Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Simply inspired

What seperates you from the greatest achievers on earth?
Well...a lot of things, maybe. But one thing, and probably the most important of those things is the amount of time which an inspiration stays with you, drives you.
People call this perseverence, patience, and other things. But this is what I call it: inspiration. We do everything in life for something. That something is what becomes inspiration when you try to achieve something.
Great quotes give you inspiration. Your Dad's words, people's achievements, someone's attention :), sometimes even a humiliation gives you inspiration.
Some people start working vigorously when they get that inspiration, some decide to work, some just get inspired and go on with their life as usual or just don't care about it.
You will achieve something only if you are in the first or the third group. The second strategy never works out.
The achievements of the first will then actually depend on how long that inspiration stays with him. It is this quality that differentiates great people from the not-so-great. If you read the biographies of great people, they never forget the events and things in their lives that inspired them, changed them. That is why they become what they are.
The third kind will include people who get inspired by themselves and nothing else. This is another group of people who can achieve great things, though it is very difficult to inspire yourself all the time and especially when the chips are down.
Whatever be your category, self-inspired or externally inspired, how long you can stay inspired is what will decide how much you can achieve.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Some crap -2

Some time pass ones from me…..(inspired by a similar mail)

Socha main Ghar jaaon aaj cycle par,
To kampne lage mere pair thar thar thar thar …

Jaaon kahan bata eh dil..
Jaaon kahan bata eh dil..
Clinton ka First name hai Bill.

Chupke chupke maine use dekha…
Chupke chupke maine use dekha…
Meri favourite actress hamesha rahegi Rekha.. :P

Yeh joke jo maine logon pe feka,
Koi na hansa mar ke thahaka.
Gusse mein aake jo de diya maine ek ko mukka,
Sare logon ne mil ke mujhe jee bhar ke thoka.
Ek bande ne cheekh ke sab ko roka,
Fir kaha ki yaaron break le lete hain, main ho gaya thoda thaka!
Mauka dekh ke main jo wahan se bhaga,
Jaise aa gayi ho mujhme ek PT Usha.
Bhagte hue raste mein tha ek police ka naka,
Pakadne ek mujrim ko, jisne dala tha daka.
Mujhe dekh puliswale ne apna lath feka,
socha ki main hi hun jo bhag raha tha dal ke daka.
Lathi se bachne ke liye main jo bhagte hue jhuka,
mere piche aata hua banda ho gaya hakka-bukka.
chat se maine paas ek auto ko roka,
aur bola " Chal bhai, le chalo mujhe ghar, yehi hai mera mauka"
Ghar panhuch ke kampte kampte maine TV jo ON kiya,
Pehli hi gend pe mar diya sachin ne zabardast chakka.
Fir Sehwag ne mil ke jo Australia ko dhoya,
Aaj ke sare dukh dard main khushi khushi bhool gaya.
Yehi hai apne is kahani ki seekh,
ki har dard ki dawa hai Sachin and sehwag ki crickeeet.

Shukriya... Shukriya....

Saturday, May 8, 2010

The attraction of the pencil

For the past few weeks, months even, I've been kind of attracted, absorbed and in fact totally consumed by this unstoppable passion to write cursive handwriting using pencils. Its absolutely addictive and ridiculously enjoyable, and I am unable to focus on my life in any small amount. I've got these wonderful notebooks in the Microsoft campus which look more like diaries than notebooks, and then there are these pen-pencil type pencils which you click at the back to make a litle more lead come out of the front of the pencil and then write with it.
I've always been fascinated by beautiful cursive writing and I have always dreamed of writing those beautiful letters...with my own hand, and as much as I want, whenever I want.
I am trying to make that dream come true. I write all my tasks for the day using that pencil in that beautiful notebook and then write descriptions for each task and then, elaborate on how I am going to go about doing it and go to great lengths, using the most flowy, the most verbose language that I can use, to describe all that is going to be done by me and what I am going to assign the team and God knows what not. I love writing with those pencils so much. My manager sits beside me and I won't blame him if he thinks that I am a freak. More than 50% of my day is spent bent over that notebook. I hope I will be able to write those magically beautiful letters in the same magically beautiful style some day. I think I am going to start writing those olden days snail mails again.
-To beautiful cursive handwriting!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

