A day in the life

Travelling

2010-09-26T05:48:00.000-07:00

VIEW
Travelling. Going places. The experience is exactly what it is; a state of mind. A state of mind that can be reached at any geographical location. Some locations outclass the others because they exceed our expectations. This happen anywhere not only at locations outside your home country but also within. Once your expectations are updated and set all places look the same, they look ordinary enough. Be it Lalgabh or St. James' park. You will experience the same joy. So it is time things in our country begin to exceed our expectations. We are familiar with a certain environment. If there are changes for the better here, then there will be joy in visiting places in your own home country and no hunting for a place and dates in foreign countries.

COUNTER-VIEW
When you visit new places, you to get to see new cultures, new creations, new people and a new environment. These have to be experienced first-hand. The monuments do make up the experience, but the environment which is alien/foriegn is the real highlight of the trip. You will remember the kindness of a stranger more than how the Buckingham Palace looked, though both were part of the same experience, it is the people that make a place special and to meet these people you have to travel to a country other than your homeland. By travelling you always get richer, in every way. You have a wealth of experience and knowledge. These stimulate you, they drive you. They not only add an extra dimension to you but also that edge. A holiday break is always welcome too... it gives you something to look forward to and to look back upon. Like a great traveller said ... I have seen more than I can remember and remember more than I have seen.

Think thrice

2010-09-25T00:21:00.000-07:00

If I was fortunate enough to help someone in need,
I would get a good name and fame out of this feat.
!!??!!??

The science of teaching art

2010-03-27T10:11:00.000-07:00

Weights and measures... ticking stopwatches... precision screw gauges... angled protractors... the need to measure ... the need for order... the need for control... the need to quantize... to make it a part of "modern science". science is meant to make our lives easier.... easier? no! faster... yes... people dieing of heart attacks in their 20s... the mechatronic deamons on the prowl... the electrostatic slowly getting to your head... you reach the depths of the electronic trench... you are surrounded by it, depend on it ... live and breathe by it... a stifled breath... tense days... greater expectations... higher pressures... it is at times like these that one thinks of art....the grace of a dancer... the beauty of a marble sculpture... the flow of a star field dream... the freedom of an open country road...
so why think of teaching art like a science.... ?? you can instruct the way things have been done... but you cant teach someone to do things the way you feel is beautiful... no one taught the greatest artists in the world... van gogh never went to the international university of art to learn how to paint... maybe that is why he is great... cause he was different from everyone.... he created beauty...
dont teach me how to create art... instruct me ... and i shall create a thing of beauty.

Wedding invitation

2009-12-04T08:19:00.001-08:00

Top of the hill

2009-04-21T19:55:00.000-07:00

Hey wake up!! its finally time... what i had been waiting for, for the last two months... ever since the day we had that blessed dinner. Get up namit ... its time... cut the slack and get ready... you have an early start and you dont want to be the laggard... i get out of the room after getting ready ... looking forward to today.. everyones out... hey lets go... lets not wait... there is a magnificence thats tugging at me... my feet ready, rub my eyes of the last bits of slumber left in them... lets go! confident foot steps say that we can do it... then with the first rays of the sun hitting the summit, the winding path laying ahead of us becomes clear... winding and steep in places and easy goin at others.. journeys you need to make on earth before reaching the devine... the things you need to overcome before the sun sets on our horizons... but right now it is sunrise and am already at the foot of the hill... take my first steps... feeling the polished granite slab beneath my feet... polished by years of footsteps ... pleasant after walking on the rough asphalt... a regular campaigner zips past me... i am inspired to follow her footsteps... i lengthen my stride and walk to the flat part... a bit tired but not exhausted yet... i walk again.. slowly pick up the pace again... n after a few cycles of slow and fast walkin... i reach the summit... but before you witness divinity, you have rituals to follow... you cleanse and purge and wait... then the white marble glistens in the oils and lotions applied to it... the eyes radiant ... the crown gleaming, the gravity compelling... the gaze does not shift.. you are humbled to witness greatness in all its splendour at the very heart of the home of my beliefs... the mecca as on might say for jains... Adeshwar Bhagwan... please give me peace...

Confidence is the bouy

2008-11-22T09:21:00.000-08:00

When a person is on a high of confidence, he begins to think about things he thought were impossible. The sky is within reach, he just needs to stretch out and grab it. When the pull of confidence goes slack, the back begins to sag, the smile becomes forced, the stride becomes measured. Things people say begin to hammer on you, you begin to second guess youself. Self doubt if not routed at the outset, begins to eat away precious energy. Break the slack, the stiff back and get a spine.

P.O.V.

2008-11-10T02:44:00.000-08:00

Why is there no fragrance in gold?
Why is there no fruit on a sugarcane?
Why is there no flower on a sandalwood tree?
Boss, why dont you change your point of view and see what is good and not what isnt?
Why do you long for more ? Why dont you accept a situation? Why do you crib ?

