New Entrepreneur: Fire, Steel and Ice

Any new entrepreneur (like me LOL) always arrive at the business arena on wings of hope and with raging fire in the belly to do something great in the world and make lot of name as well as money. But as the time passes by he/she understands that it is not as simple as living a dream instead for successful ones it turns out to be great saga of three elements Fire, Steel and Ice whereas the unsuccessful ones loses themselves in the world of despair. Before we dwell further I would first like to congratulate the successful ones for achieving the great feat which very few can actually dream of and second I would also like to congratulate the unsuccessful ones because in this world very few have guts to do what they had done.

Any new entrepreneur always pass through these three phases of the entrepreneurship saga (until and unless you have a back-up of loads of your parents money to ride on because then failures do not come with a price dear to you). So all the budding entrepreneurs and my fellow businessmen, it's time for the show to begin.

Fire: At first every new entrepreneur's mind buzzes with new ideas and innovations. The idea of name and fame, dreams of luxury and loads of money, almost certainly convince him/her to go for the new business as the raging fire in the belly and fog from its smoke clouds their judgement of what can go wrong and why. They fail to interpret that there will be plenty of people during their journey which will affect the outcome of their plans. But do not worry guys this itself is a big accomplishment that you have at least decided to live your dream (because now a days most of the people have restricted their dream to a good job with handsome pay-out) and this requires helluva lot of guts to give up an easy life for your entrepreneurship ambition. Trust me this element 'Fire' is very essential for your future success and you will go as far as you keep that fire raging in your belly and your dreams hunger for more.

Steel: During the journey of being a successful entrepreneur, you always realise that it is actually much more than just your ambition of money and fame. Not only yours but so many other families (of your employees / suppliers / associates) depend upon you and your decisions. There are times when you will come across rejection, desperation (for business, for money and most likely for peace of mind) and frustration. It is very difficult to accept failures and move ahead but you have to understand that what else you can expect on the path to success and that is why the path has been created otherwise it will not be required at all. Those who move ahead know the importance of our second element 'Steel' and those who want to move ahead must always remember that most of the stories end with sadness and desperation without this element. Now by this element steel I do not want you to make yourself steel physically (so after reading this blog please do not go and hit your gym ..LOL..) but make yourself steel mentally. Face the failures bravely (since nobody else is going to come to help you without any of their hidden agendas), try to find a way out of it or around it or whatever but hang on with the thread of hope and do not give up. Keep on moving ahead because if you will stop now, you will not be able to make a move at a later stage since that will hardly come as this cruel world of business does not give many chances. Avoid too much of desperation or frustration since either people known / unknown to you will try to take advantage of you or mostly your near ones will tell you push you to change the track. Do not worry guys about any of them as it is very easy to preach and give suggestions whereas it is very difficult to be in your shoes and live your dream and your life. People suggest or advice freely but do not help so ignore them but be careful about the people who want to take your advantage. So make yourself steel to face all these challenges and always remember anybody who have helped you in these difficult times so that you can show your gratitude later when you have reached your goal.

Ice: Now if you are able to pass the two phases of entrepreneurship, it's time to taste some success in your endeavour. However be careful, it is time to make yourself like our third element 'Ice'. Always remember do not melt away with the initial success as the key is sustainability of this success. We come across many stories where people go to top very fast but go down even faster. Now is the time not to enjoy but to first remove all your liabilities as soon as possible and reach to a stable ground in order to build strongly further. Do not spend to live in the present but save for the future contingencies. I know it is very difficult since you have suffered a lot but trust me if you do not want to suffer again in the future be ice to all these things. Enjoy but do not be an extravagant and most importantly be careful about the bee like false friends who will come along with your success as they are there only till you are on top.

If you are able to manage all these three elements in your business life, trust me nobody can stop you from achieving success. I am also going through the second phase now and hanging with the thread of hope and doing my level best to achieve success which I am sure will definitely come as that is what my heart whispers to me............

3 Laws of Wealth

Recently while revisiting Newton's laws of motion; somewhere back of my mind I was also bickering over the current economic condition in the country as well as in the world. Both the stream of thoughts got merged (god only knows when) and I was surprised by the similarities between the motion and the wealth of an entity. Unable to contain the growing desperation, I thought it will be wise to pen down the 3 Laws of Wealth which my mind created but with strong references from our great Newton's laws of motion (so please do not charge me with plagiarism):

First Law: If there is no net effort (mental / physical / social / political) behind an entity or an individual, then its wealth will remain constant. The entity or individual is either enjoying its inherited money (LOL) or its income is increasing at a rate (meagre salary increments) getting negated by the inflation and rising costs.

