Life

A Poem on Indian Railways – Chuk Chuk Gaadi

Read some of my other most popular poems – Go the Extra Mile, A Ripple of Hope and Why God made Mothers?

Often called the Lifeline of the Nation,
Indian Railways runs more than 14,300 trains!
It carries over 13 million passengers daily,
Across hills, tunnels, rivers, lakes and plains!!

With 1.6 million employees under its rolls,
IR is one of the world’s largest employer!
Traveling across the country in its 63,000 kms of tracks,
You are bound to have more adventure than Tom Sawyer!!

A Train in Indian Railways

Trains run from North to South, East to West,
Across the length and breadth of the country!
Jammu to Kanyakumari is 4751kms,
Is covered by Himsagar Express in 66 hrs, albeit slowly!!

The Railways was a legacy of the British,
And we have come a long way since then!
We have new tracks, trains and coaches,
And technology’s presence is felt even in the engine!!

But while the world has zipped away,
With the high speed and maglev trains!
We continue to live in the British era,
And our trains still run as if enslaved in chains!!

The TGV in France runs at more than 250 km/hour,
Chinese high speed trains exceed speeds of more than 350 km/hour!
Maglev trains are already being tested at 450 km/hour,
With our fastest running at 90, the experience really turns sour!!

My father points out that in the 80s,
Karnataka Express used to take 36 hrs between Delhi – Bangalore!
Now 25 years later it takes 40 hrs,
Surely not something worth writing about in Indian Railways brochure!!

Most stations are outdated and overcrowded,
Trains themselves are rusted, in gross disrepair and dirty!
People hang outside the windows and even on the roof,
Which makes for nice photographs, but at the cost of safety!!

A typical sight on Indian Railways

Communication and signaling equipment is outdated,
No surprises that 83% of all accidents result from human error!
The whole infrastructure is old and crumbling,
Add to that the problems of corruption, naxalism and terror!!

There is no doubt that Indian Railways needs to be better managed,
We need solutions, problems are not going to disappear if we just duck!
Considering the size and scale of operations its not going to be easy,
The authorities needs to tighten their belts, and let us wish them “Best of Luck”!!

Jul 27, 2010
What our life has become these days?

I came across this pic and could not stop wondering how true it is. It totally describes what our life has become these days. With the advent of internet and social networking, everything has moved to the screen of our laptop. We work on our laptop, we talk with friends on the laptop, we take a break by listening to music or watching movies, again on our laptop and many of us (atleast me) sleep with our laptop ON downloading some movie or software.

The Daily Routine

Isn’t it amazing how technology has influenced us? How facebook has become the first thing to do in the morning rather than brushing our teeth? And all this technology is only 10 years old. Ever wondered how we used to live our lives before that 🙂

Jul 20, 2010
The Best and Worst Case Score Tactic
The Best and the Worst Case

This is a tactic which I use whenever I have to make a choice, take a tough decision or to do anything which gets me thinking. I call it the “Best and Worst Case Score” tactic. I have been using this tactic for quite some time now and it has made many of my decisions an easy choice which otherwise would have looked daunting. I have used it to handle choices/decisions ranging from professional life to family / friends related issues to just day to day small choices. Normally we tend to regard situations as more important and serious than they actually are. Using this technique has helped me differentiate between the seemingly important decisions and the really important ones.

The Tactic

When faced with any situation where you have to make a decision or choice and you are confused or stuck somewhere –
On a scale of 10, give a rating assuming the best case scenario that can happen if you go ahead with the decision. The scale of 10 reflects what impact will the decision make in your life considering your long-term ambitions, values, etc

Similarly, rate out of 10 the worst case scenario that can happen if things headed in the wrong direction.

Now compare the scores, and you will know the answer to your confusion
Let me illustrate this with an example. I was thinking of buying a bike since I came to Bangalore. The only bike I wanted to buy was a Bullet, which are very expensive ones. And I had doubts regarding whether I would be able to handle it because of my build. People always advised me to look for a lighter bike which would be more suitable for me. But I only wanted this bike! The dilemma (or what I thought) was that the bike cost upwards of Rs 1 Lakh and all that money would go down the drain if I am unable to manage the bike. I kept on deferring this decision for around 10 months due to the uncertainty, doubts, and all the confusion.

