Me and my mind in conversation...

Mate your eyes tell a story!!!

2012-02-19T02:59:00.003+05:30

Smile is what the world gets to see

Smile is what, I intend, they take away too

Smile is what, I prefer, remains consistent

So there’s no point in asking me “How do you do”

The world gets to see it, they feel envious

The world gets to share it, they take it for granted

Is the mirror a window to another world?

Coz only the mirror rarely gets to see it

It can lead to laughter, It may come with tears

You could smile when you blush, or might want to just hideyour fears

You may smile when you’re guilty, a smile may be sly

All you see is a smile, tough to reach the inner layers

But like windows on an opaque wall

The eyes seek for themselves some glory

And One of those millions around you, the one who you’dleast expect, would suddenly tell you

“Mate, your eyes tell a story”

So much for the effort of smiling then

Out comes your mind from underneath the smiling layers

And when what the mind says can be heard by someone

You would know you’re with a friend whogenuinely cares

बस यूँ ही

2011-12-26T14:32:00.002+05:30

कल रात यूँ ही एक ख्याल आया मन में

कि आखिर तू कौन है और करता क्या है

दिन भर आकाश के बदलते रंग

और रात में तारे बताते हैं

कि तू कलाकार है खुद शायद

यूँ तो कला को ही तेरा नाम देते सुना लोगों को

किस्मतें लिखी हैं जैसे तूने सब की

अगर ज़मीं पे होता तू तो किताबें लिखता ज़रूर तू

और हर किताब में कुछ पहेलियाँ लिखकर

उसके किरदारों के सुलझाने के लिए छोड़ देता

लोग तो कहते हैं तू सब के दिलों में बसता है

जब टूट जाते हैं दिल तब भी क्या तू वहीँ रुकता है

आवाज़ें वैसे तो बहुत आती हैं अन्दर से तेरी

ऐसे में शायद तू बाहर से एक आवाज़ का इंतज़ार करता है

आवाज़ आते ही जैसे वक्त की ईंटों से तू

पहले से और मज़बूत एक घर अपने लिए फिर से बना लेता है

पर कहानी लिखी है अगर ये भी तूने ही

तो फिर कुछ पन्ने आधे अधूरे लिखे क्यों छोड़ देता है

मेहनत तो करी थी तूने भी खूब

ये सब जो दिखता है उसे देखने लायक बनाने में

मशीनें इतनी सारी बनाकर जो भी आज चलता हुआ दिखता है

उन सब के अन्दर फिट बिठाने में

कला भी देखी तेरी, मकान बनाने का हुनर भी

इंजिनियर की तरह मशीनें बनाई तूने

इन फिल्म वालों की तरह किरदारों को नचाता भी खूब है तू

बस बही खाते में शायद कमज़ोर रह गया तू

आज तेरी कहानी के किरदार जब अपने बस्तों में झांकते हैं

तो सभी, कुछ बहुत सारा तो कुछ बहुत ही कम वहाँ पाते हैं

कितने आराम से तू कह देता है की तुम्हारे खाते में बस ये ही बचा था

ये कैसे भूल गया तू की उस खाते को चलाना भी हमने तुझसे ही तो सीखा था

बस ऐसे ही कुछ सवाल उठे मन में

पर पूछूँ किससे, अक्सर दिल ये मुझसे पूछा करता है

इन्ही सवालों के बीच कल रात यूँ ही एक ख्याल आया मन में

कि आखिर तू कौन है और करता क्या है

-- कानू --

अक्स

2011-08-21T04:27:00.000+05:30

हर तूफ़ान के बाद

बिखरी हुई सी शक्ल को सवाँर कर

फिर सामने मेरे ऐसे ही दिखते हो

मुझे मेरी शक्ल से रु बरु कराते हो

-- कानू --

क्यों

2011-08-21T04:06:00.003+05:30

नासूर की तरह मुझसे जुड़ा हुआ ये कल

आखिर चाहता क्या है

क्यों जुड़ते हैं ऐसे कल ज़िन्दगी में

क्यों दिया जाता है ये हक़ किसी को

की मेरे ही आज और कल पर

मेरे ही जज्बातों की स्याही बिखेर दी जाये

और मेरी ही ज़िन्दगी के पन्नों पे

मैं ढूंढता फिरू वो जो

जो मैंने लिखना चाह था

पर कभी कलम किसी और के हाथ में थी

तो कभी किसी और की किताब भर रहा था मैं

-- कानू --

बूंदें

2011-08-20T02:29:00.001+05:30

कभी इक गरज के साथ बरसती हैं
तो कभी ख़ामोशी से एक मुस्कुराती धूप में बह जाती हैं
कभी तूफ़ान बनकर बहा ले जाती हैं सब
तो कभी इक सहमी सी नदी की तरह बस राह बनाती हुई चलती जाती हैं
बूंदें – चाहे अश्क हो या बरसात
दिल को छूकर कुछ असर हर बार कर जाती हैं

-- कानू --

Circle of Life

2011-06-27T03:25:00.000+05:30

There's far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rolling high through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round

One Fine Day...

2011-06-26T01:58:00.002+05:30

Someday you just feel like standing out of yourself. Just watch yourself as the world does. Where are you? What is it that the world thinks you are? And most importantly, who are you for yourself.

So what is it that you really are? And what makes you what you are. Is it the choices that you make? Or is it but a function of choices made by those around? Or is it neither? Do your choices, your decisions, your actions actually make a difference? Is free will for real? Is it really you who makes those choices, who takes those decisions. Or are these governed by this 4 letter f word. I mean fate. Is it fate that rules?

Have you been planted somewhere for a plan to implement itself gradually. Coz they say everyone’s existence has a purpose.

Or have you merely been sent to make plans and create a purpose for your life?

Are there billions of other co-existing plans that keep colliding with and gelling into each other? As tightly knit as the clock’s gears. Or is it just The Plan that matters. And you are merely one of those semi-finished products on a factory’s assembly line, and are from time to time, aligned with the moving parts before you can be deemed finished and are evicted from the system.

One stone thrown in the air by someone, and the ripples created by the stone’s rebound are felt even half a century later. Be it something as catastrophic as what America did to Japan. Or something seemingly as trivial as a marriage that doesn’t work. Or just a car accident. A theft. A fire. A mischevious phone call. An extra drink. Or something like those shallow rules made by individuals for communities. A couple of companies shut down and the world comes tumbling down. And if you are one of those who expect to get a job after having fought hard to get where you are, God save you.