Second Law: The increase in wealth 'I' of an entity or an individual is parallel and directly proportional to the net effort 'E' (mental / physical / social / political) generated by the entity or the individual, is in the direction of the efforts, and is inversely proportional to its expenditures and borrowings collectively called as liabilities 'L'. E = LI

Third Law: When an entity or an individual creates a wealth W1 in the economy, somewhere in the environment a second entity or an individual loses a wealth W2 = -W1. This means that W1 and W2 are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.

These 3 laws of wealth holds true considering that at a given point of time, the overall wealth available and that can be generated in the entire world remains constant. Just see the simple application of the above laws: If you purchase something, manufacturers, dealers, government (LOL through taxes) earn that money which is spent by you. If you will not put any extra efforts, you will not be able to earn extra money. The more liabilities you have, more efforts you have to put in to generate that extra money. I am not sure what will be your take on these laws but they are fully applicable to me and that is what my heart whispers to me..........

OSCARS: Time to Re-invent Magic

Hmm.... so the grand OSCARS this is year went as expected and most of the winners were almost quite easy to guess. Best movie 'Argo', Best Director 'Ang Lee' for 'Life of Pi', Best Actor 'Daniel Day-Lewis' for 'Lincoln', Best Actress 'Jennifer Lawrence' for 'Silver Linings Playbook' (though I would have voted for 'Jessica Chastain' for 'Zero Dark Thirty'), Best Animation movie 'Brave', Best Visual effects 'Life of Pi', Best supporting actor 'Christoph Waltz' for 'Django Unchained', Best supporting actress 'Anne Hathaway' for 'Les Misérables' and so on.

Now here is the surprise, the most popular and successful movies last year 'Avengers' and 'The Dark Knight Rises' failed to get any OSCAR and top of it they were able to earn only one nomination. 'Zero Dark Thirty' even after so much acclaim and its controversial plot failed to create any ripples. No new debutante stars ever felicitated for their performances. No life time achievement award was given to anyone. So may be its time for OSCARS to re-invent magic and plug such voids because awards are not for few distinguished ones but for the gifted ones. It should propagate feeling of triumph rather than the feeling of loss. 

A nine year old kid like 'Quvenzhané Wallis' (for her superb and heart moving performance in 'Beasts of the Southern Wild') would have gone home triumph if there would have been a category for best child artist. 'Avengers' would have at least got most popular movie award if there was such a category in the OSCARS. While watching a movie, we live a life with it and just imagine how many people would have lived that life how many times while making it. So according to me OSCARS should be celebration of that life which means it can be more grand on scale in which people can believe and not only dream and this is what my heart whispers to me................

The MOBILE WARS

With new age mobile phones or so called the smartphones literally doing job of a phone, a computer and a companion (by keeping you informed and entertained), it was but natural that there is bound to be a horse race between world's top manufacturers to dominate this segment. But in recent times in India, because of this segment gaining huge popularity among the helpless population succumbing to these handheld attractions, this race has turned into a war among the top players (with host of models or in our case ammunitions) which I think is the biggest after 'The STAR WARS'...LOL...So that's why I thought I will cherish few facts and fiction on this on-going saga of 'The MOBILE WARS'.


In this epic battle (raging within the Indian market), main characters are obviously Samsung, Apple, Nokia, Micromax, HTC, LG, Sony, Motorola, Xiomi, Karbonn, Gionee, and Blackberry.


Apple: The Inventor
Apple has all its current and outdated models in its current ammunition namely 'iPhone' - 3, 3S, 4, 4S, 5 and soon there will be 5S for sure. So you can see the barrel is same but bullets keep on changing...LOL...SIM is getting smaller while budget is getting bigger. Pride of ownership remains but otherwise it is very hard for a normal user (until and unless you spend more time with your phone than your regular work) to actually experience the change. Screen size has just got bigger but still feels less than the Samsung canons. Nevertheless it still has best and trouble free application store as well as the user interface. Even with all its hits and misses, Apple will always be Numero-Uno of the game because it has actually invented the world of smartphones.


Samsung: The Reigning King
There are so many models or ammunition with them in entire price band spectrum that one will actually lose count of all the types. Samsung Galaxy Y, Y Duos, S2, S3, S4, S5, Note, Note 2, Note 3, Note 4, S Advance, S Grand, Ace, Ace Duos and god only knows what else. Largest screen to host of functions, to best brand image in affordable pricing or you can say any band of pricing has made it click for Samsung literally. Moreover Android application store is not much behind the inventor and almost all the necessary or commonly used applications are already available in it. So if nothing drastic is done by any other contender, Samsung is bound to be on top for a long-long time.


Nokia: The Fallen Legacy
Even though Nokia is trying to break its jinx in this smartphone market but it is still considered as a poor man's device and such a brand image is hurting it in positioning as well as in matters of pride of ownership. With Nokia Lumia 510, 610, 710, 800, 820, 900, 920, 1120 (God only knows on what basis they keep name of the phones) and Nokia Asha series, it is still far from the top of the range. Even though user interface is good, lack of functions and applications is further hurting their chances to reach on top of the branding matrix. Something drastic and more innovative approach is required to penetrate the mind of the users as well to create good old times.


