Brothers in arms......

Nothing like finding a fellow besharam at this juncture ;)

Exam blues are back again....

At the cost of sounding absolutely absurd..... somehow the moment I typed the title, a stupid childhood song started playing in my head. "Happy days are here again.... " (along with the chorus et al.). Sometimes these triggers even surprise me as well.

But the situation at hand is a far cry from all that :(

Exams from 22-29th, and I have resolved to dedicate all my time and energy for the same. So no blogging, orkutting, surfing till the 29th.

There are a lot of things that would be blogging about as soon as I am free. So stay tuned and keep praying for me.

Rural BPOs

How I wish projects like ->
http://www.domain-b.com/companies/companies_t/teNet/20060816_promotes.html

attain a critical mass and turn into a viable revenue stream for both rural India as well as the companies. Saloni Malhotra, Project Head, Rural Business Process Outsourcing, IIT Madras also points out a clear cost difference of 30-40 per cent between a service provider in the city and rural areas, which is a considerable amount by any standards.

Although, its too nascent but compels me to draw a parallel with the initial surge of BPO industry in India, where all the low level work, often termed as Back-Office, was outsourced to India because of two reasons -

(1) Cost Advantage
(2) Skilled workforce (an MBA or an MCom doing Insurance/Claims Processing).

It also reminds me of the legend of OfficeTiger . How two young americans went through a reverse evolution and landed up in Chennai way back in 1999. A time when the BPO buzz had not even started.

And now, as the father of BPO Industry in India, Mr. Raman Roy, after American Express, GE and Spectramind, is going strong with his fourth venture, Quattro , and with a tag line announcing - "Beyond the existing", he doesnt leave much to imagination. Through Quattro he has a clear intention of moving up the value chain in the BPO industry. And just in case if anyone has any doubts, have a look at this article -> Father of BPO gets ready for 4th baby.

As the BPO industry in India is going through a phase of rapid and steady growth , the speculation of moving up the value chain have become intense. Now alomost all the big players in the BPO Industry not just pose themselves as an Outsourcing option, but instead talk about end to end business solutions -> What next for India's BPO sector

As more as more such opportunities come the way of big BPO players its inevitable that they will have to start looking at options like Rural Back Office Operations with much more seriousness rather than just another CSR Initiative.

In this scenario I really dream of a day when India can truely call itself the outsourcing hub of the world. And provide end-to-end business soltions spaning all types of services being offered in the BPO sector.

Here is an article giving an exhaustive listing and a general overveiw of the sector as well -> BPO Industry in India- A Report

Aridity

And I tasted life

One munch
crisp and dry....

Found and Lost...

from the corner of my eyes
i saw her once again

same soft eyes

i looked closer
found the glitter gone
and a faded smile

we walked past each other
two known strangers

criss-cross once again
fulfill the pre-destined

Social Networking or Social Engineering ???

Although I went into deep slumber once again, first on the pretext of exams and then with the kind of killing schedule of classes that we had last week combined with the absolute laziness that forms my core, did not care to write a post. And the foremost reason that I feel guilty is coz there are so many things that I keep crossing my mind and yet I prefer the "hibernate" time and again.

Infact even today was no different, after survivng the onslaught of more than 3 hrs of Cost Accounting lecture and becoming a complete airhead, I head back towards my PG accomodation. Thinking about how I wasted yet another day :(

Well... in true blue Floydian style yet again rearranged my self to sanity..... and for the benefit of someone who is still reading this, let me get started with the title of this post...

Last week on of my friend showed clear signs of almost being petrified with any reference of the word "Orkut" coming her way. Although I have been accused a million times for my abuse of words/expression, but the adjective used here is more than justified, as a later conversation with her confirmed as well. And by the way, the person I am referring to is a fairly outgoing and extrovert person, who is a journalist by profession. So, timidity and all things of such nature can be clearly removed from the picture. What has scared her was the recent trend of people hacking other's Orkut Profiles and Pictures from there uploaded albums and then morphing the images and doing all sorts of unpleasent things.

Social Networking, one of the cornerstone of Web 2.0 is one of the most talked/debated topics. On one hand it has helped in finding convergence in divergence. People with common interests can meet on various online forums to interact, exchange thoughts & veiws and in some cases even forming support groups. All this has lend the World Wide Web an human face and one is no longer tagged geeky if he/she spends hours on the internet. Whats more marvelous is that this growth has been totally organic in nature. A look at the serch trends (what people search on the internet) is quite insightful to say the least -> http://www.webology.ir/2004/v1n2/a4.html .

There have been a number of researches and studies showing a clear shift in patterns, from sex and ecommerce (ode to the dot com bubble) in the late 90's to business, personal researches and information related. I remember the when I had the first interface with the internet. At that time at a place like Allahabad, cybercafes where far and few and costly as well (I have paid Rs. 40 per hr for internet surfing). Invariably cybercafes followed the cubicle format, each workstation was tightly packed and the major concern for both the user and the owner was to make sure that not an inch of the screen was visible from any side/any angle. And then there were people marvelling on the wonders of Yahoo Messenger and once having mastered the nuisances of the art of chatting and rudiments of netiquette bring along there friends and peers for a "live" demo. Gradually this also extended to exchanging emails with friends abroad.

Contrasting this with the present wherein the internet has become an extension of all our activities, there are bound to be several issues cropping up. We have although evolved several wonderful applications but ultimately who they are used and/or abused depends on whose hands are they in.

Social Engineering is one concept that I came across for the first time about 5 years back, an aspect of Social Psychology which talked about use of various techniques to manipulate people and collecting information of sensitive and personal nature from them. Mostly this term has been used in context of financial frauds. However with the rising popularity of Social Networks, one tends to interact and chit-chat openly. This leads to a lot of loose bits of information left in the open for data mining and almost leading to a complete personality and behaviour profiling of the person. Even I have also off late noticed and realised how such intrutiveness is becoming an accepted part of life.

Its too tempting for me in true debate style to summarize this issue and then come up with a very idealistic and forceful statement to conclude, or maybe a quotation (something like "Liberty is no license") however since this is something for which concern is more deep rooted hence would like the reader also to ponder over it and likewise go ahead and discuss it the next person......

Exam Blues

After almost 3 months of exhibiting collective brilliance (read: group projects & presentations) time now to show some individual excellence….

3 end term papers :(

Facing a "pass exam" after more than three and half years... and hoping than even the prof.'s stick to the same spirit ;)

Wish me luck …….

Straight from the horses mouth....