You could be the one suffering years later not knowing what you did to be where you are. Or what you could do to get out of there. All you would see are doors before you. And you would know what you want to see beyond them. But you wouldn’t know which one to choose. They are all part of a grand maze. Each of them opening into a different part of the maze, and won’t allow you to come back after you exit. You aren’t playing a computer game, remember.

But who put you before These doors?

The doors and the world on both sides of them are just one part of the story. There’s more to it than just this. What else could matter? What else has mattered in your life when you have had to take decisions? Apart from where you are and where you want to be? Isn’t it the ones around you? Like the layers of a viscous fluid, there are forces holding you from moving in different directions. Some of them move you towards one of the doors, while some others like you being static. For a moment, let’s consider all forces as equal as they sometimes will, so the word called ‘priority’ has no significance left. You can choose to ignore these forces, what you can’t do is free yourself of them. Each move of yours causes the layers above and below you to adjust. And my question’s the same again. Who put these forces where they are?

There’s one part of the story not yet talked about. It’s as important as the ones experienced so far. It’s the strength of the desire to be on the other side of one of the doors. It’s the desire to expect something on the other side of whichever door you choose to open. This is that part of the story about which if I ask who created it, you might want to say you did. Are you sure you did? Aren’t desires governed by something else? Didn’t they start developing when you were perhaps just 4? Haven’t they been created by a combination of what your senses have experienced over the years that you have existed? Did you create those experiences around you?

Who created These Doors?

Who put you before them?

Where did the forces around you come from?

How were the experiences around you created to affect your desires?

You don’t know. But surely how the world sees of you is just this. What matters is your own reflection in the mirror. Do you see yourself like this?

Yours truly isn’t someone who leaves outcomes to fate and blames it for whatever he gets. He is a firm believer in doing the best he can. He believes in the fact that though he can’t change where he is today, he can change where he will be tomorrow by the choices he makes. Choices he makes about the door he opens. Choices he makes about suppressing some desires and following the others.

But every now and then he comes across forces that make him feel like a mere spectator. Forces that he hasn’t created. Forces that he can’t control. But forces that certainly bear the potential to steer his life. And every time this happens he stands outside himself and asks these questions. All yours truly wants to understand is which one among “DEF” is more powerful. The Desires one possess, the Effort put in to control or follow one of them, or Fate!!

First Love - Will always remain so...

2011-06-20T01:22:00.000+05:30

Nostalgia

2011-06-11T17:18:00.001+05:30

“Nostalgia is a file that removes the rough edges from the good old days.”

- Doug Larson

The Cup's ours... and the Saucer??

2011-04-04T01:30:00.000+05:30

Wow!!! What a Week!!! Rather what a fabulous month and a half. And there couldn't have been a better finish to this festival for a country which is united by one religion despite different beliefs. Yes it is the cricket World Cup 2011 that I am talking about. And yours truly is one of those lunatics who fast (read forget everything except one) even on Baisakhi, this one was like an extra extended Navaratri, so one can easily imagine the extent of my excitement during this month and a half, and the magnitude of joy when India won!!! Yes, India finally did manage to get the cup home after a wait of 28 long years.

Here are snippets from a few News items I read recently.

Surprisingly these are related to the World Cup but don't talk about Cricket.

"Just before the Feb 19-April 2 tournament reached the halfway mark, the government issued an alert on Wednesday over a possible attack on the tournament being played in 13 venues across India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, attracting hundreds of thousands of fans"

"Pakistan demands ‘fool-proof’ security at Indian venues" "terrorist attacks planned on cricket World Cup venues" "A suspected terrorist who planned to target a cricket World Cup venue in Sri Lanka has been arrested" "An iron-tight security blanket enveloped the Wankhede Stadium" "Around 100 commandos belonging to Punjab's Special Security Group, trained by Israeli counter-terrorism experts, will also be on duty during the semi-final"

"A 5,000-strong force of officers of specialised security agencies and the Maharashtra police will be stationed at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai for the final of ICC cricket World Cup on Saturday"

So, the entire world understands that had it not been for some of these off the field heroes, or should I say, the always on-field heroes, there might not have been any play, leave aside victory. And then, I read this too. I am sure everyone did including the heroes we worship, and the ones that I just talked about above. "It's raining money for the World Cup-winning Indian cricket team who also have been gifted residential plots, as state governments today vyed with each other to reward the victorius players. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a Rs 1 crore award for each member of the Indian team."

Well, personally like I mentioned above, I follow cricket like a religion like many others in the country do. I am as big a fan of Sachin and all the others as any body else in the country. In fact I am even happy that the government, and the board and a lot of people with some disposable cash are rewarding these Men in Blue, men who the entire nation looks up to. Or do they? The entire nation, without realising so, looks up to some other heroes too. The matches that did happen were because there were men to avoid all Blues. And yet the effort of these army and police men will soon be forgotten. What will be remembered is that picture with 15 men holding a cup and a banner before them saying Champions. I believe a tag of champions should be given even to those who made it all possible. Don't all of them deserve a medal and some incentives too? Doesn't each one of us expect a pat on our back even when we finish an assignment at work? We are the first ones to point out the slightest of security glitches that happen. Well, we do that for the Men in blue as well. But look how they are being rewarded for having done an almost flawless job on the day that mattered. Was there ever a scope of "almost" for the country's soldiers? One slip and we wouldn't want to imagine the possibilities.

This might sound like a cliched expression coming from someone who doesn't understand how the country works. Well, I do. Though the expression is cliched, Irealise, but I hope all of us realise that we Indians aren't the same anymore. We've come of age. We now possess the ability to question both, the judiciary aand the legislature. Our media can enable us to challenge them. They have done so on rare occasions when the stakes have been high and the reach greater. The stakes couldn't get higher than the World Cup. The reach couldn't get bigger than the entire country from the biggest Who's Who to the aam aadmi. So cricket was all that they were worried about. All other Breaking News did get some mention like advertisements on Doordarshan.

Yes, the stakes can't get higher. Than the country's security itself. And terror strikes irrespectice of where one lies on that scale of the Who's who to the aam junta. It's time the rewards start getting more even. It's time the unsung heroes get appreciation. It's time they realise we value them too. Because they do many more, much more important things way too often.

