I Like This !!!

It’s suddenly all so good again.
I'm beginning to enjoy life and spending time just like I used to, maybe, only way back when i was new to the Mumbai city. :)
It just feels good to do the same old things again, and maybe even do some new things. But I feel about them all just like I used to feel in those days. Suddenly it’s very comfortable to spend a whole lazy weekend by myself, just rearranging the minimal furniture in my room, listening to some old tracks and lots of new ones, enjoying music in the same way again. I feel so comfortable spending entire mornings reading the newspaper, leisurely getting ready only to spend the afternoon snugged up alternating the two books that I am hooked onto for this week. Spending time with myself, doing so much and yet doing nothing at all is something I have missed for a long… long time.
Suddenly I feel, the life that I've been living for the last three-odd years has been so unlike me. I treasure my time with myself all over again, with a clear white mind every morning, with the day spent with my guitar, my books, a bit of photography here and there, checking mails enough times in the day... catching up with long lost mates ... a day I am making sure is always followed by great dinner (read meat and spice, not at mess ;) ) ... and sleeping so sound - an entire 8 hours - cherishing the day and really looking forward to the next day.
I love that I am reading again and music feels so good and so unrelated-able again ;) !
Green day and John Mayer soothe me ... replacing the teenage days of Euphoria and Lucky ali: P gosh its almost embarrassing to confess that now!
I'm gonna post more often now, with this photography enthu .

Aah!!! It’s me all over again ... I am so proud of myself!

Find comfort in conflict !!!

Anjali madam is so sweet!!! She s completely chilled out. The other day she praised me for my writing, I was very happy yet from within I felt something was wrong. There is something seriously wrong with me. I don’t feel like hearing praises anymore, because I know that at the end of the day it’s of no value. I have had this experience while I was at work. 100 good things I do and no one remembers; 1 wrong thing I do and no one ever forgets nor forgives. That’s life. I hardly got praised when I did good work but I was often screwed on making an error. What really ticked me off was that Anjali madam has been around in the industry for a while now, she knows all this and still why is she being so soft on us? Instead she could have given us a taste of how it is like when you are working for a company. The stress that I face today will make my life easier in the corporate world tomorrow. I don’t like being called a “bachha”. This is a b-school and I want to be treated the same way in which professionals are treated and that is what I am here for, to learn how things work in a corporate wherein there are deadlines and target to meet at the end of each day. Two years down the line I know that I have to go in the real world. It’s a very mean and nasty place out there. If the newsletter does not reach on time how can she pardon us just like that? I felt like asking her what if you were the editor and I had violated the dead line would be o.k. with it…

That is why I like Shannon sir. He is arrogant but upfront and brutally honest when it comes to feedback. He gives all his students a hard time. He never allows you in his class if you are late. He has an eye for detail; He is very particular about dressing and just needs one reason to throw you out of his class. People curse him and despise him like anything. But there is a reason why he is being the monster that he is portrayed to be. What If I get placed in a company where the person whom I am reporting to is just like him? What if I have got all the managerial skills but I am not able to manage my time? He stresses on just one thing and that is discipline. From him I have learnt, I might as well have the talent but without the right kind of attitude and discipline, I can never succeed. Once I walk out of this campus two years from now, I will have to face hundreds of Shannons who would be on a lookout for every opportunity to screw me over and to do me down. What am I going to do then? The only way out at that time is to deliver and perform. It s been so many years and now I remember this man for his wise words that he used to say to me every time I walked in late for his class. I recall him saying “SUYOG, If you want to become something in life stop giving excuses.”

To her...

If life is a journey,
I want you to be my companion.
If life is a game,
I want you to be my team.
If it is a lesson,
I want you to be my ink, my partner, my teacher.
If life goes on,
I want you to stand by.
If there's another life,
I want you to return with me...