The importance of dreaming

"I still dream -- without dreams, life is flat, you stagnate." -Sachin
Excellent words! One needs to understand the importance of dreams to go forward in life. To be happy, to look forward to every new day with enthusiasm, they are one of the most important ingredients.
Without dreams, there is no passion. Without passion there is no true effort, without effort there is no movement. and without movement, stagnation results. Stagnation in the short term can be viewed as contentedness. But in the longer run, it leads to confusion, frustration and ultimately an unsatisfied life.
So never stop dreaming, and never stop pursuing your dreams.
-Kirthi

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Some crap

Why does anyone write a blog?
Why do I write a blog?
Just to say what I want to say and read it myself, and also let others read it and enjoy or know me or just to air some view or just plain write something when I feel like.
You know for loong, I have been concerned with how my current blog might effect my current image and future relations and my own feelings and image of my past self when I see the blogs in the future. Its unnecessarily complicated to think and now it seems truely dishonest if I miss to reflect my correct current thought process. But, I also know that this is not my diary, so it is alright if I don't publish everything I write.

Well, thats all! This episode of "Some crap" ends here.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar

It is fitting that the player regarded world over as the best one day player ever scores the first double ton in ODI history.
To be able to do what he has done over the past 20 years is phenomenal, unbelievable and for most people, the definition of unattainable. He has reached the limits of the humanly achievable and now toying with the unthinkables. His records now stand as a city of walls that people can only dream of breaking. It does not seem possible that another man will ever be born who can surpass him in even half the areas he now leads the world in. No matter how much praise you pour on him, it will never really express the feeling that people have for him. That is the greatness of Sachin. On field as well as off-field, he is respected and looked up to. He is a man fit to be called a true Champion of this world. The moment people see him, they find joy in their hearts. He gives them hopes, he gives them cheer. His presence is a panacea for cricket lovers. Tragedy, disease, disability, everything blurs when people watch him play. He is a hero. He is a true genius. He is, deservingly, the man, who people call GOD.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Looking out of the window

I am sitting on the steel chair, typing on the laptop on the study table in front of me in a house at the top of a small hill overlooking the I-90 below. I am looking to my right, out of the big glass window towards lake Washington beyond the flyovers. The evening sun is going down beyond the hill bordering the lake. There are clouds around, lying low, bearing the water that makes the state, "The Evergreen State".
Its been 3 months now.
My first visit to US; onsite.
Its been a good time. People suggested that I take photos of the sun in India as I wont be able to see anything like that here. But, from the day I landed here, I have seen the sun every single day. It is now the 26th of Dec and I can see the sun shining brightly onto my desk. This has never happened here, or so they tell me. I am lucky, I must say then. It also keeps raining here...ALL the time; that was what I was told. :) you know the rest. Sun in, cloud out.
Leaving this apart, the green-ness of the place just so fills you, that you can't take it anymore. The green is so rich, so healthy...its so greeeen, it's a treat for the eyes coming from hyderabad. I have never seen a greener place in my life.
3 months have just flown by, but I have a vivid recollection of every experience I have had here.
The first month was totally unreal for me. I had only seen the US and its culture in hollywood movies and I have seen so many of them that the american way of life had become more of a reel fact than a real one! Everywhere I went , I felt I was in a movie. The greetings, the exclamations, the way of talking, the different dialects, the grocery super shops, the tellers, the helpers, the roads, the cars, the blacks, the whites, the girls and the jolly big fat lady.
I am used to it now and... blending in. I have to say that I like more things here than I dislike.
People are generally less tense, more talkative, more explicit in expression and more clear about what they want. And there is customisation everywhere, from the burgers and pizzas, to the 1000 types of cheese, to 0%,1%,2%, fullfat milk. From cars to houses to beds to groceries. Every single thing has a million varieties and you are supposed to be damn sure about exactly which 1/1 millionth thing you want. If you are not, you will be out of place, make no mistake. Pure capitalism, in the flesh. Its refreshing, even good, but it takes some getting used to.
Hmm...and I've got to tell about the traffic here. It is one of the most striking thing about US. There is a huge problem with it: it's too organised! I had to unthink so many of my personal driving tips, to comfortably travel everyday. Consider this, you are driving at 60 Km/hr(or arnd 35-40 Miles/hr) on the main road and there is a road joining into it from the left( in India and from the right in the US). In the US, you don't stop, you don't even slow down. You go past that road at 35 Mph. In India, if you do that, you will be involved in an accident where you'll lose you 1 hand, 1 leg, 1 spine and 1 head. I was shit scared the first few days, I went through Bellevue. I couldn't get over the crawl-through-intersections-to-be-safe rule I religiously followed in India. There is so much blind trust here, trust that everyone will follow rules, its insane. Accepting this fact is the first step to a successful stay in the US. :) And also, that is why the penalties are so heavy for disobeyance, of any rules. And all rules are very detailed and very well thought out to cover every scenario possible.
The blind trust syndrome is what also leads me to assume to be the reason for people here loking for specialists in everything. There is a specialist, an expert for every small thing here. If you want to build a house, there is an expert for lighting, an expert for windows, an expert for plumbing, an expert for walls, an expert for architecture, an expert for glasses on the windows, an expert for the fireplaces, an expert for every damn small thing that you can find in your house. People trust the expert blindly and education is important. That is why I believe, the education here stresses more on practice than theory and is not very easy to mug up and finish off either.
People here believe in proven results and proven results only. And so there is data collection of everything, and there are so many surveys and analysis of surveys and analysis of data and conclusions and debates on the conclusions etc etc. People here are very scientific, in the fact that they trust analysis of data more than promise. Most rules, laws are based on data analysis. Every product made, or even thought about is supposed to be based on data analysis. Analysis of present data is very much a part of people's mindset here. Every conversation has an analysis part to it based on the data present in somebody's mind and if more data is supplied to contradict an opinion, it is taken very positively and very openly. This, I think is one of the best virtues of people I have sen until now in America.( Of course there are always people who are otherwise but the general public is very open)
There are so many more things to talk about the US, so many comparisions with India.
I have them all recorded in my mind. Some are good, some are bad, but there is one thing that I've come to understand through this trip; whatever culture, whatever practices exist right now, in the US as well as India, are the ones that exactly fit the times and the places.

