A Little Pondering

I took the bus today, took me twice as long to reach home than if I had taken the train but that was fine. Just the simple pleasure of sitting in an almost empty bus, by the window, feeling the breeze on my face was enough. I had a magazine for company and the time was spent quite happily. It just reminds me to be grateful for the little things in life and also that some things never change (read: the slow rambling bus routes in Mumbai).

Change is a wonderful thing and without accepting that, one would tend to find oneself always out of step with reality. But somethings will not and should not change and those will be the pillars holding us up, the foundations of the future. For example, I am not much of a picture taker (I don't particularly enjoy being clicked either) and I don't think that that'll ever change. I prefer capturing moments in my head and cherish them. When the moment is important enough, you will remember it, there will be no need for the picture to serve as a reminder. I once thought that my blog would be more interesting if I had more pictures on it. But that just made me very anxious every time I wrote something because I would worry about the perfect picture to accompany it. In the end it made me not want to write and that was just sad so I stopped trying. I might still put up a picture from time to time if the mood strikes but that's about it. I'm not one for endless clicking and uploading of pictures on Facebook, Instagram et al. I like to think that this says something about me but what that something might be is a mystery still.

Another of my pet peeves that hasn't changed much over the years is to be lazy about things that are important to me. Somehow it is so much easier to put my back into things when someone else is holding the reins and there is a possibility of disappointing them. But the things that I care about often fall to the wayside, like my writing for example or exercising or let's face it, my applications to B-Schools. I'm quite disappointed in myself about this actually and this is something that definitely needs to change. Life is all about balance. Too much of anything is not good but its one hell of an effort to bring about such a change. But like I observed earlier, change is wonderful :P. This is probably the perfect example. I hereby solemnly swear to make conscious and careful decisions from here onwards and find my balance. It will be an uphill task and many many battles before I'm satisfied with how things are but here's a promise that I will get there. Enough said.

Until next time.

Cheers!

PS # This probably sounds like a resolution that should have been made in the new year. But hey I'm lazy remember? So its a tad late :P

My Life As I See It

It's been a while since I sat down at 8 in the morning to write. There have been a handful of instances across time when I have done this and it seems to me that that is what makes it so special. It also usually means that I'm supposed to actually do something else but I've just indulged myself and let loose. Today, however was different. I woke up about 20 minutes ago with a fully formed thought in my head that I wanted to write. I didn't know what about and it didn't bother me because somehow once I found my laptop open in front of me, I was sure that I would find my fingers racing across the keyboard and indeed that is what happened.

Well I've settled on what I want to write about. I want to write about writing and the strange fascination I've always had for it. I have always unequivocally loved reading, there has been no doubt in my mind about that. I may be picky about what I read sometimes but I'm quite convinced that I could read anything in world out there (provided I knew the language of course!). Writing however has been more elusive. Like a houseguest who you aren't sure how long they would stay. Or when they would be back again. But the way I feel about it has always remained steady like a gnawing pain that won't go away. I didn't have words to describe this feeling for a long time and then I heard it in the movie The Hours. It describes it perfectly:

"I wanted to be a writer, that's all. I wanted to write about it all. Everything that happens in a moment. The way the flowers looked when you carried them in your arms. This towel, how it smells, how it feels, this thread. All our feelings, yours and mine. The history of it, who we once were. Everything in the world. Everything all mixed up, like it's all mixed up now. And I failed. I failed. No matter what you start with it ends up being so much less. Sheer fucking pride and stupidity."

That's how I've always felt. Like I want to write everything but somehow every time I take pen to paper, it always feels so much less than what it was in my head. The colours in the scenery just lack that lustre and it cripples me then to think that everything I will ever write will be that way and I will never be able to say everything that I want to. But I've slowly realised over time that its ok. It doesn't matter that I couldn't get it out perfectly or that I never will. It only matters that I felt happy about it. When I don't expect to do something great I've managed to write some things that I am exceedingly proud of. I go back to these from time to time and wonder how I wrote them. But there is no secret, its just practice and discipline and habits being formed and most importantly being happy with what you are writing. Its about not assuming that you can or cannot write in a certain style. Its about never limiting yourself. Its about just writing down whatever comes to mind without second guessing yourself. And most importantly it is about getting over the fear of that nagging disappointment that comes when you've finished writing something that then looks nothing like what you imagined it would be. Its about celebrating every word for what it is and coming back to write more and more and more. No matter how agonizing it is. No matter how much your palm sweats from the effort or your head hurts or your eyes just want to close because its the end of a long day and you just don't want to write anymore.

I don't suppose anyone in the world can ever write it all. But when we all write our own little parts, these stories come together and become so much more than just the sum of the parts. Its the richest and most complete story ever spun because each and every thread is unique not matter how much they seem similar. Like pieces of music that are made up of the same notes but each different from the next. Our words are what stay and tell our story long after we have uttered them. So put it all out there in the universe, your voice, your story. There are enough things in this world to inspire. The cup of tea I had this morning with the steam gently rising from the surface made me think about time passing slowly by. The patch of sunlight on the floor right now makes me think about strength and solidity. The dance steps I was attempting to learn last night (unsuccessfully) was proof of how much I love my friends to even think of attempting something like that. Watching the sun set over the sea yesterday evening just gave me an assurance that it would keep happening again and again till time itself stopped. The clear blue sky that I can see outside my window right now is humbling, makes me acknowledge how really small and insignificant we are in this universe. It all matters, it all counts, so never ever hesitate to write it down.

Cheers!

My Life As I See It

It's been a while since I sat down at 8 in the morning to write. There have been a handful of instances across time when I have done this and it seems to me that that is what makes it so special. It also usually means that I'm supposed to actually do something else but I've just indulged myself and let loose. Today, however was different. I woke up about 20 minutes ago with a fully formed thought in my head that I wanted to write. I didn't know what about and it didn't bother me because somehow once I found my laptop open in front of me, I was sure that I would find my fingers racing across the keyboard and indeed that is what happened.