Micromax: The Challanger
Micromax started on a good note by providing smartphones to the general public at the most economical prices and suddenly there are plenty of new models from its stable in the market. From the begining itself Micromax was the real contender for Nokia's place in the Indian market, and now it is challenging even the big daddies. Recently there were some really good surprise launches suddenly and with its A90, A110, A116, Knight, Turbo and so on things are falling in place for the ingenious manufacturer provided there is enough availability of its models to sell.


HTC: The On-Off Contender
Even though people knew about its smart range before they knew about Samsung or Apple, the manufacturer has been in on-off mode in Indian market. Suddenly there were no new models and recently there are many in the market. Suddenly there was lot of marketing and suddenly there was none. Even though the products are good and reliable, the brand image fails to appeal to the masses as of now and something dramatic has to happen if they really want to create a mass appeal. Product range is fairly balanced and covers lot of price band, so there is a very good chance if they take Indian market seriously, they can play a major role in the on-going mobile war.

Blackberry: The Lost Cause
Blackberry even though was one of the most preferred model of businessmen and professionals (due to their BBM service) lost the initial plot in smartphone game. The earlier launched models in a hurry, failed to steam up the market and upgraded versions took too much of time to make an appearance and still not in sight soon. So the only advantage with which Blackberry would have survived and flourished in the Indian market would have been its BBM service only and nothing else but with BBM services now available for IOS, Android and Windows users as well, I don't think Blackberry will be able to cash on it any further. Moreover, they will surely be hoping that applications like WhatsApp, LINE and WeChat must not take this advantage away from them any further otherwise it will be an impossible task to crack the tough nut called Indian market once again.

 Sony, Motorola and LG: The Pursuers
With Sony Xperia series, Motorola X / G series and LG Optimus series, these companies have waged battle against all others and surely making their strong presence felt in the Indian market. Their smartphones are loaded with features and boast of excellent quality. With competitive pricing against peers, these can be true pursuers to Samsung and Apple models. In fact the smallest smart phone by Motorola E series is quite a big hit among budget buyers. What all path breaking models and innovative strategy these giants are going to introduce that only time will tell but they are bound to make competition tough in the on-going war in the mobile market.


Gionee and Xiomi: The Carnivores
Xiomi has become synonym for flash sale in Indian mobile market with thousands of pieces selling into minutes on Flipkart. Its models are not only packed with top most hardware and software, their prices are almost 50% of the competitors models. Gionee on the other hand can also boast of power packed mobile range at amazing prices including world's slimmest phone in Elife S5.5. In future once their infrastructure set-up is complete, like carnivores these two companies can eat lot of market share which right now belongs companies like Samsung, Nokia and Micromax.

Anyways the consumer is always in a dizzy while current 'MOBILE WAR' is going on. You set your heart on a model and next day there is another one better than that in the market. You purchase a tiny wonder and tomorrow it is available at a cheaper rate somewhere else. Since you cannot own each and every great wonder available in the market today and tomorrow as well as cannot upgrade your device every month, it is better to be content with what is available with you today and wait and watch for the right time, right device to upgrade and that is what my heart whispers to me...........

Petrol and Onions in today's time....

Petrol prices are up again, in some time it will not be available on petrol pumps instead it will be sold in 300ml bottles at general stores.

Onion is no more a vegetable, with such high prices it should be classified as a fruit. Sensex will soon have an onion index like gold index.

Poor people used to eat Rotis with onions, with onions so costly they will have the luxury to eat Rotis with potato bhaji. Think positive.

Now petrol and onions are at the same rate, think what will happen to those who used to burn petrol to shop for onions, double whammy.

Petrol prices are going up every now and then, soon it will be cheaper for individuals to export it from Arab countries in 10 litre cans.

Petrol is costly, walk to your office; onions are costly, no more fried stuff; government wants to make us healthy & themselves wealthy.

For petrol and onions, this is what my heart whispers to me.....

WikiLeaks: A Non-official Political Whistle Blower

It takes guts to reveal your own secrets but to reveal secrets of people in power requires something even more than the guts. WikiLeaks has continuously achieved this by showing unending resilience and they have survived the toughest of situations as observed by most of us. Today WikiLeaks have become the biggest non-official political whistle blower our history has ever witnessed and I am sure they will continue till there is no political secret left to share.

Here is the big question; why people in political power corridors are afraid of WikiLeaks? Why they are trying to destroy this website at any cost? Such things happen only when there is something to hide. I am not saying that actions taken by various governments are wrong but probably they were not presented in the right way to the people and now when WikiLeaks is bringing it in front of the people, they are afraid. I am only afraid when I had done something wrong and I will do whatever I will to hide it from my wife. Hence, if politicians are trying to prevent WikiLeaks from publishing their secrets then it is no rocket science to understand that there is something fishy in the old dockets.

