Another side of life

Rowing across ups n down of life so far, I am now to the 2nd part- I am married! Life has added a new avenue; nothing is unshared anymore. Some say its loss of freedom other see it as sense of togetherness. Whatever! everyone is free for his/her perception and I am just trying to realise the change. Travelled north to east finding both side of relatives trying to speak each other languages to show acceptance for the change.

Gent-trip

Had a trip to Belgium yesterday for an interaction. Its amazing here in Western Europe with country setup like this; a 2.5 hrs journey in train and I was in different country without formalities. Well one more country added to my portfolio of visited country and mostly probably a country shortly moving to live-in (not sure at this point). More dry but greener than Netherlands, it is city of students (almost 30 %), so with a very young population like Delft where I started my dwelling abroad . I liked the new place, lets see what is there in future!

Gandhian to be great?

Its great to Gandhian! but does it mean that, to be great you have be Gandhian?! Now-a-day media debates about Anna Hazare in India at-least believe in same. I never understand how Gandhian can be such a hardliner where you have no space to fuse it with other successful ideologies whom you believe in unless they are not notoriously successful. In a youth summit Chetan Bhagat talked about the same apprehension about himself asking not to called him Youth Icon. First people and media labels the person as a particular kind of Icon and later the same sources start demanding and questioning, 'If you are icon why don't you behave like this; If you are icon how can you did this!' Anna Hazare is becoming victim of the same maze. I wish he ignores it all. A person of his status doesn't need a label to be great.

Jobs-less world

Sometime back while an interview in NASSCOM Bangalore Guy Kawasaki, Former chief evangelist of Apple Computers said that statistically speaking India should have atleast four Steve Jobs. Since then and now, when world has lost its one and only Steve Jobs, the question remains that what makes Steve Jobs...the determination for perfection or something else? Very contradicting views and answers to this can be found from his pre-success colleagues. But one thing can be said about Steve's life without controversy that his life path extraordinarily tortuous, esp. to be a world class technology entrepreneur when he was busy looking for spiritual visit to India in a age when we all learn basics of science and technology. Whatever! his fair existence and impact to the world was not just a chance or a miracle; he was great in all what he did. He was certainly and extraordinary visionary to beat all the extraordinarily tortuous paths of his life. Apple computers in guidance of Jobs sold the dreams, the i-Dreams in form of products which could have only been the dream without him.

Job's world will miss you as an entrepreneur, as a visionary and a person who can inspire many more!

Time flies

Yet another year passed and a very special day of my life is back. I don't know how to say it special in bitter way; its now end of 2nd year without my mother...how to say it special in good way as well as it is start of 8th year on my blog...no comparability between two either. Well, the day started with walking around in the Leiden city to find some flowers for my mother. It is Sunday morning and except churches nothing is open today. Well, I wanted to get something anyhow n reached till church..a man stopped me, asking do you believe in God.I said 'no and I am busy now'. Some people still try here to find someone who can come in church for Sunday prayer, otherwise they are nothing different than monuments. Anyway, I walked but can't see a shop still while mind was busy cooking this question. My mother was great believer of God and I was great agnostic. There is lot of unanswered questions for life which leaves you with God, but beyond these Q&A, its hard to be believer. He or she is creator and everything goes by his (her) wish only, as temples, churches, mosque and more over our mother told us. I think even if there is someone who did it all, he (she) lost his (her) remote control after switching ON the whole system. Also, as across the religion people believe in preaching, it seems God must be someone who was Sarkari babu in past and got the position by deputation. So he can't do anything by his own vision unless, is requested politely n bribed (chadhawa) to the worst. I don't want to be funny, I am serious! If there is God, how he(she) can tolerate so much of malfunction in the system and does nothing except to add some more in it from time to time.

Whatever! I can't find an answer to it anyway..so lets hope that the next time when I will be sitting for this occasion I will have a better reason to believe in God and celebrate the existence.