After all a cup is a cup. But if the table is shaky, well, I wouldn't want to say more.

The title was to seek your attention. I hope what I wrote retains it. And reaches the right people.

सच...

2010-12-26T01:24:00.000+05:30

जब भीड़ में रहकर भी अपना नहीं कोई दिखता
तो सिर्फ अपने दिल ही का साथ होता है
जो ज़िन्दा हो दिल तो शहर बसा रहता है
जो बुझ जाये तो दश्त सा बन जाता है

कभी खुद की मुश्किलों से खफा हो कर,
कभी किसी और के दर्द की कराह सुनकर
जाने कितनी बार कुछ बदलने का ख्याल मन में आया होगा
पर जब भी दिल ने वो याद दिलाया, कल का आसरा देकर हमने दिल को बहलाया होगा

जब कभी राह चुनने का मंज़र आया
दिल की न सुनकर हमने भीड़ पर भरोसा दिखाया होगा
और उसी राह पर चलकर अक्सर
खुद को कभी तनहा तो कभी अधूरा पाया होगा

पर दिल किसका है अपना ही तो है
कुछ जो कल कहा था उसने, आज वो जीकर दिखाओ उसे
फिर कोई राह मंजिल से पहले छूटेगी नहीं
और दिल तुम्हें तनहा कभी छोड़ेगा नहीं...

-- कानू --

कल

2010-09-26T03:04:00.000+05:30

बात कुछ घंटों पहले की हो या कुछ सालों की

उसे गुज़रा कल ही कहते हैं

वो याद कुछ घड़ी भर की हो या एक अरसा जुड़ा हो उस याद से

उसे बीते पल ही कहते हैं

जुदा हुए कुछ लोग हों , या कुछ टूटी उमीदें

बाकी सिर्फ यादें ही बचती हैं

यादों में खो जाते हैं अक्सर हम

और ज़िन्दगी बदली हुई सी लगती है

कुछ आँखों में चमक लाती हैं कुछ चेहरे पे मुस्कुराहट

और कुछ बस नम आँखों का एहसास छोड़ जाती हैं

कुछ होठों को यूँ अचानक कुछ कह देने के लिए खुला छोड़ जाती हैं

और कुछ घंटों तक चुप रहने का बहाना दे जाती हैं

ये मन बस यादों में जाने के बहाने ढूंढता है

भागती दौड़ती ज़िन्दगी को यु अचानक रोक कर मीलों पीछे भेज देता है

कोई आवाज़ , कुछ शब्द , कोई तस्वीर , या फिर बस कागज़ का एक फटा हुआ सा पन्ना ही

ज़िन्दगी के रेडियो का स्टेशन बदल देता है

“कुछ कहा था उसने मुझसे , काश मैं भी कुछ कह देता ”

“क्यों मैं चल दिया वहाँ से , काश खुद को रोक लेता ”

बहुत कुछ पीछे छोड़ आते हैं हम , पर हर उस कुछ के साथ एक काश भी जुड़ जाता है

“काश हर उस काश को मिटाने के लिए मैं ज़िन्दगी फिर से जी लेता ”

हर रोज़ एक नयी याद , हर रोज़ वो पुराने काश

हर रोज़ कभी अकेले मुस्कुराना और फिर कभी खुद को यु समझाना

की बीता हुआ कल था वो , अब आने वाले कल की बारी है

अगर यु ही खोया रहूँगा मैं तो इस काश को कैसे मिटाऊंगा मैं

पर कुछ कल होते हैं ऐसे

जो एक किताब के नाम की तरह ज़िन्दगी के हर पन्ने पे दिखाई देते हैं

अक्सर ये कार के वाईपर की तरह बार बार आँखों के आगे आते हैं

बस पानी हटाने की बजाये उन्हें और घीला कर जाते हैं

नहीं जीना मुझे अब कल में नहीं जीना अब बीते किसी भी पल में

खुद को रोज़ ये समझकर ही सोने जाता हु

पर हर सुबह उसी पुराने सूरज को देखकर

कल की कोई बात सोच कर ज़रूर मुस्कुराता हु

-- कानू --

The People around us...

2009-08-20T22:32:00.000+05:30

We interact with a lot of people every day. Sometimes, we might irritate them. Sometimes we might even infuriate them. Do all of them react the same way, always? Well, not really.
They may react. They may not react. They may react then. They may react later. They may smile. They may frown. They may even get angry, or might just walk away expressionlessly. But do those smiles or frowns really express the feelings within. Well, may or may not be. This varies with people, with situations.
I have observed a varied set of immediate and delayed responses by various people, to situations where, I believe, one could get irritated or annoyed. Here is a list of categories I could classify people into, and objects I found them analogous to.
1. The Black Boxes: This, I believe, is the best breed of people one could come across. Like physical black boxes that absorb all light that falls on them, these people can bear anything you do to them. They are the most forgiving ones of the lot. They would never get irritated, never get angry. They may not always wear a smile on their face, but whenever they would, it would be an honest one.
Not that these people are never displeased with anything one does to them, but they would never make an issue out of it. They would always try and empathize with the person concerned, and forgive the person eventually. Such people are often taken for granted, but those who would realize that their disposition is genuine, and their expressions honest, would surely respect them to the core.

2. There's another similar category of people, who I would term the polished black boxes, as against the natural black boxes described above. These may not really forgive one for something, or may not really empathize with the person concerned, but then this would never be apparent. The one thing that differentiates this category of people from the ones described next, in my opinion, is that these polished black boxes do not show any late reactions. They might form opinions about a person based on their interactions, and might alter their methods or modes of interaction, but would never really want to punish one.
If a polished black box is a close friend, he might even let you know of things he disliked, or thought, could have been done differently.
But, mind you, these people cannot be taken for granted, because if one persistently continues to annoy them, the black polish might come off, and one may get a piece of their mind. But even in this case, the reaction would not be late. Most managers who are popular among their team members would, I believe, belong to this category.

