own day to day doings and un-doings are I guess very much in control. We too have a destiny governing us but my guess is that it is not set in stone, instead there is room for us to steer our destiny by virtue of our actions or "karma". Thus life to us becomes more meaningful and gives us a sense and purpose of being. We always have God to fall back on..to ask for help..to vent our woes to. But as long as we are doing the "right" things and have our "karma" justified, we can rest assured.

Now why do I keep saying "God". Why do I keep referring to God as "he". Am I one of those believers in male-supremacy even when it comes to deities?! Well, those who know me might say a maybe for the deities part, but the male-supremacy part they would surely say "No! Thats not her!". That is quite right..I just use 'he' as a generic pronoun not really gender specific. As far as God..I believe there is a supreme governing power for this whole universe. There is a force we can never defy. There is one single governing entity which is there for us to take care of and get taken care of in return..call it nature, call it God, give it any name you want. I firmly believe in that one single all powerful entity!! I bow to that power. I call it God..Shakti in Hinduism..Want to give it a gender? Well, here you go, both nature and Shakti are referred to in the feminine. (Should I be honest and add that this to me is a secret feeling of gratification ;D For those of you familiar with the Da Vinci Code, it is the Sacred Feminine, the supreme power!)

Life..Mystic Ecstacy

2006-06-20T20:57:00.000-07:00

Life is not easy..the more I go through it the more I begin to feel less is in my complete control. Again see, I say "complete" control, meaning I still want to believe that there is something atleast in my control. Even if it is partly so! It is hard to relinquish control and accept it as an eventuality.

But this is the irony of life. God creates this whole stage for us. He has a script in place and we act upon it. We have villains, we have heroes, we have sorrow, we have happiness, tragedy, comedy, boredom, fun, everything is woven into the play. It is evenly balanced too distributed across lives, ages and eons. But God makes us think we are the directors of the play..but are we? No one knows..maybe it is left to our improvisation, maybe it isnt. Maybe God has a fixed outcome he expects us to reach and he just tweaks us here and there directing us towards there. Or maybe there is no fixed outcome, but he just lets us wish what we want and help us achieve our wishes depending on our wants, needs and his own discretion. Or all these might be wrong! I dont know..But the irony also is that no matter what we have to continue living and go on with life.

Makes me think..what is the purpose of all this? Why do we do all this badidaata. Why is there so much competition, hatred, jealousy, spite, violence in this world? Why? Why? Why?

Why did I have to come all the way to this new country to be away from my comfort zone, my people, my family? What is the purpose of life at the end of the day? What is it that we look for?

The answer to this last question is simple..we all look for "happiness".

If all of us are looking for this one simple thing in life then why all this difference?

The only answer that comes to my mind is that everyones version of happiness is different. For someone it might mean staying at home and relaxing doing nothing forever. For someone it might mean amassing wealth and hoarding it away for generations to come. For someone else it might mean going out and helping few people out in the world and deriving some gratification out of it. It differs. Definitions vary. Means vary.

So what is right and what is wrong? I dont know..I dont think there is any "right" and "wrong" in this world. It is all subjective. Then why do human beings struggle the way they do? Why do people set out to "correct" the world? Well, that is their way to "happiness" I guess.

MAAYE....that is what all this is!!

I think that is why the Bhagvad Geeta says
"Karmanye vaadhikaaraste
Maa phaleshu kadaachana
Maa karmaphala heturbhuhu
Maa te sangostva karmani "

Another song that comes to mind is,
"Bombe aatavayya, ee brahmandavu aa devanaaduva bombe aatavayya"
"Ambujanaardhana antyavilladaatana tumbu maayeyayya, ee lokavu aa devanaaduva bombe aatavayya"

Has anyone ever thought where the world began? Where it will end? What is it that is outside our solar system..we have the Milky Way galaxy. Outside that, we have the universe..what outside the universe?? There should be something outside everything..then where does it all end???? Everything should have a beginning and an end..so where did all this begin? What was there before all this began? What will be when all this ends? Do we go round and round in loops and cycles over and over again? Have I been sitting here in this corner of the living room of my brother's place in SF typing the same thing a kazillion times before today?

Man..arent these scary thoughts? Well they are super scary to me!! I dont sit and think these thoughts daily..they come by occassionally to spook me out! Today they found their way to my blog..

