bangalore

Three Years in Bangalore – The joy, pain and where it leads?

18 Oct 2008, that was the day I landed in this beautiful garden city Bangalore as a 25 year old full with enthusiasm and energy to make it big. Now, three years hence, I can say it is exactly the same state I found myself in. Buzzing with energy, pumping in 14-16 hour days and excited about a lot of ideas sprouting in my head. Now I won’t say that it has been all rosy in these last three years, as there was a brief period of being lost, where I hardly was able to put in 6 hours a day, and I was either angry, frustrated, irritated or just tired all day along. But I am glad that this phase happened, and gladder that it is over now 🙂

SaleRaja – The Joy and Pains of Entrepreneurship

The first year in Bangalore was full of experiencing what entrepreneurship is all about. There were good days, and there were not so good days. Technical discussions, night long marathon coding sessions, sales calls, and a lot of manual and boring repetitive tasks used to fill up my day. The Bangalore weather was the perfect catalyst for all this. Going to events, meeting the founders of other startups, partnering with a lots of people for different tasks and lots of brainstorming sessions made this period one of the most memorable of my life. I started SaleRaja.com as I felt working with InfoEdge that it was not too difficult to earn money ‘for ourselves‘. SaleRaja taught me it was not so easy either 😉 Nothing could be more humbling than that, and the lessons from SaleRaja makes me what I am today. 15 months in Bangalore, and I had to make one of my toughest decisions to let go of SaleRaja, which might also be one of the wisest. For the whole SaleRaja journey, I can say that I started SaleRaja for earning money and getting rich. It didn’t make me any richer (in financial terms) but it ended my hunger for money and pushed me towards a journey for more meaningful things, and that was a big breakthrough.

New city, New games

Exploring New Territories

Once the burden of SaleRaja was no more, I felt really free and light compared to the heavy feeling of burden which I felt earlier. I started meeting a lot of people from the startup ecosystem in Bangalore, also had time to catch with a lot of friends in Bangalore whom I rarely met during the times of SaleRaja. I got interested in looking for new ideas for business, and saw a few very interesting ideas by entrepreneurs. I joined Yahoo during this time, and apart from work, started volunteering to teach school kids as part of a Yahoo! initiative. This step was path breaking as it helped me discover a new side of myself and opened up a lot of new doors. Not to forget are the many long rides I did on my bike which literally meant exploring new territories.

The Joy of Starting New Initiatives

Around the end of 2010, I decided it was time to do something (again). Well, once an entrepreneur, always an entrepreneur. I love starting new initiatives, and this time I decided to do something non-commercial, and something which was not related to internet and coding in any way. I took up a waste management initiative, organized an anti-corruption walk, and later started Pick a Fight. This journey, which still continues, got me in contact with some amazing people from the non-technical world, and it was an eye opening and view expanding experience.

Every city has its own language, customs and festivals

The Future – I can sense some change soon

It has been almost two years since I gave up on SaleRaja, and I am really eager to get back to the game again. Although I am involved in the initiatives mentioned above, I am always excited by new business opportunities. In a way I can feel the winds of change coming towards me soon. I am not sure how long before I start something again, or whether I will start myself or join an already existing startup, or what idea it would be? But I am very sure that I am ready for it again now based on my learnings in the last two years. But this time I will not hurry up into it like last time (not repeating the mistakes) and do proper due diligence before jumping again (making new mistakes).

Oct 19, 2011
1300 km Ride to Dandeli and Karwar in 4 days

This was to be my longest ride till date. The best I did before was a 768 km ride in 48 hours, and this one was meant to be 1300 km spanning over 4 days. We were going to pass through national highways, forests, ghats and were also going to do some off roading along the way. I was sick of doing many single day and two day rides and wanted to do a longer ride, so this was my chance and I lapped it up.

We left Bangalore on Friday at 8 AM expecting it would be a long day considering we planned to cover more than 500 km and reach Dandeli by nightfall. We started well but were soon delayed by nagging problems with one of the bikes. Though this meant we lost a lot of time, it also ensured proper rest for all of us. We managed to reach Hubli, which is around 430 km from Bangalore only after sunset and it has also started raining by that time. We headed towards Dandeli which was another 100km of riding through not so good roads but were again stopped in the ranks by a flat tire. After another hour long break, we finally managed to reach Dandeli just after midnight, which meant 16 hours of riding. Phew… Off we went to sleep after an hour of chatting..