Here are some gloden words from one of the most sucessful and read Indian Blogger, Mr. Amit Agarwal on making money through Google Ad-Sense and Blogging. Have to take his words, coz this guy left his full time job and now is making a living through blogging.

http://labnol.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-much-money-do-i-make-from-adsense.html

Its really fascinates me how Google has made the Web 2.0 not only more socially relevent but also at the sametime by using services like Ad-Sense is able to derive financial sense out of it as well.

Mera number kab aayegaa...

अव्यक्त .....

Have not been able to sleep much for the last two days due to some issues at the PG where I am staying. With barely 3-4 hrs of sleep and 12 hrs of classes, assignments and group projects, and 3 end term papers lined up next week life has once again taken a challenging turn. Hope that I can live up to it.

As I mentioned there are some minor issues which have been a cause of minor irritation. Tried to vent it out, but in vain. Nothing can be more frustrating than a poem hanging mid-way, and here I had not one but two with similar fate. Since that hasn't worked, so trying something else for the very first time, posting an unfinished poems and that too something which I am not satisfied with ....

Nov, 23rd 2006 (0213 hrs)

And yet again
I have wrapped myself
In a gloomy shade of blue


Cold and numb
Seeking comfort in isolation


A synaptic disconnect


Between living and breathing
Blank open spaces


Problem statement of life
Whether to understand the me within
or the world outside, the without...... (to be continued and finished)

Nov, 22nd 2006 (0132 hrs)

कुछ नयी कठीनाईयो का सामना हुआ
मन आज फिर घबराया
भावो के ओत प्रोत से

पुरानी यादे, अवसाद सी
चारो ओर
एक काली चादर

मैने अपने को
फिर उसी जग जगह पाया
सेहमा बेबस

कोल्हू के बैल जैसा
एक जगह अटका हुआ
और गोल घुमाया ............... (अल्प विराम )

First post using Google: Docs & Spreadsheets..

Google has started to show signs of integration of gmail and blogger service. Although the login process to blogger.com is still a bit confusing, but nonetheless trusting the google instincts and brillant ways in which they are re-defining everything on the internet is awe-inspiring to say the least.

Interesting, how Blogger founders talk about there begining and modesty that still stays

The Story of Blogger -> http://www.blogger.com/about

Me... Me... Me......

Self serving biases are one of the most important defense and coping mechanism used by one and all.

But on a lighter note, there are typical nobrainers that you find on the internet which may you feel important and happy for one stupid moment.

Have a look -> http://www.goglogo.com/s.asp?lo=Ashutosh+Tewari

Note even the copyright info displayed on the bottom of the page changing after you cutomise, ego bloating at its subtle best.

Google has been such an important component of our life, that its almost integrated into our fabric of online existence. Gives such a pleasure to see your name being displayed even on a spoof page ;)

I Google therefore....

Just bumped into this wonderful blog Chandoo after a long time. Read through the post titled Google Life to understand and realise how deeply has it become entreched in our lives. And also where all further can it integrate (or is it the other way round). With the way everyone (including myself offcourse) is becoming obsessed with the internet and the way it has become a fabric of our social existence.... just trying to thing what next.... would certainley like to think, research, google ;) and blog about this in detail

Rendezvous

On an August morning in 1978, French filmmaker Claude Lelouch mounted a gyro-stabilized camera to the bumper of a Ferrari 275 GTB and had a friend, a professional Formula 1 racer, drive at breakneck speed through the heart of Paris. The film was limited for technical reasons to 10 minutes; the course was from Porte Dauphine, through the Louvre, to the Basilica of Sacre Coeur. No streets were closed, for Lelouch was unable to obtain a permit. The driver completed the course in about 9 minutes, reaching nearly 140 MPH in some stretches. The footage reveals him running real red lights, nearly hitting real pedestrians, and driving the wrong way up real one-way streets. Upon showing the film in public for the first time, Lelouch was arrested. He has never revealed the identity of the driver, and the film went underground until a DVD release a few years ago.

Google Pack Rocks...

Amazing package of softwares that Google has bundled toegther and can be the beauty is the size as well as the ease of use of all the applications there.... Would recommend all to try atleast a couple of them... download link is available on the right panel ---- >>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

So scroll down, click on the link, download and experience life the Google Way

MBTI Interpretation

Yippeee....... a week after I administered MBTI Test on myself, with the help of a dear friend of mine, who is a trained psychologist and currently into advanced research, got the scoring and the interpretation done for my personality type for Organisations.

Here are the results ->

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You are: I- Introvert, N- Intuitive, F- feeling, P- Perceiving.

Which means Introverted Feeling with Intuition.

INFPs are open-minded, idealistic, insightful and flexible individuals who want their work to contribute to something that matters. They enjoy working by themselves or in small groups where they can be creative.

Contributions to the Organization-They communicate and persuade with their ideals, draw individuals together around a common purpose, work to find matches for people in organizations, seek new ideas and possibilities for the organization, quietly push an organization to uphold its values.

Leadership style- Take a facilitative approach, Prefer unique leadership roles rather than conventional ones, Work independently toward their vision, are more likely to praise than to critique others, encourage people to act on their ideals.

Preferred learning style- Quietly engaging their interests, and imaginatively presented, flexible and focused on their own and others' development.

Problem- solving approach- Want to reflect on what is really important to them and others(F) and to seek out creative possibilities(N), May need to gather factual data (S) and decide about things more objectivity (T) for optimal results.

Preferred work Environments- Contain pleasant and committed people focused on important values, have a cooperative atmosphere with a lightness of spirit, allow privacy as well as collegiality, provide flexibility with minimal routine, are nonbureaucratic, foster calm and quiet, allow time and space for reflection.

Suggestions for development- May need to learn to work with what is rather than searching for an ideal response, may need to develop more tough - mindedness and a willingness to say "no", may need to foster in facts and logic along with their personal values, may need to develop and implement action plans.

In short you are adaptable, committed, curious, deep, devoted, empathetic, gentle, idealistic, imaginative, intimate, loyal and reticent.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Phew... thats a lot of insight...... :)

खुद से बाते

Found using HindiKalam (www.hindikalam.com) to be an amazingly simple site for translating text from english script to hindi on a real time basis. It has a good WYSIWYG interface.

Just tried it on something that I scribbed last night.......


ख्वाब आते है रोज़ एक दस्तक देते है
धीरे से कुछ उम्मीदो का वास्ता देते
और फिर चुप-चाप से मायूस हो कर लौट जाते है

कभी मन बेचैन हो उठता है
अपने आप से, और कभी हर उस शै से लड़ता है
जिस्से मुझे सहरा मिलता है

लगता है जैसे
मैं खुद से लड़ रहा हूँ
और शायद थक भी चुका हूँ

चलते रेहने की नसीहत देना
और हसते रेहना
इतना मुशकिल भी नही जीना

फिर क्यूँ मैं हर ख्वाब को झूठलाता हूँ
कदमो के निशान मिटाता हूँ
और अपने मे सिमट जाता हूँ

As I was in the process of translating, just realised that how much I have been out of touch with writing in Hindi. Long live the spell-check feature.....