Me

2008-09-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

I do what everyone else does.... But there are none like me.

la mer - the sea ... the shepherdess of azure infinity

2008-06-28T12:11:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iEhoLjgmB8

mr bean's holiday :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2R4ZrP3zfI

2 times - fav video

2008-06-28T12:07:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YaStzbltk4

Self referential loops

2007-12-16T09:59:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O683kZS0nQw

My Brilliant Brain

2007-12-15T12:28:00.000-08:00

The power of the brain has yet to be fathomed. To find out its power, one must be able to understand the working of a human brain. The brain has to understand itself, a sort of self referrential loop. The brain has to think about how the brain thinks, using the very mechanism it is triyng to understand. Can a system ever fully define itself, using itself?

Wholesale is a state of mind

2007-12-15T12:09:00.000-08:00

A shop has things to sell. This shop might entertain retail customers if the owner wants to make a big profit on a small investment. Because of the big margin, the turnover of cash goes down, reducing the sale amount. Now if the same counter drops the prices a bit below the market prices, the turnover begins to increase. The shop sale amount increases, and it begins to look like a wholesalecounter. Now whether the establisment makes a bigger profit out of the sale, depends on the ability of the shopowner, to balance the margin and the cash turnover. to optimise the profit. This may be reduced to a linear programming problem, where the parameters to consider are margin and turnover to maximise profit. This is necessary because a shop runs to make a profit.

The problem might become more complex due to various boundaries such as MRP, shop next door, prevailing market rates, availibity of material, customer awarness of items available, purchase practices. MRP is a fixed parameter, shop next door is not totally under our control, market rates are more or less fixed, unless you have really stiff competition from a single store like Metro. Items are more or less available, unless there is a sudden change in law or logistics. Creating customer awarness is very important to maximise turnover. In this case margin begins to have a lower weightage in the problem. Purchase department has to be very powerful. Controlling all these variable parameters is where the skill of a shop owner lies. His mind has to be on the job 24x7, or the competition begins to take over.

Self pity is the only thing that holds you back

2007-12-10T09:26:00.000-08:00

I saw a three legged dog today. She had pups... she was hobbling along searching for food. Her situation brought tears in my eyes... but she had to do what she had to do. She had to survive... she could not afford self-pity. Why cant we think in the same way when we are not in such a terrible situation. Why cant we stop wasting time and do what really has to be done? Why should we wait for such adversities before we act?

ek se mera kya hoga.... !!??

2007-12-08T08:59:00.001-08:00

Tho aap do lijiye........ aur mere liye??!!.. god knows what everyone wants... he knows everything, hes around yet hes not around... some shadows whisk by, people spend their whole lives chasing them... some people that is... others know exactly what they want... money!!

Aise bhi din aatey hai

2007-12-08T08:59:00.000-08:00

There are some days when everything goes haywire and you have not done anything to provoke it. You are coolly sitting having you banana milk shake when the roof begins to creak... the timbers whine and the nails begin to loose grip... all you can do is look for the closest table to crawl under... its all about damage control ... to yourself, rest can take a hike!!! Wonder if it has anything to do with some influences like auras... hmmmm

How much is enough?

2007-12-07T11:11:00.001-08:00

The more you want, the more you need;
The more you've got, the lesser you want it;
But you still need it; So you still want;
The more you got, the more you want;
The more you want, the more you need.

Aur ki chahat mein jaane kitne barbaad hue. Isi liye tho saat narak aur ek hi moksh hai!!

Bother me ... dont bother me

2007-12-07T11:11:00.000-08:00

Depends whether i get bothered....

Hafta vasooli n time

2007-12-04T09:30:00.000-08:00

Bhidu, paisa nikal, saste me pat jaaega, nahi to saala itna pareshan karoonga ki nani yad aa jaaegi.. who has the time to bloody bear with this crap. Roti phek, kutta chup chap chala jaega. That happens once, now kutta is hungry again, he has digested the last meal, hes on the hunt for more... Now he's lookin for more than the last time, his appetite is wheted with the taste of paisa.

Saala, this bloody gunda gardi is the mantra of every government department. If you want your life to be simple, you better pay up. Where does one get all this money from to feed the dogs?? And remember after eating a few stomach fulls, these dogs begin to turn into wolves. This comes out from anothers pocket... simple. If you stop to look at and analyse this tamasha then you will only waste a large amount of your time, precious hours of your lives on something that is only goin to become worse. The more you try to fight, the more he is goin to try and harass you, just for the sake of one-up-manship, to feed ones ego. The taste of power is intoxicating, especially to someone who has no conciese.