3. Capacitors: The analogy may sound strange, but then I found people belonging to this category similar to capacitors, which are known to store electric charge. Such people, unlike the polished black boxes, would pretend as if they have ignored an incident that didn’t please them, they might even smile it away. But the stored charge might turn into electricity some day There could be two reasons for an outburst that one sees later. They either have waited for the right moment to vent out their anger (which could be in the form of a punishment, say a manager rating an employee poorly), or they have not been able to contain themselves any longer the latter category, I think, can become polished black boxes by enhancing their patience levels, while the former category is the most dangerous of the lot as you would not know you’ve hurt them, nor would you know when they might hurt you.
4. Phosphors: A phosphor is a substance that exhibits the phenomenon of phosphorescence (sustained glowing after exposure to energized particles such as electrons or ultraviolet photons). Such people, like capacitors, react quite late. But while a capacitor would drain out it’s charge only to its source, a phosphor emits light in all directions. Just about anyone could bear the repercussions when a phosphor might lose patience. A boss belonging to this category, who’s had an argument with his wife, might ruin the day for his subordinate.
5. Mirrors: They are the simplest people of the lot. Some people might find them the easiest to live with. Others might not like them at all. Mirrors are the ones who would retaliate immediately. They might shout at you, they might just frown, but like black boxes, their reactions would be equally genuine too.
Everyone who reads this blog might feel he or she knew this already, so how has one gained out of this post? One, this was just a way of venting out my thoughts. Two, I believe, that after having read this, one might start analyzing people, classifying them into one of these categories. This might help one in working out one’s ways of interaction with people around them. Also, a lot of people might just start observing their own reactions and might move up the ladder. One thing worth noting is that these categories aren’t watertight compartments. One might lie anywhere in between two of these, and might even switch from one to another at different times
I have been trying to find out ways of knowing which category one belongs to , just by reading one’s personality. Inputs on this are most welcome. Your views on this post will be appreciated too. :)

My Gang at Great Lakes

2009-07-29T01:53:00.000+05:30

The Real Slumdogs...

2009-02-24T10:18:00.000+05:30

Picked this up from another site... amazing..

"When watching Slumdog Millionaire, there was one thing a lot of people did not understand. In the movie the kids who were from the slums became tour guides and took white people around on tours. Everyone had the same question, how did these kids know English. If they are from the slums how can they pick up one of the most difficult languages in the world? Well here is a video of a kid from the slums who also happens to be selling peacock feathers and check out how many languages he knows. This video was a big hit a few years ago and they just found this kid again in his teenage year and he is still doing the same thing. Check out these clips."

Vishnu's 10 incarnations - the evolution

2009-02-14T03:12:00.000+05:30

On the way to Tirumala from Tirupati, we saw idols of various incarnations of Lord Vishnu. W were able to recognise a few, the rest we could not. so i called up my Dad to find out the names of all of Vishnu's incarnations in the right sequence. My dad told me not just the names but also the logic behind the sequence in which all these incarnations occured.

1. A fish, Matsya, a creature that lived in water.
2. A tortoise, Kashyap, a creature that lived both in water and on land.
3. A Pig, varaha, a creature living only on land.
4. Narasimha, a creature that was half animal, half human.
5. Vamana, the first completely human avatar.

So the evolution happened from a creature living in water to a human.
after this there were 4 incarnations, all humans
6. Parasu Rama
7. Rama
8. Krishna
9. Buddha

The last one which is yet to come is Kalki.

2 Laddoos.. So much for the effort!!!

2009-02-13T23:37:00.000+05:30

It was lunch as usual when I overheard a conversation between Polo and Upasana about a possible trip to Tirupati. The idea of a trip itself was exciting, irrespective of the destination. I was pretty jobless with no classes at all for a few days. So I interfered in the conversation and passed the message to our broadcasting channel, namely, Miss Shikha Jain. Soon i get a list of interested people, and in a couple of days I booked the railway tickets.
"But!" said Naveen, "Takloo (dats my nickname for my last hair style), where are the Darshan Tickets???"
I didnt even know we got those tickets from Chennai, and that it was tough to get them. Just a day before we were supposed to leave, we went to the TTD (Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam ) centre only to find that no tickets were available for 7th Feb, the day we had planned to reach the temple. Disappointed, we came back home, and thought about re planning the trip, but Mr. Aanand and Naveen suddenly find out from some political contact of theirs that tickets can be arranged after reaching Tirupati.

13 of us began our journey the next day. Reached Tirupati at about 9 PM, had dinner and then started our trek towards Tirumala. We had to cover a distance of 9 km, walking over 7 hills.
(Photos)

The vehicles were ready...engines howling... fuel meters pointing towards F... 3000 odd stairs was the first target...
We got off to a flying start, each one trying to overtake the other. 300 stairs done...400...500, and suddenly... we ould see the fuel meters nearing E, and every platform after a set of 20-odd stairs looked like a pit stop.
Each of us tried to encourage the others, "Yea yea come on! You can do it... Keep going Keep going!"But everyone who was saying this was refuelling his own engine.

We got divided into 3 groups. Shikha, me and Abhi leading the pack, Naveen, Soumya, Asim, Ravi and Aanand behind us, and The bongs (Agniva, SUV and Polo), the Guju girl Upasana and Mr. Vidith strolled their way up.

Somehow we managed to get past the initial stretch of stairs and came across the first milestone which surprisingly read 7km to go. "What the...," Thats all we said because we had decided to mind our language on the pilgrimage.

The journey uphill was pretty insightful. After every hill was an idol of one of Vishnu's 10 incarnations. Me and shikha were able to recognise a few, we could not recognise the others, so we called up our Dads to ask the names of all of Vishnu's incarnations in the right sequence (http://canuzblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/vishnus-10-incarnations-evolution.html).
Fortunately there were very few stairs for about 3-4 kilometres which made our job a lot easier. Naveen caught up with us while me, abhi and shikha were busy taking pictures of the deer and antelopes on the way.

We reached Tirumala at about 2 AM (we had started around 10.20). Shikha's uncle had booked a couple of rooms in a guest house for us.
13 people, 2 decent sized beds, a few bedsheets and blankets, Wow!!! No one dared to get out of bed because getting out once meant never getting a chance to get back in. Who else would know it better than Ravi. but this guy was a marketting champ guys. He told everybody to get up and change the direction in which we were sleeping so that we were more comfortable.