While searching about Gulzar, just came across this ......

aa-e-ne may kabhi khud ko
kabhi ajnabi ko dekhta hoon
baat nazariye ki hai

warna cehra toh wohi hai

Walk of life....

At times you write to express, at times to confess, at times when you have a thing or two to share... and then there are times you have no clue as to why is it that you at unease with yourself. Trying to blabber all through words what makes no sense to you, leave alone others.

I hate these moments and have so many times tried to replace the feeling of emptiness with so much else. Its like something I tried in a recent workshop (pic above), walking on broken glass. I was the last person to try this, but once I actually gathered courage and plunged in, there was a great amount of insight that emerged.

Life is so much like this, we have broken glass pieces scattered all across our way, all the unpleasent memories and not so good experiences of the past which still are imprinted in our mind. All whats even worse is the kind of insulation that we have created around us in the fear of being hurt even deeper by these. The constant state of anxiety in which we spend our lives because of the set of events that happened in past and the way that they keep coming back to us in so many ways. Being haunted by the past.

At times the only way out is to take the path of direct confrontation. Gathering the courage to stand up, gather courage and to walk through all broken glass pieces.

There is an old fable.... Darkness approached God and said, "Enough is enough! Your sun goes on haunting me, chasing me. I can never rest; wherever I go to rest he is there, and I have to run away again. And I have not done any wrong to him. This is unjust. And I have come to you to get justice." It was perfectly right; the complaint was true. And God called the sun and asked the sun, "Why do you go on chasing this poor woman, darkness? What has she done to you?" The sun said, "I don't know her at all. I have never seen her. You just call her in front of me; only then can I say something. I don't remember ever having done any wrong to her, because I don't know her. We are not familiar. Nobody has ever introduced us to each other, we are not even acquainted. It is for the first time from you that I am hearing about this woman, this darkness. You call her!"

The case remains pending -- because God could not call darkness before the sun. They cannot exist together, they cannot encounter each other. When darkness is, the sun cannot be; when the sun is, the darkness cannot be. Exactly the same is the relationship between mind and reality: the psychology is the problem, the reality never is a problem. You just dissolve your psychological problems -- and they are dissolved by dissolving the center of them all: the ego.

Once you don't think yourself separate from existence, problems simply evaporate, as dewdrops disappear in the morning when the sun rises, not even leaving a trace behind. They simply disappear.

Sometimes, all it takes is gathering the courage and taking the plunge. And what has been holding us back all this time is the trap in which we have encaged ourselves and petrified to come out of. Even walking blind folded is not as scary as we think it t be, its just a matter of self-belief and trusting others with there judgements about you and the way thet best deem to be ment for you. It both that conspire to make living a meaningful existence.

So here I am, rending myself vulnerable to life once again.

someone has said it so right --

mere khush numa irado mera saath dena
kisi aaur se nahi mera khud se saamna hai

Bloody Hell...

Its been 3 days since mom left..... and ever since I am thinking/living in a kind of vaccum... a state of discomfort, which on the first look seems to be because of so many things, people and responses beyond my control, but then I realise that I am once again falling into the same trap.... a vicious circle of thoughts and actions which can be real irritants to people around me (i am too insulated right now to feel them).

I had been taking so much pride off late of being in perfect communication with my mom... something that I built up by my own efforts in the past two and half years... and yet I felt a disconnect.... sometimes I just feel certain things for which I barely have a justification that I can verbalise, but none-the-less those are very real feelings which move me from the core... I am finding last two weeks to be so hard to forget exactly for these reasons.... will remember the diwali break and this sunday's see-off for atleast some time to come...

I am seeking catharsis but finding none.....

Jag Ja Re.....

 

Song: Jag ja re gudiya, misri ki puriya (Movie: Omakara - Singer: Sudesh Wadekar) Simple flow of lyrics.. fluidility in the singing... with a under current of music that gels into the theme of the song but also the broader framework of the movie. Whats amazing is that the background score in the song ranges from light instrumental (indian) to westernern classical. Suresh Wadekar following an indian semi-classical vocal style brings alive the soft spectrum of colors of dawn, ranging from the morning mist to the orange of the rising sun to the bright yellow shades of early morning.

Well... kind of funny but I have been labelled as a hopeless believer of romanticist (and adviced to start living life the more mundane way) and at the sametime I have people calling me a cold no-responsive person ( nee-raas). Whats even worse is that I tend to agree to both points of veiw... incorrigible me

Song: Boodein (Group: Silk Route).... koi ho yaado mein, palko pe boodein liye... nagma ho bheega as, ya tum ho koi gazal har pal jise gungunata rahu.....

Last evening was a frustrating experience in helplessness. A moment when all is gone. Hope, strength, fate... abandoned by all. This is not the first time I had this kind of experience, but have been struck by acute pain and paranoia innumerable times. This time I tried something different, just flowed with the feeling for sometime and let it grow till it almost overshadowed.. then instead of feeling intimidated just gathered all my courage and did something that even set me back for a moment.. I smiled... every tribulation comes with a time stamp and an expiry date.

Gazal: Deer lagi aane tumko (Singer: Jagjit Singh) shafak, dhanuk, mehbaat, ghataye, taare, nagme, bijli, phool, us daman mein kya-kya kuch hai... wo daman haath mein aaye to...

Gazal: Duniya jise kehte hai (Singer: Jagjit-Chitra) barsat ka badal to diwana hai kya jaane, kis raah se bachnaa hai, kis chat ko bhigona hai....

 

Learn to be still....

 

Sometimes I wonder as to why I tend to push myself so hard. Way harder than is required. Living in a state of anxiety, with the look of tension on the face to scare away any lesser mortal. I often wonder why is to so hard for me relax and let go.  Even the pettiest of thing takes root in the mind and results in a vicious thought circle. And to top it all I have my firm belief in cynicism of the nth order. Taking pride in living life in complete absurdity, which has its origin in a state of being that I wouldn't wish even upon my dearest enemy... and wherin lies the origin of an escape mechanism that gradually developed and spanned so deep that it's now hard-wired into me. I may think of it with a sense of pity, but it is this very madness that made me survive with a  chalo accha hua kaam aa gaye diwangi apni, varna hum zamane bhar ko samjhne kaha jaate ..... in a way this is has helped cover up some much space thats inside.. so many blank patches and voids...

