The Buffer theory

Momentum is mass*velocity, Whenever we start solving the mass of our problems quickly, we are said to gain momentum. Be it gaining momentum in our preparations of an exam, or wrapping up unfinished work before going on a long vacation.The Buffer theory states that,
 momentum is a state of mind, a feeling or a certain level of confidence, which the mind has the ability to document in a subconscious buffer. In case we face a situation in the future, the mind has the ability to connect to this buffer of confidence and get into the same level of momentum.
some gyan eh!!. It works at times.

The Giver

When I met the ocean. It roared to me from , behind the walls of the hotel.

I felt as if I was about to be presented before something, or rather someone grand and sacred. Like a king summoning an unknown visitor.I found myself humbled as I admired it from a distance.Huge waves , towered and slapped the rocks with a thunder!! It was bewildering to have imagined the phrase "...a sea of emotions..."(What a magnanimous thing to possess and more to control)...which was now growing inside me.I reluctantly stepped towards the shore, aware of the fact that I was present in front of royalty.
The waves , hit my feet with a gentle force,as if it was the grand sea welcoming the unknown visitor to his territory. It was a good omen. I stood before one of almighty's most  majestic creations ,the sea.
Like an old wise friend he spoke to me, in a deep and strong  voice....
"Calm down my friend...Just calm down.. whroooosh the waves splashed....
"I'm the final destination of unknown rivers, who travel a thousand mile to surrender to me..." whroosh the waves splashed at my feet again.....
"I accept them as they are (their dirt and minerals)..equally and unconditionally...."
For a  moment , I felt like the sea. A similar feeling  we get, when we help someone in need. A feeling that bounds the infinite meaninglessness of life....the feeling of a giver.

The Midas touch

The path is dark, wilderness all around…

A  distance barking dog seems to frown.

The mind lost in qualms, aghast. ……………When it hears a sublime start(of a guitar).

A tune it is that I hold on to…………A jingle of the rock guitar,

Coming from anonymous fingers………… travelling to unknown hearts.

The song has no lyrics, but it whispers wisdom to my soul.

Forming a sync with the thoughts unknown.

Adieus

I quit….for the views were too skewed to wonder….

I quit….for the holy cross bled with thunder ….

The “circum” of the “stances” pushed me to a bottleneck…

Causing great damage and utter wreck….

Thy shalt not mourn old friend of mine…

For the situation here is a bit sublime…..

Farewell!! Fellowmen…my last goodbyes….

Signing off, with a heavy heart and deep sighs.


* PS: this poem is dedicated to Headstrong and my colleagues there.

Follow thy heart...

 “Follow your heart”, is what the final message of all the wisdom in the world is.

Steve Jobs did it. “Stay hungry, Stay foolish” was one of his favorite quotes. Amir Khan is doing it, realizing that he is gifted with success in a field, whereby he can influence a large section of people, coming up with a show that addresses real life problems to the very root. Subhash Chandra Bose did it, when he refused to join the Indian Civil services and dedicating his entire life to the Indian freedom struggle, the history of which does not do justice to his contributions.

As I grow older, I feel the need of following my heart all the more. It’s important for me to do what I really want to do. Of course, it certainly doesn’t mean hurting anyone, (people are becoming less important for me by the day , so I have a confined social circle i.e. small bunch of people who are worth compromising oneself with).

Recently I completed 5000kms of biking. I observed a growing instinct inside me. Being new to the NCR, I’m not aware of all the roads that connect my office to my flat in delhi. Getting stuck in the traffic is the last thing you would want, but it is inevitable in the evenings. The only motivation that keeps me going through the traffic is that, it is the shortest possible distance to my flat. There have been certain days , that out of sheer frustration , I decided to take “the road less travelled”, and it has always been a rewarding experience to find a new route . I try applying the principle of free will to the path that lies ahead of me(while I’m on my bike trying to find a new way). I go by my instinct on every turn. It helps me connect to myself, there are places which are jammed, but I feel like getting inside it’s all instinctive.