Then finally, I decided to use the “Best and Worst Case Score” tactic. What could be the best case scenario that could happen after buying the bike? The best case was that I would be able to easily handle the bike. I would go on long rides and travel to different places, and can have the experience of a lifetime. I rated this as a 8/10. Then I looked at the worst case scenario. I might not be able to handle the bike due to its weight, and it would be a waste of money. In that case, lets say after 1 year of unsuccessfully trying to ride the bike, if I have to sell it off, it will easily sell for some 80k as Bullets have a good resale value. So the loss, even in the worst case, will be around Rs 20k. I would rate it as a 2/10 on the worst things that can happen to me.

After evaluating the choices, I think it is very clear what I decided. I did not want to miss a possible 8/10 best case experience due to the fear of a 2/10 worst case scenario. The problem was that I was overestimating the fears in the worst case scenario. And this is very typical human behavior, whenever we seek something new, we tend to over-calculate the negative sides and play it safe. But I made the right choice and have some memorable experiences in the 10 months that I have owned the bike so far.

One can use this tactic for big decisions like changing a job or starting a regular exercise regimen, to small choices like whether to call a friend on his/her birthday, or whether to go home early to spend some time with your family. Sometimes it is amazing how clearly and objectively this tactics presents the picture in front of you. If you use this tactic, sometimes you will think that why the hell were you deferring this decision when the benefits are huge and risks/losses are minimum.
Jul 14, 2010
Don’t let anybody else decide what you can do and what you can’t do!

Obey the rules, Miss the fun

We come across conversations daily in our lives that are on the lines of “You can’t do it“, or “Nobody can do it“, or “This is impossible” or “Why in the hell are you doing this?“. We all live in societies and societies have rules. There are legal rules, there are religious rules, and then there are social rules. Everybody live their lives according to these rules. Over time, these rules becomes so intervined with our day to day lives that we don’t even think of doing something out of these rules. We even scrowl on anyone who talks about breaking these rules.

“What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” – is a popular quote by Napolean Hill. We all have infinite potential waiting to be tapped. I don’t believe there is anything one can’t do. A two year child can’t read and write, but we don’t say “This kid can’t do math or read books, and he is a failure”. We don’t say that because we know that we can teach and make that child better. Then why is it okay for such statements to be used for grown ups. Who said we can’t teach something to a young man, or for that matter, to an old man, irrespective of whether he is 50 or 70. When a 67 year old man can climb the Mount Everest and a 98, yes 98 years old man can run a marathon, who are we to say that a person can do or can not do something.

And isn’t it even worse to write off a person because of what they are instead of what they might become? People have started companies in their fifties and have passed school/college at four times the average age. Even our former President APJ Abdul Kalam learned Hindi while he was in office in his seventies. And when you have the desire, you can even make miracles happen.. Not being able to do something is simply a state of not knowing, which can be overcome irrespective of the current situation of the person. Who is anybody to judge and decide what a person can do or can’t do?

And more than judging or commenting, how does anyone but you control what you can do or can’t do? When you have to do something, it is ONLY you who can do it. When you decide to do something, it is very important that you stand by your decision. You need to be strong enough to discard the naysayers and prepare for the task ahead. It might not be easy, and not many people might have tried it before, but so what?? Anyways, what is the fun in doing something easy? If you think you are capable of doing it, then you are. Period. Go ahead and show the world what are you capable of. You are here living your life, not somebody else’s, so why take your decisions based on somebody else’s feedback. It can be summed up by this quote –
“Don’t base your decisions on the advice of people who don’t have to deal with the results”

Imagine how your life and those you impact would improve if you were to let no one else decide how you would act, but instead base your decisions on what you believe. The worst case scenario will be that you will not succeed in what you are trying to do. But that is not a failure, that will be a lesson on how to do it better next time. No task is a failure just because you did not get the expected result. It is not a failure if you are learning something. But if you don’t do it, you will always curse yourself for that one thing which you believed you could do but did not attempt only because of what others said or thought!

