Friday, March 16, 2012

Proust Questionnaire - I am!!

My blog greets me early Saturday morning with the message "24 Posts, last published on Nov 7, 2011 ". Again, "NOV 7 2011". Its been 5 months since i wrote and i say writing is my passion. bah!!so i thought i would get back to track with something different, not by writing an article. but by answering a questionnaire. A lot of people have asked me which paper i read at home and i told them TOI. More popularly know as TOI-let paper now, i let go of that Indian version of playboy and switched to The Hindu, which i thought was the banal, 'retire'd-hurt paper.But i realized Hindu has a lot more to offer when it comes to appealing to the senses rather than your libido (Read TOI). So, this sets the context for my next article, rather the questionnaire i would be answering thanks to Saturday Hindu. Also, encouraging more people to switch to The Hindu!

Proust questionnaire(The Proust Questionnaire is a questionnaire about one's personality. Its name and modern popularity as a form of interview is owed to the responses given by the French writer Marcel Proust.)

with Srinath Narasimhan


1.Your favorite virtue
Walk the talk, lead by example!

2.Your chief characteristic
Humor

3.What you appreciate the most in your friends
Simplicity and openness

4.Your favorite occupation.
Teaching

5.Your idea of happiness
Living a life without fear, living the present and enjoying every moment of it.

6.If not yourself, who would you be?
A Buddha – the teacher

7.Where would you like to live?
Where there is peace, A place where the air smiles

8.Your favorite authors.
Robin Sharma, Chetan Bhagat.

9.Your heroes in real life.
My grandma-Lalitha, My maama-cdr. M Nirmal, Dad-babu, mother-Uma and brother Saranath.

10.Your favorite food and drink.
Rasam, Mentya kozambhu and curd rice.slurp!!!!!Drink would be some cold water, aha! Nothing like cold water.

11.Your favorite names.
Cheeni, Pitta, Nandu, Anandha, nandha-gopal Oh! the list goes on... (nama-karnam happens on a ad-hoc basis. thank you mommmy-daddy!)

12.What you hate the most.
Immaturity – I despise that most in myself

13.The natural talent you'd like to be gifted with
Being an eloquent speaker

14.What is your present state of mind?
Present moment, wonderful moment.

15.Your favorite qualities in a man.
Respect for Women.

16.Your favorite qualities in a woman.
Maturity

17.Your idea of misery.
Living every moment with fear in your mind.

18.What do you dislike most about your appearance?
Well, where do I start?

19.When and where were you happiest?
Home, with my 3 favorite people- mom ,dad and brother. Would I go to the moon? I would rather stay home.

20.Your favorite motto.
It’s not who are underneath, It’s what you do that defines you

Monday, November 7, 2011

Hours, Minutes and seconds-My first to Tirupati: Land of the Devoted

4th November, I was off. The 11:15 Mercedes benz bus took off to tirupati. The bus was anything but what the tagline says;”Sleep like a baby”. Not a very comfortable option, its speed is the only reason you must opt for it. The bus reached around 3:45 early morning. We had booked a room at this place called VIP residency near koralagunta road. This is a decent , well-priced hotel. A number of autos (No meters, the auto driver serves its purpose with random number generation) are available and transport should be no real problem.

After a cold shower, we were off at about 6:30.Reached Alipiri, which is the bottom of the tirumala hills. Ready for the trek of a lifetime, ready for the wait of a lifetime.3650 steps and some beautiful roads wait for us along our path. The first few steps were quite fast, but slowly the weariness begins to set in. There are a number of stone slabs along the way to take a breather and continue. Well constructed shades to protect you from the sun and the rains, a respect to the pilgrim. Along the climb I notice a lot of interesting things. Pilgrims applying kumkum and turmeric powder to every step and they said they would do it for all 3650 steps, some were lighting camphor (karpura) at every step (3650 camphors; That’s some devotion).I came across old people who were climbing like they knew no rest, I came across young folks who ate anything and everything on their way and resting like there was no tomorrow. What truly hit me was when I saw a women carrying a full cylinder to her shop which is I presume was a 2000 steps from the bottom. I had absolutely no words, so I too, like all the rest in the crowd blankly stared at her with a deep awe and a heavy heart. The first 2000 steps were not something of a challenge. But the ones that came later were something like this- “\”. Jus straight UP. Now, this was one climb. Tiring you away with each step you take. Beautiful roads with hills on either side was a magnificent treat to the eye. Crystal clear water dripping heavily from the hills at the side was an icing on the cake. The climb taught me a lot along the way.