This has become a small piece of exercise which I implicitly practice at-least once in 20 days. Like any newbie, I’m nervous and unsure of myself. It’s important to have a good acquaintance with such mental state. There might be graver situations in life, but the feeling of fear and doubt are the same, may be more intense. So I utilize , this exercise to not only get acquainted with such a mental state, but also to help myself come out of it. All it requires is a bit of enthusiasm.

The Travel Blog.

Mountains, valleys, rivers and me….on my bike I drove with thee…
Diving in the abyss, zooming on the highways …..
Stopping on the random shop and the lonely byways (to pee) …
A traveler resides in my soul…which constantly searches for new goals…
where heart meets the head....in harmony with the rest
it swings, it whirls like the movie black pearl...
the pirates,the pistols and the buzzing bee......I'm the etrnal traveler...
of an eternal me.

Delhi is to north, what Bangalore is to south. In terms of location, both these cities lie almost on the same longitude. While Bangalore is a metro, centrally located to South India, same goes for Delhi.

While staying in Delhi, one could plan short car/bike trips to the following places.

West- The Lands of Rajasthan,Gujrat and Haryana lie to the west of Delhi. A weekend trip to Jaipur would be so much fun. Places like Dwarka,Ahemdabad,Jodhpur,Upaidpur,Jaiselmer can be covered over a short vacation. The highways are known to be broad and filled with quality dhabas and eat outs throughout.

South- Nothing much in the South that I have heard of apart from the wonderful six way highway through the Aravalis, connecting Delhi through Faridabad to Chandigarh.

East- Lot many places to explore east of Delhi. Starting from Haradwar, Dehradun,Mussorie, Corbet National Park, which revolves around the tarai region of the river kosi, The eastern terrain extends to Lucknow and Kanpur for an overnight drive. There is two way connectivity. First one being through the legendary grant trunk road, which passes through cities of Aligarh and bareily to reach luck now. But I will not advise this route , since most of the road is broken by heavy trucks and is Jammed most of the times. A surer alternative is the brand new six lane Yamuna Expressway, that starts from Greater Noida, runs parallel to the Yamuna river and ends up in Agra. Imagine spending an ideal weekend by a young couple, celebrating their brand new car on a smooth drive to the adobe of Romance. A definite thing on my bucket list. Another route would be through Mathura,Agra,Etawa,Kanpr,Lucknow. The Highway is in a very good condition, just for the sole reason of being under Mulayam Singh Yadav’s constituency who made sure that roads in his area were good.

Finally North- There are lot many places to visit, North of Delhi. Starting off from Himachal Pradesh, which happens to be one of the most beautiful regions of the country. Mountains here one of the highest and home to places like Shimla and Manali. The land of Punjab and J&K lie beyond this. Places like Amritsar,Kashmir,Leh,Jammu and Chandigarh are some not be missed by the travel freaks.

Being in delhi also gives you a chance to plan a trip to the Holy Vaishno Devi temple and Ajmer Sharif shrine.Not to forget, Delhi itself is home to so many national museums and monuments. As a student , I had explored the region east of delhi extensively, but as for the other places around delhi, the Juice is definitely worth the squeeze J

The High Definition Conscience

I had been watching “Slumdog Millionaire” on my new airtel HD and it was an experience of its kind. Even the minutest boards in the background were visible and the movie made a whole lot of newer sense. But this blog is not about the techno gadgets and the happiness it brings along. It is about something in the movie which I saw that hit me out like a thunder bolt, and what they have shown does happen in reality.


Three orphan kids, clinging to the cliff of survival in the slums of Mumbai are wooed by a couple of “men” as people doing social work for orphans and take them to children’s home. These kids are treated well there, but little do they know that they are being trained for begging and most of their peers shall be operated to blind and lame kids. What barbarism!! and sadly many such abominable things exist, in our utopian society.

It’s time to question ourselves, what’s the point being so ambitious in life. What’s the point running after promotions? , being career oriented? Earning big money. Where is basic humanity in the society we live in , or it just features in the form of NGOs run by the so called youth who want to improve their SOPs while they apply for Harvard and Cornell. What a bunch of fucking hypocrites!

In the midst of all these chaos, there are examples who have done it. Shown us the way of acting like humans.

1. Headstrong –the company I work for contributes INR50 monthly from every employee’s monthly salary for the Kargil relief Fund. This is a company which is defined by dynamic leadership and I saw many scenarios here which give me all the more reason of being with it for a long time.