Next morning all of us woke up pretty early, everyone was raring to go and get a 2-second glimpse of Lord Balaji. Aanand's contact said he will deliver tickets at about 11, so we all got back to bed after breakfast. At 11, we were told the tickets will be delivered at about 1 o'clock. At 1, there was still no sign of tickets coming our way, so we went out for a small city tour comprising of visits to some of the other small temples and religious places around.
At 3 we finally got the good news that tickets were arranged and that we had to rush because the time of Darchan allotted to us was exactly 3. After placing the luggage in the lockers, we managed to get into the queue by 3.40.

Boy!!! Was the place crowded!!! And the ever so disciplined crowd made life a lot easier for us. People kept joining the queue from either side which meant we moved less frequently. We went through various large and small enclosures, merged with other queues, went up and down the stairs, walked into and out of a couple of gates, and we were almost there when we were asked to stop. We were made to stop right next to a huge gate, which we saw opening. we could then hear some music. Some people were running out of the gate as if they were making way for some celebrity or a VIP guest. Little did we know that the guest, the VIP, the celebrity was none other than the Lord thyself. An idol of Lord Balaji was being moved to a stage outside. The scene was beyond description. The vibrations were heavenly. And all of us were ecstatic to get a chance to view this.

As soon as the procession passed by, we were allowed to move ahead. After spending close to two and a half hours in the Q, the moment had arrived. But the rendezvous with the Lord lasted for only about 2 seconds for most. The security personnel just pushed us ahead even before we got to say Hi. I was fortunate enough to get 6-7 seconds.

On the way, I was told that each of us would be getting 2 Laddoos as Prasad. Sweets do not excite me any more, so I promised a few people a share in my laddoos. There was a queue at the exit, where Prasad was being given. I was disappointed to get only 1 laddoo, but then i was told that the 2 laddoos being talked about were to be collected from another window.

Getting the 2 laddoos was not an easy job either. I had to wrestle through a bunch of people to be able to buy a few poly bags for laddoos. And then, as we got those laddoos, i tasted a little bit!!! All i could say was, "Superb!!!" and "sorry," to each one who i had promised a share in my laddoos.

Well, the end to the entire journey was no less eventful, with Polo and Upasna getting lost, and all of us running around to trace them.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip, the credit for which goes to Polo and Upasna for conceptualising the trip, Shikha for spreading the info and getting together interested people and also for arranging the guest house, and of course Aanand and Naveen for making the Darshan possible. A toast for the Entire gang, who rocked all along the trip. Guys, with the kind of schedule we have in the next few weeks, a lot more to come.

Just one concern...I wish those laddoos could last as long as the memories of the trip will. GOVINDAAAA!!!!!!

Rockin Diwali...

2008-11-03T21:28:00.000+05:30

Diwali brought a welcome break for me after a hectic 4th term here at Great Lakes. But since we had only 3 days before the next term began, I thought of saving some money by not going back home, and going to Bangalore and celebrate Diwali with cousins instead.

Well, there is definitely something with me and Bangalore. Around the same time last year, when i was supposed to go to Bangalore for my cousin's engagement, i reached the station well in time, sans my luggage. This was because i got late at work and had to ask ma and pa at the last moment to get my luggage to the station. They did make it, just a couple of minutes after the train's scheduled departure time, but luckily, thanks the the ever so "punctual" Indian Railways and the relay between me,ma-pa and my cousins PK&DK, i got my luggage.
This time around... the story was similar. Only this time I myself made it a little late to the station and Indian railways wanted to prove a point this time which meant I missed my train. Actually planning to board a train at 6 AM, when I am seldom able to make it to a 9AM class on time, was perhaps asking for a little too much from myself.

Anywaz, i somehow made it to Bangalore. Man!!!did the rockin trip make up for all that preceded it!!! I was treated like a celebrity. The variety of cuisines i had would make any gourmand feel envious. It started off with delicious Sindhi kadhi chawal for lunch at my cousin Mahesh's house. I think my Marwari Bhabhi was only experimenting, with me as a scapegoat, but you rocked Bhabhi... :)
This was followed by a dinner at my other cousin Vandu's place where i got to eat some authentic North Indian food after ages (Well, North indian food in Chennai is hardly North Indian). The luscious Shahi Paneer and the gorgeous Rajmah were too good to resist, and i ate as if i had been castaway to a distant island called Chennai before I got rescued.
Lunch next day was a sumptuous buffet at Aroma of China. Wow!!! A delcious 4 course lunch!!!
Boy!!! Suddenly I felt I had worn the wrong-sized Jeans. I hope no one saw my tummy bulging out of my tight Tee.;)

I was off to Italy that evening. Oops!! i meant Mahesh's place. I was asked which sauce would I prefer for Pasta - white sauce or red?? Well it was a difficult choice to make, and before i could decide, the chef (read Meenakshi bhabhi) had given me a "buy one get one free" offer. it was as if she read my mind when as a response to her question I thought "both!!!" :)

This was just a description of half of my journey. i don't want you guys drooling while reading my blog ;)

Well, I wasn't just gluttonising in Bangalore. a few more things that i did were..errrr...boozing, sleeping...and....yea how can i forget this. It was Diwali guys... it was after 6 years that I burst crackers. And this was really an icing on the cake. I could never have imagined such a grand Diwali away from home. From the silliest of jokes at Mahesh's and vandu's place, to the dart games and those "JD on the rocks" pegs with Amit, to the crackers, to the last evening at Hard Rock Cafe, i had a real rockin Diwali at Bangalore. I certainly could not have asked for more!!!

6 hours is a very small journey for such a rockin place to meet some people, and more importantly, to eat.. would do it more often now. :)
Cheers!!!

Lifez a book...

2008-10-30T21:59:00.000+05:30

Life is a book, with chapters many
You may move from one to another, but you cannot forget any

Some chapters are read, some are ignored
some are best forgotten, some are always adored

Ours, my dear, is so close to my heart
I never knew it'll close with you and me apart

The chapter had begun when you embraced a fool
Lessons i learnt many, in your intimate love school

I was not a bright student, always lacked by just a bit
But with you around me, my dear, I was sure to be a hit

I wished i could pay back, you deserved to be pampered, my Princess
I wish i could stay back. Though i still hope things might change
I am waitin for a miracle, you'd say
But am sure that'll happen am waiting for the day...

You say it is the end already
It ain't the end, i read, till it's happy
Ours is a chapter that will close only when we unite,
Only to begin another that together we shall write.

Life is a book, with chapters many
You may move from one to another, but you cannot forget any...