Hum to yun apni zindagi se mile

Chance encounters with oneself are a good experience. Good experience in living and realizing about so many things that surrond us, but we barely pay any attention and just let them slip.

Tonight would also have been no different, except for the fact that in the dead of the night I realized that I had skipped a proper dinner while on the way back to the PG accomodation in which I shifted last friday early morning. Actually on the way back from college had hogged on some snacks and after reaching home was too tired to again go out to eat. So after completing my marketing assignment and sulking about life in general, realized that in am DAMN HUNGRY and have no way out of this situation.

So as a survival strategy, first started with consoling myself....... “music is a wonderful healing medium” was the adage that I put to test. Reminded me of the 15 odd gazals that I had downloaded in my last Eco lecture. And the first one that played on the radomized playlist was my dear old favourite “Jhuki jhuki si nazar”.

Usually gazals are either about greif and sorrow or based on the deeply romantic themes. Two ends of the continum of emotions displayed in a relationship. I have gradually come to realize that there so many shades of life which also there to be experienced and lived that even a life is short span. But rarely are the intermediate subtle shades explored as beautifully as -

Jhuki jhuki si nazar, bekarar hai ki nahi... daba daba sa sahi dil mein pyar hai ki nahi

Tu apne dil ki jawa dhadkano ko gin ke bata... meri tarah tera dil beqarar hai ki nahi..... daba daba sa sahi......

Wo pal ki jisme mohabbat jawan hote hai... us ek pal ka tujhe intezaar hai ki nahi... daba daba sa sahi.....

Teri ummed mein thukra raha hu duniya ko.... tujhe apne pe aaitbaar hai ki nahi.... daba daba as sahi.......

Well the temp diversion certainley helped. I am starting with reading a soft copy of “One Minute Manager” which was pending in my list of to-read for a long time.

Feeling Great

Finally yesterday was a complete day off after almost two weeks of daily mindless slog. There are times when I start to think what value gain am I getting from the process of lending myself to 1.5 yrs of vella-giri ; but then I realise that i shouldn’t be asking myself such questions as I am doing a Management course ; ) so should pretty much accept these as ambiguities and move on.

But wait a sec, assuming my previous set of premises as correct, move on sounds to the real headway... and the final light at the end of the tunnel, but is it keeping up with the true spirit of Siddhuism, of an approaching train or is it caused due to enlightenment attained by someone while facing the camera lights on Aastha / Sanskar TV.

Now that really sets me thinking, so often we advice others and get adviced to move on. As a matter of fact one of my dear friend during a heart to heart kind of conversation adviced me the very same thing. For a change I was in the listening mode and actually gave her advice all due attention and thought. Infact, I too fully agreeded with what she said, that in life you have to at some point of time accept and acknowledge things and move on.

Accepting is fairly difficult thing to start with, accepting mean you acknowledge some problem/issue to a part of your life. It also means that you have decided for once and for all to stop running/escaping from it. And last but not least pulling all your defense mechanisms to rest. But after studying 17 types of coping mechanisms in Psychopathology and becoming a classic case of student syndrome, its fairly difficult to disregard. As has been said by one of my favourite philosopher, J.Krishnamurthy “Freedom from the known is the most diffucult thing to achieve”.

More often than not, we tend to get caught in a sub-set of thoughts which give us a very limited perspective of things, events and life in general. One way to break the monotony is to let the mind wander at times and follow some Freudian Free Association. Or indulge in some real intriguing and stimulating conversations, as I have had the privilege of doing in the recent past, but the only flipside being the kind of torture that the other may have to go through because of you may be a traumatic experience for her, and the bewildered looks and the frustration that keeps surfacing on Jay’s face after each round of conversations that we have is more than the required proof of what the poor soul has been enduring. Hope her punjabi DNA is strong enough to bear this kind of self induced endurance testing. But not everyone (including me) is lucky to enough to find such a sweet caring friend, and it’s not really fair to do this to someone everytime.

So going back to the previous option... Free Association. Something that really difficult to start with, because of so may restrctions that we have imposed on our mind from years of social conditioning and internalisation of ages of collective consiousness. I know these are big words to starts with, jargon throwing; but not with the purpose of impressing, instead to verbalise the complexities that run in parallel in mind, all so often. This is one way in which we follow our mind and meander through the labyrinth passages created by our perceptions. Perception of one being - “The process by which individuals organise and interpret their impressions in order to give meaning to their environment.”

There was something related to this that I had read a long time ago, it was something like, there should be a set of questions that one should keep asking himself at various stages in life and watch the answers change. There is a paradigm shift that keeps occurring in our lives on a constant and continuous basis but we are so engrossed in our fixed ways of thinking and living that we hardly ever notice. These are changes of a very subtle nature that keep happening and the slumber never breaks.

Seasons

 

Srimad Bhagwadgita, Chapter 2, Verse 14 : The contact between the senses and their objects, which give rise to the feelings of heat and cold, pleasure and pain etc. are transitory and fleeting; therefore Arjun ignore them.

Thus spake Lord Krishna in the Chapter 2 which is called Sankhayoga or the Yoga of Knowledge. I have had the privilege of being exposed to Gita. In school we were made to learn Chapter 12 and 15 and recite 5 sholkas from them as a part of our morning prayer. So in the true spirit of the school education system followed across India, was imparted the great teaching through rote. It sometimes amazes how the land which originated the concept of guru-shisha tradition has completely lost its grounds and instead replaced it with an out-dated, out-of-context system of education which was create by Lord Maculay with the sole purpose of preparing a breed of clerks for the British Administration.

From the very start of education the entire focus is on the process of effective memorizing and reproduction, its like binge drinking and puking. Or as one of my prof use to put it - the " Jug-Mug" system, where something in the name of knowledge is passed from teacher (jug) to student (mug). And then we talk about knowledge, learning and gyan.

Then again as we tend to grow older more and more options are entrusted upon us by parents/peers to do things for the sake of social conformity. And hence contributing your part in the vicious circle.

I know the way I am putting these things, i may come out to be a very strong headed person; but the fact is that I am not so. I have also done and still doing so many things with the motive of not hurting the feelings of my mom. I know that at times she has pushed me real hard into things that I have been unwilling and reluctant to do; but with the only intention of my sole well being in her mind. Also, its only off late that I have been able to appreciate and realize that enormity of the pressures that she has to face. The straitjacket which has been transfixed on both her and me by the whatever way life turned out is a Catch-22 for both, we are both stuck in our own universe. Cant help but again draw a parallel with "Wish you were here" - Pink Floyd ; " We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year, running over the same old ground. What have we found? The same old fears ....." .