All the bikes at Dandeli amidst the rain

Sleeping off late obviously has to carry forward to the next day. On day 2 we were supposed to ride to Karwar, which was a port town in west Karnataka and come back by evening. But we were able to start only by 11 am and were stopped by another bike problem for an hour in between. There was some 15 kms of off road biking involved and that was a good experience similar to my off roading experience in Kemmanagundi an year earlier. But all this took time and it was raining too so we managed to reached Karwar only by 4 pm. Considering we were late and there was a beach to relax in Karwar, we decided to stay overnight and leave for Dandeli the next day.

The evening sky at Karwar

We chilled off in the beach at Karwar for around 3 hours in the evening. Karwar is only a small town 90 km south of Goa and hence the beach was quiter, and cleaner than the beaches in any other major city. It was a refreshing and relaxing atmosphere as we just sat and enjoyed the cool breeze that was blowing. We wrapped up after the sunset in this quite town, and headed for dinner and other ‘refreshments‘…

A picturesque scene at the Karwar Beach

The tar.. it feels best when it touches the rubber

Day 3 was supposed to be a chill out and easy day before another long and tiring 500 km ride coming up on day 4. We chilled out again at the beach in the morning at Karwar and left for Dandeli at noon. This time there were no bike problems and we reached our resort at Dandeli by 3pm. The route was as scenic as it gets. Again there was some off-roading which was a memorable experience. Casual talks followed in the evening and some much needed rest and preparation for the next day marked the rest of the night.

Next morning we headed back for Bangalore from Dandeli at 9am. It was supposed to be another long ride of more than 500 km and we expected to do this in 10-12 hours. The road along NH4 was as excellent as it gets and many of us were doing speeds of more than 100km/hr. As it was the fourth day of riding, there were some tiredness and we took constant water and tea breaks in between. A dog decided to commit suicide in front of one of the bikes causing some damage which resulted in a extended two hour lunch break.

Myself during a break along the way

After getting the bike fixed, we resumed our journey back and we did two continuous stretches of over 100km in 90 minutes or so. That really helped in covering the distance and we reached within 100 kms of Bangalore by sunset. We last assembled at Tumkur around 7:30 pm and after some tea and refreshments, we started our different ways leading to home. The highways were wonderful all along the way and due to it being 15 Aug, we didn’t see as much traffic in the city as we were expecting. I managed to reach home by 10 am.

After doing 1300km in 4 days on a bike, my whole body was aching like anything. But that was the fun of the ride and a reminder of all the fun we had during the ride. All the high speed riding, through highways and ghats, riding in the rain and the bone jerking off roading was an experience to cherish.

My Thunderbird.. A wonderful companion for a long ride

P.S. – To see all pics of this trip, click here

Aug 20, 2011
First Meeting of Pick a Fight, a memorable experience..

Last Sunday (24 Jul) we had our first meeting of everyone who volunteered to join our team in Bangalore. Till now, we have been working on developing the website and asking people to join. We already had discussions with a few NGOs / fights and this meeting was the starting point for our on-the-ground operations in Bangalore. I was absolutely delighted to see 10 people turning up and contributing with their ideas, opinions and suggestions for Pick a Fight.

What was amazing to see was the enthusiasm among everyone as each of us shared about the volunteering they have already done. Ayush recalled several activities he has been a part of while being associated with his company. Pavithra told us about a few NGOs she had visited. She also told us about her ‘India Innoventor‘ project which she is very keen to start. Rinkesh mentioned about a place where he went with Ayush once for volunteering. Others shared their experiences too. It was wonderful to hear about all these experiences.

We shared about the fights/causes we already have on-board with Pick A Fight. Anupama spoke about an orphanage cum school which she visited and interacted with recently. She spoke about the requirements of teachers (to teach Maths, English) and of funds for the orphanage. We also explained the purpose behind Gift Your Organ, whose founder we met a few weeks ago, who have taken on the cause of organ donation to make sure nobody dies for a lack of an organ donor. I also mentioned about Beyond Carlton, a fire safety and awareness movement started by the father of a 23 old victim in the Carlton Towers fire tragedy which happened in Feb 2010.