Miss you sweety... :(

- Kanoo

Great Lakes Human Resource Conclave 2008 - What an event!!!

2008-09-09T00:33:00.001+05:30

Well...What a relief!!!The only thing that a few of us here at Great Lakes had been thinking about for the last couple of months was the HR Conclave. The event conceptualized in one of the many meetings of our very own BPR committee...there were a few concerns about the time line. The college management thought it was a tough ask to plan an event of such magnanimity in just under 2 months. But...we did it..And..did we do it well??Well, the compliments that we received from the students, the guests, the management, the delegates, and from Dr. Bala, our dean, or Uncle Bala, as we fondly call him, certainly proved that our effort had borne sweet fruit.:)
Our delegates included HR stalwarts who enlightened the delegates who were mostly senior and mid-level managers, and also all of us. Herez a brief summary of the day's proceedings.

Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai organized its first Human Resource Conclave (http://hrconclave-greatlakes.com) on the 2nd of September 2008 at the Royal Le Meridien Hotel in Chennai. The theme of the event was “Managing Human Capital in the Globalized Business Environment”. The 1 day event was inaugurated by Dr.Bala Balachandran - Founder and Honorary Dean, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Dr.T.V Rao - Chairman, T.V Rao Learning Systems Pvt Ltd and Mr. R. Chandrasekharan - President and MD, Cognizant Technology Solutions India Pvt Ltd.

Dr. Bala gave the welcome address in which he mentioned that “India is standing tall because of its HR practices”. Dr. Bala said that the times are changing very rapidly and talked about the changes in the next 3 to five years. Some of the changes he mentioned were “The change will be accelerating. The number of knowledge workers will outnumber the companies.

The money value of time will replace Time value of money. In the times to come, jogging may not be enough, companies will have to sprint to compete and sustain their current levels of growth.” He also talked about the importance of cross cultural and global hiring.

Dr. T.V. Rao, who is also the founder President of the National HRD Network and former President of the Indian Society for Applied Behavioral Science (ISABS), said, “HR today is termed as people whose work is recruitment and negotiates on salaries. In 1980s technology was a strategic variable for an organization. The focus on the variable changed to finance then marketing and in today’s world and future the variable is Human resource. Human resource has become a strategic variable for a company’s success.” About the Current and future state of HR, he said “Short term priorities like recruitment play a more important role than the overall objective of talent management. HR in future has to be focused on cultural related issues. Professional bodies have to play an important role in this regard. They have to evolve in handling cultural related issues. And HR bodies have to understand what is it to hire from diverse cultures and retaining them.”

Mr. R. Chandrasekharan said, “Globalization is no more by choice but embedded in the growth strategy.” He talked about the importance of cost and intellectual arbitrage. Elaborating on intellectual arbitrage, he said “It is important to understand the DNA of Organization because the strategy has to be defined based on DNA. If DNA is not understood in the right spirit further processes may not be effective and put to best use. In the global sourcing of employees from different countries it’s important to source talent at different locations. A key competence of the organization is ability to source talent from different countries. A key issue is keeping the different cultures motivated to work for the organization. Organization puts a global and open mindset in its HR policies. HR facilitates different teams interacting among in a virtual environment. With different cultures and value systems in place, it’s important to ensure uniform performance standards across subsidiaries of the Organization.”

The inaugural session was followed by keynote addresses on the theme “Integration of Corporate Cultures, and People Management Post-Merger". The panel for this session included Dr. Chandrasekhar Sripada - President HR, Capgemini Consulting India Pvt. Ltd., Mr. Allen Sequeira - Sr. VP HR, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Anuj Kumar - Associate Director HR, CSC, Dr. K. Prabakar - VP Corporate HR, Apollo Hospitals. The session was chaired by Mr. Ganesh Chella – Founder and CEO, Totus Consulting.

Mr. Ganesh Chella, while talking about the challenges in M & A’s, mentioned that the prime Challenge in successfully achieving M & A’s is of Cultural Integration. The challenges differ on the scale at which the M & A happen. Talking about the diversity within the companies being merged, he said that Diversity is good and that the challenge is not to erase it but to manage it.

Mr. Allen Sequeira started off by highlighting the fact that Great Lakes has established a name for itself. Talking about M & As, he said, “We’re building a world where no intellectual barriers exist. The process of globalization is recent (1990). Indian companies are learning quickly and have handled mergers much better than others.” He suggested, “Rules of engagement deployed for one country may not be applicable in another, taking into account local realities. Diversity issues can result out of culture, demographics, statutory requirements, leadership styles, management practices, values, relationships, workforce composition and operating philosophies.”

Dr. Anuj Kumar explained 10 critical factors for a successful M&A that includes Clear intent Perseverance, Leadership and Accountability. Talking about CSC’s acquisition of Covansys, he mentioned the challenges that they faced, a few of which were:

Inclusion – Employees need to be informed of all happenings before the press. Teams must include people from both companies.
Alignment – Identification of the strengths of CSC and Covansys, and finding out which ones will co-exist, cross-pollinate and crossover.

Dr. K. Prabakar said, “In the healthcare sector we need not only operations but also talent to address the boom in healthcare.”

Major challenges,” he said, “for sustainability are now more on people’s minds.

a. Ta. Talent management: Doctors, nurses and paramedical staffs and other support groups, all have to be managed well. Reverse brain drain have started in this sector. Various doctors from UK have started coming back

b. Db. Digital backbone: need to focus on technology.

c. Employee engagement and incentive realignment: Tackling stress is very important and has to make sure that employees perform efficiently.

d. Quality and safety standards: Apollo is credited with ISO, JCIA, NABH, NABL.

e. Strategic resource development: Ward as an unit. Ward has its own administrative and focus on good serve to the patient. Feedback, customer surveys have to be in place. We are focusing on lean management in the wards. For example every employee

f. Adaptable delivery roles and structure: flexible care settings and expanded clinical roles

g. Climate of innovation: innovation, technology and process changes are a means to continuously improve treatment efficiency and outcome.

Quest for communication: A vision and strategy is needed to balance public versus private interests in building the organization.”

