Return to the Blog

It is quite some time since I wrote the last blog. The reason for my absence was obviously sheer laziness. Why did I choose to write today. Well, these can be attributed to three things : First, we attended a concert only last week, where Zakir Hussain, Niladri, Selvaganesh, Sivamani, Shankar Mahadevan and Louis Banks performed. The feeling, whilst I listened to them was of euphoria and bliss, if one can experience that while listening to music. It then gets replaced by an overwhelming feeling of awe at the abilities of these maestros to perform at near perfection if not perfection. But as I left the concert and dwelled on the great musicians abilities, I feel a sense of frustration at my own lack of skill or ability to achieve perfection. What each of these great individuals has shown us, are their perseverence to pursue and excel in what they love doing,their passion for perfection, their humility and their indifference to their greatness,which only add to their virtues. At the right side of forty, I am still trying to get my bearings and am wondering where my life is leading to.

The second reason why I decided to write was, because I read a recent article on creative thinking stating that our ability to resolve problems in our areas of work would be suitably be enhanced if we pursue our hobbies like drawing, painting, dancing, singing or writing et al. Whilst indulging in any of these activities and going back to the problems would give the brain a fresh perspective to find an alternate solution to the problem. Since I dont have the patience for drawing or painting and my ability to sing/dance is non-existent, I decided that the safer option was writing the blog. After all, the chances of anyone whom I know, reading this blog is minimal.

Lastly and if not the least, it is to vent my frustration at the omnipresent corruption in our country. The fact that the media reports a different level of corruption everyday, that the media itself seems to be drawn into some different of controversial entanglements, all makes one wonder whether we are living in an illusion within the so called grander illusory world. I cant help but wonder, whether we are all like characters like Jim carrey in the Truman Show depicted, where the politicians, the bureacrats, the intelligence agencies, the judiciary are all making a mockery out of our existence. How does one explain that a politician involved in telecom scam is allowed to go away scot free, the intelligence agency not so intelligently trying to investigate the case when it is revealed to the whole world after a year has passed and the judiciary asks the PMO for an explanation for non action, the fact that tenders for building sporting infrastructure for one of the largest international sporting events are given to non existent companies and still no one is incriminated or found guilty? It is time that we tell them that we are all not as dumb as they make us out to be. But how and what impact is something each of us has to think about.

The Lost Symbol

Sachin Tendulkar after being conferred the honorary title of Group Captain by the Indian Airforce said "Dream, because dreams do come true". It was coincidental that I finished reading the Book of Dan Brown " The Last Symbol" at around the same time, in which Katherine Solomon studies Noetic Sciences, the study of power of mind. Incidentally Inception was also about dreams. Well too much of the subconscious mind for now... maybe that is quite another discussion altogether but then I cant think of starting to write without the mention of the Great Master. Coming back to the Book, it is Robert Langdon all over again studying the symbols and codes of the Masonry to unreveal the Last Word or the secret of the wisdom of the ancients. The book starts promising enough with Langdon being tricked into coming to Washington DC to meet his friend Peter Solomon only to find his dismembered hand. As he goes about trying to figure out what Mal'akh, the perpetrator of the crime wishes him to decode, Robert's tangle with Sato, the director of CIA adds to the suspense. As Mal'akh makes an attempt to kill Katherine Solomon, the sister of Peter Solomon, the story became quite engrossing. Dan Brown continues to impress me on his ability to research on topics and write. He has quite apparently read a lot about Freemasons and the Institute of Noetic Sciences. He draws references of cultures or practices followed by various countries as he draws parallel to the Bhagvad Gita, Vedas and the Bible amongst other to describe Katherine's work. Langdon's attempt to decode the messages ultimately leading to the masonic pyramid was interesting enough. However, Dan Brown somehow seemed to lose the momentum and it appeared that he did not know how to end it. Towards the end, it appeared to move on relentlessly trying to find a way to end. And the anticipation of the end was quite anti-climatic. The book ends with apparently the secret being revealed - That God lies within all of us. Many of my friends did not like the book because they perceived the ending to be quite tame. Maybe I am biased towards Dan Brown (enjoying both Da Vinci Code and the Angels and Demons equally) or maybe because I do believe in the ultimate message that was revealed, I did not quite dislike the book. You could read it if you are looking for some thriller and have time in your hands to KILL.