There is no cure for this mutated variety of rabies. It is better to keep away and not be bitten.

Am here to do business not only make a profit

2007-11-29T07:45:00.000-08:00

When you run a business not with the aim to make a profit but with the sole aim to do business, is when you will have an enduring business.

When the aim is to do business, the profit margins drop to create a trough into which trading and end-client interests flow. It acts like a vaccum waiting to be filled. Slowly the trough begins to level out, getting filled with more and more business. Now comes the tough part, to hold the interest of the customer after the initial attraction. The business now needs to create a bond with the customer. A fool-proof way is to maintain the highest standards of quality and not letting the margins get out of hand. Time and again the depression needs to be created to pull in new customers to make up for some lost ones. One reaps margins only when he is able to hold on to the created customers.

It seems sort of a selfish tactic, to suck all the business towards you. It is healthy for the customer but it seems not so good for the market itself. Lower margins creates pressure on the supply chain to lower their profits too. This helps in conservation of resources, both artificial and natural, thus creating a lasting business and delays dooms day a little bit...

Peace, shanti and other such

2007-11-25T09:20:00.000-08:00

Most problems are solved when you learn to be at peace with your situation. Times change, that is the only law of nature... what goes around the wheel of time comes back like outdated fashion. If its not your time today, be patient and your time will arrive.
To run ones life, one has to be at peace with people who do things for their own profit, others who work for your profit and still others who you can make a profit off. It is only this network of peace which will see you sail through on its crest. Time and space are the biggest conspirators. A man reaps profits when he has both time and space on his side.
The people who have risen to the greatest heights are the ones who have built a strong foundation on the dense soil of time well utilised. When peace prevails the mind expands in time or shall we say that time expands in the mind.
There was once a guy who could read an entire page of text in 8 secs flat. He had a photographic memory. But the only problem was he could never make sense of what he read. Since the mind was free from the process of understanding what he read as he read it, he could do this. On similar lines, one could also say that if one frees his mind from needless worries, he can concentrate his energies on things that matter.
Keep peace and the faith. May the energy to do things be with you.

Money... have you seen what you own lately?

2007-04-08T08:23:00.000-07:00

Gandhi Bapu ka note... karara.. mast... kharachne ka jee kare... i promise to pay the bearer a sum of rupees 500 ... issued by the RBI, signed by the governor of the RBI... you pr0omise to pay me a 500 bucks... really... wow.. what a great feeling... you promise to pay me 500 rupees... ok tell me when are you really goin to pay up... do you have it at home... maybe i can come and pick it up on sunday... or is it in the vault of a bank.. in that case sunday being a weekly holiday for banks... lemme pick it up on monday... or better still why dont you keep it as a loan from my side... just pay me a modest 11.5% PA... oh sorry make that 12.5% ... now that the RBI and the FM have finally made up their minds about the CRR .. now at 6.5%. The cash reserve ratio .... the percentage of cash every bank must keep in its vault against the deposits it recieves. Its mind boggling that the bank needs to keep only 6 rupees 50 paise of every 100 rupees i deposit... it can lend out the remaining 93 rupees 50 paise ... which is not its money ... legally!! Imagine the situation ... from my 100 rupees the bank can create according to my calculations more than 1000 rupees of fictitious money.... i deposit 100 ... suppose say my sis takes a loan from the bank... of say 93.5 rupees... and again pays another person who holds an account in the same bank... the sum now becomes 100 + 93.5 = 193.5 rupees. Out of the new 93.5 rupees the bank can lend out 87.42... and so on ... so the series becomes ... 100 + 93.5 + 87.42 + 84.74 + 74.43 ....

Sum( x ( 1- CRR/100 )^n) (n 0 to infinity)

where x is the initial deposit amount ... and for a CRR = 6.5 my 100 rupees becomes ... ( someone help me out here... i cant really calculate it... its been a long time.. :) )

A total detachment is created between the actual wealth and the amount of currency i.e. promisary notes printed... The money just ends up becoming numbers on computers. When have you last seen all of your money at once... There is always some amount of our money existing in mere numbers on computers.
Now lets suppose the initial sum of 100 rupees I deposit is from a loan i took against my property. Suppose my land valuation is actually only 10 rupees and I get a false valuation done on it of say rupees 150. I tell the valuator that i will pay him 30 buck and the bank manager 20 bucks to keep their mouths shut tight. They both agree.... and i happily deposit 100 bucks in the bank. Now even if I choose to screw up, there is no loss for me. The bank seizes my land that is actually only 10 rupees which i had kept as collateral against the loan, i still make a profit of 90 rupees. What can i do if the land value has gone down since i took the loan. Heeehhahahahhheheaahahhaha ... bank go to hell, RBI print me some new notes !!!! Slam bam thank you maa'm. If the bank manager is a lady ofcourse. Bye bye baby... the whole credit system was built on a reaaaalllly shaky foundation.