How many Kalam's

Saw the movie I am Kalam today. I was nice experience. I always believed in vision n movie was the thought provoking for the same. I loved the way it was put forward through a kid. In a time when we are all pointing fingers on each other only the true dreamers n walk-out n make their own way. Kalam is certainly the icon of the same. He proved how when nothing is in favor of you how to fight back n prove yourself..how to have a vision and follow it with all strength. Few years back I read that vision without action is mere dream, looking on Kalam we know man without dream is no human..ofcourse it needs a dare to follow it. We are country full of people with dream, country full of Kalam's.  

Jugad to Management.

Its hard to find exact match for Indian word Jugad in any English dictionaries, but it is something in genetic code of people of Indian origin. It was in news today that people of Indian origin are getting leading management positions in top most companies of the world, It is not just the sign of acceptance of Indian talent in world market but also the growing impact of Indians across the world. But, looking inside the country although the number of engineering and management colleges have increased almost with the same exponential rate, the quality of education has gone down with the same rate as well. In this case natural talents, although lesser nourished manage to become engineer and manager and mostly manager after engineer. And this is creating a big problem also. Systems cannot be always run on jugad, at some point we need people hard in basics, who worked hard in their past to understand it rather than just mugged up the jugad notes to manage to be engineers-managers. This big fleet of untrained jugad mangers are going to be bring a new challenge to the country.

Problem of Satisfied Civilisation

India as a civilisation, which had great history of innovation and conceptualisation has acted like dumb in last 500 years. We have been suffering from food-to-mouth disease for all these centuries despite of all pride carried from past. Lot of changes happened in society; some were to counter its own anomalies developed in these days but lesser were driven by internal will power to make a mark. We are taught right from basics that “Santosham paramam sukham” (Contentment is the highest bliss) and sooner or later we all learn to believe it. Some places its a good teaching, but who is going to tell that..it not all. What is not good in life should not be answered always with contentment, we need to find the solution. This lack for effort often lead to solutions of our problem by others unrelated which lacks effectiveness. Local problems always need local solutions or atleast customization of global solution. Our constitution is one good example of one such solution which is good but how many holes are there we all see in daily life. As a satisfied customer we couldn't find even the right solutions, and fail to explore the possibilities in the right perspective.

Therefore we as a civilisation it is time for us to keep our learnings of contentment aside to become discontent and find solutions for our problems. Problems like hunger, drought, corruption, flood and mis-management of natural resources cannot be solved without local initiative. We can find the solution of all the problem if we can find the solution to the problem of satisfied civilisation.

Listening Inside First!

US nabbed and as said killed Osama...big to small all cadres of people in India started jumping high on their chairs, ‘why not we can do it?’ Same happens to other issues like solving issues related to Bhopal tragedy, disclosure of black money in foreign banks, getting permanent seat in UN Security Council etc etc. We always keep on complaining that others are not listening to us even though we are big enough country atleast in terms of number to not to be ignored. Well, we have been crying and will keep crying as its now part of our culture. But amazingly we never try to ask the same question from us that are we listening to our own people and acting on those grounds where we and only we are suppose to act? After independence of more than half of the decade we still living with problem of hunger, homelessness, illiteracy, corruption at all level, discrimination based on every fringe of society and all that which stops the common man to live a common life! We are simple pointing fingers on others without looking on us. India first needs to make its own bones and veins strong to let the world understand its capabilities and without which all outcries are just an attempt to remove sour out of throat.

Relax you are Secular!

It was Good Friday here in NL so as was in India; Chirstians are majority here in NL and very-less in India; But it was working day here in NL and holiday in India. Every little reason in India converts into public holiday..someone born, somebody died..and if nothing let all take a bath n a holiday for that. And if anything do for masses is give them a reason for holiday. India as a country of religious diversity its amazingly stupid that a reason for holiday for merely 1-3% of the population stops the work life of 97% and they all don't work for no reason. As a country if it is tried to be reasionable and stop it, its going to be a big debate.  People trying for it will be labelled communal, not respecting other religion. Its a big mess where workmanship is less preached than religion..so just relax you got to be secular!