Independence Day

Another year passes, the 63rd year of independence to be precise, and I cant help wondering what is the freedom that we are enjoying. Is it that the Sports Minister could make millions (or should i say crores) out of a sports event which the country should ideally be proud of to host, by giving contracts to entities that does not exists and yet seems to enjoy the freedom from being convicted? Or is it the freedom enjoyed by a Head of a sporting entity after earning billions out of questionable transactions from the biggest cricketing event that the country has hosted? Or is it a former Head of state's freedom to roam freely after being accused of murder, kidnapping and massacre. He was acquitted by the High Court of our capital for the simple reason that the prosecution was weak in its presentation. Amazing, is this what Democracy and freedom stands for ?

Am I being cynical? Maybe. But is it not also amazing that despite the so obvious corruption across the country from people holding the most responsible positions and governing us, to the traffic cop who regulates the traffic or to the official at the ration office, miraculously our country seems to be running like a well oiled wheel. Kudos to people like our Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh or P C Chidambaram, who have worked hard without expectations of reward to bring the economy to where it is today. We are proud to have CEOs like Narayan Murthy and Ratan Tata, who epitomises integrity and good corporate governance. We are delighted when Sachin Tendulkar, Vishwanathan Anand, Saina Nehwal, Tejaswani Sawant bring hope and pride in our sporting events despite the hurdles of politics. Our hope in the police force is reinforced when we see Kiran Bedi's reforms or the brave police officials who lay down their lives whilst fighting the terrorists who attacked Mumbai. I even admire a friend of mine, who works in Income tax who had during her stint endeavoured to bring income tax defaulters to book but also found to her dismay that these people were let off the hook for quite apparent reasons. Hadn't it not been for the selfless acts of these people, we would not be enjoying the freedom that our freedom fighters had fought for. But then, I like to believe that the majority of us would love to live honestly, working hard to live our daily bread and in peace with the world and nature. Jai Hind!

Inception the Movie

We all have dreams. We all knew that sometimes dreams appear to be real and it is difficult to know which is a dream and when reality kicks in. We all know that we never remember the beginning of the dream. Yet, we dont lay much emphasis on the dream once we have woken up. Christopher Nolan apparently did. An idea is a like a virus, strong, resilient and contagious spreading like cancer... says Mr Cobb played by my favourite actor, Leonardo Di Caprio. It certainly was, as this dialogue continued to play incessantly in my brain after watching the movie. It must have spread in the mind of Mr Nolan as the movie hinged on dreams. The central theme of the movie was to implant an idea of disintegrating the family business in the mind of the heir of one of the most powerful energy producing corporate. Christopher Nolan needs to be given full credit for the powerful performance of his actors whether it is DiCaprio, or Arthur (played by Joseph Gordon Levitt) or Saito (Ken Watanabe) or Eames (Tom Hardy). The settings were phenomenonal especially scenes where the streets fold up and converge or the structures where Cobb and his wife has built in the dreams. Sometimes you wonder at the pun in the dialogues...."You musnt be afraid of dreaming of the big, darling" says Eames to Arthur. Nolan has dreamt big and how! The Music by Hans Zimmer was....magical for want of a better term to define how engrossing it was. At the end as the totem spins and wobbles, you wish and hope that it was a reality end for Cobb and not a dream. The movie was fabulous and is definitely must watch. And if you went out with the kind of friends I went out with, you could have a blast.

Messikered!!!!!!

It was a massacre. The much touted Argentina team comprising of Higuain, Tavez, and the magical Messi was tamed and How!!!! The tactical and ruthless German team came out as efficient as the Panzer battalion out to destruct the enemy. Klose, Mueller, Podolski, Schweinsteiger led by the indefatigable Lahm were all over the place giving no room for Messi to play his magic nor for his team to even beat Neur. Infact, apart from the last twenty five minutes of the first half, Neur was hardly tested. Messi seemed ordinary, Tavez getting no room to break the German wall of defense and Higuain a shadow of his artistic self. After the defeat of Brazil on Friday, I was heartbroken to see my second favourite team lose. It was more disappointing to see them lose with such a big margin. After the second goal, the Argentinan team surrendered just like its other south american counterpart did when it lost its lead against Holland. I am not taking away credit from the much deserving and professional team as the one from Deutscheland. The team has always shown its calibre and was the only team amongst the top teams in this world cup, who seemed convincing in all their wins (I missed the Serbia match and that stands out as an exception). It would be interesting to watch the Germans now play against maybe Netherlands if they make it to the finals. Angela Merkel was delighted, justifiably so as Argentina was considered to be a road block. But let us not rule out the Spanish or the orange team from Netherlands. Atlast, one witnessed some class football in the Quarterfinals. As Calvin says, You cant just on creativity like a faucet, you have to be in the right mood. When Hobbes asks "what mood is that" Calvin retorts :"Last minute Panic". The last minute panic seemed to frozen both the Brazilian and Argentinan team. The team which has the ability to overcome panic, will win this world cup. May the best team win. As on now, it is Game, Set, Match to the Germans.