Monday, April 6, 2009

My train travel poem

I am travelling in the train now.
I am moving fast, and shaking too.
My neighbours, a group of happy old men, are cracking jokes, laughing and drinking too.
The girl nearby is working on her laptop, but her eyes sometimes are staring at me too!
The vendor came in, I bought Ruffles lays, two.
I hope they keep the train clean, cause my berth is very near to the...you know...loo.
At office today I was deep into issues. I thought I would have to cancel the trip, true.
But they all got resolved and I am now relaxed and here, phew!
The curtains on the windows here are really well picked. They're beautiful. They seem new.
There's also a painting on the wall, with all the colours one could construe!
Well.....I think I need to sleep now, though frankly I would like this poem to continue...
Enjoyu.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

It rained in Hyderabad.

I drove my car out of the parking and started for home. It was raining and raining heavily. The clouds, which had been lingering around in Hyderabad skies, threatening a strike anytime, for the past few days, finally delivered what they had threatened.

I was expecting a few traffic jams on my way.

One particular jam, which happens regularly and very near to my house is the most frustrating.

There is a 2 lane bridge across the river Musi just before the next traffic signal. When traffic gets heavy people drive in to the opposite lane(on the other side of the divider) and block oncoming traffic from the other side. And it was raining today.

There is a bus stop just after the bridge(near the lights) and a traffic jam there means no buses on the reverse route.

I was listening to songs while waiting for the traffic to clear, all the time watching more and more people enter into the other lane from before the bridge and try to take a right turn through the opposite lane.

The traffic came to a halt. Nothing moved. The I started looking around for anything interesting.
I saw a student arguing with a biker about something pointing towards the traffic lights. I thought he might be asking a lift and the biker refusing and all.. But then he talked to another biker, then an autowalla. I got interested.

He was talking to people who crossed into the other lane and was very softly(with nerdy glasses and a notebook in his hand) trying to convince them that it was not right and they are blocking the traffic from the other side. People just neglected the guy. His words fell through deaf ears. But he kept going. He tried talking to more people, but their responses did not vary.