Suppose i owned 5,00,000sqft of land and the actual cost per sft is 1000, i get it valuated at Rs. 2500, bank lady take 100, valuator take 50, (since the lady is good lookin, i changed my mind and gave her a bigger slice :) ). Bank lady gets 5,00,00,000 (5 crores) enough to keep her mouth shut.... and valuator uncle gets 2,50,00,000 ( 2 and a half crores ) enough for him too....!!!! Balls to the land, i still make a profit of 2500 - 1000 - 100 - 50 = 1350*500000..... 67,50,00,000 (67 crores and 50 lakhs..... commision free!!!! ).

Now suppose the collateral was some shares i own in some XYZ company which has had a real mysterious bull run recently... phew, boss... i think we can leave this for a later discussion.

Just imagine that... think about where your money is right now and whats its doin... have you seen it lately... it might just be helpin in creating some more infaltion. Boss make CRR = 100 and all this natak baazi will stop. Lend out only how much you own and then see which way infaltion is headed.

Return to yourself

2006-12-07T10:20:00.000-08:00

i long to become bigger... i long to be a leader... i long to get into the thick of it ... get my hands deep into this shit of a place we call the world... to get what ever is expected of me from here and get the hell outta here ... to head for a higher place a higher conciuosness ... this freakin world keeps the dearest the farthest apart.... close ones begin to fade into the background... the picutre begins to loose focus... the destination is far away and hidden in the fog... the heavy mist that has made our hearts callous... this place called the world makes us want to achieve... achieve the things that are necessary to live in a society that is full of individuals, loners... it is up to us to choose the right direction ... achieve what is the most important.... what are we to achieve at the cost of what is our life ... the real achievements are not the ones that can be counted ... but the ones that can be felt, in our hearts... disillusionment is a sweet killer... it pulls you into its sweet trap just to suck your blood out slowly... shake yourself up ... think about what you are really doin .... what you really want... otherwise you will just be left in a crowd of individuals,,, if you want then start to laugh ... if you must then start to cry ... be yourself dont change ... just follow your own way ... dont give up n loose the chance to return to innocence... be yourself and the world will be at your feet.

November Rain

2006-12-01T07:58:00.001-08:00

nothin' lasts forever
And we both know hearts can change
And it's hard to hold a candle
In the cold November rain

So if you want to love me
then darlin' don't refrain
Or I'll just end up walkin'
In the cold November rain

So never mind the darkness
We still can find a way
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
Even cold November rain

-gnr

Whats the big deal about now......

2006-12-01T07:58:00.000-08:00

Its the only moment in time when the past, the present n the future converge. The now creates history and brings hope for the future. But the importance of now really lies in how we use it to pick up our histry add value to it now (!) and make it into a bright tomorrow. Live now !!!

Just actin like we animals!

2006-11-27T09:42:00.000-08:00

I tried to tell her dad... it was her mouth that i was kissin !!!!!! hhuhhhahhahaaa!

I belong ... to the skies... m learnin to fly

2006-11-21T11:28:00.002-08:00

A soul in tension thats learning to fly
Condition grounded but determined to try
Cant keep my eyes from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, i

Theres no sensation to compare with this
Suspended animation, a state of bliss
Cant keep my eyes from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, i

-- p floyd

When assets turn into liabilities

2006-11-18T08:19:00.000-08:00

its time to cut the crap and get the job done!!

salaam mumbai

2006-11-11T09:20:00.000-08:00

This video gives me tears in my eyes, strength in my arms and goose bumps all over... watch n learn!
salaam mumbai.. theres none else like you

me

2006-11-07T08:42:00.000-08:00

Hey big guy... what d ya have there in your hand?? a little boy gives me a sweet smile, turns away and walks. hey there .. wait up ... wont you show me what secrets you hold in your little hand... he looks at my eager face and smiles again ... a beautiful glow on his cheeks... i see mischief in his eyes. he turns away again and starts to walk faster than before.... i walk behind him, half expecting him to stop, but he doesnt... i lengthen my stride... he begins to run ... the sky clouds up ... dark rain clouds. suddenly there is a loud clap of thunder... the heavens burst .... little boy has disappeared.... i cant see too much in front of me .... lost... the rain soaks my shirt... i begin to run in his direction... rip off my shirt sticking to my back and throw it to the ground ... little boy where are you?? ... i look everywhere... a fog collects in front of me... my chest breathing heavily... i slow down ... i can hear little footsteps on the puddly ground... hey there you are... but where??? i cant see anything... something brushes past me ... he is playing games with me ... bey!! where are you ?? deafening silence... i walk with my head down ... where did he go ? the clouds begin to clear... a valley emerges... lush green .... rolling meadows for as far as the eye can see.... in the distance a crimson forest stands... inviting.... blue skies till the horizon... i see a grand old oak tree in front of me standing lone in the meadow... i look closer... i see all my loved ones .. friends and family... living their day out in the shade of the benevolent oak ... little girls swingin in the tree... boys screamin ... a warm feeling comes over me. hey!! whos this.... its the little boy.. resting against the tree trunk.. eyes shut... i run up to him ... hoping i dont loose him again ... hey little boy wake up ... ... wont you tell me who you are? ... he opens his eyes... again just smiles at me... a wierd feeling fills me up.. a feeling of familiarity... little boy dont i know you ... arent you ... !! yes you are!! just then i realised ..... the little boy was none else ... he was just me....