Well I've settled on what I want to write about. I want to write about writing and the strange fascination I've always had for it. I have always unequivocally loved reading, there has been no doubt in my mind about that. I may be picky about what I read sometimes but I'm quite convinced that I could read anything in world out there (provided I knew the language of course!). Writing however has been more elusive. Like a houseguest who you aren't sure how long they would stay. Or when they would be back again. But the way I feel about it has always remained steady like a gnawing pain that won't go away. I didn't have words to describe this feeling for a long time and then I heard it in the movie The Hours. It describes it perfectly:

"I wanted to be a writer, that's all. I wanted to write about it all. Everything that happens in a moment. The way the flowers looked when you carried them in your arms. This towel, how it smells, how it feels, this thread. All our feelings, yours and mine. The history of it, who we once were. Everything in the world. Everything all mixed up, like it's all mixed up now. And I failed. I failed. No matter what you start with it ends up being so much less. Sheer fucking pride and stupidity."

That's how I've always felt. Like I want to write everything but somehow every time I take pen to paper, it always feels so much less than what it was in my head. The colours in the scenery just lack that lustre and it cripples me then to think that everything I will ever write will be that way and I will never be able to say everything that I want to. But I've slowly realised over time that its ok. It doesn't matter that I couldn't get it out perfectly or that I never will. It only matters that I felt happy about it. When I don't expect to do something great I've managed to write some things that I am exceedingly proud of. I go back to these from time to time and wonder how I wrote them. But there is no secret, its just practice and discipline and habits being formed and most importantly being happy with what you are writing. Its about not assuming that you can or cannot write in a certain style. Its about never limiting yourself. Its about just writing down whatever comes to mind without second guessing yourself. And most importantly it is about getting over the fear of that nagging disappointment that comes when you've finished writing something that then looks nothing like what you imagined it would be. Its about celebrating every word for what it is and coming back to write more and more and more. No matter how agonizing it is. No matter how much your palm sweats from the effort or your head hurts or your eyes just want to close because its the end of a long day and you just don't want to write anymore.

I don't suppose anyone in the world can ever write it all. But when we all write our own little parts, these stories come together and become so much more than just the sum of the parts. Its the richest and most complete story ever spun because each and every thread is unique not matter how much they seem similar. Like pieces of music that are made up of the same notes but each different from the next. Our words are what stay and tell our story long after we have uttered them. So put it all out there in the universe, your voice, your story. There are enough things in this world to inspire. The cup of tea I had this morning with the steam gently rising from the surface made me think about time passing slowly by. The patch of sunlight on the floor right now makes me think about strength and solidity. The dance steps I was attempting to learn last night (unsuccessfully) was proof of how much I love my friends to even think of attempting something like that. Watching the sun set over the sea yesterday evening just gave me an assurance that it would keep happening again and again till time itself stopped. The clear blue sky that I can see outside my window right now is humbling, makes me acknowledge how really small and insignificant we are in this universe. It all matters, it all counts, so never ever hesitate to write it down.

Cheers!

On Being Immortal

There is a deep seated need in each one of us to be remembered. We may not acknowledge it, we may even laugh at someone who boldly states it but it is there, in the centre of our hearts.We seek it all the time, desperate to leave a piece of ourselves in the form of a memory in someone else's life; a photograph immortalized by the internet; a song we sang off key; a family video of us just goofing around; a blog we used to write which will be preserved for eternity no matter how long it has lain dusty. This is the reason we suffer anguish, when the computer crashes and leaves us a wreckage of our beloved collection of photographs and videos; when the internet goes off and you realise that the draft you were writing was not saved. We have become hardened by the time we have spent on this earth, developing into a civilization. We no longer trust the human memory, how much can it take anyway? There are too many of us, we reason, not everyone will be remembered. We doubt our own memories too when we suddenly find that we can't remember the dates of important events in our lives or even the most important moments themselves.

So you see we are not really to blame to take advantage of the advancements of our race to try and preserve a piece of ourselves, the best and the brightest ones so that when we are gone, they will live on. We are scared to imagine the lives of our ancestors who we know nothing about. We wonder if we are making the same mistakes they once made, because we have no way to know their stories. Sure we have a history, that can teach us the futility of war and the importance of being human but its never personal enough to make us sit up and take notice. We can think of people from history in third person but we can't imagine ourselves in their place because we can't really feel it. It is important therefore to be remembered for exactly who we were so that our future generations can look back and really know us.

Of course I may just be romanticizing it all and giving it more weight than it deserves. But I have to believe that the whole world has not just taken leave of its senses to spend such time and effort to make themselves immortal. Maybe it is actually the most important thing we are ever going to do and therefore worth the effort and the time we spend.

Or maybe I'm just rambling as usual...

Time After Time

Its nice to take a step back in time sometimes. That is exactly the feeling I got in the one month that I spent in Kolkata. Life has still managed to remain slow here and food miraculously cheap! The very concept of a cycle rickshaw gives you the blissful feeling that you have all the time in the world. While roads may be just as bad in other cities, here they have the effect of making you feel like you are moving in slow motion. Even the very nature of the people will make it hard for you to rush things along. Add to that the long hours of daylight and the present humid weather, well I atleast was thrown back. It is not an altogether unpleasant feeling. Sometimes it is nice to slow things down, but unfortunately it is all just an illusion and time ultimately does fly by and likewise my time in Kolkata also came to an end. It served as a reminder that life always moves along and there is nothing you can do to change that. All we can do is navigate, change the direction in which we want to move and most importantly enjoy every step of the journey. I read a quote that said: "Life may not be fair but its still a gift". I thought it was so true. Through all the trials and tribulations that we go through, it will only matter later if we were happy. And that is our choice, to be happy with our lives, with ourselves, to look for the good and bright and positive and disregard all else. If we can channelize all this energy within us and focus on setting a direction for our lives, there is nothing in the world we cannot achieve. Its seems really strange to me that this is what I took away from this trip but I did. I came away with a lot of conviction; faith in myself and a resolve to make things happen in my life. I brought back some amazing and unforgettable memories from this trip which I will always cherish. And it was symbolic that as my flight was taking off from Kolkata, the heavens opened up to let loose a flood of rain. I was greeted by the same pouring rain on landing in Mumbai with the only difference being the cool breezes that followed the rain instead of the humidity of Kolkata. For a moment I was nostalgic, wishing myself back. But alas you can only move forward, not backwards, and so I prepare myself to turn the page and start a new chapter in my life. It is a little scary but that is only natural. Life is always a test of our character and our strength but we are the only ones who get to decide whether we lived up to our expectations or not. In the end, we have only ourselves to face...