Jun 3, 2010
5 of my Favorite Movies with Lessons

Rocky Balboa

1. Rocky Series

The perfect dose of motivation! After watching the Rocky series, you will be pumping with adrenaline and willing to do everything for which you once thought you were not good enough. Such is the impact of Rocky. The Rocky theme song is my alarm tone and it has helped me get up early in the morning since a long time now. And everytime you are down, just watch these movies and you will be back. And the way Sylvester Stallone came back to deliver a stunning sixth movie in the series, it looks like he lives the character he plays in Rocky. It makes you believe in yourselves. These are the movies you want to show to your kids, friends, your parents… those you love. Worthwhile for people of all ages.

2. Remember the Titans

Denzel Washington packs in a powerful performance in this story of integration of white and black players in TC Williams High School Football team amidst racism in the 70s. The fact that it is based on a true story gives more reasons why it must be on your must watch-list. Great, great film with great dialogues and performance from others too, apart from Denzel. It is a story about how we can overcome our differences and rise together for the larger cause. This is the movie you want to watch if you want to feel motivated and feel better about the world.

3. GroundHog Day

Sometimes it takes us a supernatural experience to realise how we should live our lives. This movie shows how Bill Murray is forced to take a relook at his attitude towards life after being caught in a time warp. This movie is not only funny but also ends with a moral. It shows us how we should be really living our lives. Infact, most of us just pass through live, with only a few of us “living” it. Giving your best to everybody and making the best out of every situation without getting caught up in trivial matters is the essence of this movie. Life is meant to be explored and not to be feared of. People are meant to be loved. We can see any situation as a disappointment or as an opportunity to give our best of the world. Everytime your mind is working overtime to find out the solutions to life, just watch this movie!

4. The Pursuit of Happyness

This is one movie which will help you keep your feet on the ground. The story of how a man passes through difficult circumstances, both financially and personally, to pursue a dream job just shows what we can achieve only if we have complete belief in ourselves. Will Smith packs in a powerfull performance, maybe his best! This movie shows that if you earn success overcoming a lot of hardships and challenges, its taste is all the more sweeter. And this movie shows that no-one can stop you from doing something if you “really” decide to do it. Through our will power, the biggest mountains can be moved. So the take away from this movie should be – Find your Dream, and go all out in pursuing it. There will be obstacles along the way, but enjoy them rather than regret them. And don’t let the talks of others worry you, because you know, when you succeed, it will be sweet 🙂

5. Gandhi

The story of a man who needs no introduction. But his story is not about the way he evicted the Britishers without force or violence. His story is the conquest of the human mind over the many insecurities we face in life. It is the story of self discipline and courage under pressure. It is the story of sticking to what you believe in, in the face of fear, intimidation and violence. It is about how a man developed a unquestionable character and integrity. Gandhi stood and fought for the truth and truth only, and never against British. All his actions, movements and satyagrahas were inspired by his unwavering belief in the principle of truth. Read his autobiography “My Experiments with Truth” to know more about the amazing man and his thoughts, that are still as much valid as a century ago.

May 27, 2010
A Tribute to Women

What it is like to be a woman,
A man is perhaps incapable to understand!
It would take us a lifetime to realise,
That when compared to her, nowhere we stand!!

She has the power,
To mesmerize the world with her smile!
As daughter, wife, mother, and friend,
She makes many lives worthwhile!!

In giving birth she faces pain,
Many times more than ever experienced by man!
Still she forgets it with a smile and gets ready,
For her life as a mother just began!!

Performing the role of a wife and a mother,
She is the pillar of strength in every family!
Competing and thriving in a male centric society,
She is nothing less than a one man army!!

If we recount the impact of women in our lives,
We will realise it is nothing less than massive!
I can go on and on but eventually,
Even I will fall short of an adjective!!

As with most men, too egoistic to give her credit,
Even I was unaware of her strength and capability!
Till an amazingly wonderful woman made me realise,
That to be respected is not only her right, but also our duty!!

May 7, 2010
My take on Bangalore

The Ulsoor Lake – One of the Numerous lakes in Bangalore

Eighteen months after moving here,
I feel much better off than before!
Looking in hindsight I feel,
I am glad I came to Bangalore!!