2006-05-18T13:56:00.000-07:00

Today in the IT and Markets class we are doing a case on SEJ - 7Eleven Japan.
A very interesting company. Amazing to level of idealistic in many ways! 7Eleven is a convenience store chain that started in Dallas, USA sometime in the early 1900s. In the 1970s the chain expanded into Japan under a partnership with a local Japanese supermarket chain (The biggest at that point), forming 7Eleven Japan aka SEJ. Over the years the trademark Japanese efficiency transformed this company into one of the most innovative trend setting convenience store chain in the world! Eventually when 7Eleven USA was close to bankruptcy, SEJ bailed out the parent company and soon transferred their expertise of logistics, store handling, distribution and planning to the US chain to help them recuperate quickly. However, there is an element of discipline and dedication in Japan, among the Japanese people, that I dont think can be ever replicated by any other populace. 7Eleven USA thus I dont think will ever over take its Japanese offshoot.
I have read so many articles on the retail industry in India. Only 2% of Indian retail is organized, the rest of the 98% is constituted by corner-grocers, mom n pop shops, 'dabba angadi's - a whole array of unorganized retailers. Thus it is being fast projected to the rest of the world that India is the next big retail destination for the Walmarts, Targets, all marts, of the world. This to me first was a scary thought. Maybe the socialist in me (if it does exist). Maybe it was just a protectionist feeling towards my local grocers with whom I have shopped for years. Whatever it was, my first reaction was..No! Walmart and teh likes should nto be allowed to enter the Indian market. They will destroy the local grocers. Put them out of business. What should these people then do for a livelihood. They will be forced to lead a life notches below where they are now. All kinds of these thoughts.
After the initial outburst, my mind seemed to settle down and then call the Capitalist in me if you want, or the capitalists may say - the rationalism in me :) - seemed to kick in. How much would a protectionist attitude help progress, development and growth? Even when bring up kids, parents are adviced to keep an eye on their children, but not be over protective. Let them fall then only they learn to get up and be careful the next time. Isnt this in a way what capitalism preaches. I do not know for sure, as I havent really read much on these theories. But what I do know is that capitalism drives the market towards efficiency. I am reminded of Darvin's theory - "Survival of the Fittest". Why should'nt the same theory apply to economics of a country or a region. Infact many economic theories, ones that have won Nobel prizes over the years seem to be an economic extension of Darwin's throry of evolution. Just like nature, financial and economic markets have an inherent tendency to balance out and settle down. Thye do through peaks and crashes but eventually settle down. Infact everything in this world works towards an equilibrium. Do we ever achieve it, I dont know. Maybe the day we do will be the last day of the universe's existance.
Another instance that comes to my mind now is the 'Brain Drain'. Even until about 5 years back this used to be one of the hottest debate topics in schools and colleges. Civil Service exam essays were based around this topic. Media made a huge hype on the amount spent over each IITian who was leaving India. But 30 to 40 years into that trend all of a sudden the market has evolved in such a way as to cause 'Reverse Brain Drain'. Emigration levels are still higher than Immigration, but nevertheless the trends have set in. If not for external uncontrollable forces such as Govt. policies, regulations, terrorism, et all, my guess would be that the world would soon become a seamless market with hubs of activities being created wherever they are most efficient at that point in time. A fluid, ever moving and changing - a flux.
Coming back to where I started. After all these thoughts went through my mind, I came to the conclusion that my initial stance was not right. It was not in the line of natural evolution. The fittest will survive, and that is how nature works. And it is amazing how the ways of nature apply even to man-made things such as financial and economic markets!!
Well..what do I say..Nature Rocks!! :)

Business Plan Pro - Sample Business Plans

2006-05-07T23:12:00.000-07:00

Business Plan Pro - Sample Business Plans

Sample Business plans. Havent gone through any yet. Shubhada forwarded the link to me. So decided to save it for later.

Commitment

2006-05-03T11:20:00.000-07:00

Food, especially 'Junk' I find hardest to resist. Which is in many ways responsible to my gain of 7 full kilos in a span of 3 months! Today I make this commitment to myself that I shall walk/play/dance/yoga/swim/run/exercise for an hour atleast everyday. Also Until I reach 55 I shant eat chocolate/chips/pizza/fries/burgers. The upper limit for this being May 12th..too ambitious! But I have to try! Second, more realistic would be May 25th:)

... y yo a California!!!

2006-05-03T10:30:00.000-07:00

... y yo a California!!!
Javiers Blog..Will read when I am through with my Spanish class :D

Just realized I havent written for a while..