Then came “The wait”; Not long surprisingly. Tirupati and crowd are two sides of the same coin. One can never really complain about the crowd. Some places you have to stand in the long serpentine like queue while some other places like the waiting rooms (I call it flood gates) give your legs the much needed rest. Once the rooms are open, the pilgrims rush to be the first to join another queue. It is indeed a flood of pilgrims once the gates are thrown open. The wait doesn’t end there, in fact it has just begun. You are then led into a over-bridge and then into the altern where beautiful hyms play at the background adding to the peace. Of-course there is always the “Yedu Kondala Vada Venkataramana Govinda Govindaa” shouts from the pilgrims. The time in the temple is a matter of seconds to say the least. The lord does leave you with some sort of a vibration in those very few seconds. Once you are in there, all that your teary-eyes (mine was) see are the lord. A breathtaking sight. It is the pull and push from the volunteers there that brings your mind back, along with the heart slowly following like it never wanted to leave the place. Well worth the wait. Happiness and a longing to go back again was the only feeling inside me. Then came the “Hundi” ,the reason why the temple in one of the richest in the world. I have come to believe most of this is being spent on development of the city and ease of the pilgrims. From what I saw, I must agree with all my heart.

Coming back down was by a car, for you would need great will-power and enormous stamina to walk back down. Back to tirupati from thirumala and the city is abuzz with pilgrims and cleanly shaved heads. The much needed rest comes with the night’s sleep.

The next day covered the local temples, Padmavathi and Govindarajaswamy. The temples add to the beauty of the well-developed city. We take the 6 PM evening bus and reach Bangalore at about 11:30 with a half an hour stoppage for dinner. The normal Volvo bus is a comfortable option. Do not go in for fancy taglines. Taglines that say “A government of India initiative” serve the purpose really well .I am back home with a bag full of laddus, some marapachi toys and a heart filled with happiness, content and of-course a lil bit of the longing to go back lurking in the corner.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Revolution 2020-Chetan Bhagat: My Take

This was one book that I waited for like no other, except perhaps for Harry Potter(Dad being a catalyst here because I was never a reader then)so I waited and the day came, 7th October 2011.I rushed back from office to get a copy for myself and finished it in about 5-6 hours.

Now, I was never a Chetan Bhagat fan. I was persuaded to read his books by a friend and happened to start off with 2 States. Then the other 3, three mistakes of my life one night at a call center and of course the very best Five point someone in quick succession. I think my pace got faster with each book for they were brilliant to say the least. This guy was one guy who got me glued to the book like no other author.

Coming to the latest book Revolution 2020, the book starts off in typical Chetan Bhagat style with someone narrating (The Narrator) the story of his life to him. It is an all-together different idea compared to his previous books though, giving you a very different feel and experience as you read through. Love.Corruption.Ambition as the tagline for the book goes is really apt. The book is a mixture of all the 3, love taking the center-stage here. It then goes on about how the narrator goes on to explain how his life began and all the ups and downs and how finally a Politician comes into his life and that’s how the entire Corruption part unravels. Coming to the Ambition part where I feel Chetan Bhagat has not quite left a great impact, It is how 2 different guys (The narrator and his friend) go about with their lives, each filled with more struggles compared to the other and a lot of downs through their journey. But who gets out of all this fulfilling his ambition and passion is the real case; A case that is really hard to resolve. Love like I said takes center-stage with Chetan’s description of the girl like in all other books getting a tad bit boring; considering it has been quite similar in the other books too. But definitely not something the true Indian in would complain about. The mixture like I said is how all the 3, Love, Corruption and Ambition meet and the big parts they play throughout the lives in the book. The last few pages are something to look out for with deep concentration because it is there that you need to decide how you look at the entire story. The books concludes asking the reader to decide who the protagonist really is. That is the catch for it does leave you a little confused and definitely leaves you thinking.

Conclusion:
This book like all of Chetan Bhagat’s books is worth the read. But I would have been really happy if he had stressed more on Ambition and Corruption and leave the reader wondering how he/she could bring about a real change. What better time to leave the message than this, when our political system is in such tatters. I was left thinking more about the love part, again considering the true Indian inside of me.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Work before work

Finished a big phase of learning in the form of engineering and i know all those peers of mine would really laugh off hearing "Engineering and learning" in the same sentence.nevertheless like my mom said yesterday,nothing you do is a real waste of time.it always ends up teaching you something.a very valid point!all that matters is the learning at the end of the day and it from this quest to learn success comes knocking.I'm entering another big phase;into the corporate world,come 18th July and i know this is going to be the biggest learning curve of 'em all;The true test,not only of my learning all these years,but my character.so my next post is about this article i came across in my mail.i immediately got it printed out for a everyday glance and i want to share it with you all.so here goes-I would like to call it the 'FORTUNE 50'