The Indian case study method…

If there is life, there will be problems… when one problem ends another one begins… They are cyclical in nature… I see so many people around me complaining that they have got problems in their life. What if our life could become problem free… all of us would love if that could happen... to understand this we need to listen to a story...
The fairytale of Vikarm and Betal explains this in a very powerful way…
Once upon a time there was a king known as Vikramaditya. He was a great and a very noble king. One day a sorcerer came to him and said, “Oh mighty king… I want your help… I need you to go to the cremation ground and find me a Betal, a ghost…” and Vikramaditya agreed because he was a great king and he was always ready to give anything to anyone who came to him… and so Vikramaditya goes to the crematorium in search of the Betal. The instruction given by the sorcerer to vikram is that when he goes to the crematorium there is a banyan tree where he will see the ghost hanging upside down… he has to pull it down and carry it on his shoulder but never speak to it because if he does the ghost will fly away and then he will have to again go back and recollect him…
And so he goes to the cremation ground, finds the ghost hanging upside down, pulls him and puts him on his back… but the ghost is not willing to be captured and he tries every trick in the trade to make Vikramaditya speak… finally when Vikramaditya does not break his silence the Betal comes up with an idea.. He says “Oh mighty king!!! Let me tell you a story, and at the end of each tale I will ask you a question… If you know the answers to the question speak… knowing the answer if you do not speak your head will burst into thousand flames… But if you do not know the answer and therefore do not speak its perfectly fine... (This is what we call the case study method, where in you are given a situation and then by giving answers to the asked questions you need to comment on the case; apparently it was first used in India.)
So the Betal keeps narrating stories and goes on asking questions and Vikramaditya being very wise is able to answer all of them... So this continues for 24 times wherein the stories are told, questions are asked and answers are given and the Betal flies back to the exasperation of Vikramaditya who has to go back to recollect him every time and the process of storytelling continues... and finally on the 25th time Vikramaditya is unable to answer the question, he genuinely does not know the answer because if he did his head would burst in thousand flames.. And so the king heaves a sigh of relief thinking that now I have got the ghost and I will take him back to the sorcerer... And that is when suddenly the ghost laughs and says “You might be a great king but what a foolish man you are… Do you realize that so long you were able to answer a question you were saving your own life. And now that finally you are not able to answer it you are in big trouble. Because the moment you take me to the sorcerer, he will bottle me up and make me into a genie... Once I become a very powerful genie do you know what is the first thing that I will be asked to do? I will be asked to kill you by the sorcerer as he would want your throne. And all this time when you were problem solving and getting irritated, you did not realize that that is the only reason why you are still living... You exist to answer questions… you only matter when you solve problems.”
One must welcome problems rather than saying I don’t want them in my life because then what is the use of such a life… Don’t fly away from problems, take them as challenges and figure out a way to tackle them. Always remember that the day when all the problems go away our utility reduces to nothing. Every obstacle that life throws at you makes you wiser and smarter. The most successful people in this world are the ones who are able to give solutions to various problems. The more troubles you face the better you will become. Through such problems life often gives you a chance to know yourself. And the sum total of such good and bad experiences is what life all about !!!

The journey...