It is a brand the world has noticed,
And come to recognize India for!
The whole software / investment boom started here,
And I am glad I live in Bangalore!!

With our cheap manpower and outsourcing,
The city is not only a noun anymore!
Bangalored is now a verb used to indicate a layoff,
When jobs are moved offshore!!

Me having come from Delhi,
I can say one thing for sure!
When it comes to how to treat women and elders,
Those from up north can learn a lot from locals in Bangalore!!

Some people stretch it too far,
And call it India’s Singapore!
But let us not forget the mess,
With traffic, pollution, and garbage galore!!

Infrastructure, or lack of it, is a big problem,
Which you will realize as soon as you step outdoor!
With the speed of urbanization in the last two decades,
A lot of catching up needs to be done, wake up Govt of Bangalore!!

Bad Traffic is one of the issues,
Which critics of B’lore point out to level score!
But then it is a common problem in all Indian cities,
And it is unfair to single out just Bangalore!!

But the weather here is like a silver lining,
When wind blows and the clouds roar!
You should forget everything,
And just be glad you are in Bangalore!!

I do miss the winters of Delhi,
And the various hangout options are difficult to ignore!
But for me, given my state of affairs,
I will anyday choose Bangalore!!

P.S. – This poem reflects my personal opinion about Bangalore and hence no offenses to other cities and people living there. I have just tried to put into words my current take on Bangalore 😉

Apr 30, 2010
5 examples to show how our environment influence our behaviour?

Our behaviour is the most important thing. The way we interact with others, react to situations and go through our daily chores eventually makes us the person we are. Be it our work life or personal life, our surroundings shape our thoughts and our actions originate from our thoughts. Our actions / behaviour actually shape the way people think about us, or whether we succeed or fail. For example, having lived in both Bangalore and Delhi, I can say the weather does have a big effect on me. It is much easy to get angry / shout at one and all in the sultry hot delhi weather. Even if you are not angry, it is very easy to lose your temper on the slightest provocation. But if you are greeted by a cool breeze whenever you get out (as in Bangalore), you tend to become happy even if you were in a bad mood earlier. The point is, our surroundings, whether natural or chosen, tend to have an effect on our personality and our day to day behaviour.

I am listing 5 examples how we can choose to surround ourselves with different things and how can it bring out our best or worst –

1. Want to be creative, surround yourself with art – If you are in a job where you are required to come up with creative ideas or just want to improve your creativity, surround yourself with art. Keep in touch with what is happening in the art world, and look out for creative advertisements, paintings, or any other form of art. Slowly, you will start appreciating work of other creative people and get your mind working. You will desire to do something on the same lines, and this will get you started. And continuously following up on different forms of art can give you ideas which you can apply in your area of interest.

2. If you live near or visit places where you will find fast food restaurants or advertisements about fast food, you will end up craving for that burger or french fries. Burger and French Fries do taste good (though not healthy) so our mouth will start lickering and our subconscious mind will want us to have it. And if you are hungry at that time, the craving might get to you and you might end up eating fast food instead of doing what you should be. I am thinking of going to a MacDonald today as I am writing this piece, and I need to move on to the next point before I head to grab my fries. (Unfortunately, a MacD joint is just across the street where I live)

3. Expose yourself to metrics about your work or business or performance and you’ll work to improve them. Metrics, and depicting them by graphs and other forms of pictorial representation give us a sense of how we are doing and how we should be doing. If we keep track of such metrics, we will work on improving them. It is the same reason schools and colleges have marks or grades so that people know what to measure and how to improve on those metrics. Collecting metrics is a qualitative way of improving stuff that is otherwise difficult to measure, and hence easy to ignore. If you want to improve something, find a way to measure it and surround yourself with info about it and you will see yourself working to improve it.

4. If you see a lot of negative emotions in your daily life, you will tend to react to situations with a negative bend of mind. If you see people getting angry at each other, you might end up justifying their actions and find reasons to get angry yourself. If you fear something, then thinking about it or being in a vicinity which reminds you of your fear, you will tend up acting more reluctantly on matters you would have been confident otherwise. So if you tend to be around people experiencing negative emotions like frustation, worry, anger, disappointment, be aware that they can spread to you very easily.