I do not understand why people try to do more mistakes in order to bury their past mistakes. We all are human beings and mistakes happen and everybody understands this fact. The best way is to except them and clear the name forever but our politicians always choose the longer way and want to silence everybody forgetting that truth will uncover itself at some point of time. Anyways let us see what happens in the future but as of now I am relishing the secrets brought forth by this brave website and waiting for the time when my heart will whisper to me.........

Honey, I Shrunk the Budget

Turbulence in economy never ever fails to bring the turbulence inside your own home. Increase in prices will always turn up in your home as increase in tensions. For most of the earning individuals (barring those who have silver spoon glued to their mouths from birth), pay packages keep on becoming lighter where as bills keep on becoming heavier in such times. Cutting costs at every juncture becomes everyday mantra for every poor soul struggling for survival with dignity.

Since we all are accustomed to adjustments cutting costs is not a major issue, the major issue is how to convey this to your wife without hurting her as well as without compromising on your own status at home. Our irony is that, some people sitting somewhere in the power corridors are making some mindless decisions and causing economic slowdown which in turn is ruining your life and unfortunately you have no control over it. For example, to rein in increasing prices and inflation, our government is increasing interest rates so that demand can be reduced than supply but in turn fails to understand that this way both demand and supply are reduced but increase in interest rates have still caused increase in prices and inflation even in short supply (both put together actually create the scary term 'Recession'). They fail to realise that short supply is still a favourable situation rather than reduced demand since supply can be increased but demand is reduced solely because of household budget cuts which a person will do only in desperate situation.

As helpless as in any other grave situation, as a common man I also decided to convince my wife rather than the government since once wife can listen to you but governments never listen. With heavy heart and all my courage, one day I went home and announced to my wife that dear since our government has decided to inflate interest rates and in turn inflate the prices, honey, I shrunk the budget since we have no choice but to do this in order to stay afloat in these turbulent times. Seeing her worried face and tears in her eyes, I was just able to tell myself that good times will come soon when government will start taking wise decisions and that is what my heart whispered to me......

TATA Nano: Has the dream gone wrong?

It was a dream come true and TATA made us proud all over the world with this small technology wonder termed as people's car 'Nano'. It was just a dream come true but with its existing sales figures, has the dream gone wrong. 'TATA Nano' was much awaited product last year due to its price tag of only 1 Lakh rupees (which also has crossed 1.5 lakhs recently) and expected to jolt 2-wheeler market in India but unfortunately it has failed to do so. There can be many reasons for it which were pretty obvious from the starting itself but were overlooked by the TATA team. Some of the reasons which I feel contributed to its not so expected sales are as follows:

2-wheelers are preferred over 4-wheelers to avoid traffic snarls in congested cities which TATA Nano failed to provide to its users and ultimately failed to be an option for 2-wheelers.

Initial technology hick-ups and long waited delivery periods took the shine away from the product.

TATA Nano due to its smaller design and appearance failed to create ownership charm for its users to some extent. Positioning it as a cheap car is the biggest mistake as it will take away pride of ownership and most of the customers will not like it for sure. Lesser boot space also hinders prospect of long drives at regular intervals.

Today customers are moving towards better looking vehicles which can provide more comfort, safety, performance and status quo. This is the reason that hatchback and sedans' market is continuously growing in India whereas in recent times smaller cars has seen decline in sales.

I believe it is time for TATA team to device a new strategy for 'Nano' and pitch it in a different manner rather than pitching it as replacement for 2-wheelers. Product which has been the pride of the country should not go down in history as a failed one. I would like to see the success of this little technology marvel and that is what my heart whispers to me..........

Apple iphone: the journey begins..............

Like everybody else I was also pretty excited about the launch of Apple iphone in India and in the process became one of the first few who had purchased this device in initial days. Why I am saying first few is because by the time this product was launched already critics had labelled it as overpriced gadget in India and no doubt a price tag of Rs 36100/- can definitely stir a muscle in the mind. Because of such cost conscious reviews only, my wife also started jumping when I expressed my desire to buy the iphone. Her furious gestures and price tag of iphone somehow kept me away from Airtel Gallery (where iphone was available) on the first day. But old habits die hard and like a dog's tail which can never be straight, on next day while praying to god to keep my wife in good mood when I reach home, I purchased this engineering marvel.