And with that I end this very random rambling.. Until next time, Cheers!

Suddenly

Well as suddenly as it began, the summer seems to be over. I say seems because the rain doesn't seem to have dispelled any of the heat. As I sit here with a beer mug full of mango milkshake (sheer heaven!), I want to take a moment to look back. A lot has happened this summer starting with me taking the GMAT. I figured that taking the test would be the hardest part but apparently that isn't entirely accurate. Ever since I got my test results, all I've done is think about my application essays. They somehow make you think long and hard about your life. After struggling with where to begin for more than a month, I decided to start at the unlikeliest place, my email inbox. It needed some cleaning and organizing anyway and somehow reading old emails helped me see a lot of things about myself very clearly. It was also a beautiful walk down memory lane, and made me feel grateful for everything I have had in my life: friends who have stood by me through thick and thin, the places that I have been to and the experiences that I have had. In the mad rush of the world today, where everyone always seems one step ahead of you and there is always something left to catch up on, its nice to feel grounded and know that you wouldn't trade your life for anyone else's. I am a product of everything I have been through and for better or for worse that is who I am and I'm proud of it. There is nothing I would change because what I am today will help me get to where I want to be (this destination is unknown at the moment). I truly believe that everything always falls into place at the right time and all you have to do is keep working towards that goal of yours.

Cheers!

Happy Marriage!

Some Nights

At this moment, this is what my life is about: a delightful diary, a concise planner, an interesting book, a pair of much cherished earphones and a very childish pencil pouch. And together they are contribute to making me very happy :)

Best Day Ever

I thought for a while about what my best day ever would be, and well here it goes...

There would definitely be reading involved, an 'aha' moment would be a bonus. It's that moment when while reading something you realize some profound truth like never before and most likely it stays with you for a while and anytime there is a reference to it, you are taken back to the day when you first realized it and you can remember every detail of the moment.

There would also be some organizing involved: desk, closet, inbox, phone, reading list, could be anything. The satisfaction of knowing that I have taken that one step closer to perfection (even though no such thing exists!) is exhilarating.

The weather of course would be sunny with clear blue skies, a few wisps of clouds and a strong breeze during the day. The sunset would be fiery red and the twilight would last long. And the night would be clear and cool. Nothing about the weather would be stuffy or disagreeable.

My best day would not however be spent alone because let's face it, too much of solitude gets lonely. But nothing too eventful either, maybe a leisurely conversation in the early evening sitting by the window or strolling in the park.

That is all really, all I need for it to be a perfect day...  

This is in response to the daily prompt: http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/12/25/prompt-best-day-ever/

On Writing

The world today is full of way too many options! I just wish sometimes that there were fewer. Don't believe me? Just think for a second about how many apps you have in your phone and the how many of them do pretty much the same or similar things. Or even better, how many different sites are open in your web browser right now? Chances are that the number is atleast 3 or 4. I know I have 4 different sites running right now - I'm checking my email, downloading the Evernote desktop application, reading an online magazine and streaming an episode of The Big Bang Theory. What is wrong with that? Nothing really but something I saw today just reminded me of how much we miss out by just rushing along from one option to the other. It was a beautiful but so simple 'recipe box'. Just a little wooden box with a colourful hinged lid which opened to reveal a stack of pretty cards meant for jotting down recipes and storing them safely for future reference. While my stationery loving heart fell in love with it, the very second thought to follow was that I can probably find an app to do the same thing for free. This led to some introspection. Most of the time I am not a big fan of technology, in fact it's a running joke among my friends, but over time I have learnt to acknowledge that they can be pretty useful and have even become quite adept at using them. I even bought a smartphone and have been very very happy with it but I realised that I haven't even once posted a blog from my phone! This in spite of having the blogger app installed in my phone. My previous phone was a blackberry and I have posted from it numerous times straight from my email which believe me was painful but then that was when the blackberry was good for little else so all was well in the world. But ever since I have got my Samsung Galaxy Grand with all it's endless possibilities, I have not done the one thing I love the most: WRITE. I have chatted, emailed, browsed, read, made lists even, jotted the ocassional notes, checked a million other apps for their latest but I have not written. The reason this hits me so hard is because there was a time when I would write endlessly when good old paper was the only means available. Now with blogger and wordpress and evernote and one note and google drive and sky drive and what not I just don't get around to writing that much anymore. There are too many things distracting me, all very deceptively packed under the guise of things that will make our lives better. But actually they're 'just noise' as someone so rightly put it recently. The whole internet is full of it. Think for a moment and you'll know it's true. It's up to us to filter out the things that do nothing to help us and let in only those which actually make our lives better. On that note, I thought I'd make myself an early new years' resolution and vow to get more writing done in 2014. Hope you decide that too! Cheers :)

Gandhinagar Diaries: Part Two

Well in part one, I was still a newbie enjoying the place with a wide eyed enthusiasm of a child and I had assumed that after a month here I would be more realistic. Fortunately, that has not been the case and I am just as delighted by the place as I was a month ago. Where shall I begin..

The Ahmedabad airport had a nice surprise in the form of this bookstore. Nothing remarkable about the store itself, just the regular kind of stock as a bookstore in any airport but the display windows were just so colourful that I stood staring at them for a long long time.

Another amazing experience was my trip to Baroda. Total time taken : 2.5 hours only!

1. Bus from Gandhinagar to Ahmedabad : 40 minutes
2. Waiting time : 10 minutes
3. Bus from Ahmedabad to Baroda : 90 minutes

Exploring Baroda was another treat. Travelling on a scooter, you can traverse the entire city in less than an hour! And the green theme continued here..