bargaining... a privilege-- not a right

2006-11-06T10:21:00.000-08:00

noone wants to rip you off... they just want to make a living. its quite a selfish act to bargain... to ask for a discount is a right... but haggling is not human behaviour... the shopkeeper only builds a defense mechanism against such a situation...

Ergophobia...

2006-10-04T01:24:00.000-07:00

Gardens are not made by singing: -- "Oh, how beautiful!" and sitting in the shade.

Silence must be heard

2006-10-04T00:35:00.000-07:00

Maun ... or silence. The power of the mind over the chatter of the mouth. Sometimes it is good to keep our mouths shut and let our mind do the talking... listen to what we have within us... what we are trying to say to ourselves. Often in the chaos of everyday we ignore the fact that we do exist. We are all busy playing our roles... and often forget the real purpose of acting is to make a living... as in a life.

They say that all the worlds a stage... but there has got to be a greenroom... otherwise where are we goin to prepare for the grand spectacle.
Have you ever observed a bullring clown before he goes out to face the bulls... he is gravity personified... not a word, cause he knows that these maybe the only moments of peace he might ever get... once he gets out there it is only chaos. Charging 1,300 pound (600 kilograms) bulls and you have to make a fool out of yourself standing in their way. Those few moments of silence is all that he has to prepare himself for the show. Sorta reminds me of me...

These moments are usually the defining moments of a persons life. It is the lull before a storm. The more deafening the silence the greater havoc the storm will wreak.

Ofcourse silence is not all that a man must practice. Just like we will never realise the value of freedom until we are bound, it is in much the same way that we get to appreciate the power of oneself through silence.

Some moments demand silence... and others action. In the words of the great Martin Luther King.. Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. And in the humble words of yours truly... shut up when you dont know what to say, it makes you look wise.

P.S: Thanks to...

Dare to Dream

2006-10-02T11:38:00.000-07:00

the dream may be to see oneself at the pinnacle of success, may be to have a good life which promises to bring happiness to all the people around us.... it might just be that your dream is to find yourself..... i can see vivid dreams.... it was real clear ... i caught a fleeting glimpse....but could not quite hold on to it.... the will to find it again is burning in me.... it is right ahead... the horse of time is galloping away... but i aint giving up... i am sprinting already... might get tired... but i am sure going to track it down.... just hope in that quest i dont loose sight of the ones dearest to me... i will not loose sight of the ones dearest to me... we are the future and the need the strength... the will to strive... the will to build... the will to live.. the will to get a hold and pull out the ones stuck in the web of time is overwhelming... it might be that running behind your dreams may not be the right way... but you will sure discover your way of finding them.... we have to get the strength in our arms.... to strength to lift them up and be ready to be counted... life has its own twists and turns... it is time to get them straight.. the time we spend doing nothing just became history... I promise to make the dreams I have dared to dream come true....

Time to live

2006-10-02T11:26:00.000-07:00

when friends are together, time just seems to fly..... all the troubles seem so far away... they seem to have just evaporated.... time plays the strangest games, when we are alone, time just seems to be stagnant..... when we are together, time ceases to exist... at times, time seems to have just drifted by.... at other times there just does not seem to be enough time.... the time comes when it seems that time has expanded.... the moment has frozen..... just the very next moment, time just flows through you.... the rhythm of time cannot be mistaken, it has its own heart beat... time comes alive. There is no pain, time fills you up.... the memories, the moments have been ingrained in your mind... a time to treasure... time has taken over... time is all pervasive...