I know how much I have to listen that day for it but trust me the moment I took iphone in my hands it is the beginning of a whole new journey. Even though almost one year has passed by I am still wondering how more is remaining to explore. With so many exciting applications added daily you will feel that entire world is at your doorstep. This iphone has not only become my personal assistant who can keep all the information handy whenever I need it but it has also become my personal entertainer. Now whether I want to know my flight status or a train schedule or hotels in a particular area, everything is available on iphone. What else, I can see movies, read books, play guitar, check email, listen to music, watch latest news, play scrabble and other interesting games on this little device. There are so many etceteras with this iphone one cannot really explain. All this has to be experienced in order to enjoy the endless fruits of this engineering marvel.

In the end I will just say that after iphone so many new models have been launched on same platform but iphone nevertheless has become legend in its category and definitely marks the beginning of a new journey. This is the first gadget which has become so close to me that sometimes I feel this iphone can listen to what my heart whispers to me........................because whenever I wish for an application it comes alive on this iphone.

When dreams become ambitions..............

Almost three years have passed since I wrote my last blog, and I wouldn't have written today also if a tiny enthusiastic comment on one of my old posts wouldn't have stirred my emotions. Somehow the days became so busy and nights became so restless that I forgot completely who I am. Probably in the pursuit of achieving my dreams I was so engrossed that I failed to see dozens of other dreams flourishing around me. It is not that my heart has stopped whispering to me but somehow with time I had learnt how to suppress it. May be ultimately work had taken a toll on the writer in my soul. Today this is not my story alone but this a story of every professional whose dreams have turned into ambitions. Anyways I will try to give rebirth to the writer inside me who like to share thoughts with people and through my blog I will try my best to make you laugh and to make you think as once again I can hear what my heart whispers to me...............

New Age Media - A Curse or a Cure ??????

24 hour News Channels (god knows how many are there, I counted till 18), 100 pages of Newspaper everyday (It takes atleast 1 hr. for scanning and all this in only Rs. 4), are we getting more then what is expected or required.

I was watching news on Saturday, 30th June'07 and I was amazed how minor water loggings are projected as small floods. It seems Milan Subway (always the 1st place in Mumbai to get water logged and whenever there is heavy rain you can spot 2-3 news channel vans here ready to capture the water logging), Turbhe Police Station (common photograph in newspaper everytime), Kalina, Kurla are favourites of our Media because they show recording and pictures of these places repeatedly but does that mean situation is completely out of control and it is flooding everywhere. I got atleast 10 calls from my parents, in-laws and relatives about our well being and I got tired of telling them that there is not even much of water logging in my street. I agree that in Mumbai there are few low lying areas where authorities had failed again and again to find some solution but can we generalise the whole situation for entire city.

Another episode I remember was that of Abhi-Ash wedding. My goodness, whichever channel you switch it is there continuously and this situation was there for many days. Many channels even started countdowns. What's all this fuss about? Aren't they human beings before a celebrity. It is their family affair and they do not want to publicise it, they want it as personal as possible perfect with people like me. But Media made it such a big issue that even people you were not bothered started feeling bad that why they are not invited. Most of the crime scenes or frauds and their investigations are covered in so detail that even guilty can take a cue and plan their escape accordingly.

In order to show something for 24 hrs, issues are created by Media out of nothing and minor issues are projected as complete disaster but at the same time it is also true that because of New Age Media, their alertness and hard-work lot of critical issues (such as female education, illegal abortions, organ trade, unauthorized practices, scams and scandals etc.) which are otherwise buried come into picture. I strongly feel that our media should focus more on such constructive news rather than just try to be a show stopper because they have such powerful tools which even the most powerful are afraid of. I had seen many stories, many incidents which have caught national attention just because they were raised by the media and somehow we feel secure since we believe that if something wrong happens to anybody, media will seek justice for it.

I can only request all the torchbearers of today's new age media that be something which we can be proud of and not something we should be ashamed of. It should be a cure more than a curse. We should feel secure with the empowered media and not feel that it is just a glamour doll playing in the hands of some powerful people. When Media is responsible enough, I will feel as powerful as anybody else in this world and that is what my heart wants and that is what it whispers to me........

The Existence of God

Sometimes I think about it and argue myself whether there is God or its just an illusion in which most of us believe. I am sure most of us had asked this Question either from ourselves or from our elders, parents or somebody. Did you get your answer? I think not and same is in my case, but slowly and gradually I had formed an image, a belief about the very existence of God. I am no authority on this subject but also I believe there is no such person in this world because nobody understands actually what is God (including me).

From the very beginning we are taught that there is some immortal power, which take care of all and the power is in the form of various Gods. We always worship to keep the Gods happy so that we can be happy. There are so many Gods defined that we do not even remember all of them and each God has assigned few distinct characteristics. It is true for most of the religions and as Hindus we are the front runners. There are so many explanations and so many fables you can hear related to Gods filled with magic and supernatural powers that it makes an intelligent mind uncomfortable in believing such things. Still whenever you remember God (obviously in time of distress), you feel some unseen power giving you internal strength to fight back. This seems more appropriate since it is also said that, 'God lives within you'.