One of the common areas where these NGOs can utilize our help is spreading awareness. Whether the cause is about organ donation or fire safety or recycling, the awareness factor among the common man is quite low. For example, in UK, 25% of the population have pledged their organs and they are very unhappy about the figure. There are no official figures in India, but the number won’t be even 0.25%. Another way to help these NGOs would be by connecting them to volunteers who are willing to spend a few hours every week with them, teaching kids or spending some time with senior citizens.

A good start, but this is going to be marathon, not a sprint

Fundraising is another common area where most NGOs need help. But it is also something which will be most challenging. There have been many instances where NGOs have been used as a front to siphon off money, and hence credibility and accountability becomes a big issue. The challenge will be to connect different causes and bring them on a common and reliable platform which they can use to raise funds for their activities. We will also have to make sure that the money is used for the advertised purposes and not for any other activities.

We surely have a long way to go, and there will be many challenges along the way. While it was great to see the enthusiasm and energy of all the participants, we would need to be very patient at times when things are moving slowly or not as planned. We would have to keep one eye on the long term vision and not get distracted by small obstacles along the way. It will also be critical to keep our focus on the activity at hand and try to give the best possible service to the NGO / cause we are working with.

At the end of the meeting, we all agreed that we would need to grow our network to include like minded individuals across sectors, industries and companies. As more and more NGOs begin to reach out to us, the important thing will be to be ready for them when they approach us. Very soon we will start ground campaigns on organ donation, fire safety, waste management, among others and it will be critical to have a big network to reach out to as and when we need their support.

So let’s get together, let’s spread the word about our activities and plans, and let’s make a difference. If you have taken part in any volunteering activity, write an article or share a story with us. If you have not yet joined us on facebook and linkedin, do so now. In this way you can stay updated about our activities and help with any if you are in a position to do so. Also invite your friends and colleagues to be a part of these communities and engage in conversations.

The road might not be easy. The destination might not be clearly visible. But let us all take the first step, and then the second, third, and so on… Cheers!!

Jul 29, 2011
Six years of professional career – A quick recap

18 July 2011. Yes, that’s today. It marks six years of my professional career. In a nutshell, ever since joining InfoEdge at their Noida office six years back, I have been programming to create websites. But it has been a lot more than that. I have made some amazing friends during these six years with whom I have shared some unforgettable moments, learned a lot about coding, business and life from the people I have interacted with and situations I faced. A lot have changed since that hot and sweaty day of 18 Jul 2005 (which I still remember very vividly).

If I look back and try to recap the last six years, I can break them down into six very specific sections / phases / periods which can be associated with some really significant events in my career. Read below to know about these six phases –

First Steps – July 2005 to July 2006

The first year of my professional life was as good as it gets. I did a lot of hard work in office, and made some really good friends. Everyday during these times was so much fun and unforgettable. The leg-pulling, late night parties, the fights, and the do-not-care attitude of some 7-8 of us colleagues made it one of my best years ever. Coding till late in the night, learning new technologies and putting them to innovative use was an added advantage to the fun we were having everyday in office.

Ok, I hope you can sense the 'fun' being part of this team

Cloudy Days – Aug 2006 to Aug 2007

The fist disappointment came after a year of work, and it made things bad with a very good friend of mine. The group was divided into two, and both sides tried to irritate the other group as much as possible with their sarcastic comments and mannerisms in office. Although it was all friendly rivalry with no serious hard feelings, it did get tense at times. But as all clouds have a silver lining, Sukip and SaleRaja were born during this period out of the happenings in office. It was not a pleasant year for me in office, but a very important one. And by the end of the year, I patched up with this friend of mine and we were back to normal, fun filled days.

The 99acres team of 2008, at Mashobra

Finding the real me? – Sep 2007 to Oct 2008

If I have to choose one year as the most defining in the last six, it will be this one. It made me discover traits of my personality which I didn’t knew even existed. Managing SaleRaja and leading a team of 14 people, ensuring the co-existence of both work and fun, made me face challenges and respond to them in a way that was to shape my personality. Made another group of great friends during this time, learnt a lot about leadership, and also cleared a lot of pre-conceptions about people and life in general during this time. This phase ended with me making one of the toughest decisions of my life, to leave InfoEdge and the team (and fun) I had for SaleRaja.