5. If you ineract with people making smart decisions, you will also take interest in it and learn from them. You will slowly and surely be able to understand how to handle different situations and how to go about in your decision making process. Your thought process will start reflecting the people who you spend time with. You will understand why they took a certain decision and will try to learn from it.
Eventually, it is a choice of how we choose our surroundings. If you want a change in yourself, then just spend time with people / situations where you see that change. This holds true for both negative and positive thoughts.

Apr 26, 2010
The Idea of a Safe India

How safe are we?

In the 80’s, there was terror in Punjab. Then there have been continuous terror incidents in Kashmir from the late 80s and early 90s. But the 21st century brought with it a new kind of terror in India. Terrorists now managed serial blasts all across India, and also carried out personal fidayeen attacks in many cities of India. Apart from the terror attacks, there has been religious violence in Gujarat and continuous attacks on Churches across states. There has been violence in Mumbai over North Indians, in Rajasthan over Gujjars demanding a lower SC status, in Punjab over Dera Sacha Sauda, and then there is Naxalism in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, and many other states. So what happened to the idea of a Safe India?

Terrorism have took a new turn in the last decade. Terrorists now dared to attack the Red Fort in 2000, the Parliament in 2001 and the Akshardham Temple in Gujarat in 2002. There have been bus/car bombings in Mumbai in 2003, serial blasts in Delhi in 2005, serial attacks in Varanasi in 2006, bombings at Mecca Masjid, Hyderabad in 2007, serial attacks in Delhi, Jaipur, Bangalore, Ahmedabad in 2008 plus the 26 Nov Mumbai terror attacks the same year. Terrorists have managed to attack us by sea and land alike. They have come from across the border and there have been home grown Indian Mujahideen as well. There have been bomb blasts at popular markets and fidayeen attacks at religious places.

Apart from terrorism, we have seen the Gujarat riots of 2002, attacks on Churches in Orissa and Karnataka in 2007 and 2008 and many other small incidents. There has been caste violence in Maharashtra over the issue of North Indians and in Rajasthan when Gujjars wanted a lower status to get more reservation. It sounds strange somebody resorting to violence to get a lower status, but it is true. There have been incidents in Punjab over the Dera Sacha Sauda and later over the killing of a Dera leader Ramanand in Vienna. Attacks against dalits have also continued to take place throughout India over the last decade.

Naxalism is active among 220 districts and 20 states of India. According to RAW, there are 20,000 armed Naxalites in India. Even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have regarded them as the biggest internal threat to India. According to reports, more than 6000 people have died due to Naxalism in the last two decades. There are regular attacks on police stations and slaughter of officials by Naxalites in these areas. Coming to the original question, is India safe as a state considering the violence in the last decade. Why can’t we feel safe even in our own country? There is fear of Pakistan based terror, home grown terror, religious violence, caste based violence and naxalism.

So what has gone wrong in the last decade as the idea of a safe India has gone for a toss. We have one of the largest armies in the world, yet we are the most unsafe country it seems. We are going places, our GDP growth rate is the fastest after China, yet we cannot guarantee the safety of our own citizens. Everything India has achieved over the last decade has been because of its private sector while the government has continued to be slow and disappoint ever since. We can only hope this situation will improve and our elected representatives take their tasks seriously before it is too late. I just want to be safe in my own country, Is this too much to ask?

Mar 7, 2010
The Positive and Negative Sides of Us

An Eclipse of Black over White

We all have positive and negative sides to our personality. Sometimes we are the cheerful son, ever helping friend and a polite human being. Yet sometimes we can also be selfish, jealous and disrespectful to others. Nobody has escaped these two sides of human nature, the only thing that separates us is with which side we decide to associate ourselves with.

The only difference between a criminal and a philanthropist is in the mind. The old cliche that says that “Human mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master” probably explains that. The criminal has allowed his insecurities and fears to overcome his mind and better judgment to justify his acts. And the philanthropist’s strong will power has allowed him to overcome his fears and do good for the society in large.