In the end I will only say that it does not matter whether God created mankind or mankind created God, what matters is that when we remember God, we feel empowered, and when we celebrate festivals poor man gets the joy which he cannot afford otherwise. God is real or not I do not know but there is some eternal power glows somewhere in our hearts and that is what my heart whispers to me..........

Spirit of Mumbai - Back with a Bang !!!!!!!!!!!!

It happened again. How many time these people want to test the endurance of people of Mumbai. This is the fourth time bomb-blasts are happening in this island city. Wounds of 26/7/05 floods were still there and fresh blood is oozing from them after 11/7/06. But nothing can stop Mumbai. Eight bombs, seven locations, six shattered trains and Mumbai took only twelve hours to spring back with life. We are sad but not down, we are scared but still ready to become heroes if required, this is what life is in Mumbai. Mumbai blasts are not return of the terror, its return of Mumbai's spirit.

Love U Mumbai ...............

Fall of Samba Legion

Atlast my prediction or you can say my wish came true. Brazil lost to France 1-0 in the quarter-finals. What happened to the magic of no. 3964. I will say it was the "Fall of The Samba Legion", because the way they had played that day is really shameful for a team having so many so called talented players. Kudos to team France for showing so much endurence against a team whom even all odds were favouring. Can you believe Brazil had only one shot on target in the entire game and it was not Ronaldinho but Zidane who was the pivotal point of the game, it was not Ronaldo but Henry who struck at last. Anyway I will not say much on this topic because I am also surrounded with Brazilian fans here in my house but best of luck to all who had supported Brazil and start choosing your new favourite.

See you Brazil (oops, Brazil minus Ronaldo, Cafu and Carlos) next time in 2010.

Football World Cup - The One Sided Story

I wanted to write something on football world-cup from a very long time as this the much talked about thing today. I always wanted to be a part of this debate but when I tried it appeared to be a one sided story. Most of the people are supporting Brazil (obviously everybody wants to be with favourites) until and unless somebody is having particular liking about some country or belong to that country. This had taken out the whole fun of it. When there is no difference in opinion there is no debate, no arguments. Even numerologists had proved with the help of the no. 3964 that Brazil is going to win then what is the point in enjoying the present when you already know the future, when you already believe that only Brazil is going to win.

Round 1 is over and knock-out stage had already started. Just try to look at the other teams also. Germany team is full of energy under Ballack with Klose and Podolski already on fire. Argentina is showing some mastermind strategies. They had already shown their hunger by routing Serbia 6 - 0. France got the will-power and England got the stars like Rooney and Beckham. The point is every team is as promising as Brazil, then why all of us are so biased. I feel in some way Brazil team is over hyped by people like us only. If you observe, their defense is weak and can be penetrated with ease. Their star players like Ronaldinho are struggling to convert chances. If you leave the last match, even Ronaldo had disappointed his fans so far. Kaka is not that dependable and Carloas is missing his usual fire.

Still most of us support Brazil because everybody wants to be on the winning side and we had already announced them as champs this time also. Let us wait and watch what is the result going to be but one thing is sure, victory will not come their way so easily. As far as I am concerned, I will support any team other then Brazil. Afterall somebody should be there to support others also and make this football world cup lively with arguments and debate.

BEST OF LUCK everybody...........................except Brazil

A Threat to the Dignity of Greatest Temples of Education in India

Mandal II or so called quota mayhem has again threatened the future of millions of students who are struggling to get a seat in IIT's or IIM's. It is a threat to the dignity of the greatest temples of education in India. Moreover it has started at a time when the entire world had started recognizing the economic strength of our country. Vote politics can go down to such a level is really shamefull for a country as diverse as ours. I am not against the growth of backward classes or minorities but is this the way to show them that we care. From the starting itself, I am a strong believer of providing necessary education to under privileged children and I will be happy if they can secure more seats in IIT's and IIM's then general category people but only after competing at the same level.

Providing quotas can never help in the overall growth of an individual or a caste. It will further make them dependent on the system and system has to always create quotas everywhere for them like now people are talking of quotas in private companies also, in future they will talk about quotas in promotions also then what is the point. I can facilitate somebody only upto a certain level but not always. You can provide free education to backward classes children upto whatever level you want but you cannot make a shorter route for their success which is ultimately they are not going to get by that route. Why not tell all the English medium schools or good colleges to provide free education to these under privileged children. Even people like me will be ready to take burden of one or two children but now I will not do this by keeping future of our children on stake. I can still remember, during the time of Mandal I, how frustrating it was that even after doing your best you are not selected while the other backward students even after scoring marks in single digit got selected in engineering and medical colleges.

Another problem is that it will create problems between the students of the two communities. They will not be able to live prosperously at the same place. And sad thing is that people who make these types of rules their children never struggle to get education or job, or they could have understood the pain behind this whole process. And this is what will happen till we the intelligent minds are indifferent to these burning issues. Let us do something so that our next generations can say, "yes, you had done something for us and the country".