It was still raining slowly. I felt a slight pity for the boy. And a feeling that he needs to use force not persuasion to have effect.

Slowly I saw a few more youngsters join with him in trying to convince people not to come into the other lane. Then a few more joined in. And then more came in.
By the time I reached the traffic light the boy was standing at the starting point of a chain of students forming a human traffic divider, guiding vehicles into the right lane.

And the traffic flowed. The jam was gone. And while crossing the junction I could see four smiling, relieved, proud policemen standing in the 4 different directions telling the boys when to stop people and when to let them go.

I had that smile people have when they actually see something they think is only a matter of TV shows or intellectual talk, propaganda bullshit and the types...

It was real. It happened. I saw it. And it rained in Hyderabad.

Friday, May 30, 2008

Anger Management Joke!

Go on and read this.. For all those anger freaks....!!

Are you pissed off? Take it out on someone! But don’t take it out on someone you know, take it out on someone you don’t know!
I was sitting at my desk when I remembered a phone call I’d forgotten to make. I found the number and dialed it. A man answered, saying “Hello.”
I politely said, “This is Chris. Could I please speak with Robyn Carter?”
Suddenly a manic voice yelled out in my ear “Get the right f***ing number!”And the phone was slammed down on me. I couldn’t believe that anyone could be so rude. When I tracked down Robyn’s correct number to call her,I found that I had accidentally transposed the last two digits.
After hanging up with her, I decided to call the ‘wrong’ number again. When the same guy answered the phone, I yelled “You’re an ass hole!” and hung up. I wrote his number down with the word ‘ass hole’ next to it, and put it in mydesk drawer. Every couple of weeks, when I was paying bills or had areally bad day, I’d call him up and yell, “You’re an ass hole!” It always cheered me up.
When Caller ID was introduced, I thought my therapeutic ‘ass hole’ calling would have to stop. So, I called his number and said, “Hi, this is John Smith from the telephone company. I’m calling to see if you’re familiar with our Caller ID Program?”
He yelled “NO!” and slammed down the phone. I quickly called him back and said, “That’s because you’re an ass hole!” and hung up.
One day I was at the store, getting ready to pull into a parking spot. Some guy in a black BMW cut me off and pulled into the spot I had patiently waited for. I hit the horn and yelled that I’d been waiting for that spot, but the idiotignored me. I noticed a “For Sale” sign in his back window, so I wrote down his number.
A couple of days later, right after calling the first ass hole (I had his number on speed dial),I thought that I’d better call the BMW ass hole, too. I said, “Is this the man with the black BMW for sale?”
He said, “Yes, it is.”
I asked, “Can you tell me where I can see it?”
He said, “Yes, I live at 34 Oak tree Blvd., in Fairfax. It’s a yellow ambler, and the car’s parked right out in front.”
I asked, “What’s your name?”
He said, “My name is Don Hansen,”
I asked, “When’s a good time to catch you, Don?”
He said, “I’m home every evening after five.”
I said, “Listen, Don, can I tell you something?”
He said, “Yes?”
I said, “Don, you’re an ass hole!” and I hung up, and added his number to my speed dial, too.Now when I had a problem, I had two ass holes to call.
Then I came up with an idea. I called ass hole #1. He said, “Hello.”
I said, “You’re an ass hole!” (but I didn’t hang up).
He asked, “Are you still there?”
I said, “Yeah,”He screamed, “Stop calling me,”
I said, “Make me,”
He asked, “Who are you?”
I said, “My name is Don Hansen .” He said, “Yeah? Where do you live?”
I said, “Ass hole, I live at 34 Oak tree Blvd, in Fairfax, a yellow ambler.I have a black Beamer parked in front.”
He said, “I’m coming over right now, Don. And you had better start saying your prayers.”
I said, “Yeah, like I’m really scared, ass hole,” and hung up.
Then I called Ass hole #2.He said, “Hello?”
I said, “Hello, ass hole,”
He yelled, “If I ever find out who you are…”
I said, “You’ll what?”
He exclaimed, “I’ll kick your ass.”
I answered, “Well, ass hole, here’s your chance. I’m coming over right now.”
Then I hung up and immediately called the police, saying that I lived at 34 Oak tree Blvd, in Fairfax, and that I was on my way over there to kill my gay lover.
Then I called Channel 9 News about the gang war going down in Oak tree Blvd. in Fairfax.
I quickly got into my car and headed over to Fairfax. I got there just in time to watch two ass holes beating the crap out of each other in front of six cop cars, an overhead news helicopter and surrounded by a news crew.
I feel much better (sigh).Anger management really does work.