2. Rajeev Gandhi Cancer Hospital, New Delhi –An oasis in the desert. If you pay for the medicines in cash here, you get 21% discount. Can you imagine what getting a 21% discount on a INR 1 lakh chemo injection would mean to a poor person.

3. Satyamev Jayate- A purely selfless effort by Aamir khan. Hats Off to him.

These were some scenarios, I saw of late, of people, who are dedicated to serve humanity. Imagine the clarity of conscience they enjoy, of being able to do such things rather than planning their application for a B-school. I wonder, if I could enjoy an HD version of my conscience ever.

A Beautiful Night

This is a classical "page from the past". I happened to stumble upon this un-finished article which I had written on March 23rd 2011. It was kept hidden in a remote folder of my computer. I decided to post the unfinished random thoughts as they were....

"It’s a beautiful night, a couple of days  ago we had the supermoon, ironically after many days there is no light in my room. I could see the all-out bulb flickering against the low voltage and finally fading into darkness.

But the night has something magical about itself. A feeling of calmness and security covers me like a small boy pulling a fur coat from his closet, in the eastern European winter and wrapping it around looks outside, at the camp-fire lit by his friends, feeling the warmth through the glass window.

After a long time, I feel like writing about health and happiness. Life and well being, freedom and fun.

These are good times, it’s a beautiful night...."

and I wrote the following lines...

Her eyes had a glitter, of a free soul…

Shrinking while she grinned with the dimpled role……..

Her laughter,her expressions,her scent and her hair…….synced like the piano, playing a dream (which is) rare……

 she jumps and runs ,like a doe on a ramp…

Running through the forest, in the wild calm…..

I follow her through the woods, across the highs and lows…

into the deep mountains and seas which roar……….

But mountains are too high and seas are filled with sharks,

Climbing and swimming them in poetry ,is like scratching your head for a better line :D

“La Belle dame sans Merci: is what Mr.Keats said, after his pursuit of the rampant doe….

The Messiah of Indian Economy: Dr. Manmohan Singh (License Raj to Open ended economy the story)

The following had happened.

Morgan Stanley was the largest foreign investment source prior to 1991, as not many players were allowed into Indian markets due to License Raj.

Assuming it brought $100 million to invest in Indian markets in March 1990.

This $100 million was converted to INR and invested in downstream markets. Assuming the then exchange rate was $1=35INR. Hence INR (35*100) million was invested.

Now at the end of the financial year, Collections were made by Morgan Stanley in INR. Assuming it made INR (40*100) million as collections. This seems to be a profit, But Morgan Stanley needed to convert this in dollars for correct estimation.

Assuming the exchange rate in March 1991 to be $1=INR 45.

Therefore collection in dollars = (40*100)/45 million = $ 88 million in March 1991

Hence a loss was made by Morgan Stanley, although the numbers in INR appeared as if it had made a profit.

Consequences: Morgan Stanley decided not to re-invest in the Indian markets and decided to take back whatever dollars it was left with.

This lead to dearth of dollars in the Indian markets in turn leading to increase in demand of dollars.

RBI met the rising demand of dollars by injecting dollars from it’s own treasury and sucking out rupees in turn as per the then exchange rate. The demand of dollars was met, but RBI and Indian treasury was left with very little foreign currency.

A below margin foreign currency is an alarm,as the govt would not have had enough resources to meet the Govt debt (also known as Public or National debt) which is an indirect debt of the tax payers. Higher the debt, higher the taxes the countrymen will have to pay. i.e. The Indian markets were sinking in a financial catastrophe and the Income Tax rates would have risen like hell, making the lives of the common man miserable.
(Further reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_debt)

It was at this time that Dr.Manmohan Singh joined office as the Finance minister under P.V. Narsimha Rao's govt and played a master stroke. He made a major decision of making Indian markets open to foreign players, So that it becomes easier for foreign players to invest in Indian markets by giving dollars to RBI. 

Hats off to Dr. Manmohan Singh!!. Not many know why he is such a genius. 