Interesting some times be a third-party and observe your thought process wander and you to the by-lanes which you thought never existed. In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned the fact how at times I have felt uprooted from a  place and a time which I keep referencing all to often; but what was even more amazing was the feedback I got from one of my dear friend; she said "The fact that you want to dis-associate from your home, home town and the memories attached is more than sufficient proof of your home sickness and yearning." I was initially a bit startled by what she said and hated to acknowledge this as a fact. But again having slight bit of faith in her prudence and emotional intelligence over period of time (an overnight sleep) I finally was able to accept that as true.

I was hit a funny kind of analogy this morning when I was rushing to the college on Monday morning. My current condition is similar to that of a water-hyacinth which floats over ponds and has its roots just hanging loosely in water, with nothing really to "grasp" hold of. And a contrast to this will be and young plant being directly uprooted from soil and then sown at a new place. The plant may or may not adapt to the new environment and has to go through a complete process of adaptability. Now coming back to my previous example of water hyacinth, this is one plant I empathize with for the fact that its ordained for a life of driftlessness in which its in a constant state of flux but at the same time the greatest advantage it has is of having got the opportunity to experience the tide and the flow first hand and to experience. This is what according to me should be the ultimate objective of life.

Honestly, I have hated uncertainty which has been a constant companion through all my ups and downs. There has not been a single phase wherein I had the luxury to think/ assume my baselines to be true and enduring. I have taken a long time accepting this as a preordained fact of life. And the very acknowledgement has made life so much easier for me. Now after the agony of self torture has gone I can accept things as and when they come to me and live/experience every moment in its entirety with neither the hang-ups of the past nor the stoneful expectations of the future. Living for the moment is the most crucial and vital sign of being alive. As goes the song " Kacche rang  utar jaayege, mausam hai badal jayege…"  

Everything in life changes, whatever be the reason and whatever be the consequence, resultant of the change, we cant control it not matter how hard we try. What we can change is the way we look at it, and relish whatever life has to offer, with full and open heart. There is enough sunshine in the morning to brighten the day and enough calmness in the moonlight to replenish a weary soul.

P.S : Thanks Jay.

Free Flow

 

Nothing to do with the Tata Salt advt. (Although I loved the jingle "Namk ho TATA ka.... TATA namak")  ;)

 

But just found something that I had scrapped a dear friend of mine about a month ago -

 

".....just free flowing with the life... jaha le jaye, wo hi sahi... believe me this the most stress free time of my life.... aisa nahi hai ki sari problems chali gayi hai, its only that there is a change in perception... and the openess is for real, not just to applease... there is a saying which goes "relationship is ugly, relating is beautiful" ..... just getting to realise the meaning of the same.... i knw relationship & freedom are contradictions, but somehow/somewhere i have a belief that parallels meet... and would like to explore the possiblity to as far as it takes me (wish me luck) "

 

Trying to doze off with a headache, sore throat and some lines echoing somewhere deep within -

 

"The station is ominous at midnight.
Hope is a dead letter. Time to change trains for something better.
No local train now, long since departed.
No way of getting back to where you started."
 

- From "Night of the Fox"  by Jack Higgins

Pep Talk Helps

 

Well... time once again to do some pep talks... to start with (sigh) I can/will certainly/for sure definitely and ultimately be able to handle Eco (now let me concentrate on this power statement, do some power breathing and repeat ten times with full conviction).

And after the complete exercise lets hope it works

And amazing now I have completely forgotton what else I wanted to rattle, so at least all this seems to be working at least on the surface.

Listening to Bombay Vikings after a good deal of time. A classical example to Business Process Re-engineering. Keeping the outline and the framework as it is, bringing an all together new perspective where people thought none could be possible. Neeraj Shridhar entered the music industry when there was a acute dearth of good sounds (leave alone songs and lyrics). All that people where throwing on your face in the name of remixes was some techo bumble (some thing which was pioneered by Bappi Da in the eighties) added to a decent song of the yester years and a raunchy music video. The only difference being that the music Bappi Lahiri created in the eighties now seems to be some much cleaner and creative as compared to the junk that we get to hear these days (remembering Kanta Laga and all which followed), sometimes the resultant final piece so naïve (musically speaking, the videos are all together a different ball game  ) that at times I think that with the simple plugins available in Jet Audio, I can come up something surely at par if not bettter.

Again got carried away by one of my all time favourite numbers, "Anjanee" by Strings. There first album was so full of freshness; simple guitaring, neat percussion, fresh voice and simple lyrics. It almost seemed that the both the band members had composed the entire album during one long jam session. And by the way, the band still rocks after all the years, coz of there simplicity. The songs of "Zinda" are point to case

And then in the very next song get to hear the soulful voice of Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, "Tere Bin Nai Lagta". The way he took sufi music to new heights of popularity and left behind a fan following spanning countries, religons, reigons; is awe-inspiring to say the least. When I got the taste of his music about ten years back, I was too young to grasp it in its entirity and depth (not meaning that now I have become an expert) but some chord deep down stuck and eversince have been hooked to his voice. Do remember getting to hear the live qawalli's he use to render at the annual Urs at Ajmer Sharif, which use to be telecasted live on the All India Radio. Listening to those echoing voices and the almost trance like state induced there after was probably one of my first experience of the liberation that music can make you experience.

More on this to follow sometime for sure (self-delusion i know, but isn't khush-fah-mi the key to life  )

As of now trying to focus on the B-Plan that I am trying to formulate which a friend of mine, trying to actually to put it in a structured format so that it can be submitted at the B-Plan contest at IIMA. I know this might be an overshoot kind of situation, but whats the point unless you live life on your terms and keeping streching to reach for the near impossible. Some call Atlantis and delusion but for people like me the very concept of Utopia is the fuel cell of life. And with so much of verbal warm up and about 2 hours to spare, going back to what drudgery of some dry write ups.....

Omkara - Music to Ear

Ever since landed in Mumbai, with a brand new laptop. And absolutely no music on the hard drive (only the Pink Floyd CDs burned as backup longtime ago came to rescue) was having a very listless life. Then started the process of begging and arbit dumping of whatever I could find in English/Hindi/Instru. I have to yet to do a lot of sorting and as always direct most of the stuff in the recycle bin, but by also at the same time found some good albums which can be classified for long term listening.

Amongst the Hindi mp3s had a real assortment bombarded on me. Of the latest movie releases decided to dump three albums, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, Pyar Ke Side Effect and Omkara.

KANK proved to the most disappointing, except for Mitwa hardly anything to listen to both lyrically and musically.