The Richer Journey

We all want to be rich; even those with all form of richness want to be even more rich. Some find it in material world, some in spiritual. And it comes on the cost of all the moment you would have lived without the desire of that richness. So is that the real richness we want for our life...my answer is certainly no. Life is a journey and if that whole journey is not rich, no other form of richness can give that satisfaction. But what is that richness? In my eyes, is the feeling of living our present in full and a conserved memories of past for every single thing you did to make life beautiful. And that richness is always a journey, where you feel the riches of life in form all what you have gone and going through. It sounds very spiritual but in my version its more like living yourself in more consciousness; nothing more! without any additions or reduction in the current life form...just to enjoy the richer journey.

The spirit of giving all

Saw an interview of AR Rahman, this morning on NDTV. It was like listening to my own vision for life although much more to be done to live that vision in me as I am not a legend (btw I don't need to tell that either ). He was talking about the artistic need for distruction of self ego which I believe to be as much needed in anyother walk of life. I think there is a very thin line between pride and proud. The pride is very much needed for any quality creation but nothing can be as toxic as being proud as it very soon takes your control out of you. The other important thing I liked was when he spoke about the readiness to give and its importance for sustained richness in professional achievement. The more you give the more you get should also be mantra for life, because if we just try to retain the knowledge or skill we have in ourself within us, it is going to make us stagnant. Unless we leave the previous ground we can never move to the next ground, the common physical phenomena we see n do every day. All we need to understand that, same is true even for the other parts of life also. Believe in you, your luck-destiny-thrust whatever you feel-like, and give away your current best to move forward..you will get next best and don't stop there.

Dreams and the realities

Sitting on San Francisco Airport for the way back to Amsterdam. It was amazing experience with lot of learning, fun and syndication. The idea of Think Big was reflecting everywhere in Silicon valley in form of entrepreneur implementing every crappy to wonderful ideas at big scale. Same time, it was also an opportunity to see the shallowness of big American dream and culture. Lot of people where lying in streets and surprisingly much more elderly people on Friday nights begging when rest of the city of which I was also part was trying to explore night-life of San Francisco. The big rift between the two parts of same society exists unlike any part of world despite of huge money flow in the system. Whatever, my feeling for now is that, although whole lot of realities and dreams of life are waiting on the other side of the ocean, San Francisco we will meet again. 

Finally in Valley of Dreams

So finally i reached to Silicon Valley after a year later than expected. But, year later than never, and my entrepreneurial spirit got a boost with the feeling that, success may come late but it does comes we don't give up. Only that its not like last year for me, was not so excited right from start as uncertainties were lingering more than  feeling of being here if I succeed from past year experience. But whatever, once I am here I can feel it happened really and my real dreams for life would not be dreams always n I am not far from them either if I would be persistent towards them. The valley boy still needs to emerge, and coming days will give some more lessons and energy.

Bunch of Buggers!

Cultural diversity isn't something to be proud. It shows how u historically failed to develop infrastructure to bring cultural fusion. It was a thought from one of my friend on facebook which was an open discussion thereafter with lot of counter-acting comments. It is quite thought provoking for me too also because only few weeks back I had read “2 States” by Chetan Bhagat. Whatever, I was somehow very much agreed to the thought and also because of my understanding of the cultural diversity and current exposure to the western society, which makes me think that. The whole concept of diversity not just exists because of geographical but social regions. We in India although are very social, our priorities and actions in life are not governed by personal expectations from life and basic Maslow’s needs but are controlled by others dreams and social rules. So, there are more walls than bridges. Historically because of some driven interests and comfort of choosing less-challenging path have not just thicken these walls but also made more and more inside. This social behaviour is exactly opposite in the western open society concept which is somehow more challenging but more realistic with respect to acceptance of basic human needs. And so diversities are not controlled by social limits but just local conditions. 

Anyway, western influence is increasing in india. But its important for our societies under transition to understand there is something more to learn from west beyond McDonalds, Pepsi, Pizza, Rock music and all…we need whole lot of buggers across the society who are convinced that lame-old rules are needed to be broken, some new are to be established to give a fresh breath for society. Its a process and somewhere it has started too...