Don't have too many more pictures to share but everyday in Ganshinagar has been a treat. The walk to office in the mornings; there is no better therapy for eyes than looking at green of the trees all around freshly washed down by the rains. The rain gods have indeed been kind this year and evidence is all around. The still darkness of the night; it gets eerily quiet here. Walking around on the weekend in the soft rainfall not really caring about where I'm headed, just wandering. This has actually been a great place for self reflection..

Cheers!

Gandhinagar Diaries: Part One

I am here in Gandhinagar for a month and decided to write a weekly blog about my experiences (well the plan didn't exactly pan out since it's been three weeks now but better late than never!). Prior to this visit, my connection to Gujarat has consisted of hearing my college roommate rant (for 3 years!) about how boring Baroda is and a two day visit to Ahmedabad. Well I was in for a surprise!

Being a foodie the first things I looked out for was the food and I was not disappointed, a host of local restaurants as well as some of the chains like Subway, Dominos, CCD and Baskin Robbins are here in all their glory. A thali place called Curry House and a pizza joint called Sam's Pizza really won my heart.

They say a picture speaks a thousand words, so I won't try to explain the sheer beauty of the place that takes your breath away the minute you get here, I'll just let you see it.

These pictures are clicked on my way to work, I walk there (a first!), it takes 10 minutes. That's right Mumbaikars, I can see your jaws dropping. Actually nothing in Gandhinagar is more than 15 minutes away (the area of the city is 177 sq. km.), and it is such an organized city, warms my perfectionist heart.

The distance between Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad is 25.9 km and Google says it takes 37 minutes to get there, well I've made it in 20 (another first, where Google is the less optimistic one!). The road connecting the two cities is another beauty. 

My first weekend in Gandhinagar was spent in Ahmedabad (told you it's close). I thoughts I had enough of malls everywhere but the Alpha One Mall in Ahmedabad's Vastrapur region is quite something. Huge doesn't even begin to describe it and stores of every possible brand will be a delight to any shopaholic. After the general roaming around and a fabulous dinner at KFC, I was in for another surprise, a movie at a Drive-in Theatre!

Picture: View of the screen during the interval

Picture: A view of the rows and rows of cars which show just how many people show up to enjoy the experience. There are even families who have spread out blankets on the ground and settled down to watch the movie while enjoying all kinds of food, almost like a picnic :)

I didn't have very high expectations from the movie (D-Day) but not only did it have a surprising twist but the entire experience of sitting in your car and watching it made it quite fabulous!

During my second weekend, I was in Bombay and returned via train. I personally love train journeys and have not been on one in a while, so maybe that is why I enjoyed it so much but I think anyone would enjoy the journey. It's short enough (7 hours) to not get restless but long enough to actually spend some time in the train taking in the atmosphere, staring out of the window watching the scenery, munching on junk food, and the works! Recommended for anyone who wants a break from routine and just unwind with a book or some music or even do nothing at all.

Last but not the least, our office in Gandhinagar is also a thing of beauty, quite like a college campus, the way it spreads out ad it's ample spaces.

That's all for now folks, Cheers!

Things I Like...

My cousin challenged me to write an essay on things I like and this was the result

I like writing, it really makes me happy but strangely I need to be in the right mood and that doesn't happen all the time. But today is one of those days and I have been writing a lot, case in point being this essay!

The other thing I really enjoy is something that doesn't have an exact word to describe it. It's basically about enjoying the little things in life. So a cool breeze at the end of a hot summer's day, the sound of rain on the window pane, reading my favourite books, falling asleep to nice music, just laying in bed relaxing doing absolutely nothing and the list goes on!

I like making plans, and some of them can be extremely improbable and most of the time I do nothing about them just build them up in my head and then put them away. Let's see maybe someday I'll actually put one of them to action!

I like having interesting conversation, discovering a new point of view or finding that someone shares your view can both be exhilarating. We can learn so much from every single conversation that we have, it's amazing, all you have to do is open your mind to it. It usually works best when you don't have an agenda to fulfill!

Lastly, (and this is something that I learnt today in Facilitation School) I will make a genuine effort to connect with people who are very different from me in their thought process and approach to work. I will not judge them for it, I will still do what I already do in my personal life and look for the best in them because I believe that there is something good in the worst of us and something bad in the best of us.

The Beauty Of Different

Karen Walrond is a writer and photographer and the author of 'The Beauty of Different', a book about celebrating the uniqueness of each individual and proving that everyone is beautiful. I know her from a TED talk video where she talks about the theme of resonance.

In this video she outlines 2 beautiful themes. 

The first is the simple concept of the fact that whenever we are in a situation where we are the ones who are different, we start looking for whats familiar since that is what stands out. If you reverse the situation and you are in familiar territory, and someone else is different, you no longer try to find the resonance and dismiss it as different. This very simple (but powerful) concept is what leads to any number of societal evils: the minute we don't stop to see the familiar in the different we stop connecting to the situation or person and biases begin to form. 

The second one derives from the first and tells us what we could do to make that connection everywhere we go. As in photography, she advises that we should 'always look for the light'. The light that shines from each one of us is what resonates with others and that is what we connect to. Whenever you meet or interact with someone, consider yourself a tourist in their world and look for the light in them that you can connect to and then you shall be able to look past the different and find the familiar which ultimately leads to our own growth and joy. Every time that we don't attempt to do this, we are stunting ourselves and also contributing to the restrictions in society which shun everything different.

Hope you enjoy the talk as much as I did. Cheers!

Harvard Business Review Blog: How To Give a Killer Presentation

Read two amazing articles on the Harvard Business Review blog.

The first one can be found here.

The second one titled, How To Give a Killer Presentation (need to sign up on the HBR site for reading the complete article) is a must read for anyone who has ever had stage fright. Speaking from experience I know just how terrified I get when getting up and speaking in front of an audience. Well this article is heaven sent, it provides a systematic process of how to prepare yourself to give a great (actually killer :P)  presentation. Now while it might not be very practical to follow this method for every single presentation we ever make, but if we shortlist the most important ones and prepare really well, very soon it will become a habit, a habit that will give us the confidence to speak up (and well!) every time.It's quite a long article but well worth the read. Summarizing the key points here..