It is very tragic indeed why, so many people mock and make fun of such great people. Few would know , that without such a path-breaking and bold decision, the present India, which we are so very boastful of would never have existed. Brands, technology and international exposure wouldn't have been so easily available. It's an irony that the Indian youth is quick to pass their opinions and judgement without even knowing or understanding , the foundations and people behind the success of things which they are so proud of. 

An Engineer’s Ahoy…

Hi Beta1- why do you want to do engineering?

Beta1- Unkil Unkil, because I want to get into IIT and then do MBA from IIM.

WTFFFFFF…………….grrrrrrrrrrrrr……wrrraaaaaa…….

But sadly this has been the story of majority of Indian Middle class Junta for decades. Yes, this is the bechara ladke se mard  transition phase of the poor middle class Indian boy, who now faces a challenge of holding on to his innocence while finding a place for himself in the Big bad world. (Yes guys have innocence as well, have a heart.)

If the same question would have been put to Beta2, he would have replied as:

Beta2- Unkil Unkil because I want to settle in US and earn money like anything.Well that makes more sense. Nothing wrong in that? After all we work for money, and people who cannot make it to US out of jealousy accuse the Beta2 breed of all kind of things.

This write-up is an attempt to explore an engineer’s life after engineering, when he gets into the real world. I, myself had the same confusion of what to do after engineering. I’ll put myself in the Beta3 category who consider engineering as an option safe enough for the future, or are unable to decide their career path.

No matter how hard we might try to follow Buddha’s middle path of peaceful co-existence between suffering and happiness, there are times when mere mortals like me, have to make a choice, a very important one, the one being that of a career.Enlightened by my previous mistake of having opted for Engineering in IT in-spite of being very good in Physics (I discovered my passion later for mechanical engg), I did not want to commit the same mistake and thankfully was selected for a long distance Management Development Program from IIM-C. I was yet to make my mind for higher studies. And I took my time to decide the same. Through this program, I wanted to explore myself, as to what exactly is taught in an MBA course and what kind of Jobs do we land up into after an MBA. The results were an eye opener. As per my understanding the following specialization would lead to following job roles:

1.       Finance: A very interesting subject. Most people eye for investment banking jobs, which involve trading of financial securities in equity, fixed income, forex, derivatives market. Creating different types of financial instruments, for different types of customers.

2.       Marketing: Like finance, is common to all the companies. Marketing of Product to Marketing of services. Job profile may vary from, trying to increase the sales of a product like lifebuoy soap in some remote village to promote and sell the IPOs of a newly listed company, whose underwriting has been taken by a Wells Fargo or Standard Charter.

3.       Operations Management:  How to manage an inventory of Hyundai cars, how to manage the supply chain of United Breweries? How to manage the operations of Infosys in APAC region.

4.       HR – Any well to do guy would love to have his wife as a HR manager.  The windows 7 of management, HR managers are young beautiful eves who speak fluent English. That is my understanding of HR management.

5.       IT- Of late , IT has been offered as one of the subjects in MBAs but in the subsequent discussion we shall try to figure out as to why, IT is the back bone of any industry and it is impossible to learn the tricks of the industry through text books.

6.       Strategy- involves gyan on Merger and acquisition, corporate law etc.

Having had a bit of exposure of management subjects was most attracted towards finance and wrote the CFA level-1 exam in December as well. It helped me get a bigger picture of the Investment banking industry and deep down in my heart I knew that finance is good but not that good.

I’m a hard core believer of what Steve Jobs once said “It is very important to love your work”

“Love” is indeed a mysterious word and few are lucky to have explored the depths. Loving your work, is indeed a big deal for someone like me, so I was taking out my time to decide what exactly I would love to do for the next 5-8 years.

In my quest for “the kind of work I would love to do”, I considered a lot of options, and finally one fine afternoon it struck me that I’m running away from who I really am. I have always hated the IT industry and have had my version, which had forced me to explore for different options for my career path. But as time is passing, I realize that IT industry is apt for someone like me. It’s all about playing your cards well. The two most important things one must look for in a career are Time and Money, which happen to be mutually exclusive in most of the careers. But IT industry is one field which is an exception.