Frozen Cold

2006-10-01T09:45:00.000-07:00

my fingers and hands have frozen cold. they refuse to move... refuse to work the way they used to. my hands are slowly turning useless. the only thing that i dread is that they are goin dead. i am my hands. my hands are all i can call my own. they are the only thing i can control. who am i ? what am i doin in my life. this rut has gone on far too long. i am out of touch with this world... i donno what is the latest music... what is the latest that is in the world of fashion ... not that i was bothered before... but atleast i knew what was in... i never like to follow... i hate being tutored by ignorance... my ideas are drying up... creativity has gone for a toss.... my vocabulary has not improved an ounce in the last 2 years... creative writing is my passion... if i werent in business... i would have been an author or a reporter or something that involves the literary intellect... to create is to live... to create something new everyday is what i crave... i loved science because it gave me the possibility to create something new... to make something... i love writing cause i love to create a new experience... i love travellin because i hate being stagnent... one has to be self made... make a mark for himself in this world of billions of faces pushing aimlessly everyday only to make a living... but what is a living... just goin to work everyday... life is outside work... atleast for me... when i was a kid i dreamt of being a scientist... i never really wondered why i must do that... it was just a feeling i had... it was the promise of creation ... to lead... of being able to do what you love... i crave a real guru... who has the gyan ... not the information... please help me thaw..... please!!!

Things are not what they seem

2006-09-25T09:37:00.000-07:00

A steep incline will look easy when seen from a distance... while a gradual one will look difficult. So if a task seems too difficult, its probably easy enough if you take one step at a time while a difficult one has to be done the hard way.... by not taking it for granted and with dedication.

A job that has to be done ... has to be done.

Bangalore a wannabe Mumbai

2006-09-24T05:58:00.000-07:00

Bangalore ... the garden city.... once meant to be a home for retirees.... a summer abode for the british... a sort of a hill station... a young city. Life was meant to be laid back... tension free .... ordinary!!! But then one day something happened which the city was not prepared for... it began to grow younger .... in its population. Youngsters began to come to the city for a life. The traffic began to swell... the public transport began to burst at the seams. The infrastructure work began to lag behind ... it had to get used to a new pace ... an alien pace... a pace that wasnt meant for the old bangalore. Retirees began to groan... this place is turning into hell.

The truth is that the Tamas.... the Still Inertia left behind by the old world will take some force to change. People here must stop wearing masks. Stop pretending that they have achieved something by just having some moolah in the bank and a comfortable home to retire to. What are they doing for the city? A city is a place according to me where the crowd is vibrant, full of ideas... wanting to improve their lives by a conciuos effort. An effort to improve the quality of life that has to be made by the majority, not by an isolated few.

Mumbai didnt need to go through this phase because it was always destined for great things. The people there are and were always proggressive in their thoughts. Bombay city is a pioneer in many ways... cause mumbaikars are leaders. The have a natural born instinct to lead to create and to morph with the times. Chance only favours the prepared mind not the lethargic or soporific one. Just being a good follower does not help ... you can only manage to serve someone else by doin that. To improve oneself, one has to be a forward thinker... a real go-getter. Things are changing for the better infrastructure-wise in Bangalore, but the mindset still needs to change.

There is no great history behind bangalore... it is a history waiting to be made.

Wake up people!!!!! or we will only remain wannabes loafing on MG road dreaming of Marine Drive!

Government

2006-09-17T11:03:00.000-07:00

Are not all governments robbers? Some do the robbing with legislation, some without.

Paisa

2006-09-08T06:41:00.000-07:00

Money, Get Away.......
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash
Im all right jack keep your hands off of my stack.
-Pink Floyd

There are manys names for the same commodity.... dollars, pounds, dirhams, euros. But the most original and the ancient of the lot has got to be paisa. The unique thing about our country is that the name for the curreny means money in the local language. Money in english dose not mean dollars; But paisa in hindi sure means money.

The reason for this maybe in the straight-forwardness of the people of India. There is no ambiguity when one says paisa. It means without mistake Money. The honesty even reflects in our languages. What you pronounce is what you write, unlike western languages.

Come to think of it, the crux of the matter might lie in Niyat. No english word immediately comes to mind to describe what we mean by Niyat. Maybe that is because the west does not give much importance to it. Niyat is not only honesty, it is a way of life. To be clean in the mind, without any ultetior motives. To do the right thing no matter what the opposition to your task is. Niyat is the force by which most successful
people get the power to achieve. Guess these things are not that important to the west.

Share it fairly but dont take a slice of my pie.
Money, so they say is the root of all evil today.
Paisa... paisa...paisa

East V/S West

2006-09-07T17:41:00.000-07:00

In the words of the great Aurobindo...

The East is more ancient by many thousands of years than the West, but a greater length of years does not necessarily imply a more advanced age.... Asia is long-lived, Europe brief, ephemeral. Asia is in everything hugely mapped, immense and grandiose in its motions, and its life-periods are measured accordingly. Europe lives by centuries, Asia by millenniums. Europe is parcelled out in nations, Asia in civilisations. The whole of Europe forms only one civilisation with a common, derived and largely second-hand culture; Asia supports three civilisations, each of them original and of the soil. Everything in Europe is small, rapid and short-lived;
she has not the secret of immortality.