1/ Frame your story (figure out where to start and where to end)
2/ Plan your delivery (decide whether to memorize your speech word for word or develop bullet points and then rehearse it over and over)
3/ Work on stage presence (but remember that your story matters more than how you stand or whether you're visibly nervous)
4/ Plan the multimedia (whatever you do, don't read from PowerPoint slides)
5/ Put it together (play to your strengths and be authentic)

The summary really doesn't do justice to the complete article which is written by the curator of TED Talks, Chris Anderson. For more than 30 years, the TED conference series has presented enlightening talks that people enjoy watching and the article is interspersed with plenty of examples of brilliant talks from the series.

Happy Reading. Cheers!

Harvard Business Review Blog: Battle-Tested Tips for Effective Explanation

Read two amazing articles on the Harvard Business Review blog.

The first one titled, Battle-Tested Tips for Effective Explanation is the very interesting concept of dazzling with clarity and simplicity. It gives you 7 simple tips on communicating effectively. It doesn't matter if your audience is one or hundred, selling your idea is essentially just good communication and good communication is good explanation. So the 7 tips in a nutshell go as follows:

1/ Make Your Audience Feel Smart, Instead of Making Yourself Look Smart
2/ Explain the Forest, Not Just the Trees
3/ Add Details Sparingly
4/ Write Less Copy, Use More Visuals
5/ Remember Your Audience is Human
6/ Focus on Why
7/ Your Job is to Inform Smart People

Highly recommended reading for anyone who has a lot of communicating to do but finds themselves unable to quite clinch it. Cheers!

Blockbuster Friday

We have all heard about the benefits of a good breakfast first thing in the morning. Well it's one thing to hear about it and quite another to experience it first hand. A sandwich, coffee and good book in the morning makes for the best half an hour of the day. Lifts your spirits and helps you have a charged up day. Throw in the additional bonus of your favourite music and the amazing rainy weather of Mumbai and you've got yourself a blockbuster of a day. It also helps to remember that its a Friday and by the end of the breakfast I was positively beaming. A job well begun is half done they say, so here's to an awesome Friday to myself and everyone else! 

Cheers :)

Nonsense

Sometimes for no reason whatsoever, the urge to write something comes over you. You may not even have anything to write about but you decide to start writing something anyway. With me invariably, these attacks happen on days when I am quite exhausted and ready to drop but despite that somehow I find my fingers racing over the keyboard just to satisfy that urge. Well, for those of you who have been patient enough so far, here's hoping you like what my tired mind has concocted today!

The little boy was hardly three years old but to see him stride across the sandy beach you would think he owned the place. Armed with a bucket and a spade, he purposefully marched towards the sea and it almost seemed like it would part for him. Fortunately at this point, the parents of the young adventurer managed to catch up with him and he was firmly lifted off his feet and carried off a safe distance. The kid would not go without a fight so it was quite an amusing sight to behold. But children being as they are, the trip into the sea was soon forgotten and the next thing begun: building a sandcastle. This went on for a while and before you knew it, he was bored again; and wanted to head towards the sea again. This time his wish was granted and perched on his daddy's shoulders, he witnessed the swirling seas and pounding waves with delight written all over his face. Of course the next thing he wanted was to play around in the water himself and had to be restrained with great difficulty...

This could go on for a while and I don't think would get any more interesting so I will bid goodnight now.

Cheers!

Go Goa Gone!

I haven't actually seen the movie but I am going to shamelessly steal the title for this post just because it's catchy :P  

I am currently on a vacation with my family in Goa and this place never ceases to amaze me. I have been here twice before but this was the first time that I saw Goa in the monsoons. We arrived here on a Wednesday afternoon and the heat wave that hit us as soon as exiting from the airport gave no indication of what was to come in the next few days. The car journey from the airport to the Club Mahindra resort was very pleasant because of the dazzling views all around (my mom and I were sharing a chilled beer which certainly helped matters). I decided to use the time exploring the various camera options in my new phone, got some very interesting clicks thanks to that! We aren't an energetic lot like a lot of people I know who would explored Goa from one end to the other in the 3 days. Unlike them, our holiday was spent at the resort was mostly lazing and chilling with a few walks on the beach and swimming thrown in. The highlight of the trip came on the second day when the monsoons set in. My brother and I had taken a walk towards the sea and sat down on of those wooden benches with a thatched roof attached when the rains came down. Well down is the wrong word since the rain literally flew in every direction. I was hard pressed to keep a huge yellow umbrella open in front of me to shield me from the worst of the sprays but that was about it. It was a maniacally beautiful sight: the trees swaying like they would be ripped out of the ground, sand and rain flying about everywhere, umbrellas getting bent over backwards, the roar of the wind and how could I forget, the sound of thunder. In that moment, while I looked around in awe at the wonder of nature, I suddenly felt the true insignificance of my life in the larger canvas of the universe. Who were we anyway, to defy the laws of nature and seemingly uncover its secrets? Mankind may have progressed far beyond what it had imagined it would but there are moments when the universe asserts its supremacy by showing us exactly what it is capable of. But I digress, the sight was a beautiful if slightly scary one and we spent close to an hour sitting there just waiting for it to pass over. And when it finally did there was a calm in the air quite different from before. Nature had eproved its point with its little show, it didn't need to show us more. It rained again at night but it wasn't quite as fantastic, just your usual moderate winds and heavy rainfall, it was a good lullaby to fall asleep to.  

 

The rest of the vacation was spent mostly lazing, reading, eating (a lot!) and watching the final season of 'Lost' (there is something about the series that just fascinates me). All in all it was a very pleasant and peaceful vacation and repeating this a few times a year is all I need to keep me going. Alas tomorrow it shall be back to the daily grind, which brings me to the other thing that I thought of while lazing around doing nothing: The human spirit is indomitable, definitely stronger than the human body and stronger even than the human mind. If you keep your spirit fuelled (not necessarily fuelled with spirits :P), it can get you through everything, even the drudgery of everyday living which is small fry compared to what all the human spirit has had to bear with throughout history. So the next time you feel stuck in the rut of your life, just close your eyes and go to your "happy place"; it can be anything, an actual place that you have been to and liked, an imaginary place in your head, a moment, a memory, the lyrics of a song, a tune, a scene from a movie or play or book; as long as it makes you feel happy. And then after a moment when you open your eyes, you shall be happy and your spirit fuelled up to get you through the next battle and charging towards victory!   