Technology exists as it saves time and quadruples effort. Being an IT guy, you would implicitly end up saving a lot of time provided you master your subject. As it would be the same thing you would be doing over and over again. After one point you can earn a handsome salary in India itself and be at a few hours distance from your native, contrary to settling abroad and thinking twice before breaking the inertia of travelling seven seas to reach your native.

The path has hence been found, it is up to Neo to walk the path now. Never forget who you are. I’m an engineer and a proud one.

Career Guidance (elicited from the net)

The mythical pursuit of Greatness

The recent fiasco of the Indian Cricket team reflects the adverse affects of holding the intangible weight of expectations. In this case, expectations of a billion people.

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A similar downturn would imperatively be noticed in the life of Indian kids , who have been burdened with the weight of enormous expectations right from their childhood days.
"Aspiring for greatness" is one thing and injecting that aspiration on a blank mind is another.
"Greatness" always comes at a cost. It doesn't need to be aspired for. A truly great person would have never aspired to become great.
Ask Sachin- He never aspired to be great, as a kid he only aspired to play for his country.
Ask Newton- His passion for searching the truth and finding solution is what made him great.
Ask Vivekananda- would he have aspired for greatness? I seriously doubt.
"Greatness" comes as a gift and not as a destination to be aimed at. World around me is full of people who try to become "great" in different ways. They aim at milestones , that are looked up in high regard by the Human Society.  Examples would be:
1. Getting into a top College.
2. Working in a top MNC.
3. Going abroad.
Status seeking in short has become the anthem of today's society which has become synonymous to greatness. People toil in hard, aimlessly to achieve and maintain those revered forts instead of exploring things that would otherwise make them happy in life. The pursuit of happiness has become the pursuit of greatness. Succeeding in life has a different meaning, which forms the root of most of the problems that the human beings are facing.
It was good to hear that Mahendra Singh Dhoni , who seems to have realised and accepted the toll of being great, and is thinking on if, he should retire from test cricket to continue in other formats of the game and enjoy his work, rather than be burdened by it.

Manual for Conserving Paths- by Paulo Coelho

1] The path begins with a crossroads. There you can stop and think what direction to follow. But don’t spend too much time thinking or you’ll never leave the spot. Once you have taken the first step, forget the crossroads forever or you will always torture yourself with the useless question: “did I take the right path?”

2] The path doesn’t last for ever. It is a blessing to travel the path for some time, but one day it will come to an end, so always be prepared to leave it at any moment. Don’t get too used to anything. Neither to the hours of euphoria, nor to the endless days when everything seems so difficult and progress is so slow. Don’t forget that sooner or later an angel will appear and your journey will reach an end.

3] Honor your path. It was your choice, your decision, and just as you respect the ground you step on, that ground will respect your feet. Always do what is best to conserve and keep your path and it will do the same for you.

4] Be well equipped. Carry a small rake, a spade, a penknife. Understand that penknives are no use for dry leaves, and rakes are useless for herbs that are deep-rooted. Know also what tool to use at each moment.

5] The path goes forward and backward. At times you have to go back because something was lost, or else a message to be delivered was forgotten in your pocket. A well tended path enables you to go back without any great problems.

6] Take care of the path before you take care of what is around you. Don’t be distracted by the dry leaves at the edges or by the way that others are looking after their paths. Use your energy to tend and conserve the ground that accepts your steps.

7] Be patient. Sometimes the same tasks have to be repeated, like tearing up weeds or closing holes that appear after unexpected rain. Don’t let that annoy you – that is part of the journey.

8] Paths cross. People can tell what the weather is like. Listen to advice, and make your own decisions. You alone are responsible for the path that was entrusted to you.

9] Nature follows its own rules. In this way, you have to be prepared for sudden changes in the fall, slippery ice in winter, the temptations of flowers in spring, thirst and showers in the summer. Make the most of each of these seasons, and don’t complain about their characteristics.

10] Make your path a mirror of yourself. By no means let yourself be influenced by the way that others care for their paths. You have your soul to listen to, and the birds to tell what your soul is saying. Let your stories be beautiful and pleasant to everything around you. Above all, let the stories that your soul tells during the journey be echoed at each and every second of the path.

11] Love your path. And may the Lord guide you and help you every single day in 2012