Pyar Ke Side Effect for the peppy "Paape Pyaar Ka Ke"  

Omakara was movie which had some amazing cinematography. I vivdly remember the scene where Ajay Devgan gets into a fight in a brick clan, which immediately followed the title track of the movie. It was such a amazing piece of mastery over the medium of narration. The entire sequence still echoes in my mind as I am once again listening to the full toned title track, the precussion sounding so much like the traditional  nagada still used in parts to rural Uttar Pradesh. And the kind to energy put by Sukhvinder makes a real treat to listen to.

The song (O Saathe Re) has a surreal feeling to it, the lyrics have been tenderly laid making it a multi layered song full of depth and tenderness. And being a duet, lends it a fair bit of romantic appeal.

Beedi is a song written and sung in a typical raunchy way making it a full blast nautanki song, so typically of the kind of sounds/songs you hear in a village mela. Which also by the way reminds me of similar experiences that I have had first hand when I use to visit the dusshera melas around our native village as a kid.

The last song "Namak" has catchiness, teasing and at the same time highly metaphorical lyrics sung in a semi classical way by Rekha. Having touches of qawalli and sufi style to it makes it a good choice to not only end but actually complete the album. 

Scribbles

Between two local stations

in the fast local

life rushes

No time to breathe

and lesser to live

platform # 5 and the 8:13

Lost in transition

After sinking neck deep into loads of activities came the flash of realisation that its been an amazingly long time (slighty more than a month by the calander) ever since I have collected myself (as goes the cult classic song from Dark Side of The Moon - "You re-arrange yourself till your sane".. ;)

Well so much has happened since the 12th of last month that upon lookin back dont know how to put things in a chronological order and a perspective. Last night I was thinking about how the concept of "home" has changed for me. Its been more than three years since I have left home (12th May 2003 was the first time I ventured out, bag'n'baggage or rather boriya-bistar samet sounds more fitting). Ever since then have been in constant touch, calling back almost on a
daily basis. And thinking of the place of and on but with a strange sense to detachment. The typical sense of warm that use to strike at the very first thought is now taken over by a very impersonal feeling which for a long time had tried to repress and later when finally acknowledged, still struggling to put it in words..

One Year

Today completed one year of online existence :)

And yesterday was Pink Day

TWO BIG REASONS TO BE HAPPY...............

Doin Nothing...

Finally home after so long.. will enough time in store to relax and having the privledge of doing nothing :)

Spend an absolute lazy yesterday, just slept, slept and then... slept some more

And then today met my old friend from school days. Caught up with a lot of ... basically nothing

Now spending some time at a local cyber cafe, waiting for evening and some more freak out... Seems trying to actualize the title of this blog.. by turning a complete no-brainer.

Levity

There comes a time when we seek ourselves, not without but within.
There comes a time when the path materializes.
When truth separates itself from the morass of life;
To present the pristine glow of self-awareness.

To find that shining light of wisdom is an achievement;
To detach oneself from this meaningless struggle and turbulence is the way of the seeker,
To liberate one from an endless cycle of soul searching is the ultimate aim.
This life was good, just as the past ones were, just as the next one will be.

The time has come...to seek and hopefully learn the truth.

How Much Do You Know About Blogging?

Here is what I got when I put my Blog Gyan to test ->

Well, You Know What a Blog Is...

You got 3/8 correct! But, truthfully, most blogs probably bore you.

How Much Do You Know About Blogging?

Followed by world's Shortest Personality Test ->

Your Personality Profile

You are sexy, powerful, and bold. You're full of passion and energy... Sometimes this passion has a dark side. You feel most alive when you're seducing someone. You never fail to get someone's attention. Quick minded, you're also quick to lose your temper!

The World's Shortest Personality Test

Leaving for home

After a near infinite wait, today is my last day at office. Done with all the clearences and almost complete office tour (more comprehensive one than we got during induction) to get the Full & Final Settlement Form signed by various departments (seven to be precise).

Finally heading home tommorrow. With 2 weeks to unwind and start all over.

Parting Thoughts

Spending a very tiring sunday afternoon all alone, this has turned out to be a real crappy weekend. Spend a useless saturday and had a real unwelcome start of sunday. My last weekend here. And still trying to go thru the grind of packing.

Its been 20 months that I have spend in the NCR. Jan 05 Gaziabad -> Feb 06 Job # 1 -> Mar 05 Sec 11 Noida (PG Accomodation) -> May 05 Job # 2 -> June 05 Sleeping/Bored to death in Office -> July 05 Hospital (and 3 weeks of hell) -> Aug Sec 20 Noida (Rented Apartment) -> Sept 05 Roomie tantrums -> Biggest Crush of my life (10th Oct 0523 hrs)-> Foreign lands (Hoping against hope)-> 20th Nov -> 2nd Feb (chance phonecall) -> Mar 06 Open Relationship -> Feelin April heat in Jaipur -> May (phase of personal defeat) -> June (Reflections) -> July (decide leaving it all).....

As always... a lot of ups and downs... a complete emotional roller coaster with its share of chills and thrills... and again a phase of life thats about to get over with mixed feelings

And just when finally had started the process of packup, something pretty much unexpected happened which more than anything else caught me totally off guard. For the first time saw clear cracks in the seams of one single relation which i had been tendering with care which was pretty much unlike me. Sometimes its just some words that can have such a deep impact on ones mind that it simply becomes a irrecoverable emotional hurt. And the worst part is that these words orignate from the personal deamons that both of us have been battling against.... So true are the Floyd lyrics " We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year,
Running over the same old ground. What have we found? The same old fears....... "

Sometimes, it just our personal fears that can drive us to limits and beyond... reminds of the joke, which goes like - There was party going on in full blast on a cruise ship, suddenly a small boys falls off the deck... almost instantly a young man dives in and after a long battle with the might waves and the shark laden seas he is able to rescue the boy... there is a big round of applause and people ask him "so what were you thinking when you jumped ?" and the man answers "My only thought was, how to find the %#&##% who pushed me into water".

Bitter-Sweet Life

Soo long...............

Undercover Analysis

In less than 24 hours I will be once again free. Free from the bondage of a 8.5 hours office routine, which I had been following for the past 38 months. Incidentially, I come to realize that this also approximatly the same time duration that I spend in my graduation (37 months to be precise). So I guess i have completed a cycle of learning and un-learning, and come a full circle. That brings up the next question, in that case what should the next cycle of 18 months be termed as ?????

Several thoughts cross my mind at the sametime. finally to clear the jumble I have to take recluse of the method of elimination as has been summarized wonderfully by Sherlock Holmes "...when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. "

And also something which is in line with the Philosophical teachings of the great Socrates .