In the post-lunch session, Shri Prem Chand Gupta, Hon’ble Union Minister for Corporate Affairs, talked about India being a young nation with large cultural diversity and a diverse talent base, which is difficult to find anywhere else. He said that a country rich in natural resources may not be prosperous financially and it may be possible otherwise quoting Japan as a case. Such countries have good human capital base. Economic development in these countries has been preceded by the Human capital development.

He opined, “Companies today have the capabilities to source human capital in which India has an advantage because of its large Human capital base.”

Talking about the software industry and commending the growth the industry has shown in the past few years, the minister said that as of now we are primarily BPO and Support based industry which is at a very low level of the value chain. Huge shortage of the skilled manpower, he said, is a constraint and is something which needs to be addressed to maintain the competitive edge. Training and development is the key.

Talking about the Inclusive growth the minister said that the IT has brought prosperity to the country but to a very smaller section of the society. So there’s need to nurture the other millions of young and energetic youth and help them channelize their energies in the right direction.

He also mentioned that the Development is just not a matter of quantitative growth but also of qualitative growth, this comprises emotional and social development also.

This was followed by a session that had Industry-specific insights from representatives belonging to various sectors of the industry. The panel for this session included Mr. B. Venkatramana - Sr. VP HR, Reliance Retail Ltd., Mr. Steve D. Rich - Shared Services Manager Indian & ASEAN HR, Caterpillar, Mr. Lancelot Cutinha - VP HR, Big FM, and Mr. Boddapati Balaji - Director, ADP Private Ltd. Mr. C. Mahalingam - Executive VP & Chief People Officer, Symphony Services, chaired the session.

Mr. C. Mahalingam opened the session. He mentioned the fierce war for talented workforce. He emphasized the importance of right promises to be delivered by HR. “Expectations of employees,” he said, “are beyond good money and position”. Innovation and creativity are the keys to success. It’s not only media and entertainment sector which requires employees to continuously innovate but across the industry domain, innovation is a necessary competence to have an edge. HR can’t mandate creativity but unleash the creativity and innovation through right leadership. He said that sooner rather than later, companies may have a new job profile for CFO (Chief Fun officer) for entertaining its workforce.

He talked about issues related to unorganized sector like bureaucratic influence, exploitation of labor, poor supply chain and fragmented markets.

Mr. B. Venkataramana, while talking about ‘Organizing the Unorganized Sector – opportunity for HRM’, said “There is immense opportunity for HR in the unorganized sector”. He spoke about the opportunities as well as the issues in the unorganized sector which engages 90% of the workforce in India and contributes 45% of the national income. He touched upon challenges faced by this sector, including lack of minimum wages and social security, abysmal working conditions and work hours which often exceed 70 hours per week. He also spoke about the HR challenges in the unorganized sector like the difficulty in attracting skilled manpower, cross cultural adaptability issues etc. He concluded the informative session by highlighting the role of trade unions and the government in bringing about positive transformation in this sector.

Mr. Steve Rich gave insights on ‘Employee Brand Building across Geographies’. He said, “It is important to listen to your employees, particularly new hires to know why they joined us and why are they staying with us. This helps to formulate key employee strategies.” He suggested that time should be taken to analyze employees’ feedback and steps should be taken to address their issues and concerns.

‘In a world where change is the only constant, encouraging creativity in the workplace will give organizations the edge to keep ahead in an environment of heavy competition’, said Mr. Lancelot Cutinha, who talked about ‘Challenges the Industry faces in nurturing employee creativity’. Mr.Cutinha spoke about how one can bring about dramatic changes in ones performance by activating the right brain which is the seat of creativity and imagination. He gave very pragmatic tips on improving creativity in ones personal life. He spoke from his professional experience and highlighted that, measures like establishing an environment of respect and trust, doing away with horizontal and vertical boundaries and nipping office politics in the bud would go a long way in nurturing creativity at the workplace.

Mr. Boddapati Balaji gave his views on the topic ‘Employee Retention as a key strategy for Optimization and Business Transformation’. He said employee retention is most important for transformation. He narrated the Golden Buddha story and said, “People are born ‘golden’, but over the years fear and diffidence develop. Organizations need to be able to remove this fear and discover the golden part again.”

In the last session of the day, the distinguished guest of the event Mr. B Muthuraman -

Managing Director, Tata Steel addressed the gathering. He said, “Industrial organizations are only babies in the context of human evolution.” According to him, “HR function is not as well developed as other disciplines because we have paid less attention to it in comparison with other disciplines. In HR the world is moving towards measurements and CVs instead of creating the ambience and the right work culture.” He suggested that people in the senior management should have a mix of some visionaries (theorists) and some executioners. The challenge for HR, he said, is how people with both these qualities can be developed, and more importantly how we can measure this.

All in all, it was an event that was thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated by the elite audience gathered and hence it lived up to its billing.

From Tablist to Tableist to errrr...Drummer!!!

2008-08-19T03:17:00.000+05:30

22nd April - I start cruising....cruising in the Great Lakes. Well, i mean my MBA at Great Lakes Institute of management.

29 April - The ship's final hooter. The Jaycees had to get off the deck, it was the farewell party for our seniors called the Jaycees or the Junior Crusaders.
With only a day to prepare for the grand party, which included a couple of dances, a skit, a few "melodramatic" videos, and of course 2 songs by the Sutta Gang...lol, there was a lot of hard work to be done...
The night before the party all budding Kishore's and Elvis's got together in the favourite room of ours - Veeranam, and thought about..well..was any1 thinkin...every1 sang watever he or she liked...
The next day...a different gang (Soumya the choreographer, Abhi, Vidith, Shikha, Janini, Kavitha, Roshini, Asim,KK, Gouri..sorry if i missed sm1) gets together at my house for their dance practice...well i was only a facilitator..i didnt want to risk the stage!!!
Some of these dancers were extremely keen to sing as well...so...we thought...Let's do it!!!
"We need some instruments"
Enter Mr Sijo Kuruvilla George - he is an entrepreneur, he can organize parties, he can irritate women...aaanndd...he plays the guitar as well!!!
"We need some beats"
Yours truly chips in saying people I think I can do this...
But what to play....woohoooo...the best thing I found was a plastic seat which was till then used only by my maid when she washed clothes...
and the rest, as they say, is history... 2 songs - Papa Kehte Hain, and the gloomy, emotional song that brought tears to people's eyes - BC SUTTA!!!!!
Boy!!! Did the crowd like it!!!the Jaycees just loved it...
"Once More!" "Good Show Champions!!" "You Rock Champions!!!"
(Champions is how the current batch at Great Lakes is referred to)

From then on...wherever I found sm1 singing, the nearest table, plate, book, laptop-I played on just abt anything that wrked as a substitute for drums. Well..my hairstyle wasn't the only thing like Siva Mani's.
A set of drums I wanted to buy
Unfortunately the bottom line wasn't too high
Somehow..i did manage to get some moolah
And finally I got home a 5-piece kit... cool ha!!!