My farewell from InfoEdge in Oct 2008, a very emotional moment

SaleRaja – Nov 2008 to Dec 2009

Over to Bangalore. Fully focussed on SaleRaja, I started doing everything, from sales calls to marketing to coding with an aim of making it big with SaleRaja. We worked hard, then harder, and then even harder to squeeze the most out of our time. My days have been 14-16 hour long for some time, but it started to become taxing and tiring by the end of this phase. In Dec 2009 decided it was time to move on, again one of the tough decisions I had to take. But these 14 months in Bangalore taught me a lot about business and life as I was exposed to many startups and the eco-system surrounding startups. Again, I made a lot of good friends and met a lot of good hearted and inspiring people.

The Jivox team in Bangalore

LOST – Jan 2010 to Jul 2010

There are times when everything was going so well and you take some tough decisions which didn’t work out as well as expected. You left the good for the better but are left with nothing instead. These are the times when you start asking questions like, “Why did this happen?”, “Why did I take that decision?” or “What is happening?”… Let me tell you what is happening.. LIFE IS HAPPENING… Yes… Everything was going well.. and then Life Happened… This phase of my career was a time of doubt, but also of introspection. It made me look for answers to some really tough questions within myself, and it was during this phase that I started reading and writing regularly, which helped me a lot and is a regular practice now.

Rediscovery – Aug 2010 to present

The last year has been an uncertain, uncomfortable and a bumpy journey. But this journey has taken me through peaks and sights that are unforgettable. I have faced fear right in the eye and done things regularly which I was afraid of earlier, and regularly at that. And needless to say, I have grown as an individual the most in this last year, and done some crazy stuff which I could not have dreamt of a few years earlier. I am having the best time of my life now, where every day seems better than the previous one, where I enjoy every day of the week be it a Monday or Friday and I am doing so much that my days feel like having 36 hours 😉

In reflection, whatever has happened in the last six years has made me what I am today. All the good stuff was certainly memorable, but all the not so good times were also blessings in disguise. The sooner we realize that the cloudy days are as much a part of life as the sunny ones, we can stop getting hurt from life’s beatings and instead use them to grow stronger and wiser. In the future too, I hope to be strong enough to get hammered, because I know I will get hammered into new and interesting shapes.

Jul 18, 2011
Anil Kumble’s 10 wicket haul in my cricket archives

All his victims that day

If you have to pick the top 10, or even the top 5 cricketing moments in India’s cricket history, you can not miss the 10 wicket haul by Anil Kumble. His 10 for 74 in the second innings at Delhi vs Pakistan remains only the second instance of a bowler taking all 10 wickets in an innings. And boy he deserves it, for I have not seen a harder trier on the cricket field. And perhaps, he was won India the most test matches by any individual player. One important fact which many people miss is that he took those 10 wickets in one spell of 21.3 overs, conceding only 49 runs in the process.

It was a chilly February morning (8th Feb, 1999) and I remember watching the match on TV with my family members. At first when he started picking wickets and his deliveries started to zip and sizzle out of every crack at the Ferozshah Kotla, it was no surprise. But when he took his 7th wicket, I remember I jumped up and exclaimed, “Abe saari lega kya?” (Will he take all?) After all, I was a 15 year old back then, and didn’t even knew that someone has already taken 10 wickets once in history. It was like an unbelievable and unforgettable burst of emotions all over the place when he finally took Wasim Akram as his last victim.

The celebrations at the Kotla

As I had written in my previous post, I used to archive cricket stories and news coming in newspapers and magazines back then. When I was digitizing my archives a few months ago, I could not miss reliving that moment as I found cutting newspaper after newspaper cutting marking the historic day. You can see some of them in this post.

Kumble's Homecoming

These images, more than anything, captures the man Anil Kumble was. He did not stop after this record breaking feat, instead he went on to reclaim almost every Indian bowling record. He became India’s first spinner to take 300 wickets in both Tests and ODIs, ending at 619 wickets only behind Muralitharan and Warne. He played many important knocks with the bat also, and no bowler could claim of getting his wicket easily.

To conclude, he was as much a player as he was an artist with the cricket ball. He relied on metronomic accuracy and steep bounce and change in pace off the pitch to tame his opponents. He, more than any spinner, relied more on bounce and change in pace than spin. His character and humility also makes him the wonderful person that he is, and he demonstrated that when he got the captaincy of the team in his last few years on that controversial Australian tour, and later as the captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL team.