Cheers!

In the Valley of Heaven...

As I landed in Srinagar, the first thing that hit me was the unbelievanly fresh smell in the air. It is sunny outside but the breeze is nice and cool. The last half an hour of the flight was breathtakingly beautiful. The   bird's eye view of the Himalayan snow capped mountain ranges was spectacular and I literally had my nose pressed against the window. Once the plane entered the valley and moutains were tinged all around there was another treat down below, patches of green fields in every possible shade. There was a bit of a delay before landing due to air traffic but I guess nobody minded circling around that scenery for a while.

The airport in Srinagar is a defence airport and is located in the middle of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) area. The first thing that strikes you about the city is the absolute lack of high rises, a very very refreshing change from usual and the next thing you notice is that the houses are so pretty! So we were on our way to the university where were to have a hiring exercise the next morning when it was decided that we first do some sightseeing. About turn and we found ourselves heading to Gulmarg. The entire two hour journey was beyond  description!

To be continued...

The end of the day...

The scene from the window was absolutely beautiful.  It was unbelievable how the bustle of a hot summer's day could lead to such peace and quiet. Street lamps lit up the empty roads with the occasional car passing by and lights twinkled in the windows of the buildings all around. The sky was overcast with white fluffy clouds with only glimpses of the dark blue sky above. But best part about this scene was the one thing you couldn't see: the cool and steady breeze. With the music softly playing in the background there was really nothing more I could've wished foe except maybe that the end of every day  could be spent peacefully contemplating the window from my window ledge with the breeze blowing through my hair. You don't need anything exotic to make you relax at the end of the day, just find that one thing that works for you and thats all you'll ever need.

Cheers!

Life is Transitory

Life is transitory. How do I know that? I looked it up in the dictionary and it says: Transitory means “of a passing nature; not enduring or permanent; temporary, fleeting”. And that is so true about life! The feeling really hit me when I was cleaning out a desk at home a few weeks ago. The things that came out of there, some of which I had almost forgotten about, all brought back to me so many memories of specific places in time that I was staggered. And this is only about eight or nine years worth of stuff, I don’t really have much from before that time. So it really hit me that this pile of stuff would only get bigger. What kind of stuff you ask? Well there are things ranging from birthday cards (especially the handmade kind but the other kind too, the message inside them make them special), bookmarks (I just love collecting those!), mementos (invitation cards, ribbons, fancy badges, sea shells), notes on scraps of paper, diaries with scribbles of song lyrics or half finished stories, calligraphy sheets, folders, old calendars with nice pictures on them, precious stationery, a few photographs from back in day we used to actually print them and the list simply goes on..

Anyway, this got me thinking (what’s new?!), and it occurred to me that we use this transitory nature of life as an excuse and keep planning for the future which never does really appear. We keep telling ourselves that this phase of life will just pass by soon and then we shall do all things that we have always planned. But actually it should be the absolute reverse of that! We should be living in the here and now, making the most of the phase we’re going through right now instead of waiting for it to finish and a better time to begin. There will be no better time if we don’t make it so; so the closet that we’re planning to clean out next month, or the early morning exercise that we so want to start but keep putting off till next week, or that we want to cook but next weekend always sounds better, all these things are just exercises in procrastination. Want to be more updated about happenings in the world? Start reading the news today; Want to get fit? Go for a walk right now; Want to read or write more? Start right now. It really doesn’t matter what it is, the answer always lies in taking action. Nothing stops us from doing the things we want to do or to put it the other way which I find that people respond to better is that nothing forces us to not act. Only that little fear inside of us that we may not be good enough or not be able to achieve what we set out to do or someone else might not like what we do; but quite frankly none of us is perfect and every mistake is an opportunity to learn so that we get just a little better at it. It’s just the decision that we need to make really and the rest will all take care of itself; the decision to be what we want and do what we want. So that in another ten years time when we clean out that desk full of memories we are satisfied with what we see and not regret that there are missing pieces that we could have had but just didn’t do anything about. Something to think about… Until next time, cheers!

Being Lost

Just yesterday a bunch of us were discussing how we view things differently at different points in our lives, in this case we were specifically talking about movies we have watched and loved at one point of time only to be disappointed by them in later years. Everyone agreed that there would always be those evergreen classics but for the most part the things we relate to at a certain time would most likely change with time. I decided to check the theory for myself today. There was a time in my life that I was addicted to the TV series aptly titled ‘Lost’. If you haven’t had a chance to see a bit of it, trust me you need to try it. I was so enthralled by this show that I have actually once watched 15 hours worth of episodes non-stop (yup, I can be crazy like that). After that even though the passion remained I wasn’t very religious about following the subsequent seasons as they came along. I kept up with the developments of the plot by reading about it on Wikepedia but that just wasn’t the same. At one point of time in college I had a brief reunion with the show and couldn’t believe I had stayed away for so long but once again fate did not permit us to stay with each other. Cutting to the present, a while back I managed to acquire all six seasons worth of episodes and I said to myself that I would shortly relive the joy of a Lost marathon but what do you know months have passed by with me hardly glancing at the folder or maybe having a look but choosing to go for something lighter instead (it’s a very intense show and you have to watch it in sequence else you’re lost quite literally). So today I dusted off the cobwebs and decided to give it a shot and see what my present self thought of Lost. After blankly staring at the screen for a few minutes I decided to randomly pick out an episode from the last season hoping I wouldn’t regret it. I was pleasantly surprised to find that from the first minute I was hooked on as if it was just yesterday! But I did discover that I was no longer eagerly sitting at the edge of my seat waiting for every next scene. Moreover I did not have the urge to keep watching one episode after the other. I did end up watching three random episodes but the curiosity was much diminished (I could blame it on Wikepedia but I have long forgotten what I had read on it so it wouldn’t be fair). I still wanted to watch the show and discover new things about the characters but it wasn’t an obsession anymore. I fact I think I’d be quite content to watch an episode every other day and be quite satisfied. So in conclusion, yes the time and place in our lives do effect our perception to things and how we react to them but I also believe that sometimes the new perceptions we build can be pretty great too. Until next time, cheers!