Well...music has alwaz been my passion...right from when I learnt how to play the Tabla, to now when I hav been trying to get used to playing 7 different pieces at the same time...I did take a couple of drum classes a few years ago, but that was all..nothing after that. But that made sure I had some basic knowledge about how to set up the kit, where to place which piece of the kit, and a few other technical details. And all i do now to learn this mesmerizing art is look for online lessons, and practice. A vacant room in the college called Lake Michigan, is where the drums currently are, I would have loved to keep them at home, but then I, certainly, would have had to look for a place for myself as well, courtesy my sweet understanding neighbours. I practice every alternate day. I really wanna take this up seriously, and at least make sure that I myself like what I play, I am sure the others would then love it too.
Thanks to Mr. Prakash Randheer who introduced me to Drum Gods aka Travis Barker and Keith Moon, I now have "definite targets".

And now that we have thought of forming a band...yes, for those of you who didn't know this, we have started working towards it, we plan to perform on 31st August at 'Sanghamitra', our college's internal bi-annual fest. Though we'll keep it simple this time, the next Sanghamitra in March is gonna see some real serious, heavy duty stuff..
I have always wanted to be a part of a band, have alwaz wanted to play serious music, hav alwaz wanted to be known, hav always wanted to be important...and whoz more important than a drummer in a band!!!
and now...for the valedictory speech....
Thanks Great Lakes for giving us this opportunity..and thanks Events Committee for organizing Sanghamitra and giving us a target...and Thanks a lot to the Band in the making for making a dream...a reality!!!!!
Cheers!!!

The Child Inside You Must Always Remain Alive

2008-07-29T02:27:00.000+05:30

Imagine yourself at your formal best in a board room. Soon after, you attend a friend's birthday party at a hip restaurant. Just as you guys think about calling it a day, the rain Gods make their presence felt. What do you do??? Do you take the parking lot as a large public bathroom, and make full use of the water supply. Or do you stand under a shed, and look at the other category of people and think "Oh! Probably they haven't taken a shower for weeks!!"
Well... I belong to the former category, The child inside me is still alive!!! :)
When a child in class 2 returns home, he is so very excited... "Hurray!!! i am home!!!!!" and so are the kid's parents। The other day I was at my friend's place when his elder brother, who is the HR Head of a software firm, came back home from work।
He entered with a sigh,
didn't even bother to say Hi,
and I thought I heard my friend's mom cry....
Oh Hez Home again...Why!!!
Well...all I am talking about here is the child-like energy that keeps going down gradually, as we move up the professional ladder.
What I am trying to say is that as we grow up, become more and more mature and start getting surrounded by life's various atrocities, having a little bit of FUN every now and again is not all that bad after all. It helps ..to get rid of stress, to perform better, to recharge our batteries. Buddha said "Discover Yourself. " I think we must "Rediscover Ourselves". We must "Rediscover the child in ourselves." We need to start doing what we loved to do as a kid, be it dancing in the rain, be it playing childish games, or be it just laughing at silly jokes sometimes.
Having said that, I do not necessarily mean that life is only about having fun.
There is another aspect of the child inside us that one must not ignore. When a child needs a toy, he must get it, and he knows of ways he can get it. When we make goals for ourselves, are we as stubborn as we were a few years ago? By the experience and knowledge that we have acquired over the years, we are perhaps cleverer now, and knowing ways to reach our goals should be much easier than looking for ways to convince mom and dad to get us a toy!!!
My point is that 40 years down the line when I am into my second childhood, and I look at the years gone by... there is nothing that I should regret. I should have given in my best efforts to make it to my goals, and I should have made each moment of life memorable.

I must LIVE my LIFE, and not just survive...The Child Inside Me must always remain ALIVE!!!!!

au revoir --> welcome back...

2007-07-26T01:37:00.000+05:30

The flight...change of Fortunes...is it???

Dizzying heights...

A rift...not just in the clouds...

It reflected the state of my mind...

Sea of thoughts...or Clouds of slumber...??

Daytime slumber...

2007-04-07T22:45:00.000+05:30

Daytime it was..when I kept sleeping...
you were here with me...waitin 4 me 2 wake up...

whenever u tried to, i hushed u away...
i shud hav woken up..u had so much 2 say...

evening it was...i felt like getting out of my slumber...
i saw u...pushed you away...told u to leave...it was my bad temper...

i hav woken up now...but its darkness all around...
i want you to be with me...but u r nowhere 2 b found...

come back my love....come back to me...
without you in my life...i don't feel like me...

M missing India

2006-08-01T18:36:00.000+05:30

Here I am...this is me...
M sittin miles away 4m home...m here 4 work...to learn...to earn...to get some xposure...some experience...to ensure dat d good start dat i've got to my career carries on..and i reach the destination i had in mind before i started off on this path..
its been almost 3 months since i'v bn in UK...things hav bn good so far..wrkd really hard for the first 5-6 weeks...then things became a little easier..i had a li'l more time 4 myself...weekends were off..and then one fine day i was told dat i have to go back as the task assigned to me was finished...
Though initially i was a li'l disappointed to be going back so soon, gradually the disappointment took a back seat and I was happy to go back home..the countdown began...7 days to go..6 days to go..5..4..but dat was it...
3 daz to go before i could leave 4 india...and my manager comes to me and says you may have to stay here for a li'l longer...and how long is dat li'l longer gonna be..i still dont know...
when i was asked to leave..i was disappointed...but then when i was asked to stay back...i wasn't happy at all...
dats life...though life has been good at work so far...lots of challenges to take...lots of new things to learn...lots of new people to meet..but I miss home a lot...I miss India a lot...
I freak out with my friends once in a while...I enjoy as much as I can...but at the end of the day..this is not where I belong to...the true enjoyment..the true sense of satisfaction that one gets after any kinda fun...happens only in India!!!