Monday, May 26, 2008

The Match.

I was pained today. emotionally. Mumbai Indians lost the match against Rajasthan Royals. It was a match that they had almost won half way through the Royals innings but somehow managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Sachin will be out of IPL this year now.
I supported his team all through and in the end they could not hold their nerves. That really made me so sad. I trust myself to perform my best when most needed(call it crunch situation). And when I am supporting someone so wholly and with the heart and when he(I refer to the team as a person here.For me its Sachin=Team.Coz hes the captain) turns out a choker, I feel really let down.
This brings me to the question:
Why should I feel so much for a team? Why should I relate my happiness to someone else's success? And that too when I really have no direct relation there; No personal stake in his success; No contribution I can make and no result I can have a share of.
Why should I get so excited?
One reason could be that I personally think I would have become a Sachin tendulkar if not for studies and parental pressure to pursue reading more than playing... And then in that case that would be MY team playing out there.
One reason for this is that you need to associate yourself to something. Man, by nature, is a social animal. He needs company. Of course groups were initially formed for resource aggregation but, through the ages now, every social animal needs to share its feelings, anger love, hunger, gaiety, anything. But it needs to share. For that it needs to associate itself to some group. A personal group. Could be a family, a class, a friends group, a players group, a city, a state, a country, and many more. It just needs to have something in common. Or some interest in common. In this team's case it is the win which becomes common. When they win you win. You feel great. They lose you lose. You feel bad. You moods are dictated by that teams perfomances. and so it goes on...as long as the team exists or you severe the connection with it.

Another true(and deeper) reason is, I admire Sachin so much and believe in his ability so much, I want him to win.
Now .. Why?? WHy is it that I want him to win?

That is because if he wins my trust in his ability will be vindicated. I get emotional benefit and satisfaction as well as confidence for recognizing and trusting the right ability. And it proves to me that what I recognise as talent is surely talent. So when I recognise something in myself I will trust it to be true and hence it will add to my overall confidence in myself and my abilities.
So things like these really matter.
It applies to almost all people, old guys to kids, everyone.
And this applies also to you and ...me .

Monday, April 21, 2008

Late nights...

I've been observing a little strange phenomenon about myself..

My past few blogs have been written by me in the night. And I mean late night, like right now 12:40 am and beyond.

I feel like writing when I am alone, and there is no one to disturb me.(Guess thats like one of the most common preferences of ppl) but still, there is an evening and there is a morning and there is an after lunch time at office when all go to sleep.(me too). So why only the night?

Okay, I'll tell you. Lately I have been having this feeling that sleeping is such a waste of time.

I just don't feel like sleeping long hours. My body asks for it but when I really do sleep, inside me someone wakes me up some one wants me to get up and get going.

So, since I can't really sing and make loud noises at night and I am not so much interested in anything else, my body turns me towards writing. It forces me to write. I don't know if it really does something constructive, but it does give me a feeling of satisfaction that I have done something instead of just sleeping off.

Now my body is using all kinds of filthy words for me and pulling me to sleep, but I just feel like writing some thing more...

Sleep is as important as anything else in life. I know. And many things in life are more important than sleep sometimes. Writing a blog presently seems one of those things to me..

I'll know better in future. I guess....
My liking for writing might stem from the fact that I am basically an open minded guy. I don't like keeping personal feelings in myself and die. When you have no hidden feelings, no stored up emotions, you're happiest and my sole purpose in life is happiness, my happiness as well of people around me.
So when I write the feelings inside me come out in the form of words. There are some feelings which cannot find expression physically. Those sentiments find a home in the writings. And when I read them back, I feel a sense of freedom inside me, a feeling of relinquishing some kind of control over myself, some breaking of shackles kindof stuff.
Now it might not be all so complex and so sentimental but simply.... I like writing. It gives me a sense of permanence in this impermanent world.
I try to understand the concepts behind life and try to explain them to myself and to you(which is many a times me myself!).
I would keep on writing till my hands fall off if not for sleep. and the topic goes back to the starting point.. Good night..