This week I post another wonderful story… I love such tales coz you always enjoy reading one, you can easily remember it and you get to see things in a fresh perspective… It is a bit dull in the start but has a superb ending… Last week we had a debate in the class, “Are leaders made or born” and one of my classmates “Rahat” took N.R. Murthy’s name and tried to use it as an example... I have borrowed this account from the book “The old man and his god” written by Sudha Murthy. (It’s a must read) It describes an experience which transformed Murthy s life. We all crib about the system but only a few like Murthy are able to make a difference and bring about a positive change… Infosys today is an organization that is run on principles that are beyond material gains. It is the best of employers in the I.T industry and has given tremendous returns to its customer and shareholders. My take on this story; in order to be a leader like Murthy you need have conviction, vision and most importantly passion…
Way back in 1974, before Infosys was even a gleam in our eyes, young Narayan Murthy was working as a team member in SESA, a French firm which was building software for handling air cargo at the then newly built Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris. He was very shy and an idealist.
His views tended to be leftist and he was an ardent believer in the principles of Marxism. After working in France for a few years, he wanted to come back to India. But unlike to other young Indian engineers, he decided to hitchhike his way back from Paris to Kabul. Carrying his backpack, he took rides in cars and trains, or simply walked when nothing was available. Little did he know when he set out, that backpack journey would change his destiny, as well as affect many other lives!
One wintry Sunday morning, hitchhiking form an Italian town, he reached a border town. Once inside the communist block, Murthy realized it was not going to be a easy to get rides from passing motorists, so he decided to take a train to Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Thus, he straightaway walked to the local railway station. His efforts of buying breakfast were not successful since he was carrying Italian currency. Murthy slept off on the platform till eight p.m., when the Sofia Express arrived. Murthy got on to the train and took his seat. To his delight, the compartment was nearly empty. Being an introvert, he was quite happy to be alone.
As he sat reading a book, a tall, blonde and beautiful girl entered the compartment and settled down in the adjacent seat. Murthy remained buried in his book and did not even bother to exchange a smile. Usually women, anywhere around the world, are talkative, and the girl broke the ice and struck up a conversation with him. When she got to know that he was from India, which then was much in naturally veered towards their countries’ various policies. Slowly, they began talking about their personal lives as well the girl explained her situation.
‘I am from Sofia. I was sent on a scholarship by the government to Kiev University to do my PhD. There I men a nice young man from East Berlin. We liked each other and decided to get married.’ Saying this much she sighed.
‘What was the matter? Why did you not get married? Murthy asked sympathetically.
’We did get married and that was the problem. We applied from permission to marry a citizen of another county to our respective governments. They agreed, except that Bulgaria wanted me to complete the term of my bond in my country and my husband was asked to stay back in East Germany for the same period.
The result is I travel to East Germany once in six months while my husband comes to Sofia once in six months. This has become extremely frustrating for both of us. We have lost all hopes of leading a normal married life,’ she said.
Murthy was touched by this predicament. He said ‘It’s an unfair system. Whether it is a communist or a capitalist country, issues like the choice of partner for marriage, or job, and the freedom of expression should not be curtailed…’
All this time, a boy was sitting next to the girl and listening to their conversation. He stepped out of the train and came back with two fierce looking gentlemen, one of whom caught Murthy by his collar and dragged him to the platform. The other person took the girl away.
Murthy was locked up in a small, dingy room with hardly any ventilation. He sat down on the floor in a daze. What had happened? Why was he locked up like a criminal? What had happened to the girl? Gradually he figured it was the discussion on rights and duties of citizens in a communist country that had upset the boy and the cops.
Hours passed by, he was not aware whether it was day or night. After what seemed like an eternity, the door on a train along with a guard and told that his passport would be returned only after he reached Istanbul.
‘What was my offence?’ Murthy asked the policeman, holding the door of the compartment.
The stone-faced sergeant said, “Why did you talk against the State? Who was the girl?”
‘She was just a traveler like me…”
‘Then why did she discuss her personal matters with you?’ another sergeant immediately raised his voice, not even allowing Murthy to finish his sentence.
What is wrong in that?’ Murthy protested
“It is against the rules of our country to discuss such issues”. The sergeant replied firmly.
Murthy was curious about the girl’s fate, ‘What happened to her?’
“It is none of your business. We have checked your passport. It shows that you are from India which is a friendly country that is why we are releasing you. Just leave your country without any further mischief.”
The train started moving.
Murthy was tired. He had not eaten or slept in four days. He managed to sit down at a window seat. He was again on a train but things had changed dramatically. Murthy had enjoyed discussing and arguing passionately about the ideals of Karl Marx, Lenin, Mao and Ho Chi Minh sitting at the beautiful roadside Cafes of Paris. They were theoretical discussions done on full stomach. But now, hungry and overwrought after his brush with the communist state, Murthy had to rethink all his ideals. So this was what it was like to live behind the Iron Curtain! The system dealt with ruthless efficiency even a single voice raised against it. It denied basic freedom to its citizens and treated travelers from friendly counties thus. He shuddered to think what might have happened to his if he were from a capitalist country. Watching the countryside go by, Murthy realized the value of freedom. He also realized that the only \way to get rid of poverty was not by raising slogans or issuing diktats, but by creating more and more jobs. He vowed then and there to himself that he would generate wealth not only for himself but for many others, legally and ethically. He would see that India was known through the would not for her poverty but for the skills of her young people that would be his contribution toward removing India’s problems.
Armed with this new resolve, after returning to India he experimented with various jobs at different companies. He started his own small company Softronics for a while and went on to head the software division at Patni Computer Systems. But his greatest desire was to build an export-focused company, with his values.
Finally, in 1981 he started Infosys.
The communist Murthy, over a period of time, changed to what he refers to now as a socialist capitalist.
The rest is history.