Political Adulation

Jun 8, 2011
Islands of Excellence, and being an Engineer

Recently when I was reading the book “Banker to the Poor” by Muhammad Yunus, the famous Bangladeshi professor, banker, economist and Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2006, I came across this text which I have quoted verbatim below. You can buy the book at Flipkart or Amazon.

“Everyday I drove through the village of Jobra which stood between the highway and the campus. I saw barren fields next to the campus. I asked my colleague Professor Latifee the reason for not cultivating this land for a winter crop. He made some guesses for he knew the village well. I proposed that both of us go to the village and talk to the people. We did and soon found the answer.

There was no water for irrigation.

I thought we should do something about it. It was a shame to let the land around the university campus remain barren. If a university is a repository of the world’s knowledge, then some of this knowledge must spill over into the neighborhood and demonstrate that it is indeed useful knowledge. A university should not be an island where academics attain higher and higher levels of knowledge without sharing any of this knowledge with its neighbors.”

And how accurately he has observed. He was a professor in one of the best universities in Bangladesh, and he could not understand the poverty and helpness of the villages right next to the campus. His remark that if a university is a repository of world’s knowledge, it should spill to the nearby areas to demonstrate that it is useful. What a simple and insightful thought!! What is the use of our education and all institutions we have created if it can’t help the people who need it the most?

Are we doing justice to our profession?

I am an engineer, and I have a similar network, with many people in my address book being engineers, managers, with high levels of education and skills. Living in Bangalore, it seems every other person works in a big IT company. With so much wisdom, knowledge and skills all around me, isn’t it ironical that grave problems still exist in the same society and neighborhood where we live. Shouldn’t our treasure of knowledge spill over in finding solutions to the problems all around us. Or is it that our skills can help big multinationals create new products and improve existing ones for clients mostly sitting abroad but we can’t use our skills to help our brothers and sisters, many of whom don’t even have the basic amenities to live a decent life.

Or have we created little islands of excellence all around us and we don’t bother to see the poor and the miserable condition they live in. They might live next to our doorsteps, but it is amazing how we have learned to ignore them, and similarly, how they have learned to ignore us. We travel on the same roads, live in the same neighborhood, but the similarities end here. Our homes are spacious and have the best amenities, while somewhere nearby you will also find their congested neighborhood with small houses with very basic amenities. Our children go to the best schools and ride bicycles (with gears) while their go to government schools, play barefoot on the roads with old cycle tyres. Wah Re India..

Now there must be something I am missing here. Because this can’t be right. This can’t be the state of one of the fastest growing economies in the world. If our engineers are known for their skills all over the world, why can’t they solve the problems which are nearest to them? Wikipedia define Engineers as “They work to develop economic and safe solutions to practical problems, by applying mathematics, scientific knowledge and ingenuity while considering technical constraints.” We call ourselves engineers very proudly, but if we see our daily lives, do we really think that what we do is in sync with the above definition? Even if the answer is yes, then why are we ignoring our own problems and solving problems of the rest of the world? Are we not doing a great injustice to our profession? Are we not insulting the word “Engineer” by calling ourselves so?

I would love for all to leave comments below, but I would like to request one thing from all readers. Don’t leave your comment immediately if you are frustrated, angry or offended by what I have written. I am not blaming anyone, I am just wondering at the situation. Think about it for a minute or two, go over your daily lives and see if your skills can be of any help to people around you, and then leave a comment. I would love to hear what you have to say.

P.S. – Banker to the Poor is one of my favorite books.

May 17, 2011
We walk for change!!

It was a sight to see,
And a moment to experience!
Just a walk, nothing fancy,
When people walked out of conscience!!

Flagged off by a freedom fighter,
We took a route embedded in history!
400 awake citizens walked together,
On a day which was hot and sunny!!

The heat was no match to our will,
For we were united against corruption!
We marched for the Jan Lokpal Bill,
And demanded it for the whole nation!!

We walked for change

There were people across cultures,
Students & professionals, young and old!
Seeking punishment for the vultures,
A new age dawns, this is the threshold!!

Four hours and eleven kilometers,
Posters, slogans and the flying tricolor!
The knife of the money launderers,
Will not be allowed to go any deeper!!

Many joined us on the way,
Knowing the end is far, but in range!
Our country you will not betray,
We walk in peace, but for change!!