In our daily lives, we come across many different people. They may be colleagues, friends or family members. Let’s take a moment to think about how we interact with these people in our day to day lives. You will be amazed to find out how quickly we forget the good sides and instead focus on the negative sides of people. How water cooler gossip in the office or phone gossip between family members bring out the worst of everyone and hides the good. See how our TV soaps are only tales of deceit, fears, jealousy, greed and not of honor, bravery, honesty and truthfulness.

“Hate the Sin, Not the Sinner“, goes a popular saying. Now if everyone has their negative and positive sides, it basically comes down to us that which side we needs to focus on. Even if we assume that one person is outright cruel and insensitive and deserves every brick you throw at him, he will have a softer side to him. But by that logic, you will be happy/pleased if he changes to a good person. Now, either we can focus and spread gossip about his daily acts of cruelty or praise him, defend him for the one good act he performs sometimes. And how does one expect good out of someone when you never look at that person with trust and confidence, but always with suspicion? And when are his chances of developing his positive traits more, when you gossip about him (which will eventually reach him) or spread word about his good acts?

Gandhiji once said that “Be the change you wish to see in the world“. Now, I am sure that none of us wants to be treated badly by a family member, or ignored by a good friend, or deceived by a business colleague. But are we, each of us as individuals, doing our part? Are we not giving in to our negative sides when we gossip about a colleague, family member or a friend? Instead of all this, if we focus on their positive sides and behave in the same way, we will fill our days with lots of happiness and joy and prevent health problems like blood pressure, etc…

Even if you don’t care about what I have said above or don’t believe that some people have positive sides too, I would still (try to) treat everybody in the best possible way I can. For one, I don’t want to be the person I hate by doing the same stuff that I hate in another person. And secondly, I believe that I my life span of say 60-70 years (of which 26 years are already over), I don’t want to waste my time hating others, there is enough good in the world to focus on and spent the remaining time of my journey on earth.

Mar 2, 2010
White Space in our lives – Need and Importance

White Space is a commonly used term in the industry I work in, the Internet industry. White Space is the space that is left between text and images on a web page. It is often said that the more white space you have, the more prominent your text becomes. For example, Google.com has a lot of white space while Naukri.com has a drought of it….

Looking at life and ourselves, I want to apply the “White Space” principle in our daily lives too. We live in a world where we strive to be busy. Workaholic people, who spend 12-15 hours at the workplace are celebrated like martyrs in our society. Being busy has become a parameter for measuring success. We have filled up our lives with friends, work, projects, dreams, aspirations, and so on. When we pack our calendar from 8AM to 6PM, more often than not we will find no time for lunch, or re-group your desk, or reply to a mail from an old friend…

Applying the “White Space” principle to our lives, we need to realise the two kinds of white space that we find in our lives. One is which we don’t choose. Like time spent when traveling to work, waiting outside the client’s office for a meeting or waiting for your turn in a queue. We get this white space daily in our lives and more often than not we don’t make use of it and just let it go by. The other kind of “White Space” is what we decide to put into our lives. Taking some time off for ourselves just after getting up from bed, taking a few planning breaks in between, or a introspection break at the end of the day will not only help us relax and plan our lives better, it makes room for people and things that really matter.

Coming back to first kind of white space, I always try to make proper of whatever white space I get in my routine. If I am stuck in a traffic jam, I normally take out a book or article (which I always carry) and read some pages. It could be anything from business to jokes. If waiting for somebody for a meeting, I sometime just sit back with my eyes closed for 5 minutes which believe me, can really help focus better afterward. We will always get these unexpected white spaces in our lives daily and rather than being frustrated and honking on the roads, we can take this time to relax and rejuvenate for the rest of the day. Make use of this break by turning it into an energy booster, not an energy drainer.

The second kind of white space comes when you keep a little more breathing time in your calendar. Giving our self even a few minutes of breathing time everyday can make a huge impact in our lives. Begin small. Take 10 minutes out for yourselves every morning. Try to visualize your day ahead and how you plan to go about it. What tasks you want to be over by the end of the day? Or just do some breathing exercises and prepare yourselves for the day. During the day, take time between meetings. Go for a walk, and connect with your body, your breath and nature. It might be difficult at first, but we need to let go of the feeling that everything needs to be done right now. This way of thinking is embedded in our society and is very unproductive.