Sikkim

Just made a visit to Sikkim, one of the most beautiful states in the north east of India. The majestic mountains, the cool climate, the waterfalls, the rivers and the people were all just fantastic. Am amazed at the beauty that mother Earth provides and feel sorry that we as human beings can end up spoiling nature. To give due credit, the state government has done tremendous work to create infrastructure so that movement across this rugged terrain is possible. There are frequent landslides during rains and the Boarder Road Organisation (BRO) works round the clock to ensure traffic is eased. We visited Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, which was exceedingly well maintained. The trip to the Sino India border viz., Nathula was an experience in itself. We then visited Namchi, in south sikkim and Pelling in the west. The glimpse of the mighty Kanchenjunga peak was an icing on the cake and a wonderful close to our trip. Back to Mumbai and the reality of life. Woudn't I love to travel again!!!

Mumbai Meri Jaan!

An acquaintance and financial advisor of mine visited us yesterday. We discussed how irrespective of the beauty of different places across the world, the warmth of India especially Mumbai is incomparable. I realised whilst discussing with her, how much I still love this city despite the overloaded infrastructure, the traffic jams, the crowded trains and some of the state's politicians, who least bother about the people but preach about culture and their attempt to change the names of places, whilst the city's water pipes built by the so called despicable British Empire is still not replaced or repaired adding to the mumbaiites woes. I am digressing from the topic, since my complaints about politicians or their inefficiencies could possibly run into volumes of books. Mumbai has a charm that cannot be expressed but can only be experienced. I have known numerous people including my parents and in-laws who promise that they will leave this city and go back to their respective home towns when they retire. It is almost a decade since they have retired and their promises like that of the politicians remain just that. One cannot think of staying anywhere even in India leaving this terrific city. When I started my career some twenty years back, the city was new to me and taking up a sales job meant travelling across the city. I had no clue how to visit my clients (which were schools, colleges and university libraries). But the mumbaiites especially ubiquitous rickshaw drivers were ever helpful. There are stories of how indifferent the mumbaiites are and how you dont even know your neighbours. Paradoxically, i have seen friends who stay in chawls are so close to their neighbours that they refuse to shift to more spacious flats or accomodation purely because of the love and warmth of their neighbours. This city has given me most happiness, whether it is the joy of my first job, or of making my friends some of whom are the closest, or of meeting my wife or walking along the sea beaches or just welcoming the elephant God, everything about this city is special. What I like the best about this place is that irrespective of the caste, creed or religion, the city's residents stick to each other in times of need and dont care two hoots to the politicians who tries to divide us.

THE MASTER AND THE LORD

I bow down to the master and the Lord for showing the world the dedication and passion with which one should do what one is doing. Everyone from my ten year old son to the milkman, who brings milk to us early in the morning becomes happy and inspired in their respective jobs when they see the exquisite display of batting by the one and only Sachin Tendulkar. Whether it is batting in test matches, or the one day or the T20, the master has displayed his prowess in quickly adapting to changes and mastering the skills of the different formats of the cricketing world. When I was a kid, I admired various players - Sunil Gavaskar, I thought he is brave to face the fastest bowlers in the world without even a helmet, the ability to stick to the batting crease for inexorably long hours tiring out the bowlers and his display of text book style batting. Dennis Lillee was my favourite fast bowlers, as I tried to immitate his bowling style when playing in the pada in Kolkatta. Soon, i was drawn to India's own fast bowler, Kapil Dev with his typical fast hitting batting style. The fact that he captained the first ever world cup win for the country only made him my all time favourite second only to Imran Khan, the handsome and wily Pakistan ex captain. My passion for cricket waned when the news of the match fixing hit the papers. I was disappointed and lost all interest for a long time. The passion in watching the game is again revived only to watch the God of Cricket, the master of the Game, the Lord himself, Sachin Tendulkar playing. As he goes about setting one record or another, whether it is in terms of the maximum runs, the maximum centuries, the highest score in one day, the individual in himself remains humble and simple. This sets him apart and a true idol for all, young or old for this principles, ethics, patriotism and love for his country. Thank you Sachin, God tussi great ho.