So lets start with what all things this phase is not -
01. Break / Sabbatical
02. "Back to college" phase (Apni to pathshala, masti ki pathshala)
03. Freak / Tangential move
04. Settlement move
05. "Me too" drive
06. Pure money driven (MBA=MNC=My Big Fat CTC)
07. Inspired (rather petrified) by "time running out" thoughts (Remember Pink Floyd's - Time)
08. Grown old enough should find a bearing ("Kabhi seriously socha hai kya karna hai tumhe?")
09. "How will I get married ?" (Hindi version is much better "Shaadi kaise tay hogi ?")
10. Management degree spells respect as compare to plain B.Sc ("Sirf BSc se to kaam nahi chal sakta")

And its really hard for my sceptical mind to come to terms with whats left... so will continue from where I am leaving after a short reality break ;o)

Focus :-(

Human ego plays strange games, at times it over rides even the most logical and obvious thought processes in favor of thoughts that you never ever thought…

Ok… well thats to vent out… and damn this constant irritating humming that i have to been hearing for the last 3 hrs from my collegue, some ad jingle :( I am barely able to focus and write....

As for the rest, less than a month now before my course starts. There hasn't been any sudden drastric change eversince the admission was confirmed, instead I see a metamorphosis.

My interest in blogging (read sharing my veiws, has re-kindled). And have got some real constructive, valuable and helpful feedback in this regards from my collegue Gaurav. Made me realise a lot of things about the layout and the contents.

As for the rest.. today my mind seems to be too wayward to focus and write about a single thing.

Ctrl C + Ctrl V and things like that

22 hr 15 mins

Thats the exact amount of time that I need to officially be in office.

Feeling so damn sleepy right now, cant really think about anything at all. And adding to it is the fact that my work station is diagonally oppposite to my manager :(

Looking busy and feeling bored is not an easy task.
Here are some serious thoughts to doze (err i mean ponder) over -> http://www.softwarereality.com/cthulhu/busy.jsp

And just in case if you are finding the task to be too daunting to be handled alone, here are some real helpful suggestions on how to use your workstation pc and several internet resources, as an effective & efficient tool to master the art of looking busy -> http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2003/8/5/1315/19085


NB: thanks Vijeta

Faith

Here is a link to one of the paintings by Salvador Dali, which i has fasinated me forever -> http://www.indstate.edu/ctl/vlessons/dali2.jpg

There are so many times/phases in my life in which i have one thru considerable amount of turmoil and have been swept off by a feeling of absolute despair.

And finally after reaching the ultimate peak, there is a feeling of absolute loneliness. A state which is beyond all feeling, which is reached more often than not after sheer exhauting of all physical, mental and emotional faculities. This is a state of silence. A silence which is meta-physical ; one thats very different in nature from "lack of noise". It has an element of purity in it. Probably a vague parallel to highlight the qualitative difference would be, feeling of calmness upon experiencing a gush of cool breeze in a mountain top as against watching the world sitting in side a frosted glass chamber.

A after attaining this state, all the hopelessness, despair and struggle vanishes; leaving space for something which we always keep running away from and thats "ourselves".

We hardly have the nerve to listen, acknowledge and face our inner voice. So many attempts are made in a span of a single day to sub due anything remotely close. We drown ourselves in innumerable worries and anxiety, which not only clogs so much of our "system resources" but also at the sametime blocks any passage that leads us inwards. Resulting in a reactive state in which we try to look for all things that require inner attention (peace, happiness, love) at all places external, but all in vain.

Finally after all the effort wheb we lay exhausted and completly exerted, there comes a relization thats so natural (sahaj) in nature that entire effort of a life time seems to be in vain.

Asatoma Sadgamaya

Thamaso Maa Jyothir Gamaya

Mrithyor Maa Amrutham Gamaya

Aum Shanti Shanti Shantihi

Meaning: Lead me from the unreal to the real. Lead me from darkness to light. Lead me from death to immortality. May there be peace everywhere.

Second last friday

Fridays have always been much awaited/anticipated day of the work week. And now since i have already resigned and just serving the notice period, the second last friday in office is like a complete sabbatical (i hope that my boss does not read this ;) Two hours in office and already feelin sleepy. A reverse counter has started at the back of my mind (just 06 hr 29 min 58 sec left for the end of the shift) and already day dreaming of the party thats planned for today evening.

For the past couple of days, i am really amazed to see how my work motivation level has taken an exponential southward plunge. Just a couple of weeks ago, no matter what shift i was working, i barely had time even for taking a 5 mins coffee break. Skipping meal breaks and then muching grilled sandwich at the workstation was almost a routine. Even after reaching home calling up fellow associates and requesting them for client follow ups and sitting on a conference call from home during the most weird hours was a normal practise, and was done even without a second thought.

But eversince i have tendered my letter of resignation i have seen an instant dip in my interest/motivation level. This contradiction reminded me of one the motivation theory that we had read in college, McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y . Till some time ago I was in a state thats very close to the one described in Theory Y, which talks about Participative Management, wherein an employee takes complete "ownership" of his work and the complete onus and responsibility of the task assigned is taken by the employee (very readily). This in some way is also linked with a person relating to the higher level needs in the Need Hierarchy Theory and also considers work is natural and can be used as a source of satisfaction->



But now for the last couple of weeks I have succumed to the beliefs highlighted in the Theory X, which talkes about Authoritarian Management style.

Theory X is the traditional view of direction and control. It states that the worker dislikes work and tries to avoid it. The function of management, therefore, is to force the employee to work, through coercion and threats of punishment. The worker prefers in most cases to be directed and wants to avoid responsibility. The main motivator for the worker, therefore, is money.

The above description holds soo much true in my current situation. I can closely relate to at the affect level. There a sudden shift in focus from the Higher to the Lower order needs (Esteem -> Belonging & Safety). And suddenly finding that the extenal acknowledgement and the recognition for you work has gone and adding to that is the fact that your focus and personal priorities are in a flux. Both the external cues and the internal state together add up and generate a condition in which indifference towards work seems to be justified.

I dont say or claim that this is applicable as a universal theory. This just describes my current state of mind and how my thought processes are working right now. Its really fun at times to just be a plain observer to whats going in your head without being judgemental. If I may use the expression "Taking a dip in the stream of consciousness".