Mar 29, 2011
What is Dandi March 2?

Dandi March II

For all those who can recall their history lessons in school, Dandi March was a 24 day, 240 mile (390 km) march to produce salt without paying the tax. It is also known as Salt Satyagraha, led by Gandhi from his Sabarmati Ashram to the sea coast near Dandi. Dandi March was a very important part of the Indian Independence Movement. It was a non-violent protest against the British monopoly of salt in India, and it triggered the Civil Disobedience Movement later. It was done from 12 March to April 6, 1930.

Now, 81 years have passed as I write this today on 11 March 2011. We have been independent for over 63 years now, and economically independent for 20 years (since the 1991 economic reforms). But we are still not free socially. We are still not the India that Gandhiji dreamt of. An India without poverty and hunger, an India where everybody has equal opportunity to lead the kind of lives they want. We are still not free from corruption, which is one of the most menacing problems India faces in the 21st century. The Adarsh Society scam, Commonwealth Games scam and the 2G scam have rocked the nation in the recent months, causing the loss of over 60 billion dollars.

Dandi March 2 is a march organized by a group of NRIs living in the United States of America inspired by the original march by Gandhiji. It is a 240 mile walk in the US against corruption in India from 12 March to 26 March 2011. Starting at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park, San Diego, California March 12, “Dandi March II” goes through Los Angeles and ends March 26 at Gandhi Statue, San Francisco. The dates coincide with the dates Gandhi did his historic march in 1930. Every major city in US, 10 cities in India and 8 other countries are organizing support events on 26 March to extend their support for the full 240 mile walk in US. The agenda is to push the government to enact Jan Lokpal Bill which is drafted to free India from the clutches of corruption by social activists like Kiran Bedi, Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal, etc.

The 240 mile Dandi March was done in 1930

The support events on 26 March are being organized in cities like Bangalore, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kakinada, Kolkata, Nagpur, Mumbai, Varanasi and Ahmedabad. In the US, Indians are walking in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, New Jersey, Washington DC and Seattle, apart from the main march from San Diego to San Francisco. Internationally, support marches are happening in London, Singapore, Finland, Germany, etc. More information about the event can be found at http://www.dandimarch2.org. The route details for the full march can be found here and all the event details for different cities can be found here.

The facebook page for the march is http://www.facebook.com/DandiMarch2?sk=info where you can find all the important information about the march. The Bangalore support march on 26 March can be seen at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=194657080556635 Accept the event invite to do your bit for a corruption free India. We are walking around 15 kms in Bangalore, join us for 1km, 2km, 5km or whatever is comfortable to you.

Dandi March 2 has already gathered the attention of media and some media coverage links are below –
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/142306/now-dandi-march-us-against.html
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/now-dandi-march-in-us-against-corruption-in-india/articleshow/7609505.cms
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/international/dandi-march-us-against-corruption-india-023

Mar 11, 2011
10 Things I am glad I had done (or do) in my life

Below are the 10 things that I had done, or do in my life which I am really glad for. I am not saying I am perfect at these things, but I am getting better every passing day, and that is what matters. Read on…

1. Accepting mistakes of others
We all are human beings, and we do make mistakes. As important it is to accept our own mistakes, it is also important to accept others mistakes too. Anybody who does not make a mistake does not exist at all. So it is only wise to see other’s mistakes as just natural and move on with life. It has made my life much more joyful and easy whenever I have not passed my judgement on someone due to a past mistake. And it has helped whenever I treat a person positively irrespective of past experiences. Do to others what you expect them to do with you!

2. Build and maintain self-discipline
Before trying to manage others or to make a difference in the world, it is very important that we are able to manage ourselves. Whether deciding how much (and what) to eat, how much to party, or when to get up in the morning are all acts of self-discipline. If you want to get up early in the morning, you can’t delay sleeping in the night. It is as simple as that. It just boils down to resisting the temptation of that late night show on TV, or a few drinks with friends which will run late into the night. No doubt socialising with friends is important, but sometimes you need to learn to say “NO” (which is not easy, believe me) to focus on other important things which you have decided. Either you don’t decide to do a task (like morning exercise), but if you do decide, then self-discipline decides whether you do it or not.