2006-05-03T07:32:00.000-07:00

Been a while since I visited my own blog....
Life at the B-School seems crazy at times! But is it so busy as to not let you indulge in small pleasures as this?!
Ummmm....I guess not.
Time in most cases, I have realized over the last 7 months, is what YOU make of it.
I would have denied this vehemently earlier. But now when I am much busier than I have ever been (Except in those few months when I was working on almost 4 jobs!), I have been humbled by time. Within the realms of a workable schedule, time is what I make of it. Now, I dont feel like saying "I am busy. I do not have the time". Think of it..if you have the inclination, you MAKE the time. Mind you, there are occassions when, and genuine '24 hr' people to whom, this doesnt apply. Here I am making a generalization, which is true most times with most people.
Sometimes I feel I am involved in an insane number of activities..but then, I do waste my share of time doing nothing! There are hours spent lazing on occassion..Hours spent over the phone..hours spent doing almost nothing! And then I tell myself, these do-nothing hrs are very necessary too, to maintain the semblance of my life. These are the buffer times which I can use to fit in things I really want to do. Most of the people I have seen fit this mold at most times. So now I hesitate to say 'I dont have time'! I would rather say, 'I have very little time, which I would rather spend on something else or even doing nothing, than this.' :)

Best example: On the morning of my OB exam (which I havent even started studying for yet) I am writing this huge treatise of sorts on 'time and being-busy'!! :D

Ofcourse a short disclaimer - There are many occassions when I genuinely 'do not have the time'! So dont hold me up for this post!

ebooks eSnips Folder

2006-05-03T07:18:00.000-07:00

ebooks eSnips Folder

An e-books website!!
Initial reaction - wow!!!!
But then, how can the virtual beat the physical! Yes, a book has its own minute traits that cannot be explained and the satisfaction that reading a book gives, atleast for me, can never be replicated with the virtual form of the same.
Nevertheless a good link to have for those 'something is better than nothing' times, when laying your hands on a book feels a virtuality :)

The emergence of India's tier III Cities

2006-04-26T18:31:00.000-07:00

Interesting article that in a way shows signs of how the economic growth currently dominated at DElhi Bombay and Bangalore will eventually balance out across the country. There by taking with it other benefits too - education, infrastructure being predominant. This I see as a trend that would lead to more sustained growth. it also would prevent the huge migrations from rural areas and towns to big cities and thus act as a balancing point that would ease pressure on these cities and even put a cap on the astronomical increases in real estate prices and costs of living in the big cities - delhi bombay and bangalore.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_34/b3948421.htm

2006-04-25T20:48:00.000-07:00

Article on "Will India ever grow as rapidly as China? If so, how might that occur?"
Part of the Business Week Expert Roundtable 1 on Growth: China vs. India

Interesting post. What struck me as the most important point emerging from this discussion, as opined by atleast 3 speakers, is about the definition of 'growth'. Just economic growth? or a more wholesome and balanced growth. I personally feel that to have a long-term sustained development, balanced growth is what is to be achieved. Another point that struck me as important was made by Viveca Chan. She says "If India were to grow faster than China, it must increase its attractiveness to investing companies in terms of its market size and potential for luxury products. Indian consumers are more frugal and rational in spending. Chinese consumers are much more willing to pay for branded and luxury goods, a dream for marketers. This is evidenced by ubiquitous presence of luxury brands from Starbucks to Louis Vuitton in China vs. India. So if the India market is to grow faster than China, Indian consumers need to be encouraged to buy things they do not need and pay prices that have no relation to the cost of goods. After all, market growth is about the growth of brands."
Viveca has hit the nail on the head! What she says is very true. If you look at any of the Capitalistic fast growth societies you immediately notice this 'irrational' spending on brands with consumers paying prices which are in no way related to the cost of the goods themselves!! Is this the "growth" that we need? Makes me scared to think of it. A capitalist might say that wealth should be created in whatever form and then it trickles down to all classes of society. But with a population as large as India this trickling down, if at all it happens, might take centuries! Ex: China! It scares me to think of the economic disparity that such growth would create between the rich and the poor. What with the fast increasing economic power of the middle-class with youngsters earning far more than their parents did after 25-30 years of service, it might soon come to be that the so called 'middle-class' disappears! Well, this is a cynical me thinking i guess. But nevertheless I am sure many would agree that we would not want a growth for our country as elucidated by Viveca!
A slower, more wholesome growth, which is still fast, but waits long enough for rest of the society to catch-up is what is needed for us.
I am not a socialist..though my thoughts above make me sound like one. I surely believe in the Capitalist structure of society, but I vote for a balanced system of society away from the extreme capitalism that extremely high growth rates might promulgate.