Hiring and Blogging

This is one co-relation which never ever crossed my mind ->
http://ckunte.com/archives/2006/07/25/let-us-be-humans

catharsis

Once the exit date from office has been decided, there starts a period of emotional turmoil. You have a feeling of excitement for the next oppourtunity that you are heading towards. Your current job motivation hits an all time low, and you come to an absolute conclusion that whatever you were till now was/is/will be the most torturous job ever. The feeling of monotony is almost unbearable :(

And last but not least, all the pent up feelings that you had for your boss, resurface and you desperatly start seeking ways and means of catharsis.

Found something (although an anti-climax) in this regard ->
http://www.apahelpcenter.org/articles/article.php?id=2

And finally after reading through the above article and doing enough of soul-searching, here are some thoughtful gestures that can be done during the last work week in office so show your appreciation for one and all -

- When two (ore more) people are working a desks that are put next to each other, switch their telephone cords. With all those cables lying around it will take some time before they find that one out!

- Put a peice of onion or a clove of garlic inside the mouthpiece of a phone. Give it some time for it to fester and build up a strong odor. Then call them and keep them on the phone for as long as possible.

- It is allways a good habit to lock your computer before heading off for coffee or a smoke. When someone forgets and leaves a Word document or an email open, type a single word somewhere in the text. “f*ck” or so will do nicely. They’ll never notice and send it out.

- Get a hold of someone's cell phone and change the greeting banner to say "NO SERVICE". Many cell phones have greeting banners on them that you can personalize to say whatever you want them to and it stays on there when you're not using your phone. Also, when there is no service where you are, most cell phone companies have a banner that pops up on your screen saying "no service".

- Take a can of non gel shaving cream, and put it in a freezer. When it is frozen remove the bottom of the can and put it in co worker's drawer. When it melts it expands and explodes all over everything.

- Go into MS Word or similar program on co-worker's computer, and add an entry to the AutoCorrect feature. This is a very simple prank that will send the novice user into a frenzy. Configure the AutoCorrect option to replace the word "the" with the phrase "you suck!". They will usually panick and start scanning for viruses.
- Take clear tape and tape the underside of the mouse. Make sure you take the sticky end of the tape and apply it to the bottom of the mouse so it locks the ball in place. The victim will most likely check the connections in the back, reinstall drivers, reboot, etc., before they realize what has happened.

- Do a "Print Screen" of the user's desktop, and then paste the image from the clipboard to a photo program, and save the image as a bitmap. Then, set the 'snapshot' of their desktop as the actual desktop wallpaper. (You'll have to hide the Windows status bar, and move all their desktop icons into a folder, which you can hide conspicuously in the corner or something.) The user will see their desktop as always, but everything on it will appear to be frozen when they try to click on it...sending them into a rebooting and virus scanning fit!

- This will mostly only work with people with very little PC knowledge. Stick in a floppy in there floppy drive. They will be unable to boot up windows until the disk is out. This is fun to watch.

- Try to find a very obnoxious CD laying around. Preferably a reggae or rap CD. Pop it in their CD ROM. Put up the sound full blast by double clicking on the volume control on the bottom right. On normal configurations the audio CD will autoplay when windows first starts up. The person starting up there PC in the morning will definitely be embarrassed.

- This is for that special person you just cant stand in the office, the one who talks on the phone all day with their boyfriend/girlfriend and gets personal e-mail all day. Go into their e-mail and change their defaults to autmatically "blind carbon copy" their boss or supervisor. Heads will roll!

- Try "password securing" someone's screen saver. First I suggest changing the screen saver to "scrolling marque" and inserting your own word or phrase, "Mr. Jones (president or supervisor) eats SHlT" or something to that effect.

- With someone who is on the phone a lot during work - This works if you have phones that the handset comes apart. Take the handset apart and put scotch tape over the mouthpeice inside. They can still be heard, but they have to talk loud to be heard. The next day take it off, and put it in the earpeice. Usually they will be yelling to the other person on the line the next day, and won't be able to hear them. When they complain about the phone, and get a replacement, do it on the next phone. After about a week you will notice the calls to be down considerably.

- Depending where you are at you may have a cafeteria in you place of work. Every week most of them put out a menu so you know what they are serving. Usually it is done on Word or Excel, and not extremely fancy. With a little work, matching fonts, and images you can make your own menus, and post them by your desk. We had one co-worker avoid the cafeteria for 2 weeks because of the selection "fish head stew" etc... before he caught on. Works great with picky eaters.

- My absolutely most favorite prank I have saved for last. It is so simple to do and yields such nice results. Simply pop out the 'm' and 'n' key on someone's keyboard and reverse the two. Any flat tool will work. Just pry it with little pressure and they will easily come right off. Then just sit back and watch the confusion.

ODE TO KUSHWANT SINGH'S FAMOUS TITLE "WITH MALICE TOWARDS ONE AND ALL" ;)

leaving job

One thing is yet to penetrate my thick skin, why is it so throughly impossible for organisations to make the exit process easier, especially for people with relatively lesser work experience (relatively new to the corporate enviroment) who might be leaving job not neccessarily for a better one.

Although unrelated, found an very level headed article, meant for typical emotinally challenged people, like me ;) who tend to get carried away, way to often -> http://monster.typepad.com/monsterblog/2005/05/treat_your_exit.html

Also, one more interesting link, the best thing about this test is the direct relevence and applicability is has, the last section in the test results is "Take Action" (obvious to lagna hi nahi chaheye, love this american logic) -> http://my.monster.com/JobStrengthProfile/Manage.aspx

And here is the 2 mins instant noodles version of the same -> http://tools.monster.com/perfectcareer/

After, so much side tracking.... today i have a meeting with my Line HR, in which we have to decide the exit date and the money i have to pay in lieu of leaving earlier than the prescribed notice period :(

I have thinking (although for selfish purposes) that a person who wants to quit job for higher studies should be given a laxity and treted with consideration as oppose to a person who is quitting to join a different job (who is often considered to be "poached"). There should be policies appicable in these two situations. This again sets my mind adrift, an very broad-based questions starts floating in my mind, "What should be the role of HR Department in an Organisation ?". This is something that needs to be considered/contemplated from a contemporary perspective in an ever changing work environments, where there is a constant pull between the professional/organisational requirements and personal commitments (both careerwise and family related).

Found a generic definition of Human Resource Management -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Resource_Management

Still at a loss of ideas relating to issue, probably some time later, with the right mix of theory, past personal experience and enlightment, might get some clarity relating to this issue.......

liberation at last

Just so happy... finally managed to reason myself out

i still find myself haunted by these verses often -
mere khush-numa irado mera saath dena,
kisi aaur se nahi mera khud se samana hai

After working for slightly more than 3 yrs, joining a PGDBA course, both as a respite and a long cherished dream (cant say which of these two is more relevent right now)