The point is to slow down and reconnect with yourself. How many times have you been too busy with your day-to-day schedule that you don’t even have time to think what you are doing? Learn to say “NO” to unimportant things, don’t try to “fill” time by doing something, just sit back and relax for a while. Try sometime to put your head in your mother’s lap for 10 minutes and relax. It feels great. Now remember the last time you did this!! Ever since I started taking time out for myself, I am feeling more rejuvenated and fresh. My anxiety and resentment are gone, I know what is happening with my life, and I am able to contribute more to those really close friends and family, as they are the ones who really matter.

Feb 11, 2010
Choices, Decisions and Consequences

Each decision leads to a new path

Every morning we wake up unknown of what lie ahead of us. All of us have different choices in front of us whenever we are at a decision making point in our lives, and we live with the consequences of those decisions for the rest of our lives. In geometry, a path is a collection of line segments between some points with each point giving a new direction to the path. Similarly, our life is a sequence of decisions taken at certain intervals of time. At each decision making point, we have choices, and these decisions give a new direction to our life. (To see how I make my decisions using a theory called The Best and Worst Case tactic)

I totally believe in the choices, decisions and consequences theory. Everybody’s life is governed by the choices we make. I don’t believe in destiny, luck or fate. Though I believe that there are somethings above our control, we can always control how we react to unknown and sudden situations or turns of life. At every point, whether we have walked there or whether it has been thrust upon us, we have to make a choice and live with the consequences.

When you have to make a choice and don’t make it, that is in itself a choice – William James

Many of us just go through life, only a few of us actually “live” it. Which route to take on way to work? Procrastinate, or get busy with that important project? Whether it is a small step as what to eat for dinner or a major step as which college to choose, we always have many choices in front of us. Few things in life are free. We reap what we sow. I find that the quality of my life improves when I ‘act‘ and give conscious thought to my choices and decisions. I feel more in control of my life, more optimistic, and I tend to make ‘better‘ choices and decisions.

Each decision could be termed as the beginning of a new path in our life. We chose a new path when we make a decision. I have made some decisions I am not proud of and I have to live with the consequences. I have no one to blame but myself for them. Similarly, there are some decisions for which I am really glad. The choices I make set the direction my life will take. Earlier, I used to blame others or luck or fate if something did not went the way I expected. But the earlier we realise the truth the better it is.

With decisions comes consequences. Good or bad experiences are basically a result of whether we got what we were expecting or not. It is important to be mature enough to take full responsibility for our actions. As we all love to take the credit for a job well done, there is no shame in accepting the blame for a mistake. I believe there are no mistakes, only lessons to be learnt from them. A “mistake” should not be treated with negativity, it is actually something good. A mistake can show you what you did wrong, and how to avoid it the next time. A mistake is only a lesson, it improves your chances of success the next time. So we must forget the mistakes, remember the lessons and move on with life.

The sooner we realise this, the sooner we will be able to make better decisions and treat each failure as a stepping stone, not as a stumbling block. Nobody has ever made all the right choices, and you will also make mistakes as you go along the path of life. But the only thing important is to make better choices each time, hope for the best, and take your lessons from any mistakes you have committed. More the mistakes you make, the more learned and experience you become. I would like to end with a popular quote from Tallulah Bankhead –

If I had my life to live again. I’d make the same mistakes, only sooner!

Feb 3, 2010
Five Point Someone and 3 Idiots

3 Idiots is on its way to break all box office records and the sale of Chetan Bhagat’s Five Point Someone (buy on Flipkart or Amazon) has also increased since the controversy. Well, as they say it, no publicity is bad publicity. And a controversy always helps both sides. Having read the book as well as having watched the movie, I am sharing my views about how much of the movie is based on the book.

For any movie which is adapted from a book / novel, there has to be some changes. Writing a book and creating a book are two different things altogether. Converting a book to a movie scene by scene will never work, and the same is true for converting a movie to a book. A book will always have more details of scenarios compared to movies as a movie need to finish in 2-3 hours. So in comparing the two, one should not consider changes like this. You cannot say a movie is different from the book because the book did not have the songs :O

So here goes my take, I would say the movie is 50-60% taken from the movie. And if you take the crux of the movie, the characters, the twists and turns, it is 80% from the book. To justify these numbers, I am going to list all the similarities and differences I found. I would like to state that I am not related / contracted / hired by either Chetan Bhagat or the 3 Idiots team. Just giving my own personal opinion below.