1. You are not just paid to work. You are paid to be uncomfortable – and to pursue projects that scare you.
2. Take care of your relationships and the money will take care of itself.
3. Lead you first. You can’t help others reach for their highest potential until you’re in the process of reaching for yours.
4. To double your income, triple your rate of learning.
5. While victims condemn change, leaders grow inspired by change.
6. Small daily improvements over time create stunning results.
7. Surround yourself with people courageous enough to speak truthfully about what’s best for your organization and the customers you serve.
8. Don’t fall in love with your press releases.
9. Every moment in front of a customer is a moment of truth (to either show you live by the values you profess – or you don’t).
10. Copying what your competition is doing just leads to being second best.
11. Become obsessed with the user experience such that every touchpoint of doing business with you leaves people speechless. No, breathless.
12. If you’re in business, you’re in show business. The moment you get to work, you’re on stage. Give us the performance of your life.
13. Be a Master of Your Craft. And practice + practice + practice.
14. Get fit like Madonna.
15. Read magazines you don’t usually read. Talk to people who you don’t usually speak to. Go to places you don’t commonly visit. Disrupt your thinking so it stays fresh + hungry + brilliant.
16. Remember that what makes a great business – in part – are the seemingly insignificant details. Obsess over them.
17. Good enough just isn’t good enough.
18. Brilliant things happen when you go the extra mile for every single customer.
19. An addiction to distraction is the death of creative production. Enough said.
20. If you’re not failing regularly, you’re definitely not making much progress.
21. Lift your teammates up versus tear your teammates down. Anyone can be a critic. What takes guts is to see the best in people.
22. Remember that a critic is a dreamer gone scared.
23. Leadership’s no longer about position. Now, it’s about passion. And having an impact through the genius-level work that you do.
24. The bigger the dream, the more important the team.
25. If you’re not thinking for yourself, you’re following – not leading.
26. Work hard. But build an exceptional family life. What’s the point of reaching the mountaintop but getting there alone.
27. The job of the leader is to develop more leaders.
28. The antidote to deep change is daily learning. Investing in your professional and personal development is the smartest investment you can make. Period.
29. Smile. It makes a difference.
30. Say “please” and “thank you”. It makes a difference.
31. Shift from doing mindless toil to doing valuable work.
32. Remember that a job is only just a job if all you see it as is a job.
33. Don’t do your best work for the applause it generates but for the personal pride it delivers.
34. The only standard worth reaching for is BIW (Best in World).
35. In the new world of business, everyone works in Human Resources.
36. In the new world of business, everyone’s part of the leadership team.
37. Words can inspire. And words can destroy. Choose yours well.
38. You become your excuses.
39. You’ll get your game-changing ideas away from the office versus in the middle of work. Make time for solitude. Creativity needs the space to present itself.
40. The people who gossip about others when they are not around are the people who will gossip about you when you’re not around.
41. It could take you 30 years to build a great reputation and 30 seconds of bad judgment to lose it.
42. The client is always watching.
43. The way you do one thing defines the way you’ll do everything. Every act matters.
44. To be radically optimistic isn’t soft. It’s hard. Crankiness is easy.
45. People want to be inspired to pursue a vision. It’s your job to give it to them.
46. Every visionary was initially called crazy.
47. The purpose of work is to help people. The other rewards are inevitable by-products of this singular focus.
48. Remember that the things that get scheduled are the things that get done.
49. Keep promises and be impeccable with your word. People buy more than just your products and services. They invest in your credibility.
50. Lead Without a Title.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Anbe sivam

Anbe sivam is a Tamil movie which came out in early 2003,the title means "Love is god".one of my all time favorite movies.It has this one beautiful song,the meaning of which i would like to share with all of you.
This is the original tamil lyrics:-song title:Anbe sivam
Yaar yaar sivam? nee naan sivam
vaazhvae thavam, anbae sivam

aathigam pesum adiyaarkellaam sivamae anbaagum
nathigam pesum nallavarukkoe anbae sivamaagum

anbae sivam anbae sivam yendrum
anbae sivam anbae sivam yengum
anbae sivam anbae sivam yendrum
anbae sivam anbae sivam yengum

yaar yaar sivam? nee naan sivam
vaazhvae thavam, anbae sivam

yaar yaar sivam? nee naan sivam
vaazhvae thavam, anbae sivam

idhayam yenbadhu sadhaidhaan yendraal yerithalal thindruvidum
anbin karuvi idhayam yendraal saavai vendruvidum

anbae sivam anbae sivam yendrum
anbae sivam anbae sivam yengum
anbae sivam anbae sivam yendrum
anbae sivam anbae sivam yengum

yaar yaar sivam? nee naan sivam

anbin paathai serndhavanukku mudivae illaiyadaa
manadhin neelam yedhuvoe adhuvae vaazhvin neelamada

anbae sivam anbae sivam yendrum
anbae sivam anbae sivam yengum
anbae sivam anbae sivam yendrum
anbae sivam anbae sivam yengum

The English traslation:-
Who here is god? You and me…
Life is a penance… Love is god…

For the theists, God is love…
For the good among atheists, Love is the only god…

Love is god… Love is god always…
Love is god… Love is god everywhere…
Love is god… Love is god always…
Love is god… Love is god everywhere…

Who here is god? You and me…
Life is a penance… Love is god…

If the heart is made only of muscles, then it will be consumed by fire…
If the heart is the object/made of love, then it conquers death…

Love is god… Love is god always…
Love is god… Love is god everywhere…
Love is god… Love is god always…
Love is god… Love is god everywhere…

Who here is god? You and me…

There is no death/end for the one who follows the path of love….
Length of your life/legend will last on how broad your mind is….

Love is god… Love is god always…
Love is god… Love is god everywhere…
Love is god… Love is god always…
Love is god… Love is god everywhere…