3. Started this blog
Putting your thoughts to pen and paper (or keyboard and laptop) has helped me a lot. We all are social creatures, and discuss about sports, politics, religion, etc whenever we meet or talk. By putting my thoughts / views in writing, I really know what my thoughts are, and others can also come up and comment / participate in the discussion, regardless of geographical limitations. Apart from this, my writing skills has improved, and now I have new dream. A Dream of Writing a Book someday.

4. Running SaleRaja for 2.5 years
Starting a business of your own can help see the world as it is, free from the illusions which we don’t know (or choose to ignore) in our lives. In my experience of over 2.5 years of running SaleRaja, which were not very successful in terms of revenues and profits, but the learnings have been immense. It has made me even more resolved to come back to entrepreneurship, but now better prepared. Anyways, I only have one life and I don’t take it too seriously. I don’t want to save anything for my next life and want to experience everything in this life itself!! So, anybody looking for fun and adventure, I would surely recommend starting a business of your own, at least once in your lifetime.

5. Learning French
For those who don’t know, I know a little bit of French. I learned it for 18 months at the L’AF Delhi, and totally by accident. But I got more than I expected. Interacting with people from different backgrounds made my outlook towards life much more mature. There were businessmen, students, police officers, housewives and professionals in my batch, all learning about French and France. And learning a language is a channel to discover new worlds and improve your life skills. Moreover, learning a new language is always a challenge, and challenges and I go together.

6. Reading Books
Having started reading books regularly only in Jan 2010 (after college), I can say it is changing my views and thoughts on a lot of things. I would like to put an hour of reading daily an activity as important it is to exercise daily. Reading a book (I mostly read self-help, autobiographies, and business books) is like viewing a life from somebody else’s eyes. It gives you a perspective about life and people from another person’s point of view. I am going to continue with this habit forever, and in some 3-4 years, I am going to have my own library with a good collection of books.

7. Making my own rules
Most of the people live their life according to what is the norm, what everybody else is doing. It is assumed that you need to follow the so called rules, or “conventions” to get what you desire, be it your job, family or whatever it you may be wanting. But I beg to differ. Who says that I have to do what everybody else does? Intact, if I know the outcome of a task I am doing, what is the fun in doing it. I only have one life and I don’t want to live it the way other people want me to. I might encounter some failures or setbacks along the way, but that be it. The fun of not knowing where you are going only can get you what you normally can’t get. That is why I studied computers too much during my school days that other subjects suffered. That is why I started SaleRaja… And read “The Fountainhead” by Ayn Ryand if you need more.

8. Helping others
Helping other people, either those for whom I am responsible for, or somebody a total stranger, has always given me so much satisfaction that has never been matched by doing something for myself. I totally experienced a different kind of satisfaction (like I have never experienced before) when I was leading the 99acres team in Noida. It was a responsibility which I didn’t took seriously when I started, but it showed me shades of my character even I wasn’t aware of. Helping / Mentoring a new bunch of engineers right out of college changed me as a professional, and as a human being. I feel more connected with myself after that experience. I don’t think if there is a better feeling than knowing that somebody is smiling or sleeping peacefully because of you.

9. Moving to Bangalore
Bangalore has taught me a lot. In fact, I think moving to any new city will give some experiences and learning that can’t be attained otherwise. You get to interact with new people of different culture and language. A lot of my misconceptions of how things happen in life have cleared after moving to Bangalore. New places to travel and explore also add to your to-do list after relocating to a new city. In Bangalore, I have come to believe that honesty and integrity still exist in this world and you don’t have to be cruel or selfish to survive. It is often said that judge a society by how it treats its weaker sections. How the locals in Bangalore treat and respect women and elders is totally heart warming. I want to wander along the globe, moving to a new city every few years and keep on learning to be a better human being. Bangalore, your time is getting over soon 😉

10. Living in today
“The reason people find it so hard to be happy is because they always see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be.” Most people are either worried about their past or the future, missing the present in the process. It is important to understand that we can’t change anything what has happened in the past. Neither can we second guess the future. At best, we can make a plan and work for the best outcome. But if it does not, it is wise to learn the lessons from failures and move on. Love life. Love yourself. Living for today while having fun and making everybody involved in your life happier is what should be our goal for the day. Watch the movie “The Groundhog Day” to realize how we should live our lives. We all have only 24 hours in a day, and it is important to make them count.

Jan 20, 2011
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