Of Books and Newspapers

In my family, we have a practical habit which has now become a tradition, which is that of covering all our books with old newspaper. Well the newspapers to begin with are all quite new and glossy but time soon does its magic and they take on that yellowish tinge that we are so familiar with. A glance at the bookshelves is always a pleasing array of bits of colours and text which is just so homey. My favourite part is the ability to glance at the books with their titles hidden behind their covers but still know exactly which book it is just by looking at it! Infact every time I pick up a book to read, I also inevitably glance through the newspaper cover to read the articles on them. We invariably use the Sunday Times Life edition as covers so there is always something quite interesting to read and a glance at the date also brings back back some nostalgia. However, as nothing lasts forever, eventually after some years have passed, we are forced to take off the faded and ragged covers and replace with new ones and then the cycle begins again. It is quite a herculean task this, replacing every book cover and I'm quite glad that I have given up numbering and labeling them as I did when I was a child. So as the dreaded task approaches me, I decided to take a moment to celebrate it, and reflect on the eternal temporariness of life, how everything always does come to an end (a sentiment expressed in the Sunday Times Life today :P). Until next time, Cheers!

 

Summer Day

The summer heat beat down on the ramshackle old car as it moved along the road, squeaking and squealing every step of the way. The driver, a woman, had come a long way and was now looking left and right seeming to be searching for something. She brought the car to a halt, took a deep breath and wished that the heat would subside. Taking a sip of water from the bottle beside her, she scanned the area around her from behind the dark glasses she wore. She was certainly nearing civilization after travelling through deserted roads for hours, but this was not the end of the journey. She was just looking for the turn she needed to make in her journey, trying to make sure that she didn't make a mistake. There seemed to be no road signs to guide her, it looked like she was hopelessly lost. There was no other option but to ask someone for help. She got out of the car, wondering which of the handful of houses to approach to ask for directions. She was suddenly filled with despair for reasons she couldn't quite explain. As she hesitated, as if in answer to a prayer, there was a deep rumbling in the distance and the skies were suddenly overcast with dark clouds. A thunderstorm approached, driving away the heat and replacing it with cool winds and the first drops of rain. As the smell of wet earth engulfed her, she smiled. It didn't matter anymore that she was lost, she was just content to enjoy the moment and trust that just like there was a way to cool down a summer's day, there would also be a way to find her way.

A Saturday Morning...

I wrote this a long time ago on the back of a bus ticket printout. Just found it recently while cleaning out my desk, so thought I'd put it up here..

I sit alone in an empty restaurant on a Sunday morning and just watch the world around. Traffic goes by easily, for there is no rush on the blessed weekend. The sun shines brightly today instead of the incessant rains of the week gone by. I look back on the week gone by, last Saturday at this time I was on a bus on the way to Pune, a journey of only three short hours but a place that is world's away from this one. I almost felt like I was going back in time; the closer I got to Pune, the more clearly I could see before my eyes - my life of three years.

In the quiet I can hear the hum of the air conditioner with the occasional sounds from the kitchen. Now they decide to put on some music, nice and slow just like the day. There is an ancient tree outside which actually blocks part of the road but nobody has bothered (or should I say dared?) to cut it down. Its as if the tree holds its own against this world of constant change and remains resolutely firm in the face of danger. It's scarred and drooping branches reach all the way across the road and offers its shade to all. And now the quiet of the restaurant is broken by the loud and carefree voices of schoolchildren who argue heatedly about the burgers, fries, choice of sauces and drinks. You can't help but smile at the innocence of the young.

I often think that the very young like the very old have the uncanny ability to see through the trappings and go straight to the truth. They pick up all the vibes around them, a lot of which depends on their parents with whom they spend most of their time. Children will imbibe all the good that they feel and repel all else. Even later in life, we come to resent certain manner of things without any particular reason for doing so; it is basically our subconscious that reminds us that sometime in our life we have seen something similar and not liked it.

Now there is a man who want his takeaway order and fast. He makes a few quick and impatient phone calls, all the while drumming his fingers on the table that is his temporary sanctuary. At last he collects his package and is on his way, leaving behind, in his wake, a trail of energy. How some people can be so constantly charged up, beats me!

And now comes the food, just as good as I remember it! There something very indestructible about food, it always lasts, no matter what. Food makes everything just a little bit better, a little less worse, a little more bearable, and basically you get my drift. And since my focus has now shifted to this delightful burger before me, I bid adieu. Until next time then, cheers!

Sleep!

I just discovered that it is just as hard to try to fall asleep when you are wide awake as it is to try to wake up when you are fast asleep! I never in my life imagined that this would be the case, being as fond of sleeping as I am. But its true nevertheless, I woke up at 3 am today and spent an hour trying to go back to sleep and I could not. So having thus woken, I have spent a delightful hour reading about 'How To Measure My Life' and other such interesting articles. Not a bad start to the day after all!

New Things

I have searched all day for inspiration for this post but have only drawn blanks everywhere I have looked. So I thought I'd write about some of the new things I have read this week.

I discovered this site which gives a pretty good overview of our tax laws as well as a site that lets you download the entire union budget (needless to say I have not completely finished going through either :P)
http://finance.indiamart.com/taxation/

A friend of mine introduced me to the world of 'vlogs' or video logs. Apparently there are people around the world who make their living out of it! Not surprising actually, its just the next stage of evolution after writing about stuff. There is one that I really liked.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pKOkB4Sigk

There are sites that generate word clouds! Its damn cool.

http://www.dontwasteyourtime.co.uk/elearning/alternative-word-cloud-generator-tagul/

That's all for today. Cheers!

Reality Bites...