July 3, 1907

Chain Reaction

2006-06-07T19:59:00.001-07:00

Nishchay Shah... 25 ... high flying turk in stock broking circles.

Edges in and out of focus, city lights glazing across my eyes... breath getting shorter... the train's racket rolling overhead. Lungs burning... sides splitting... beads dripping down the sides of my face. Reach a lonely intersection... wondering .. which way... something catches the corner of my eye... a lone street dog... much better off than me... wagging his tail. Wish i could stay and play... heavenly drops send him into a scurry ... solitary... the arrows of an early monsoon shower pierce the skin on my arms... i look down, trying to focus on my palms... am hit by the full fury of the storm ... water pours off the tips of my hair on to my finger tips... Sensation has returned in them after a long time... have got to get out of here... i remember how my fingers did
all my work ... i could feel my work ... feel like a part of it. Completely immersed in it .. through my finger tips.

My trading terminal was my life... was my first day at work.. my work.. not my dad's ... my own, after 2 years of hard work... sweat and grime, working in CA's offices, finally got my big break, in a startup broking firm, Bulls Broking. Being in the hotseat of stock trading was my dream. When i started off, was playing the passenger... just along for the ride... seeing the wonderful sights of this world of numbers, percentages and high stakes. How did the stakes get this high??? Investing your hard earned money into another persons hands... you dont know him... but you still trust that he going to make you some money. Out of his own interests ofcourse. Small accounts... bread and butter stuff... hardly any day trading. Work in a boundary... make some steady progress, get a feel. The controls are still alien. Dont want to jerk the joystick. Slowly turned into navigator... bigger accounts... bigger risks... the game is sucking you in. You in the vortex of a whirlpool beginning to stir... all is calm closeby.. but there is great turbulence outside. The cone is getting deeper... but you dont notice... you can still see blue sky.

One early February morning. "Hey Nishchay, why dont you buy this great stock..." said Praveen. "Could get you some quick returns, n ofcourse the goodwill of your customer!!". Thought the percentages put together could work out very well. Bought a lions share of the shares in the market with the companys reserve fund. The numbers began to tick. First in single digits, then the neighbouring number wheel also began to churn. Now the digits were two... i might as well cash in on the profit. Something inside me told me not to sell out completely. Sold 10%. The cash registers began to ring... the accounts began to get fatter. The customers happier. Was a hit... maybe a lucky one.

"Hello, Bulls Broking?" Wierd techno music... phone clicks
"How may I be of assistance?" "Nishchay ko bula."
"Sorry sir.. pardon me."
"Tere kaan pakele hai kya...?? dhokle ko bula re... nautanki"Reception panics, line goes dead.

The stock has been on the rise for its third consequtive day. Phone rings. "Nischay, can I see you in my cabin please?" Make myself a cup of coffee and a cup of tea for my visit to my MD. She loves a good cup of tea. All the better for me. "May I come in please" No response. Thought the steaming sup of tea might get a response, so I ask her a bit more confidently.. "How about a cup of tea?" She looks up from the spread of papers on her desk. "Ya..." Just a "Ya..." for all my efforts. I pull up a chair. The papers come into focus. They are the bank statements of the company for the last few days. "So how are you this morning Devanshi?"
I get a cold stare from her. "I hope you know what you are doing Nishchay." Ah, the first words; But I am a bit puzzled. "I am not sure what you are talking about."

"The reserve fund has been used, boss... whats the news?"

"Oh that, ya I had used it to buy a hot tip I got the other day about this stock.. "

"M.G. Cotton Mills? have never heard of this company, Nischay!"

"None had heard about Dhirubhai before he made it big... "

"Dont take undue risks, we are giving our investors our promised interest arent we?"
"Ya, but this stock is doing really great... on the rise for 3 days now... have already booked a profit on 10% of the shares... good margins."

"I still see a risk here, there is still no clear background i can gather..."
"Hey, whats life without a risk huh? Still i have worked out the percentages here, there is minimum risk. The shares are really low priced and the only way is up... "

She gives me a real examining look and says, "Hope you know what you are doing here. The board will want to know things if there is a problem.""Hey dont worry..."

Something begins to weigh on me. Why was she so inquisitve? Have made lots of transactions before, with equal risk... but why was this particular case questioned?

to be continued...

Quality?!!? What is that??

2006-06-07T19:59:00.000-07:00

Price... now thats one thing I understand.

Under the influence

2006-06-03T02:49:00.000-07:00

How do we end up buying things that are clearly overpriced. How do we end up buying a pair of jeans so expensive that you might as well leave the price tag on ... just to show off to your friends. The trick is a great display and an inviting ambience. You end up not looking at the price tag before you buy. The store has your entire trust. These guys are not making any profit off me... they are just doing me a big favour by making my shopping experience so much easier.