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Guide....

"Zindagi bhi ek nasha hai dost.
Jab chadta hai to poocho mat kya alam rehta hai.
Lekin jab utarta hai......"
Hmm..... Din Dhal Jaaye, haye, raat na jaaye..
Tu to na aaye teri yaad sataye..

Thursday, March 27, 2008

The Guide

At 1 am in the night, all I have in my eyes are tear drops which I cannot allow to come out. The melancholy, the pain in the moment is consuming me, but I cannot give in to it. My throat swells but I feel a a sense of happiness, a strange feeling of contentedness.
As I watch myself go through all these feelings I rewind time to when I opened the folder named "The Guide" and opened the file named "Part-1" in the media player.
I knew the story. But as I watched it, as I got involved in it, as I went through every dialogue every scene of it, the flow took me by hand and led me away. The feeling of love is shown so beautifully in the movie, it moves you.
Love..
Love, is such a strong feeling, it overpowers anything and everything in the world. A profound, unconditional, complete love for something gives you immense, immense strength.
That is why true love is the matter of folklore.
As I write this, I think to myself, "true love".......Hmm....I turn inwards..
I put myself the question.. Do you love anything so truely, so purely as you imagine to be love in its definitive, core form?
A question worth pondering, surely...........
I answer............ and I answer to myself............
Where there is pure trust, where there is complete faith, where there are no bindings no rules, where there is total freedom, where there is nothing but a connection which is assumed an irreplaceable part of your body, an inseperable part of your existence on this earth, of your consciousness, there lies the answer to your question. ....

someone inside me says... "you won't find it my friend.. nobody does.... it is non-existent"
I say..."It is not just people i am talking about, brother.."

Friday, March 7, 2008

An evening through my office....

I came to office late, at about 4:30 PM. I had watched the second final between India and Australia all day at home(skipping office). I felt immense joy and satisfaction that OUR BOYS had done the job and done it well. We had won. My time, it seemed(and everybody would agree!), was very well spent.
I had come to office with the intention of staying back in office, sleeping in the dorm. My colleagues, although jealous of my royal routine have a big heart and accept me as I am.. and I really like them for that. !!
As evening shadows grew longer, a cool breeze started off in the campus. The moment we came out to have snacks I felt myself loose consciousness in the moist smell of the air. There were raindrops somewhere...Ahh.. the fragrance mother earth spreads with her joy of meeting her departed little drops...
The beautiful green trees all around with the blue, yellow, violet, pink flower bushes at their feet and the lush green lawn to the left and right of every step along the curvy path, along with this mesmerising breeze was too much for me to hold in conscious attention.
My friends were talking to me. I listened to them, but my mind was filled with the whole world around me.
They guided me to the snack counter and I ate 2 Veg. Puffs.
We came back to our desks, with tummy's satisfied and minds rejuvenated, elated, dazed.
I was left walking alone, in unchanged external conditions, towards the farther food court after all had left for their homes. The sun had gone down and the ambient lighting was on.
As I went by the Amphitheater I could see people sitting together in groups, in couples, singing, laughing and...., it seemed to me, having no connection to the world whatsoever except that of their mutual presence, the moment and the joy shared in those beautiful surroundings.
I passed by the Cricket ground, grass cut to the perfect level, sprinkled with groups of people, employees of course, of different ethnicities, different languages, different attitudes, chatting, making fun, pulling legs, laughing aloud, smiling quietly, discussing, contemplating, looking into each other's eyes, oblivious to a particular observing guy walking past them, who seemed as if enjoying some experience, moving in a dazed way as if drunk, as if in a state of bliss.
As I saw the faces, as I went up to my dinner plate, as I looked into it, I could not but think,
"What else does a man want in his life".
Every spoon of my dinner gave me joy, and it was not on account of the taste of the food. It was the thought, the feeling, that I had at that moment, the thing that every man in this world desires, searches for through God knows how many ways and through how many means, which he finds at the zenith of his achievements, at the conquest of his goal.
I knew I desired nothing else in the world in that moment...... and I knew I was right.