I have often begun writing stories only to realise about halfway through that I am unconsciously basing my story on people I know or situations I have been in instead of inventing something completely new. There is some creative liberty that I take but essentially the story remains true to reality. It just helps prove that art does imitate life and maybe there is nothing wrong in that, but I just can't help feeling that it's wrong. I have deleted countless such stories only because I have felt all too strongly how I would feel being in another person's position and seeing my life out there for all to see, but maybe that's just me. Moreover, I think it really matters to me what people think and while we are always preached that 'it should never matter what someone else thinks', I think there is nothing wrong with that. Man is a social animal and needs to survive by getting along with people; sure, there might be a few outliers who genuinely do not care about what people think of them or their actions but even they value the opinion of those few people who matter to them. For the rest of us, things might not be so easy, we may even heed the opinion of a new acquaintance. While I wouldn't recommend that, I really think there is nothing wrong with going along with the crowd, or wanting approval from those around us, its all a part of life. But I digress, my point here was about being unable to write about things that are too close to reality. But ironically, some of best pieces of writing have been I have broken that mold and written true (but well disguised) stories. I guess this is why I am such a big fan of metaphors. I am so much more comfortable relating feelings to abstract things or everyday incidents instead of putting it down as an actual story. I am also good at it, so I don't think I'm going to change anything. My 'stories' shall continue to be metaphorical with the occasional one of reality thrown in, it should keep things interesting and prevent me from becoming predictable, for I do think that I tend to get predictable sometimes. Here's to keeping those surprises coming. Cheers!

24.02.2013

As this blog turns four years old,  the author is in a contemplative mood. So I do what I do best, stretch out on the couch, put on some soothing music, stare into the lamplight and contemplate. My thoughts are in a mood to wander today, and I am in no mood to organize them. Sometimes its good to let yourself wander. My mind goes back to random memories, both happy and sad: a sunny winter day spent in the park, a long walk at the end of a summer day, an amazing impromptu lunch and a roadside joint, a movie and dinner and all the laughs that come with it. I once read in someone's autobiography that when you look back on memories, if they are happy ones, you can actually re-live the joy of the moment by just thinking of it but if they are sad ones, you don't really feel it as acutely as it had been. I think this is so true and so wonderful, its like life telling us to go out there and do whatever pleases us best, for tomorrow all the bad stuff will feel just a little less bad. I have always tried to live my life that way with as little regrets as possible and I'm proud to say that I have managed quite well so far. When faced with life's toughest situations, just ask yourself if you could do it all over again, would you want to change anything? In most cases, no matter how bad, my guess is that your answer will be a 'no'. Likewise, when trying to make a difficult decision, always toss a coin: if you're disappointed with the result, then you've already made your decision. Take notice of all the little things around you and you will find yourself smiling even if you were in a foul mood seconds ago; and the best part is that the smile is something that shall make you smile when you remember it, where as the foul mood will just be a memory. So chalk up as many smiles as you possibly can for this is the most important scoreboard that you can have. Focus on all the positive stuff and accept the negative stuff too for what is life without them, just make sure when you look at your scoreboard, you have more smiles than frowns or tears. For there is nothing in this world that is greater than happiness and the pursuit of it.

Here's wishing it to be fruitful year ahead.

Cheers!

Share a Smile: Part 2

It was Thursday, the end of a very long day, not helped by the painful ankle caused by the car door slamming on my foot, the weekend nowhere in sight and I was just ready to drop. That was before I walked into my building lobby and witnessed the amusing sight of two children trying to play a game of badminton. From the look of them, I would say they were no older than two and four years old. The four year old was instructing the two year old on the nuances of the game. She was even considerate enough to kneel down and play to give him an even chance seeing as this way they were both of the same height. I watched them while I waited for the elevator: the looks of intense concentration, the complete disregard of their surroundings, and the earnest application of their little minds just made my day. We should all take a leaf out of children's games and apply it to our crazy, fast paced and (supposedly) adult lives. Live for the moment, give it everything you've got and don't think about what anyone else thinks, celebrate each little victory and most importantly keep things simple. The worst thing that could happen are a few scrapes and bruises and the best thing: the exhilaration that comes from having achieved something.

Cheers!

Go Google!

I am constantly amazed by the things you can do with +Google! Yesterday I discovered Google Reader and Google News. I knew they existed but had never really had a chance to explore them before (read: didn't really bother). But after reading 'The Google Story' a few months, I have really come to notice the role that Google plays in our lives. It is everywhere! And now I know for a fact that you can literally find anything on it. But I digress, it was the Google Reader and Google News that I was raving about. They have opened the doors for my latest mission to step into the world of current affairs and could not be more grateful. Now I have all the sites (and blogs: those have nothing to do with current affairs just the pleasure of stalking the web in search of hitherto undiscovered blogs) neatly categorized in folders (yes, I'm obsessive like that) and can view them all from one platform with hardly any need to go to each site individually unless searching for something old. Moreover for those of us with blogs on blogger.com, the blogs we follow from the dashboard can be fed into Google Reader and vice versa. Google News I still haven't grasped completely yet but the idea is the same: all the news on a topic gathered together on one page with options to view just the snippets or entire articles or just have an icon that takes you to the site page. I might as well also say how much I like the Google Dashboard which is landing page for all Google products that you subscribe to.

Anyway, this was not intended to be a technical review so all you techie folks can head over to http://googleblog.blogspot.in if you want some of that.

Until next time,
Cheers

A Very Happy New Year

So here comes another year. Time to make (and break) all those new year resolutions. My new year resolution is very simple and not very new. It is just to remind myself the power of positive thinking. Don't believe me? Think back to a situation where you've given up hoping and compare it to one where you felt confident of things working out and see which one worked out better. So I'm making a pledge this year to think positive at every step of the way. No matter how daunting the task ahead, no matter how chaotic the situation or how painful the climb ahead, think positive and half the battle is won. And when it seems that there is no way to find something to be positive about, then look around you, there is always going to be someone else that exudes that ray of sunshine, all you have to do is soak it up (its contagious you see!). There are these 2 quotes that perfectly define what I'm talking about:

“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”

"Watch your thoughts for they become words. Watch your words for they become actions. Watch your actions for they become... habits. Watch your habits, for they become your character. And watch your character, for it becomes your destiny! What we think we become..."

On that note I can safely say that it is going to be a very happy new year.

Cheers!