Save Our Tigers

What would Calvin be without Hobbes and What would India be without our Tigers. The Royal animal, which is our national animal is on the verge of extinction and our one billion citizens has to rise to this occasion. Please spread the awareness and help in whatever means is possible to save this wonderful creature. Surely, we human beings can learn to co-exist with nature and other co-species. Check the site www.saveourtigers.com to learn more on how you can help.

Harishchandrachi Factory

I had heard about Dadasaheb Phalke. I certainly knew that he pioneered the Indian film industry and I was aware Raja Harishchandra was the first Indian movie. I had not thought anything beyond this until I saw Harishchandrachi Factory, a regional Marathi movie. Being a non-maharashtrian, who could understand the mumbaiite marathi and was apprehensive whether i could really appreciate a movie, my worries were put to rest. This movie made an impact - a big one. The movie described in a simple and humorous way the efforts put in by Dadasaheb Phalke, which culminated to the making of the first ever Indian movie and consequently the formation of the Indian Cinema industry. The movie is apparently the debut venture of the director, Paresh Mokashi. The acting by the actors, Nandu Madhav, Vibhawari Deshpande and the gang, were realistic and too good. Hats off to the Director, the crew and the cast. The film showed without any melodrama, the trials and tribulations of the family as they supported each other to the making of a "picture". As the movie concentrated on the light humored aspects of the two year venture of Dabasaheb Phalke and family, you tend to laugh and smile throughout the movie, watching the ridicule, fear, awe and happiness of the neighbours, friends and the family until the end. I ended up feeling amazed and in awe of this family, who had immense courage and conviction to believe that they can bring such an important venture in the country. Dadasaheb's selfless and patriotism stood out as he declined offer to stay abroad and work on movies since he believed his country needs to benefit. A sweet and lovely movie... a definitely must watch for the entire family.

Disaster at Pune

Yet another terrorist attack in the State, now in Pune leaving innocent people dead and various others injured. Every time this cowardly act happens I wonder who gains out of the whole absurd and seemings reason defying action. No sane person would ever support such dastardly act nor support such a cause that kills innocents not related to their cause at all. Are we seeing then, an emergence of insanity in the behaviour of human beings? Why are we, the so called intelligent species of the Creator's universe behaving so irrationally and without any empathy? What else explains our political leaders' preoccupation in the release or not of a particular movie rather than on the security of the State? Why else would our political leaders be more concerned about whether the cricket team of a particular country visits the state to play and entertain the people whether the audience is the resident of the state or not? What steps of these so called leaders done to ensure the security of the people within the country? Consequently, what right do they have to tell us what we should do, what we should watch, what we should read and what we should say? Why do they go into a paralytic attack and are conspicuous by their absence when the nation or the state are attacked by anti social and terrorist organisations? May be because they themselves were busy destroying the shops and property of the people at large so that they are terrorised into sitting at home and not watching a movie at a theatre! It smacks of hypocrisy, it is ridiculous and it is frustrating to say the least when we blame our neighbours for the state of affairs in the country. Maybe it is time that we address the malaise within the country. As Swami Vivekananda had once said, my countrymen, "Arise, Awake and stop not till the goal is reached"

3 Idiots

Aamir Khan does not stop to amaze me. The movie was brilliant and fun. Movie goers across generation enjoyed this movie of the trials of three friends in their academic life. Funny isn't it that a vast majority of us do go through life without having a specific aim? As you look closer at the successful people around you, the simple truth that the protagonist in the story try to convey stands out. You need to love what you are doing and success follows you. This not a new message or a secret message unrevealed but an age-old home truth. But the movie conveyed this beautifully. Maybe, today's young generation are more clear on what they want out of life. I have seen youngsters following vocations like Radio jockeying, event management, dancing et al , hitherto not considered worthy of serious career options by parents. Maybe the movie is reaching out to a generation, which has passed through the pressures of society. The acting of the three friends played by Aamir, Madhavan and Sharman are fantastic. Kareena looks gorgeous as she continues to display her natural acting capabilities. The music and songs are catchy. All in all an wholesome entertaining movie. A must watch.