In actual fact, they have just dumped all their work onto you. You do the walking around, you do the price comparison, you pick up the stuff .... and you wait in long lines to get it billed. All this takes almost 2 hours of your precious time, when the same thing could have been done in half the time, if a shopkeeper was attending to you in one of the small shops you see in your neighbourhood.

The fact is you dont want to go to a small shop where there is no kind of display, no modern class, no entertainment and you need to put up with a cheap crowd. You would much rather go to a big showroom and spend some quality time with your family. There is a notion that big stores are fair in their dealings. This could be offered by a small store too, but there is no gaurantee.

The influence of presentation and the impressions created go a long way in promoting a retail outlet.

A warning though : Shopping under the influence could be injurious to your bank account.

cheers

Queues

2006-06-03T02:40:00.000-07:00

Q please. Indians and queues never go hand in hand. There is an age old repulsion. Let the queue be there who cares, it isnt for us. Its only for the dunces in it. Who needs it when you have the natural ability to wrestle your way to the front in any case. Guess it is from standing in those long BMTC and rail ticket counter queue. You can never be sure of your place in the queue. Suddenly micheal and kimi pull a fast one on you in a triple overtaking manouver. You are just in left gasping in their dust. From last to first in the matter of a few seconds, that too i had a head start.

God bless them.

cheers

Strange

2006-05-18T09:40:00.000-07:00

Its strange how you can sometimes have the most fun with people you have just met. The connections fall into place, not too many misunderstandings. Things are exciting, fun, sometimes exhilarating. Hi, this is my cousin from pune, kajal. You are not quite sure of how to behave, cause you dont know if your normal behaviour sets in well with her. Is she the easy going type or the finicky type. The first few moments are really awkward. The 7up in your hand is beggin to be drunk before it fizzles into the hot summer air. You answer her questions as politely as possible all smiles. Its not so bad.. see. Then you think what the hell, I have known her only for 2 mins how bad can things get. You loosen up a bit and start coming back to your normal self and begin to drink your now saccrine laden water. Just then you choke and spill the contents of the glass all over the place... people begin to laugh. The colour of your face begins to match her red dress. You make some excuse and try to get away from there as fast as possible. If only i had another chance.

You talk to her the next time you meet her. She gives you a sweet smile and you think "... its not so bad". One can only be human. The mundane comes to an end. You plan to go out with your friend and cousin and a whole lot of other people who have already had the pleasure of laughing at your expense. You pull off a few smart ones... start getting a bit confident. A few pranks are played on you. You take it nicely, smiling all the time. People begin to gravitate toward you. You love the attention... you are again yourself. What you should have been in the very first place.. and people like you anyway.

This journey of self discovery and the discovery of another, as it might be, is probably what is exciting. The inhibitions fall off one by one. You begin to make connections between the new and fimiliar, making you comfortable. Guess this happens because the same thing is happening to the other person too. The insecurity spills out and the other person picks up on it, trying to make you comfortable. You enjoy each others company.

Wish you too meet someone new everyday.

cheers

Hey wheres the remote

2006-05-01T10:55:00.000-07:00

Ouch.. my ears hurt... wheres that god damn remote when you need it... why the hell isnt it responding.. what!! the battries are dead!!! .. hey i just changed them last week... must be all the food getting jammed into the button panel... oh god damn it I'll just have to get up and hit the sound - button on the set. phew... finally.. relief. Imagine you are watching your favourite daily 'K' soap and are really concentrating hard as to what the really hot chick has to say... when the suspense builds up and suddenly the whole set erupts into "Washing powder Nirma... Washing powder Nirma"... that too without warning and you run for cover... you are still figuring out your next move, when Rahul Dravids screams at the top of his lungs "Rohit Brush Karo".... you think "what the hell do these take us for .. snakes.. its not like we listen to the TV by feeling the vibrations from the ground.... ".

Making an impact is one thing. But disturbing the peace and bliss of watching your daily soap is totally obsecene. These guys should atleast have the common sense that there is a level of sound that is normal and then there is the abnormal. Ads need to stand out, but not by being the loudest ones. Donno how effective this stratergy is, but I think it must really work well on thick skinned buffalos. Well how would you define thick skinned, I leave to a future date... a future blog...

Be kind to your ears..

cheers

Namit on the web

2006-04-14T13:26:00.000-07:00

My first footprints on the world wide web... wondering what words belong here. This blog is meant to house a few words which i think are wroth sharing with you. Hope to see some stimulating activity on this virtual space, since the activity in the real space is slowly turning mundane. Some thoughts that pop up in the middle of a busy day, which are otherwise lost in the labyrynth of the thousands of tasks already overloading the mind, are what i hope to capture in this blog. Could be anything from music to business to outer space. Just let your imagination do the talking.

Blog on...

Cheers,
Namit