The Indifference of Intelligent Minds

I was feeling guilty from a long time due to my indifference towards the burning issues but after some research, I found that most of the intelligent people are like me only. I had seen all of us complaining about the system hundred times but are we really trying to change it. Most of us will become tight lipped on this question. I feel that we have become so self-centered that we forget to see the bigger picture. Until and unless we ourselves are in some mess, we will just be a mere spectator. May be you disagree to me at this point of time but I am sure after I finish you will get atleast something for retrospection.

Let us start with basics. How many of us cast our votes? Only 40%. Out of these 40%, how many know about all the candidates properly. Not more than 10%. That means only 4% among us actually cast their votes in a right way and believe me I was very generous while assigning percentages. What other 96% do? They only find faults with the system afterwards. I am also not different from this lot. Whenever elections are there, we are very happy because we get one extra holiday. I can say for sure that 99.99% among us will never try to choose politics as a career but all of us want the system of our country to be changed. Do you still feel that this does not show the indifference of our minds?

Let us see into things further and take example of sports. How many of us criticise various players in our cricket team for not playing well and even give suggestions that he should play like this or he should bowl like this? Almost 100%. Now tell me, how many of us will support our kids to go and choose cricket or tennis or badminton or chess or shooting or some other sport as a career instead of engineering or medical or management. I cannot even write a percentage for this because it will be in decimals only. We only feel ashamed when such a big country with second largest population in the world wins medals in Olympics in single digits (that is also not a gold medal). Just think about it for a while, we are not capable of winning medals or we are not able to give right direction to the people who can make it happen. I am sure most of us tell our kids who have more interest in some sport than studies that they are useless and wasting their time on it. Do you still feel that this does not show the indifference of our minds?

Many among us accept high salary packages abroad, work for others, earn for others and the technology what we invent there, our poor country has to purchase it afterwards from that country. I know what most of us will say, 'There is no future for me here'. But tell me one thing, who will make that future, who will make it happen. Somebody has to take the initiative or our country will never have a bright future. I am sure that things are changing but we have to increase the pace. We have to stop existing and start living. Until and unless our minds will show indifference to the issues, we will never be able to make any difference to our society. Its time to give people what they had not given to us. Let us act now so that at the dawn of our life, our heart can whisper to us.........Yes we had really done something.

One-Day Cricket - J u s t E n j o y!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The match between Australia and South Africa had changed the face of the game of cricket. Even a team like Australia, which is supposedly the best team in the world today, was not able to defend a mammoth total of 434 runs. In the recent times also, many teams had successfully chased big totals of 300+ runs. There was a time when a total of 200 or 220 runs was assumed to be a safer one but today it is not like that any more. Now even a total of 400+ runs is not safe forget about 300+ runs. It is nothing but beginning of a new era in the world of cricket. Australians would have not even thought that they will be a part of the cricket history in such a way. Thumbs up to the South African team for their performances, especially Gibbs (175 runs of 111 balls). I can say one thing for sure that now we can hope for more number of nail biting finishes and peak performances from all the players (because if they will not perform, they will be out of the team). There will be lot more pressure on the bowlers because in such matches they have to feel the brunt. Lot more emphasis will be there on the fielding also, so that difficult catches can be taken with ease and as many runs as possible can be saved. Batsman like Gibbs, Dhoni, Gilchrist will top the charts of popularity and a team will search for more such options. What is going to be next, god only knows but I am happy that we are going to enjoy cricket more and more and more and............

IRAQ War - Story of an American Soldier

Recently on net, by chance I met an American Soldier who is fighting in Iraq and was on a short leave to his hometown in America. Believe me after hearing his story my heart skipped a beat. I was forced to think that what has happened to us, where are we leading to in our lives.

Initially this guy was very quite but after lot of persuasion from my side he started telling about himself. With pride, he announced to me that he is an American soldier fighting in Iraq to save his country. I asked him hiding my surprise, 'What do you mean by fighting to save America. I thought you are fighting for the liberation of people of Iraq'. He hesitantly replied, 'We are fighting to remove terrorists who can harm America'. Showing further interest, I asked him, 'How many terrorists you had killed until now'. He didn't speak for few minutes and I thought that he may be counting. Suddenly he said 'None'. I got shocked with this revelation and remained silent for sometime.

Slowly-slowly when I was able regain my composure, I told him that 'I heard you people are killing lot of terrorists and you are saying none, why?' He confessed, 'They are not sure that the people whom they killed were terrorists. They can be innocent citizens also'. I sincerely asked him, 'Do you like it' and he said 'No'. I got agitated and shouted at him, 'Then why the hell you want to go back to Iraq and fight and kill'. At that time, he dropped another bomb in our conversation.