The similarities are below-
• The characters of Farhan and Raju and their middle class and lower middle class family details are from the book.
• Raju’s sister character, the groom asking for a Maruti 800, his father’s paralysis, his mother’s constant cribbings is from the book.
• The main theme of the film, the problems with the education system is from the book.
• Chatur’s character is also from the book
• Ryan / Rancho being good at engineering and making innovative devices is from the book.
• Three friends meeting at ragging, where Ryan / Rancho takes the fight back to the seniors is from the book.
• Raju leaving for go with Chatur and then coming back is from the book
• Professor “Virus” as the director (HOD in book) is from the book
• Narration of the movie is done by Farhan, same as in the book where it is done by Hari
• Drinking rum of the college roof is from the book
• Raju jumps from Virus’s room in the movie while he jumps from the roof in the book
• Virus’s son dies from falling off the train, which is a suicide, is taken from the book too.
• All 3 go to Neha / Pia’s house in the middle of the night is taken from the book
• Stealing the paper from Virus’s office, the phone call getting them cought is also from the book

The differences are listed below too
• The beginning of the movie, 2 friends in search of the 3 friend is original
• Farhan’s faking illness to stop the flight is original
• The Sept 5 bet to come back after 10 years is original
• The Chamatkar / Balatkaar speech is original
• Rancho making a device to electrocute the urinating senior is different from the book where he breaks a beer bottle to fight back.
• Rancho / Ryan falls in love in Pia / Neha in the movie while Hari / Farhan falls in the book (demand of bollywood cinema)
• Hari / Farhan steals the keys from Pia / Neha in the book while she hands it to Rancho in the movie
• The character of Suhaas is only in the movie
• In the book, Ryan / Rancho gets bad grades like his friends while he is a topper in the movie
• There was no sister of Pia / Neha in the book
• “All izz Well” concept is original
• The delivery of Pia’s sister is original and the story around her
• The events associated to the wrapper of the story – 2 friends going to find the 3rd, Pia running from the marriage, Rancho becoming a scientist is original

Considering both the lists above, you can decide for yourself the extent the movie is based on the book. I would call it more than 50%. There are many differences too, but the main crux of the story, the characters, the theme, the twists and turns are all from the movie… You can leave your comments below, but remember, only leave your comments if you have read the book and watched the movie….

Whatever my opinions might be, I am not taking any credit from the cast of 3 Idiots (specially Aamir Khan) and its director Rajkumar Hirani who have done a wonderful job and produced a great piece of entertainment.

Jan 6, 2010
Dreams of childhood

“Bade Hoke Kya Banoge?” is I think the question kids have to answer the most. Childhood is the time when you can imagine and dream of anything. Nothing seems out of your reach and everything looks possible. And better still, nobody frowns at you when you state your wish.

I too dreamed of becoming an astronaut, a scientist, a cricketer, a police officer, and who knows what!! Of course, nobody told me the kind of physics you need to master to become a scientist. I could not handle the physics of class XI alone and my scientist dreams went down the drain. Astronaut is something which I think most kids dream of becoming. But you need to be a scientist first to do so, and you might have to wait all your life for an opportunity to actually go into space. Things look so good and easy on TV…..

In India, who does not dream of becoming a cricketer? So did I. And I was quite serious despite being a pretty poor player. I used to go play on weekends apart from street cricket almost every day. I tried for trials once for the school team but could not get through. I tried for cricket coaching at a sports complex near my place, but could not continue after a few days due to studies and all…

Indian movies sometime wants you become a police officer, not knowing police officers in India are the bad guys and not the good guys as shown in movies. Well, such are childhood dreams. Wild in imagination and endless in possibilities. For most students, these wild dreams change to more realistic dreams of becoming an engineer, a doctor or a CA during the last years of school.

Share with me what all you wanted to become as a kid. How wild were your imaginations?

Jan 6, 2010