'I want to go back because they had killed my brother. My brother died in my hands and I was not able to do anything' was his reply and even though I was sitting so far away from him, I felt his restlessness, I felt the warmth of a volcano ready to erupt and gulp everything coming its way. Still putting up a brave face after hearing his tragedy I probed further, 'Do you know who killed your brother?' He replied calmly 'No'. I asked him in frenzy, 'Then with whom you will take revenge of your brother's death'. He answered in a deep voice 'I will kill everybody'. I pressed pause button to our conversation for sometime so that both of us can come back to reality and let the overflow of sentiments pass.

After controlling my spinning head, I asked him bluntly, 'Don't you think that what you are feeling today about your brother, same way dear ones of all those people you had killed in Iraq would have felt'. He didn't reply to my question but I was sure that he is now in the turmoil of thoughts and emotions. After sometime he quitely replied,'May be but you know my 12 year old son didn't talk to me just because I was not able to bring his uncle back. Everybody in my house wants me to go back to Iraq in search of his assassin and punish him'. I said, 'Very well but if something happens to you also, do you ever want your son to grow up and go to Iraq and do the same thing for you what you are doing for your brother today'. I felt his heart cry and stream of tears flowing from his eyes. Unknowingly I had touched his weakest emotional chord.

Suddenly as if he had come to some conclusion he replied, 'No, I never want my son to go to Iraq'. And his feelings got exposed to me, which he was hiding from me with great effort. He shouted again, 'I never want my son to go to Iraq, in fact even I don't want to go back to Iraq. I am afraid that if I will go back, I will never be able to see my family again'.

After this, I tried my best to persuade him to leave the army job and do something else. I even tried to convince him that the war, which is going on, is not because of terrorism or nuclear weapons, it is actually for the control of Oil in that region but he seemed to be too lost in the twister of his own thoughts and emotions. With this, we promised to be in touch and parted ways but I was left with something to think. At that point of time, I felt that where are we going, what has happened to us, our morals, our emotions. I will not say that he was right but each and every character in his life had played their role to put him in such situation. Why each one of us are mere pawns in the hands of a system made by somebody and rules laid by somebody else, which keeps on changing for the benefit of few bureaucrats. Why can't we make our own system and live our life as per our rules, as per our happiness. I had decided in my life, I would listen only to that what my heart whispers to me..........

MBA - The actual side of the story

I was thinking to write on the hottest career option in our country (where no. of aspirants is growing at a higher pace than our economy itself) from past three days but was hesitant a little bit because I myself did not belong to this stable. Finally, I decided to write so that all of us can see MBA in a different light. I feel its worth writing for a rising sun which may be rising from the west but afterall it is a sun and its rising.

I believe that most of us think of MBA only as Masters in Business Administration or the fastest career growth path, which is not exactly true. MBA is much more then its literal meaning or a career growth path. One should understand that career growth depends solely on yourself and you should be prepared for a complete transformation.

Actually, in my words MBA is: -

M - Maturity of Mind
B - Birth of Basis
A - Accuracy of Actions

The Mighty "M": -

Although M stands for money also which most of us think about but its actual depth is beyond imagination. It stands for 'Maturity of Mind'. After joining MBA this is the first process that gets started and a carefree mind starts its journey towards maturity. Mind start thinking in all the directions and more and more avenues keep on adding to its dimensions. This is when creativity becomes the core of a thinking process.

The Beautiful "B": -

Although B stands for business also which most of us mean everytime but its origination is much before it. "B" actually stands for 'Birth of Basis'. During MBA most of us learn the importance of 'Basis'. Afterall anybody do anything on the basis of something. We start thinking about the basis on which we should do something and this provides us a whole new intelligent weapon. We start realizing what our competitor or any other human being can do or had done and why, by putting ourselves into their shoes. We can also define our success or failures by going into the depth of our course of actions that on what basis I had taken those decisions. If anybody get enlightened with the importance of 'Basis' we can overcome any hurdle in our life provided we are able to find the basis on which we should actually overcome it.

The Advantage "A": -

And finally comes the dimension which makes anybody different from everybody. This is what even many MBA's also fail to master. "A" which stands for 'Accuracy of Actions' is the most difficult art to learn and if you are able to have a command over it nobody can stop you in any phase of life. What actually is it? I can hit a bull's eye provided bull is there. It means that taking correct actions or decisions is not sufficient alone, it is also necessary to take them at the right time. Even bad decisions taken at an appropriate time can be fruitful. Always remember one thing that each and every decision or action in professional life or personal life is time sensitive, if you are accurate in your actions you can sail through any type of waters.

Now I think it is also right time to finish this write-up but before putting an end to it, I would like to say that people can only preach but you have to scratch your own back and decide your course of action, your path of life and always listen to what your heart whispers to you.........